Snacks Gone Bad

I am ashamed of the American People and the Frito Lay Company. We should all be ashamed.

Due to customer complaints, Frito Lay has opted to stop putting their line of Sun Chips in biodegradable bags because people complained about the bags being too noisy. Instead, Sun Chips have gone back to a quieter, plastic bag. A plastic bag that is not biodegradable and is not better for our planet.

Usually I advocate company response to consumer complaints. Usually it means companies are trying to improve their businesses. Usually the complaints are valid thoughts for an improved life and company.

In this case the complaints are nothing more than the noise...

For an amazing article on the Frito Lay Chip Bag Scandal click here.

What Are You Leaving Behind?

Today is officially the last day that Kodachrome will be processed. The chemicals are gone, the processing machine will be sold for scrap and the official end of a photographic era will be mourned by thousands.

The last Kodachrome photo lab is located in a tiny town in Kansas. This little lab never thought it would be the last of an era, but it has become just that. This story of the last of something, the end of an era reminds me of the thousands of businesses who shut their doors every day. Most of these businesses shut their doors without notice or any sort of fanfare. These businesses won't have happy endings. The only thing that will be left for them will be an empty store front and the paperwork they collected from the office.

The only thing the public will see are the blank spaces and forgotten advertisements. That's right... long after your business closes, your adoring public will still remember what used to be there. They'll see the ads printed on boxes, in magazines, newspapers and aired on television; they'll see the name, the logo, the slogan of your forgotten business. Some may even wonder what happened to your business, whether it is still around. Or will they?

It all depends on what kind of legacy you leave behind. If you decide to neglect your advertising for another year, you may end up on the shelves of those long forgotten. Do something great though, advertise your business and you may find that you have loyal customers who will mourn your passing. And even though everything must come to an end someday, you can still look back on those ads, at that time, and realize you did everything you could to make your business successful.

You didn't stand on the sidelines and hope people noticed you - you got out there, played the game and made sure people remembered you. Or better yet... maybe you're still playing.

Be Epic!

As we reviewed AdFreak's "25 Most Epic Ads That Aren't '1984'" we began to think about the time of the year and what Xente's resolutions should be for the New Year. Of course, waiting until a new year to make a resolution or to set a goal is just ridiculous, so feel free to set your goals any day, at any time.

Given the proximity of a New Year, however, Xente's goal for 2011 and forever is to just be epic. At Xente, we desire to ensure service so amazing that it can only be described as epic. Further, we want our clients to set those same goals!

So the question we have for all of you is simple - what are you doing or planning that will be truly epic? We want to know all about it and about your successes!

A Preemptive Strike!

Amazon has officially patented a new gift exchange system for their website. Instead of wasting the money to ship a present, that the intended recipient may not want, the recipient can instead convert the present to an Amazon credit. Recipients can also opt to only receive a certain amount of one "thing." For instance, if you put three necklaces on your wish list, but you only really want one, you can specify to have only one shipped and the others converted to gift certificates.

Amazon Patents Gift Exchange System


I'm not sure if this is genius or if this is the start of many, many family arguments. 

The Trap!

I got a call from one of my restaurant friends telling me about a great thing he found for advertising his business at no cost- www.restaurant.com.  Restaurant.com would list his site for free on their server and sell discounted gift certificates to his customers, with the website getting the money from the sale of the gift certificate.  The only decision my friend would have to make is whether he wanted to offer $20 gift certificates for $10, $50 gift certificates for $25 or $35 gift certificates for $25.  

This sounds like a great idea, right?  They will advertise your business for free and you can track the success rate by the new customers coming in who use the gift certificates.

You know the saying “nothing is FREE”?  Let’s take a minute to examine some of the problems with restaurant.com.

1.     Many restaurants run a food cost of over 33%, meaning if a customer orders $30 in food, it costs the restaurant $10 just to buy the food they are making.  So when restaurants put a $25 gift certificate with a minimum purchase of $35 on restaurants.com, the restaurant actually spends more money on food then they will see in the cash register.

