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In Part 2 of our online conversation, Brett Duncan and I discuss the keys to a successful radio advertising campaign, what kinds of businesses shouldn’t use radio, and how new tools like text messaging and podcasting are affecting the business.

In case you missed it, Part 1 is here.

And, congratulations to Brett on the new addition to his family.

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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.

As 2008 wheezes to a close, every marketing dollar is more precious than ever. And an ad in the front section of the Sunday paper sure ain’t cheap.

So I was distressed to see how Filson decided to waste a few thousand dollars in Portland on Sunday morning:

If they were hoping to convince me to do my holiday shopping at their stores, here are some questions their ad should have answered:

1. What “outdoor clothing and gear” might I find at a Filson store? The outdoor aficionado might already know, but a huge portion of the general public has no idea. When you advertise in the Sunday newspaper in mid-December, your target is the general public.

2. I have other choices for outdoor gear. I could “join” REI for holiday shopping — why should I spend my money with Filson instead?

3. What’s the free gift? Is it good enough that I’d be willing to schlep downtown and drop $200 or more?

Filson is paying handsomely for a small piece of the public’s attention — once they have it, they could offer some great gift ideas; or sale prices on outerwear; or cool new fishing gear that only Filson has. Or at least give their web address for anyone who wanted to find out more.

In an environment where consumer attention, and money, is in short supply, this ad gives the reader no reason at all to get in the car and drive to a Filson store.

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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.

In the midst of the worst sales decline in memory, the Oregon Auto Dealers Association is asking the legislature to make it harder for customers to shop with them.

That was, at least, my initial reaction to the news that the Association wants lawmakers to make it illegal for them to do business on Sunday. Why would an industry desperate for customers tell them that if they want a car on Sunday, they’ll just have to go do business with a dealer across the river in Vancouver, Washington?

There are two significant reasons, it turns out:

1. Closing for a day will cut costs.

2. The guaranteed day off will allow them to attract, and keep, a higher level of employee. As Portland dealer Ron Tonkin put it, “You’d be able to get people who really won’t consider an industry like ours because they don’t like the hours.”

Those are the benefits. The risks are angering potential customers, and losing business to the Washington dealers — they’re just a short drive away, and will be happy to accept the additional Sunday traffic.

These are interesting times — times in which some of the most fiercely independent businessmen in the state feel compelled to ask the government to limit their freedom to compete. Do the benefits of this strategy outweigh the risks?

Please leave answers, opinions, and perspective in the comments below.

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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.

For 40 years, Bruce Springsteen has managed to keep himself in the public eye while making his efforts seem like a natural outgrowth of his art. Recently he (or someone in his employ) turned the hype machine up a little too high.

The result, after much buildup, was about 80 seconds of “Working on a Dream” shoehorned into an NFL halftime show, and buried under football noises. Following the inevitable backlash, the formal release of the song was greeted mostly with shrugs.

Now, another new song has emerged. No NFL hoo-hah this time, just a possibly unauthorized posting of “The Wrestler” on Youtube. So far, it’s still up — and unlike “Working on a Dream”, this one is drawing raves on the message boards. Is this a true bootleg, or just the Springsteen organization going viral instead of mass-media?

Thanks to Steve Duin , of The Oregonian here in Portland, for the Youtube alert.

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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.

Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of a killer headline to draw people into your marketing message. As publicity expert Joan Stewart points out, magazine headlines give you a great example to emulate. They lurk at the supermarket checkout stand, and it’s the quality of the cover headlines that determine whether you walk on by, or open the magazine as you stand in line.

Stewart has a great video on her blog showing how you can use Cosmopolitan‘s headline “formulas” to build your own headlines. This is most easily adapted to print, but I’ve used the technique to open some radio scripts, too.

Check out the video here.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising 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.