As consumers, we are bombarded with advertisements on a daily basis. Ads come at us from all directions – when we’re sitting in our cars on the highway, when we grab a newspaper or magazine with our daily coffee, when we log on to the Internet…the list goes on. The average consumer is unaffected by most of the ads, rendering them ineffective.
When the Internet started displaying ads based on the user’s search history, the number of insignificant ads declined. And now marketers are turning to a new kind of advertising strategy to cut out more pointless ads from our lives – facial recognition.
Digital advertising displays can now identify the age, gender and race of an individual and will only show ads that would be relevant to them. For example, the Venetian resort and casino in Las Vegas uses facial recognition to provide suggestions for restaurants, night clubs and other entertainment to passersby.
How it works: Essentially, when you stand in front of a display, the camera analyzes your facial features to determine your approximate age. Using that information, the system will only display ads that are marketed towards that demographic. For example, if the system decides the person in front of the display is a woman in her mid-20s, it will show her advertisements for shoes, handbags, cosmetics, and so on.
Companies like Adidas and Kraft Foods Inc. are looking to implement this technology to their marketing efforts. The belief is that consumers will be more likely to buy something if they are offered the right products quickly.
While the thought of getting rid of trivial ads sound great, is it worth giving up your privacy?
Some people fear that the use of this technology will be an invasion of privacy. Proponents of facial recognition think it’s another way for companies to gather information without the public’s knowledge and permission.
In a similar fashion, when Facebook Inc. unveiled their photo tagging system using facial recognition, users were in uproar at the lack of privacy.
Is the risk of losing some privacy worth evading the ads that have nothing to with us? What costs are you willing to pay to avoid being exposed to a plethora of advertisements?
For more information about facial recognition technology and how it works, click here.
The Greater Miami Attorney at Law Magazine recently shed light on marketing techniques used by top rainmakers. The article explains that effective marketing requires time, money and advanced planning. In the article, Stephen Fairley, CEO of The Rainmaker Institute, suggests 4 strategies that have proven to been extremely successful and may even double the firm’s revenues.
Strategy 1: Build Relationships with Strategic Referral Partners (SRPs)
SRPs are people who already have relationships with people you want as potential clients. For example if you practice business law, possible referral partners would be accountants, local bankers, financial planners, insurance agencies, etc. You should first identify several professions or industries that already have trusted relationships with your target market. Then build or buy a database of potential referral sources. Always focus on refining your unique competitive advantage, what makes you stand out? Next, create a form letter that includes who you work with, how you’re different and a personal invitation to set up a meeting to determine if you can work together. It’s suggested to send at least 10 to 20 letters per week. Be sure to follow up and have questions prepared to let them know you are interested in building a mutually beneficial referral relationship.
Strategy 2: Build a Powerful Online Presence
Having a great website is crucial to your law practice. Many potential clients will research you before hiring you. To make sure your website stands out from other law firms, hire a professional to help you.
A recent article in the Greater Miami Attorney at Law Magazine shares ways on how to get potential clients to find you on the Internet. A senior writer from FindLaw, a website that provides free legal information, shares ways on how to get potential clients to find you on the Internet and have them contact you. It is very important for these potential clients to feel a connection and at ease when looking at your web page.
When advertising on the Internet it is very important to know the audience you are trying to reach. It is very common that you would want to write a website as you would for a judge or another lawyer, but most of the time that is not who you are trying to reach out to. The people most likely looking at your page, and to hire you, would be the people who were just injured in a car accident, arrested for a DUI, or harmed by a doctor’s mistake. You have to consider the questions the readers are looking to be answered and if your website provides that type of information, or at least enough to make them contact you.
It is also important to use plain language when creating your website. Potential clients want to be able to understand what they are reading, not confused by legal jargon. By using plain language that is easy to digest by potential clients, it gives them confidence in your abilities to help them with their problem. Another benefit to using plain language is that when potential clients are searching for a lawyer that is what they plug into search engines. A search engine marketing consultant is invaluable in researching the words most used in your practice area and in your geographic area.
When creating the layout to your website, make sure the information is divided into easy-to-find segments. You know from your own experience that when information is not readily available and easy to find, you hit the back button and move on to the next site. Use headers, subheads, bullets, and bold type that will assure potential clients that you have what they are looking for.
In the wake of the Weiner scandal, Spirit Airlines has proved that capitalizing on hot topics in popular culture can be an effective marketing strategy. As explained in a recent Miami Heraldarticle, the Miramar-based company is now roasting up “The Weiner Sale”—a 9 dollar fare with round trip purchase. Though Spirit never mentions the congressman specifically, the jabs do anything but shy away from Anthony Weiner. The airline touts that its Weiner deal is “too hard to resist” and that patrons should “hurry to book now, before this sale gets hacked!”
While Congressman Weiner faces public humiliation, Spirit might just make bank off its “shock marketing” strategy. Current pop culture crazes like Weiner’s lewd photo or Rebecca Black’s hit single “Friday” can serve as potential marketing platforms, outlines for jingles, puns, wordplay and instant consumer recognition.
Spirit’s charade has garnered the airline national attention, with spreads in The New York Daily News, The Wall Street Journal and a segment on MSNBC. As Arun Sarma, marketing professor at University of Miami explains, “They’re quick decision-makers in the sense of, ‘Why not take advantage of this?’” Why not, indeed.
You don’t have to be as big as Spirit Airlines to take advantage of a public relations opportunity like this. If you see a chance where you can tie into a hot news story that could make sense with your campaign or your product, as Sarma says, why not? The publicity you could generate via email and word of mouth could bring you just as much buzz as Weiner himself!
