Why is it that new business owners will spend thousands of dollars on inventory, buildings and equipment only to neglect advertising and marketing? 

A couple of years ago I attended a Chamber of Commerce networking event. It was held at a new, upscale furniture store and the husband and wife owners were our hosts. As I roamed about the store, drinking wine and greeting other Chamber members, I met the husband’s mother-in-law. She confided in me that her son-in-law had invested everything in the store and that she prayed it would be a success.

When I met the store owners and questioned the husband about advertising, I learned that he had assigned all advertising and marketing to the Store Manager. As I ate my way across the room, sampling strawberries from the chocolate fountain, and cheeses and veggies from the buffet, I finally found the Store Manager. He quickly let me know that he had their advertising under control and he happily showed me the Grand Opening ad that he had just ran in the local paper that day. The ad was one-half page of white space with a very small store logo in the center. Under the logo, in very small type it said “Grand Opening”. I can’t remember for sure if the address was even listed.

I was horrified when I saw this “Institutional Ad”. An Institutional Ad is fine for well-known companies trying to increase brand awareness – not for stores like this one without name recognition. As a matter of fact, many large, well-known companies don’t have the budget to run an ad that’s not driving home some critical selling feature or encouraging the consumer to act.

It was no surprise to me when this store closed in less than two years. Why would someone invest everything and then turn something as important as their advertising over to an unqualified employee? With the relatively recent invention of the computer, anyone who can learn the software programs can produce advertising and they do! But not the kind that inspires and motivates the public to take action – that takes an experienced professional.

Everyone knows the importance of red to Coca-cola, brown to UPS and pink to Mary Kay, but color is important for more than logos – color is an emotional tool that effects us both mentally and physically.  Red can actually make the heart beat faster, raise the blood pressure and stimulate the pituitary gland. A recent study proves what advertising experts have known for years about red –  that it makes men feel more amorous toward women and willing to spend more money on us.

Some companies give little thought to color selection. Some select colors for their advertising based on the CEO’s personal preferences or let printing costs drive their selection. In the example shown here they probably saved money by using the company’s two logo colors and black. Unfortunately the logo colors are green and blue which create very disturbing skin tones. When you read the text you’ll discover that the photos represent patients that have used the company’s line of skin cleansers and moisturizers. Hmm. Wouldn’t you prefer to see healthy, glowing skin?

Never use green, blue or red for skin tones unless using them for their psychological impact. Use green skin tones for illness, blue for death and red for embarrassment or pain. With studies showing that nearly 80% of consumer purchasing decisions being based on color and packaging alone, shouldn’t we give color selection the respect it deserves?

TIP: Expect brilliant, sunny-yellow Mimosa to be popping up. The Pantone Color Institute has forecast it as the 2009 color of the year!

I can’t believe its been 30 years since I graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and boy how things have changed! It has been a wild ride through cyberspace for those of us in the graphic design industry. One thing that hasn’t changed is that advertising is a powerful, mind-altering force that we all experience daily whether we realize it or not.

It’s advertising that convinces some men to pay two months salary for a diamond engagement ring. An advertising campaign that started in 1938 changed the way Americans looked at diamond engagement rings forever. De Beers, a diamond cartel, hired a New York advertising agency to persuade Americans to buy more expensive diamonds. They created a campaign that targeted young men and planted the idea that diamonds were a gift of love: the larger and finer the diamond, the greater the expression of love.

It’s advertising that gave us Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Did you know that Rudolph was created by Chicago’s Montgomery Ward Department Store as a promotional gimmick? Every year around the holidays Montgomery Ward used to give away coloring books. In 1939, they decided it would be cheaper to produce them in-house. One of their advertising copywriters was told to write a story for young readers, and he created our beloved Rudolph.

It may have been subliminal advertising that caused Democrat Al Gore  to lose the 2000 presidential election. The Republicans ran a TV ad in which the word “RATS” flashed briefly on the screen as Gore’s prescription drug plan was criticized. We will never know exactly what effect this may have had on the election but it caused quite an uproar which resulted in the ad being pulled.

Advertising is one of the most persuasive tools a company has. Never underestimate it’s mind-altering power.