2.     The discounted gift certificates are available all the time and the website, restaurant.com offers further discounts on the gift certificates to sell more of them.  By being on the site you are allowing your customers to get a $20 gift certificate to your restaurant for as little as $.40, yes that’s right forty cents when they run the 90% off sales.  Why would your customers ever want to pay full price for your services?

3.     When you join restaurant.com you must agree to a one-year commitment with them.  So for one year you cannot stop doing this promotion even if you fear it is not benefiting your business. 

4.     How do you plan to attract customers that are going to pay full price for your goods after the recession when they know your business as a discount place to dine? 

For some businesses discounts are great - pizza, yeah saw a Papa Johns ad this afternoon in the mail. Fast food- yeah my aunt handed me a stack of McDonalds coupons last week.  Coupons and discounts work for these restaurants

High-end restaurants that cater to special occasion celebrations with quality food should resist the urge to discount. 

Are the people who want to only spend $10 on your $30 rack of lamb the people you want in your restaurant?  If so by all means plan to put your restaurant on the list for discount advertising. If not? Research, Plan, Promote, and Buy a little advertising to HELP YOU SUCCEED. Trust me, it’ll cost you far less to do some real advertising than it will to sacrifice your image on restaurant.com. 

For more information on Coupons, Discounts and Promotions - how they affect your business - please plan to attend the Lunch n' Learn session in Gettysburg on January 6th. Please RSVP here:  http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1070141823/efblike

Celebrating the Old, Looking for the New

Every three years, in a small town, in Pennsylvania, they hold a celebration designed to attract families to the town. Old Home Week started in 1902 and was initially only for the men to get together and see each other. Three years later it was a week for the men AND their families.
A smart move in my opinion.

Now, over a hundred years later, Old Home Week is celebrating it's 37th reunion and it just keeps getting bigger. Thousands of people descend on the town to celebrate being together. The week long celebration includes a parade, fireworks and dozens of displays and events. This is a long-standing tradition - people are already planning for the next Old Home Week.

When you start your first business or you just start your career, think about the traditions. It's the traditions that make companies entertaining and keep employees together. Just remember that every once in a while the traditions might need a little updating. I imagine Old Home Week wouldn't have the same celebrity if it was still Old Boys Week.

Traditions that alienate or mock people aren't the kind of traditions you want to keep and sometimes it's alright to start a new tradition.

So celebrate the old and keep looking for the new this week.

What's That Code Again?

If you know what this is, than go ahead, tell me what it is and where it leads before reading another sentence. I'll be impressed - maybe there will even be a prize.  For the rest of you, don't worry. You haven't failed yet, but if you own a small business than you need to know now what this little box does.

This is a QR Code and if you have a smart phone you can go to your application downloading menu and search for QR Reader. After you download the app, take a picture and let the QR Reader decode the box for you. This box pictured above takes you here.

What this means for you and your business? Well, right now the technology is still new, however, it means that every product you have can tell a story, without telling it on a piece of paper with limited space. It means that people can know all about your business, your story, your product, your trip, your life with a bar code style decoder. Imagine the possibilities. You can show how your products are earth-friendly, how they travel, who built them, who designed them and you can inspire your customers to keep coming back.  Imagine having a strong core of loyal customers who love your product THAT much.

Apple imagined it. So can you.

The Truth About Legacies

The truth is that legacies just aren't the same anymore. You spend your entire life building a company only to find that your children have no desire to take over that company, or worse, your company is sold and broken apart, piece by piece.  Loyalty is increasingly difficult to come by in the world of business. Today, business owners need to stop and think about what kind of legacy they really want to leave - a world of Enron style legacies or a world of legacies that do some good while they're here.

Selling Dreams - The Airstream Way

In the 1950's to the 1970's the Airstream camper was developed and advertised in "exotic" locations as a way to sell the idea of a dream. Travel with Airstream and see the world.



Of course ads in the 1970's were a little different than ads today. You see a lot more text and of course you had to write to Airstream to have your color catalog mailed. Despite the time differences, these trailers remain part of the traveler's mystic - an object of desire. These trailers still represent the idea of freedom, of travel to places you've never seen. Airstream even included the idea of traveling with their trailers overseas - "Here in America or overseas... Airstream is the only way to go!"