There are over 126 million blogs on the internet according to a Miami Herald article. So the question is how do you make your business blog stand out? Tasha Cunningham, web entrepreneur and PR expert, suggests the following tips to help boost your ranking in the search engines.
Tip #1: “Be Free” – Creating free blogs through Wordpress or Blogger will increase your chances of ranking higher in search engines.
Tip #2: “Good words are key,” – Instead of using your companies name all over the blog, pick a keyword related to your business and center your blog around that word.
Tip #3: “Think like an editor,” – After you have found your key word, do not over use it. It is recommended to use it in every other post.
Tip #4: “Inform,” – Make sure that when you post you are informing your readers about your business, not just using the blog to post advertisements.
Tip #5: “Educate,”- In your blog posts, teach your readers something they didn’t already know. You can also post instructional videos.
Tip #6: “Persuade,” – In each post, end with something that persuades the reader to try something or view something else. For example add a link at the bottom of the post relating to what you just wrote about.
Tip #7: “Compliment your competitors,” – It is recommended to comment on the blogs of your competitors. Do things like talk about how well an article was written and then post a link to an article you wrote on the same topic.
Look what Myriam Cohen is doing now! Trained as a techy and later on becoming a serial entrepreneur, she founded CrazyGoodDeal.com, a consumer-driven website dedicated to providing its members with great deals on products and services most of us use all of the time including, restaurants, beauty services and procedures, food, cooking classes, massages and much much more. To join and receive crazygooddeal.com daily deals, just visit the website and enter your email address and zip code.
That’s all it takes.
Best of luck to our good friend and serial client of Boardroom Communications to her success with this great venture.
We are all aware of the power and popularity of YouTube, which is now the Internet’s second most popular search engine behind Google.
With its 18 million daily US visitors, it is fast becoming a great outlet for Florida advertisers, hobbyists, social media users and PR pros. Some use it for simple how-to videos while others promote viral campaigns to attract, educate, entertain and hopefully make some new relationships.
The following Fast Company article provides us with the back story on how former Google executive and current YouTube chief executive Salar Kamangar helped mold the concept and the company into an important part of Google’s current and future growth plans.
In the January 4, 2011 issue of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, an article titled, “Cruise Line Ads Are Everywhere” clues readers in on the fact that while product placement has long been a staple of television and movies, cruise line public relations and marketing has taken off in creative, unexpected ways. During the recent New Years’ Eve celebration in Times’ Square, Carnival Cruise Lines sponsored the festivities in a very visible way, including the one ton of confetti that was dropped on the crowd. The CEO of Norwegian Cruise Lines was recently featured on the ABC television program, “Undercover Boss” and Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas will be featured on in the upcoming Adam Sandler film, “Jack and Jill”.
One reason behind this use of non-traditional cruise marketing might be that audiences are becoming more sophisticated. With the advent of internet television, DVRs and other devices, audiences can view TV while bypassing traditional ads. Additionally, many people eschew travel magazines and travel agents for travel blogs and sites like Expedia and Travelocity that allow users to seek out their own vacation experience. Yet another reason might be that the cruise line’s target demographic, first-time cruisers, are younger and respond better to “guerilla” marketing tactics like social media and appearances on Reality TV programs and at large-scale events. In any case, it is clear that marketing for cruise lines can sneak up on consumers in the least likely places.
South Florida Public Relations & Marketing Firm Campaign Reaches Area’s Jewish Donors
Always known for effective public relations and marketing, Boardroom Communications this month won a coveted Addy Award for a television commercial it created for the Jewish Federation of Broward County.
The Silver Addy, from the Advertising Federation of Greater Fort Lauderdale, was for Boardroom’s “Lend a Helping Hand” campaign. The TV spot depicts how the Jewish Federation helps and supports more than 30 Jewish agencies throughout Broward County. It then invites those who need help to call, as well as those who can help to give.
Dozens of faces of those in need were melded into a “mosaic” forming hands that ultimately transform to create a “Chai” – the Hebrew symbol for “Life.” (more…)
‘Ex-NFL Coach to Help Position $150M Male-Enhancement Brand as Mass-Market Product’
The above headline appeared in a recent article in Advertising Age, trumpeting football great Jimmy Johnson as the new pitchman for ExtenZe, a male enhancement supplement whose infomercials have been blanketing cable and satellite television for years.
Johnson is among the most famous football figures of the past 30 years. He was the first football head coach to win both a college championship (University of Miami in 1987) and a Super Bowl (Dallas Cowboys in 1992 and 1993). More recently, he has been a TV studio analyst for Fox Sports, appearing in its pre-game show on Sundays.
In his newest job with ExtenZe, Johnson told Ad Age’s Jack Neff,” “Most men want to perform the best they can in just about everything,”
In the TV ad, Johnson says, “Isn’t that why we buy the biggest and best of everything?” He signs off with the tagline: “Go long with ExtenZe. I do.”
The question is, why would a successful sports celeb like Jimmy Johnson choose a supplement that gives men hope of becoming better lovers/performers? When I saw the TV ad for the first time this morning, I was more than surprised to see Johnson pitching for the product.
Tiger Woods took few risks when choosing which companies to associate with his reputation as a winner. This appears to be the opposite scenario for Johnson, in terms of the potential hit to his image and legal risks of pitching a product that the FDA has not evaluated for the claims made in ads.
Some might say Johnson isn’t much different from professional athletes who do ads for beers or pain remedies. As a public relations and reputation management consultant, I beg to differ. It must have been the money.
As consumers, we are bombarded with advertisements on a daily basis. Ads come at us from all directions – when we’re sitting in our cars on the highway, when we grab a newspaper or magazine with our daily coffee, when we log on to the Internet…the list goes on. The average consumer is unaffected by most of the ads, rendering them ineffective.
