So many media choices, such little time? What is a small business owner or entrepreneur to do?

To plan a media ad campaign, the advertisers need to determine where should the ad go geographically. Which media vehicles should be used? What is the proper timing for the ad? What is the frequency, and finally, how can the ad be integrated through many communication tools. There are many media options, and more and more options become available every day. It was dvd’s and c’s for a while. Now it’s downloadable audio and video files that people can plan on an mp3 or ipod, or right on the computer Costs and choices are changing, so deciding where to put the ads are more important decisions, and much more complex.

Deciding on the audience objective means looking at what types of people the advertiser would like to reach. Determining the audience helps with the selection of the media. How and when the message should reach the audience comes next. What is contained in the message, what is the number of impressions that the target will receive, and how many different people will see, hear, or experience the message.

The final media mix will involve addressing the market, or the audience to reach. It will involve the money, how much is available in the budget. The media will be selected, this is the communication tool used to transmit the message. The mechanics involve the length, size and package of the ad. The method will involve the strategy of selection and all of the elements discussed above.

This is one of my favorite ad campaigns. I saw the first ads on the computer in a television show that I was watching online. There was a couple sitting on a vinyl couch debating something. The ad message was “what’s your epsonality?” The commercial was so cute, it did prompt me to visit the website just to see what else was there. I remember the name of the product because they put it together in a catchy way. The mix use several different delivery methods to promote the product, with the hook being the commercial. It didn’t result in a purchase of an Epson, but I did talk to my friends about how cool the commercial was.

What’s your epsonality? Or what’s your media personality? What media messages make you take note, and what elements do you enjoy the most? Keep those in mind when creating your marketing mix!

Helen Keller said “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
These words came from a woman whom life had dealt one heck of a hand of cards. She was born deaf and blind and yet she lived an extraordinary life! Whats my excuse? Her life is summed up by what she said to a 5 year old blind boy in 1932 when she said “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the face.” She has put out a challenge to the rest of us to live beyond what we believe to be comfortable. She dares us to be great; to live a life of adventure. If she were here today and was able to communicate through modern technology, imagine what she’d say! She didn’t crawl “under the circumstances” and hide, but rather lived that life of daring adventure. I dare you to crawl out from “under your circumstances” and be an adventurer!!!

I related a story in our Connections group today about confidence. I watched my son’s soccer game yesterday, and was intrigued by the parallel between the game and our lives. My son’s soccer team is made up of 8 year olds through 12 year olds (playing in the 11-12 year old age group). They are a very skilled, competitive team, who went undefeated this season. They ran circles around the other teams at every game, and typically had at least a 5 point lead by the end of the first half. The coach had to get creative with ways to prevent them from scoring too many points, with challenges of passing to each of the other players and other things in previous games.

Yesterday, being the last game of the season, with the championship in the bag, the coach decided to issue a new challenge. Typically there are five players on the field on each side, plus the goalies. The coach started the game with three players on the field, plus the goalie. This is a team of skilled kids, who shouldn’t have had any difficulty playing the game, and scoring on the competition. They let a ball get through, then another, and all of a sudden the game wasn’t in their favor. They were losing. They were skilled and able to even the odds. What was happening? As the goalie hung his head, the rest of the team also seemed affected. They started to panic. They got overwhelmed. A little unsure of themselves? This wasn’t what they were used to.

As a parent sitting on the sidelines, I could see what the coach was doing. He was trying to even the odds, create a bit of a competitive game, and give our boys a boost in their performance. The team is young, however, the lesson still every bit as valuable. The boys weren’t pulling it together and putting points on the board. As we watched, the opposing team took at least a three point lead by the half. Our boys were not scoring.

At halftime the coach had a talk with the boys. I didn’t hear what was said. I can only assume there was talk of what the boys were focusing on, their ability, or the score. Their skill and confidence was affected by exterior things. They needed to dig deep, but that just wansn’t happening. The coach put five players back on the field for the second half. The score began to even out, then it completely changed. The players had scored a total of three goals in the first half, and nine in the second. They won the game, again.