This is a great example of an ad campaign that had legs - a great concept that branded an amazing product and carried through the ages. This shows that a concept, done well can indeed sell for years, or even decades.

You can see the other vintage ads here.  And you can see the latest Airstreams here. 

Airstream Living
Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht
Airstream Trailer 1/18

Saying Goodbye to an Era

This is old news now, but it deserves a mention. One of the founders of Crispin, Porter and Bogusky will be leaving the industry. Alex Bogusky, Head of Creative, has opted to resign his position in order to pursue writing, green projects and sustainability projects.

Under Bogusky, CP&B, has become one of the most talked about ad shops in the industry. They've brought you "The King" and "Subservient Chicken" for Burger King ads. They brought you the creativity of Mini Cooper ads.

But when the time comes and it will for everyone, you take a step back and sometimes take a step away, permanently. Bogusky started an era in advertising, as part of his agency, but it's good to know his genius will still be seen in his books.

You can read more about his career here.

The 9-Inch 'Diet': Exposing the Big Conspiracy in AmericaHoopla, A Book About Crispin Porter and Bogusky

Everyone Screams for Ice Cream!!

It's hard to believe that something as simple as ice cream can have such a loyal following, but two men who built a simple company in Vermont, had that dream. Ben and Jerry's ice cream is anything but ordinary, with flavors like Chunky Monkey and Half-Baked. Their company took something rather ordinary and made it extraordinary and fun.
And they're still doing it with a new iPhone app that includes Moo Vision. Moo Vision is a seriously silly feature on a practical application that allows you to see a 3D image when you point the phone's camera at certain Ben and Jerry's lids. The application also points you to Ben and Jerry's locations, tells you about the latest flavors and events.
Ben and Jerry have built an amazing business that holds true to it's values while still being popular and entertaining. They didn't forget who they were when they designed their app.

Ben & Jerry's Double Dip: How to Run a Values Led Business and Make Money TooBen & Jerry's: The Inside Scoop: How Two Real Guys Built a Business with a Social Conscience and a Sense of Humor

Predicting The Future

I can predict the future! At least I can when the crystal ball is working and the answer is already pretty predictable. For this exercise I'd suggest letting go of that pesky little fear that you'll be wrong and just use a little common sense, with some guesstimation.

Today, you're going to take a look at your business and you're going to attempt to predict the future. Following a combination of tried and true recipes from, "Baked In" by Alex Bogusky and John Winsor you're going to write down what makes your business so successful - what are the cultural trends that make your product or service work so well. And now you're going to write down where your product should be in ten years and what your product needs to do, how it should adapt and how it needs to change in order to continue to be successful.

Need some examples? Good! There is a perfect example gaining popularity today - Silly Bandz.

Silly Bandz are reminiscent of Slap Bracelets - the popular accessory in the 90's. But they also bear resemblance of any fad item you've seen throughout the decades - Beanie Babies, Pogs, one-hit wonders. This decade is different, however, with the opportunities the Internet can now offer.

According to an article about Silly Bandz in the Wall Street Journal the owner of the Silly Bandz company, Robert Croak, is following the "Baked In" recipe. Even though Silly Bandz are currently at the height of their product life-cycle, Robert is already trying to find ways to expand his business. He is looking ahead and trying to predict the future of his product. He's even looking at the hard facts - his product is a fad - and he is already taking steps to expand into other products so he can stay successful.

I know it's difficult, but take a few minutes today and examine your product or service. Where will these be in ten years? What changes will need to be made? What is a fad and what is going to stand the test of time?

Predict the future.

Baked In: Creating Products and Businesses That Market Themselves

Pleasing Everyone

I've recently become a big fan of Seth Godin and in one of his recent blogs he asks a series of questions, including: "Who are you trying to please?"

In your business, who are you trying to please? Are you trying to please your customers? Are you trying to please the businesses you work with? Are you trying to please the printer and the builder and the designer? Are you trying to please everyone, or do you just not care at all?

