A/E/C Marketing Advice, Training, and Support Group | Help Everybody Everyday

I was sitting in a Detroit airport waiting for a plane to Atlanta. A well dressed gentleman sat next to me. I asked if he would watch my bag as I got a snack. He said, “sure.” So I went and got my snack and came back with a bottle of water for him.

We got to talking. He was an advertising exec who worked with McDonalds, Ford, and other large companies. So I asked him for advice on advertising tactics for the “not so large” corporation. Here’s what I learned.

Testing is Key

You have to test your ad before you run it. His advice was to come up with ten ads and ask a few clients which one would make them call. He said if you have a hard time getting clients to help you, offer them incentives like plane tickets.

An Ad That Works, Works Everywhere

He said once you get an ad that works, it will work in every market. This was interesting because I never thought about it. An ad that works in Philadelphia will work in Chicago or Boston, etc.

Run Regular, But Not Too Regular

He advised against running ads in publications that come out more than twice a month. He said shelf life is important. Run ads in magazines that end up in the bathroom or on the lunch table.

Color Always Beats Big

He said a color quarter page ad will always outperform a black and white half page ad. If you have to sacrifice size for color, do it.

All in all it was a very helpful conversation and I got way more than a bottle of water worth of advice. Just another benefit of helping everybody everyday.