I think this game had a few very important life lessons, that we can translate into business. The lesson for us each to consier is that we all have the skills, abilities, and confidence to do what we do when times are good. What happens when the game changes? When something unexpected comes up? Is it that we lose our skills and ability? I don’t think so. I think it comes down to our focus, what we let in, and what we can tune out. Where are you today? What is different than one year ago? When the score seems to be mounting in the opponents favor do you watch the scoreboard, or do you laser focus to make sure you get it done? Is it easier to score when you are down and out and your only option is success? What happens when the other team has more players on the field, or more business is coming their way? Do they get complacent? Lazy? Forgetting about what is important, and how to play the game?

My son is eleven, and has plenty of time to learn some life lessons. I applaud the coach for working with this, and for his comments after the game in trying to get the boys to understand they let their minds get in the way. I think I took more away from that game than the boys did.

When it comes down to confidence how do you pull from within when it matters the most?

I related a story in our Connections group today about confidence. I watched my son’s soccer game yesterday, and was intrigued by the parallel between the game and our lives. My son’s soccer team is made up of 8 year olds through 12 year olds (playing in the 11-12 year old age group). They are a very skilled, competitive team, who went undefeated this season. They ran circles around the other teams at every game, and typically had at least a 5 point lead by the end of the first half. The coach had to get creative with ways to prevent them from scoring too many points, with challenges of passing to each of the other players and other things in previous games.

Yesterday, being the last game of the season, with the championship in the bag, the coach decided to issue a new challenge. Typically there are five players on the field on each side, plus the goalies. The coach started the game with three players on the field, plus the goalie. This is a team of skilled kids, who shouldn’t have had any difficulty playing the game, and scoring on the competition. They let a ball get through, then another, and all of a sudden the game wasn’t in their favor. They were losing. They were skilled and able to even the odds. What was happening? As the goalie hung his head, the rest of the team also seemed affected. They started to panic. They got overwhelmed. A little unsure of themselves? This wasn’t what they were used to.

As a parent sitting on the sidelines, I could see what the coach was doing. He was trying to even the odds, create a bit of a competitive game, and give our boys a boost in their performance. The team is young, however, the lesson still every bit as valuable. The boys weren’t pulling it together and putting points on the board. As we watched, the opposing team took at least a three point lead by the half. Our boys were not scoring.

At halftime the coach had a talk with the boys. I didn’t hear what was said. I can only assume there was talk of what the boys were focusing on, their ability, or the score. Their skill and confidence was affected by exterior things. They needed to dig deep, but that just wansn’t happening. The coach put five players back on the field for the second half. The score began to even out, then it completely changed. The players had scored a total of three goals in the first half, and nine in the second. They won the game, again.

I think this game had a few very important life lessons, that we can translate into business. The lesson for us each to consier is that we all have the skills, abilities, and confidence to do what we do when times are good. What happens when the game changes? When something unexpected comes up? Is it that we lose our skills and ability? I don’t think so. I think it comes down to our focus, what we let in, and what we can tune out. Where are you today? What is different than one year ago? When the score seems to be mounting in the opponents favor do you watch the scoreboard, or do you laser focus to make sure you get it done? Is it easier to score when you are down and out and your only option is success? What happens when the other team has more players on the field, or more business is coming their way? Do they get complacent? Lazy? Forgetting about what is important, and how to play the game?

My son is eleven, and has plenty of time to learn some life lessons. I applaud the coach for working with this, and for his comments after the game in trying to get the boys to understand they let their minds get in the way. I think I took more away from that game than the boys did.

When it comes down to confidence how do you pull from within when it matters the most?

Do you have a dream worth fighting for? Is it so good that it keeps you up at night wishing you could do something else before bed? Having a dream helps us feel alive; it gives us a reason to get up and go after it every day. It has often been said that the wealthiest place in the world is in the grave yard because of all the dreams that died with the people put to rest there. I believe that to be true. Most people just push that dream that is boiling up inside them and just shove it back down and try to forget it. Don’t let that happen to you. Don’t ever quit! Don’t let someone steal your dream.
Chase down that dream and make it come true!! I believe in you!!!