You can't please everyone, all the time. And yet, that doesn't mean you shouldn't care about anyone either. I think, in this case, I'd recommend a little philosophic reading about Aristotle's Golden Mean.

This is the philosophy of moderation, of finding your middle ground. Sometimes extreme will push the boundaries and make you an instant success. And sometimes being extreme will bury you in the dirt. Sometimes being in the middle is what you want.

Tracking Your World

For those of you who are seriously concerned about categorizing humans via barcodes, you may not want to read this post.

For the rest of you, I'd suggest checking out this nifty new app.

Stickybits is an application available to those who own the iPhone or the Android. You can scan a barcode and upload various media, including resumes, recipes, video, pictures and random text, to the website under that bar code. While this new app isn't very popular yet, I see great things for it's future. The only drawback is that this app is only available for those two phones right now. Those of us stuck with other models of phones are out of luck until the app grows and new options are available.

If you have an iPhone or Android, check it out. Let me know how you like it.

Business Floors

My parents have a beautiful, cherry, hardwood floor in their house. In fact, when I was in high school I helped my Father put that floor in and while it was nice then, it is so much prettier now.

See, my Father had a plan in mind when he put that floor in. He chose the cherry wood carefully, knowing that as time passed and light hit the floor, it would start to change. Every inch of sunlight that crept through the blinds and spilled across the floor would change it from a light wood, with no real character, into something more. When you look at the floor today, there is little left of it's original color. Instead, what you see are variations in the wood from light to dark.

This change didn't happen overnight. And my Father always carefully watched over the transformation - no rugs or furniture were allowed on the floor, because the light wouldn't hit those spots. We always took our shoes off, so we wouldn't scratch the floor. If we ever spilled anything we always cleaned it up quickly.

Of course, even with being careful, things happened. There are dents and scratches from the grandchildren. You can tell where things were dropped and where things were moved.

The floor isn't perfect, but it has character - it tells a wonderful story.

Does your business do that? If you built your business, you've been there from the beginning. You had a plan for that business. So how has it turned out? Does your business have a beautiful character? Do all those dents and scratches tell your story? It's not too late.

It A Jungle Out There!

I'm always a big fan of creative ad campaigns done well. I'm also always a fan of announcing new products because that usually means larger ad budgets. Two weeks ago, while in Baltimore for an Orioles' game, a string of ladies were handing out a new scent from Degree. I accepted a handful of fragrances for further review and went on my way.

Last weekend I was in Baltimore again. There weren't any free samples this time, but Degree, whose new slogan is, "Dare to join forces with nature," had another promotion for their newest scent. The top of the bus station had been turned into a jungle. I wonder how many other cities enjoyed this mini-jungle of flowers in the middle of their cement jungles.




I haven't seen what else Degree has up their sleeves, but kudos to their media planners for some fun (albeit predictable) promotions.

We Are The Champions!

Or are we the sellouts?

This blog was going to be about Twitter's new advertising options. If you've paid attention - there has been a big uproar in the Twitterverse about the decision to allow ads to appear at the top of posts. Of course it had to happen, because Twitter is a business and businesses must make money to survive.
This blog was going to be about Twitter, but when I logged on to write, I decided to write about selling out instead. As an advertiser, I am not upset that there are multiple vehicles that I can use to reach consumers. I am concerned with ensuring that my messages are well-received. I am concerned with the idea of selling out.
Blogger has announced a new advertising method in addition to Google AdSense and Google AdSense for feeds. You can now connect directly to Amazon, recommend books or gadgets and get a commission when your readers then buy those books.

"Starting today, you can search the Amazon product catalog without leaving the Blogger interface and insert links to the products you find into your posts. Not only is the process of linking to products more efficient, but Amazon makes it easy for you to earn money whenever your readers actually buy the products you write about. " - Blogger Description

How tempting.

Now, as a book or gagdet reviewer you can start making money when someone buys that product. Kind of makes you want to give them more favorable review now, doesn't it?

