Category: Portland advertising

Vote For Phil Bernstein in the Elevator Pitch Contest

I’ve made the Sweet 16 (out of more than 100 entries) of the Inside Sales Experts Elevator Pitch Contest. For the next 72 hours (as of March 26), I’m up against the always-dangerous Joseph Kupstas of Goodfellas Construction.

If you could take a moment to click here and vote for Phil Bernstein, my mother would be grateful.

You can see the matches in progress here:  I’m in Round 2, Match 4.

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Click here to learn the shocking truth about Phil Bernstein

Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.

Finding an Unmet Need

My friend Susan recently alerted me to an article about I-Booze — a Seattle-area online service that delivers alcohol, cigarettes, and other items.

Founder Karim Varela came up with the idea while sitting in a San Francisco jail on a DUI charge.

‘I was sitting in jail for eight hours with nothing to do besides think, and that’s when it came to me,’ said Varela, adding that he thought an alcohol delivery service might help keep drunks off the road.

Varela charges premium prices and a delivery fee, and sticks with items for which price is not necessarily the most important factor:

‘I-Booze only sells products that people want immediately, which people are addicted to, which people are craving, and which people will pay that extra delivery surcharge to get right away,’ explains Varela.

Setting aside any moral judgements about the products I-Booze sells, this is a terrific example  of an entrepreneur spotting, and filling, an unmet need in the marketplace.

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Click here to learn the shocking truth about Phil Bernstein

Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.

Sometimes You Can Break The Rules

Deadspin alerted me to this video by Ben Gullett. Ben’s dad, Mark Gullett, was laid off from his marketing position with hockey’s Tampa Bay Lightning. So Ben put together the video in an effort to help his father get a job.

As a piece of advertising, there’s much to criticize:

1. It’s all about the advertiser.

2. Virtually no information about any benefits an employer might receive by hiring Mark Gullett.

3. Weak call-to-action: there’s an email address at the end, but no real explanation of what a prospect should do or why.

None of the above matters. The video is damn close to perfect. It tells a  powerful, moving story. While it may not provide much information for the intellect, it more than makes up for that by communicating emotion.

Anyone looking for a creative marketing mind would have to wonder what else Mark Gullett might have to offer. Mark Gullett’s job search has now gotten national exposure, with more than 21,000 views as of today. The campaign’s gotten him at least one firm offer, and a significant number of leads.

It’s done so by breaking many of the rules of effective advertising. I would never advise a client to try something like this — there are too many ways to get it wrong.

This one gets it right.

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Click here to learn the shocking truth about Phil Bernstein

Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.

Lord & Taylor — Purveyor of Fine Hooker Fashions?

The full page ad in Sunday’s New York Times offers an Ellen Tracy Trench for $150. There’s a color photograph, and the caption underneath says

THERE’S NOTHING NAUGHTY ABOUT BUYING THIS TRENCH… WEARING IT, HOWEVER, IS ANOTHER STORY.

Who might buy — and wear — a coat like this? I’m thinking that the target is, um, working girls. Am I wrong?

Here’s the picture. You decide.

ellen-tracy-trench2

______________________________________________________________________________________

Click here to learn the shocking truth about Phil Bernstein

Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.

One Way to Get New Customers Fast — And Keep Them

While most of you were out having a wild Saturday night, I was home reading one of Dan Kennedy’s marketing newsletters.

Go ahead. Envy me.

In the newsletter, Dan described the “dry cleaner’s secret” — a method that a dry cleaning franchise operation used to ramp up its business, quickly.

Using a series of carefully-designed marketing steps, the franchise owner was able to attract a large number of new customers in a short time,  and turn them into profitable regular clients.

Although this particular entrepreneur was in the dry-cleaning business, his marketing method can transfer over to any business that depends on customers coming in several times a year or more. Examples that come to mind include:

  • Aesthetic medicine practice — Botox, laser hair removal, mesotherapy, lipodissolve, etc.
  • Cosmetic dentist
  • Garden store or nursery
  • Pet supply store
  • Yarn store
  • And, yes, a multi-location dry cleaner.

What’s the method? I’m not going to tell you here.

But if you’re a Portland or Vancouver-area business owner, I’ll be happy to describe it to you in person.

I can tell you that to make it work, you’ll need to make an investment in advertising. That investment does not necessarily have to be with me, but you’ll need to do it somewhere.

This won’t pencil out for everybody, but it might for you. If it does, you’ll gain a lot of profitable new customers fast. And you’ll be able to track the results right down to the penny.

Isn’t that what marketing is supposed to do?

Interested in learning more? Call me at 503-323-6553, or email me here.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Click here to learn the shocking truth about Phil Bernstein

Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.