Okay, the question was meant to get you thinking. I don’t know that there is one right media type, I think there are many that can be used together.

Let’s cover the basic types of media, there are many categories and sub categories, but here are a few:

Print media includes any message that is printed on paper, brochures, mail, posters, and outdoor billboards. Print advertising is typically more permanent than other methods. People also spend more time with print advertising than other media. Magazines can target audiences depending on the readership. They also often lay on a coffee table for months and will be picked up often. Magazines are also expensive to reach per reader. They also only come out monthly, or sometimes weekly, so reaching a large audience frequently isn’t possible. Newspapers reach people more often, ads appear quickly, and reach a large rang e of people. They are not good for in depth messages, and are often cluttered.

Television media reaches a mass audience, and a combination of sight, sound and motion. Products can be demonstrated, and 99.5 percent of all homes have television sets, with 95% of the population of the United States watch television every day.

Radio advertising has a large reach and frequency to selective audiences. The price is efficient, and it is a creative medium. The drawbacks are that it is audio only and commercials are often half heard.

Digital interactive media includes the internet, and it is the fastest growing media in history. It has a broad reach, is highly customizable, interactive, supports many different delivery methods.

Which method of media do you prefer for your current advertising and marketing needs? Do you use just one? How have you planned your media mix to support your message, and your brand? Which is most effective to convey the brand of YOU?

I have a little Robot
That goes around with me:
I tell him what I’m thinking,
I tell him what I see.
I tell my little Robot
All my hopes and fears;
He listens and remembers
All my joys and tears.
At first my little Robot
Followed my command;
But after years of training
He’s gotten out of hand.
He doesn’t care what’s right or wrong
Or what is false or true;
No matter what I try —now;
He tells me what to do!

This is a poem that comes from the book “Seeds of Greatness” by Denis Waitley

Does your little robot control every move you make?
Who really is in control of your life? You?

We will be covering personal branding in depth in Organic Marketing ™ on Wednesday, and will be helping you create your own personal brand. I came across this online, and thought it was worth sharing. Let’s explore the question, what is brand identity really about?
Is it about the image that you think you are creating?
Is it about the look and feel of your product?
Where does the experience weigh in?
Is it about what you think, or what they think?
Who are they?
What feeling does your brand create?
What is your energy signature!?

Brands are created by individuals. For that, there is no subsitutue.

Social media helps us create the brand of us.

Where are you in creating your brand identity?

More on focusing in on our “PERSONAL BRAND IDENTITY” later. Stay tuned!

I often wonder how I got here? How could I have known what I’d be when I grew up? My life is a set of experiences so totally different than everyone else and yet it is remarkably similar to everyone. Just because the sequence is different, most of the stories are like everyones. Sure, the details are different but the overall set of skills learned are much the same as everyone. When I look at my individual uniquenesses(kind of a made up word), I see that piece of me that is market worthy! My person, in general, is similar but I’ve got a few things that really make me “ME”! It’s those parts of each of us that we should lead with and sell to the world. Stand out in a crowd and be proud of your quirks. They are the things that make us memorable. Don’t you remember the people that stand out above the crowd? I know that I’ve been influenced more by those types of people way more than the normal, boring people.
Let that light shine forth! Be unique and proud! The world may snicker at first but you’ll get the last laugh. If you can’t laugh at yourself, you are taking life way to seriously and need to hang out at the Insights Group more!!

I have some questions for you. Who knows you exist? Does your business stand out enough from the cloud of businesses that operate in your community? What makes you unique? Have you intentionally set yourself apart?
These are all questions that we should ask ourselves on a regular basis. With the world changing at such a fast pace, we need to stay proactive and monitor our unique qualities as often as possible to ensure that the world can find us. As the way that business gets done changes, we must also change with it. We must stay aggressive in our approach and not expect it to just come to us. Did you know that we get hit with 3000 advertising messages per day! It’s no wonder that we feel so overwelmed all the time. Knowing this however, makes it all the more important to stay on top of the latest trends to enable our businesses to be recognized.
Now is the time! You are the person! This is the place!! So make it happen!! Make it the best week ever!!