Stealing Second

Last weekend we attended a game during the Orioles opening weekend. Despite the fact that the game was rather disappointing (they lost), the inundation of ads was fascinating. Everywhere I looked the walls, displays and field were cluttered with ads. I think we've all come to accept this as another element of attending a baseball game. After all, the stadiums also have to make money and judging by the low attendance they would need to raise those ticket prices again.

One ad stuck out for me though.

If a baseball stadium can use text messages as a form of helpful advertising, shouldn't your business be doing the same thing?
I already get text ads from Dominos Pizza, Old Navy and Sprinkles cupcakes. They're non-intrusive and most of them only show up about twice a month announcing the latest coupons and deals.
How can your business stay up-to-date with the latest trends and find opportunity with new phone technologies?

It's a Beautiful Day...

... to smash a computer. Most of us sit in front of a computer for several hours every day and every day we accomplish the majority of our work in relative ease. Somedays, however, the computer decides to take a different turn - websites won't display, you can't log in to your e-mail and the only thing you can do is sigh in frustration as every thing you do becomes a little more difficult.

As spring creeps in, remember to step away from your desk for a little bit when you have these frustrating days. Take ten minutes and walk outside to stay refreshed. And while you're out there, take a look around you. Maybe you'll be inspired by the billboard across the street or the passing bus or your neighboring business. Maybe you'll find a new way to market your business.

That's why every good media plan comes built in with a contingency fund - that's right, a well-written media plan even plans for the unknown. Because on those days when you want to smash your computer in frustration you might just walk away for a minute and find your next biggest thing.

It's a beautiful day, what are you going to do with it?

Fun Fun Fun... For Now.

I just saw this video and had to post it for review. It suggests that making something fun will change the behavior of people. I'd argue that this works for a limited time, but soon people will see the benefit in gaining those extra minutes rather than obeying a sign, because the lottery approach would only work for so long. Not enough people would win and pessimism (or rationality) would eventually kick in when the general public finally figured out their chances of winning were rather slim.

Insurance companies, like Allstate, have tried a version of this by rewarding people for safe driving records. Allstate has a good idea because it's based on individual behavior with individual rewards.

State lotteries that reward safe driving? I'm not seeing a future in this, however, I will applaud a good attempt and some creativity.

Waiting For an Experience?

We took a little field trip to Georgetown this past weekend and after trying cupcakes from such nationally famous places as Sprinkles and Cake Love, we opted to stand in line for some local cupcakes. When we arrived around 1 p.m. there was a line around the building. Four hours later when we decided to try the cupcakes the line was around the corner and working it's way down the street. Georgetown Cupcake seemed to have quite the reputation though - good reviews, a mayor from Foursquare and recommendations from friends.

So we waited.

For 45 minutes.

For a cupcake.

Actually by the time we were heckled multiple times by passing pedestrians and people in cars for standing in line, the excitement continued to build and we ended up with more than one cupcake each. We ended up with more than two cupcakes each. Okay, okay. We bought an entire dozen for two of us. *smile*


After waiting that long, we realized that the joy, the success of Georgetown Cupcakes was a combination of not only a quality cupcake, but an entire experience. We waited in line with other cupcake lovers. We peered in through the glass windows at the trays of cupcakes. We chatted with the door person who would only allow so many people in at a time. We shared jokes with the other people in line while watching traffic. And finally we picked out our cupcakes, placed the order and watched them fill in the pretty pink box and seal it with a flower sticker. Before we knew it, we had our box of cupcakes and we were ushered back onto the street again.

One thing we never did?

We never once complained about the line or got upset because someone was taking too long. We were curious and we were rewarded for the curiosity with some excellent cupcakes.

I know I'll never stand in line at a Sprinkles or a Cake Love again. But I will stand in line at a Georgetown Cupcake again. Why? Because it wasn't just about the cupcakes - it was about the experience.

Think about it. What kind of experience does your business offer?

Can You Count The Promotions?

You might think Lady Gaga is a little odd, but you can't deny her marketing savvy. Using her talent as a pop star, she inked several marketing contracts with various products. She is even the Creative Director for Polaroid. That's right, that defunct camera company that sells the instant film hired Lady Gaga as their Creative Director. That is probably a genius move on their part, even though I wouldn't recommend that move for most companies.

