Category: Portland marketing

It’s All About the Story

Over the last 14 years, I’ve met with hundreds of business owners. It’s my job to learn as much as I can about the business, figure out what’s special about it, and effectively communicate that story to customers and prospects.

A couple of guys named Rhett and Link somehow crossed paths with TDM Auto Sales in High Point, North Carolina. The business itself appears to be nothing out of the ordinary — it’s just another used car lot in a small town. But Rhett and Link found something special: Rudy, a Cuban immigrant with a thick accent. Rudy’s last name is never given. He may or may not be the owner.

But Rudy has a story — he was once a gynecologist in Cuba — and a sense of humor.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b5CKSqlz60&feature=fvw]

Don Fitzgibbons, the Guru of Ads, likes to say that there’s only one way to tell a good ad from a bad one — find out if it worked. So I’m asking:

If I have any readers in the High Point, NC area, please advise — is this commercial driving genuine car-buying traffic to TDM Auto Sales?

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Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein, Portland’s Advertising Expert, at 503-323-6553.

What Business Are You Really In?

From Dan Kennedy’s recent book No B.S. Marketing to the Affluent:

An excellent lesson in selling a gift of any kind comes from the mail-order jeweler Karets and Facets, which target-markets to the mass affluent. A page of outstanding sales copy from the company’s catalog… is headlined “Guaranteed Gasp or Your Money Refunded.” This company understands that it isn’t in the jewelry business, but in the gasp business.

I’m in the attention-rental business. How about you?

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Check out Phil Bernstein’s Facebook Fan Page — and become a Fan – 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, Portland’s Advertising Expert, at 503-323-6553.

“It’s Not What You Say…

…it’s what people hear.”


So says language expert Frank Luntz, author of  Words that Work.

When you are writing to persuade, the words you choose will profoundly affect the way your listener or reader reacts to your message.This phenomenon has applications in advertising — and in politics.

Luntz recently wrote a memo to Republican members of Congress called “The Language of Health Care”.

In a recent New York Times interview, Deborah Solomon asked, “You have devised many phrases to help sell Republican policies to the public. Like “energy exploration” instead of “drilling for oil” in the Arctic. What are some of your other coinages?

Luntz’ response:

It’s “death tax” instead of “estate tax” or “inheritance tax.” It’s “opportunity scholarships” instead of “vouchers.” It’s “electronic intercepts” rather than “eavesdropping.”

A 60-second radio commercial consists of approximately 180 words. You are paying by the word — make sure that every word brings you closer to a sale.

If you’re not confident in your ability to do this, hire an experienced professional copywriter. It may be the best money you’ll spend.

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Check out Phil Bernstein’s Facebook Fan Page — and become a Fan – 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, Portland’s Advertising Expert, at 503-323-6553.

New Research on The Power of Social Proof

elvis fans

One of Robert Cialdini’s six “weapons of influence” is social proof — the idea that it is easier to persuade people to do something if they believe other people are doing the same thing.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Cialdini and his colleagues at Arizona State University recently conducted an experiment at a Phoenix hotel. They posted a variety of signs in hotel rooms encouraging guests to re-use towels.

If the message merely encouraged guests to help the hotel save energy, only 16% of them reused the towels.

Asking them to “partner with us to help the environment” increased compliance to 31%

Claiming that almost 75% of guests reuse towels pushed the rate to 44%

Claiming that 75% of guests “who stayed in this room” reused towels increased reuse to 49%

“To the extent you can convince that, not just a lot of people are doing this, but a lot of people like [them] are doing this,” you’ll get greater buy-in, Prof. Cialdini says.

This principle has potential applications in your marketing, from media advertising to in-store signage. If you can legitimately claim that a particular product or service is popular with folks just like your prospects — that “all the cool kids are buying it”, you’ve greatly increased your chances of making a sale.

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Check out Phil Bernstein’s Facebook Fan Page — and become a Fan – 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, Portland’s Advertising Expert, at 503-323-6553.

A Sinking Ship?

By all accounts, Country Financial is a good company, offering products that benefit consumers nationwide. In an effort to be a good corporate citizen, the firm is sponsoring an historical touring exhibition called “Titanic, Treasures From the Deep”.

The web site promoting the exhibition has a section called Lifeboat Challenge, where folks can take a short quiz on how prepared their family’s “financial lifeboat” is for “rough waters”.  It’s an impressive way to tie the exhibit in with Country’s core marketing message.

However, a radio ad for the show gave me pause this evening — it invited listeners to find out more by going to www.countrytitanic.com.

That’s Country Titanic dot com.

In this economic environment, when you hear the words “Country” and “Titanic” right next to each other, what picture forms in your mind?

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Check out Phil Bernstein’s Facebook Fan Page — and become a Fan – 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, Portland’s Advertising Expert, at 503-323-6553.