The best part? It turns out that Lady Gaga's video "Telephone" is just one big ad. Well, it's actually a chart-topping song, marketing ploy and amazing video production all rolled into nine and a half minutes.



Go ahead, count the product placements. I lost track, but I'm sure you can spot all of them. And the next time you look at the products on your shelves, stop and envision them in the hands of your local celebrity. Who knows? It might just work.

Coupons! Coupons?! Coupons?

Are you a "Coupons!, Coupons?! or Coupons?" kind of business?

The Coupons! business can't get enough. Every day they design new discounts and at night they dream of better deals. Their customers are bombarded with coupons - every time you turn around there is a new e-mail with the latest sales and your mailbox is stuffed with little pieces of paper promising to save you. The problem with this style of couponing? Well, if the customer really needs something they will never pay full price. In fact, the customer probably wouldn't pay full price, even if you stopped couponing because the damage done to the brand would be irreversible - no one would think you were worth full-price anymore. Take the craft store, Micheal's, for example - most savvy shoppers know that the 50% off coupon comes along almost every week in the newspaper. These people wouldn't dream of spending $29.95 on that paint set when they could wait for a few days and pay half as much. It doesn't do much for Micheal's brand name - they are just another discount craft store.

The Coupons? business can't even imagine giving a coupon. This business is too good to lower itself to give customers a good deal - ever. They have a brand that is outside the realm of couponing and you're probably going to pay more for their products too. MAC makeup is like this. They don't coupon or have sales or discounts. They just don't. Apple is another company that doesn't offer discounts and they don't have to - people are still buying. If you're this kind of company, though, consider how hard the down economy has been on people. If there was ever a time to discount, now might be that time.

Finally, the Coupons?! business tries to strike a nice balance between the two. Couponing all of the time de-values a company. Most businesses (Not All!) don't want people to view them as a discount shop. And some businesses just can't quite get by without giving a discount from time to time. Besides, sometimes it's nice to let customers get a good deal for your products or services. Most businesses would prefer to strike this balance - give a seasonal discount or an occasional coupon, but try to stay out of the trap of overdoing it.

Perfection

I found a recipe for the "perfect" biscuit the other day.

Imagine that.

Someone spent hours trying recipes and finding the perfect combination of ingredients to make the best biscuit.

What if every business decided to spend the time to perfect their products. Not just make an average product that would just get by, but to take the time and passion required to find the perfect combination to make the perfect product or service.

Perfection isn't easy, but if you're really passionate about your products than other people will catch on to that. Take Lush for instance. Lush is a company that makes soaps, lotions and other cosmetics. The idea behind Lush, though, is that they hand make every product. In fact, when you buy a bottle of shampoo or lotion you can look on the back to see a picture and name of the person who handmade your product. These products are also made with the most natural ingredients and they're wonderful. Now that's passion. That's perfection.

And before you assume Lush is just a small business - Lush is in 40 countries with over 100 stores in the U.S. alone.

All the while this already green conscious company is striving to improve their products and packaging. Passion and perfection doesn't always have to come in small packages.

Long-Term Behavioral Changes

"Will Traumatized Consumers Ever Recover?" asks a new report from Adweek that talks about recovery from the down economy and it's long-term effects on consumers.

Taking that a step further - Will businesses ever recover? Will there ever be the excessive spending accounts from the big car companies? Will there ever be the same budgets dedicated toward advertising? Consumers have short memories compared to the long memories and deep scars companies in the US carry from the depression. The question is, will these companies learn from their mistakes and do business more efficiently? Will they show their consumers that they are willing to take the steps necessary to find advertising that appeals to them in a creative manner.

The golden age of "Mad Men" style advertising is over. All hail the ushering in of a new era of conscience and sensibility.

Shattered Glass

I dropped a picture frame the other day and shattered the glass. I was lucky enough that the picture didn't suffer any damage and that my clumsiness wasn't going to cause me seven years of bad luck. As I was cleaning up the glass I realized this was a perfect example of the media picture we're faced with in business.

Every day I get another postcard, envelope or proposal for some kind of new medium. And I'm not the only one - if you own a business, every day you are confronted with a shattered fragment of what could be a part of your media plan. It is difficult to know how to put those fragments back together.

According to a Nielsen study about Digital Advertising, "The number of television stations received by the typical household has increased sixfold since 1985. Advertising itself became more varied, spreading from the airwaves and magazine pages to become a ubiquitous presence, adorning everything from bathroom stalls to race cars."

This means it is increasingly difficult to decide where you should place your advertising and it's not getting any easier. With the introduction of digital advertising, the opportunities keep growing. The world of media is growing so rapidly that no one can keep up and the bigger ad agencies are having a very hard time moving quickly enough to account for the latest changes.

Seth Godin's "Small Is The New Big," says it all. The smaller, boutique ad agencies are going to be the place to go in this changing ad world. You already buy specialty cupcakes, gourmet pizzas, expert dog training services. You can now add specialty ad strategy experts to that list and welcome in an era of niche services.

And yes, I do suggest you hire an expert for this one - it's going to be a long, bumpy ride.

You're Stuck In An Elevator...

...for 30 seconds with a Rabbi and your next potential client.

What do you do?

For starters, you ignore the Rabbi. He's muttering to someone on his cell phone anyway and you're pretty sure you can track him down, if it was necessary.

What's left? You're next potential customer - so you take a deep breath and...?

Now what?!

You have to ask?

I'm shocked that you don't know the answer to this one by now. It's called the 30 second elevator pitch because that's about the amount of time you have to really interest your next potential client. In those first 30 seconds you need to catch their attention and keep them interested in your product or service. Sometimes you only have 30 seconds to explain exactly what you do.

My 30 second spiel?

"Xente Media is a company that saves you money. We will research your customers and find out exactly what they like - from their favorite TV shows, magazines, Internet sites, how much they make, how many children they have, what kind of car they drive and more so we can use your budget to reach only those customers in your target market with efficient, well-placed advertising. Xente Media is not just an advertising agency, we're a company based on strategy and using your ad dollars wisely."

Could it use some work? Probably. Every elevator pitch takes some practice and some skill in saying exactly what you need to say to grab the attention of your customer.

I've found there are some great sites dedicated to helping you craft the perfect elevator pitch.

How To Craft a Killer Elevator Pitch

The Art of The Elevator Pitch

Microsoft Small Business - 5 Tips For Creating an Elevator Pitch

Rather than re-inventing the wheel today, let's just work on something tried and true. Let's hear your elevator pitch? What do you have to say in 30 seconds?

Hey, You! You Got Some Change?

Today's Theme Song - Smash Mouth, "All Star"


I have a Snapple lid on my desk that says, "When in doubt, change zip codes."

As advice goes, I wouldn't normally suggest taking it from a Snapple lid, however this particular lid offers an odd bit of wisdom.

Let's dissect this a little more.

"When in doubt..." - If you're having second thoughts, or you think something should change.

Let me tell three short stories here to illustrate the point...

Story 1: A man walks in a McDonald's and orders a burger and fries. He happily accepts the tray of food, complete with napkins, ketchup packets, drink and straw. He sits down, unwraps the sandwich, dumps out the fries and starts the brutal attack on the ketchup packet. Since he touched his greasy meal already, his fingers slide off the package again and again as he tries to tear a hole just to get a little bit of ketchup for his fries. He finally puts the package between his teeth and savagely rips at it. The ketchup packet explodes and he suddenly understand why they gave him so many napkins - he spends the rest of the day with a ketchup stain on his tie. He avoids his last meeting of the day because of the stain, ruins a major deal for the company, resulting in his ultimate demise with this company.

Story 2: Young Timmy forgot to get his 5th grade sweetie a Valentine's Day present until the last minute. So he begged and pleaded with his Mom to "PLEASE" take him to the local drugstore so he can see if there is anything left on the shelf. He gets there and in his frantic search finds only a few packages of pale, chalky hearts with old, outdated messages. He sighs and hands the packages to his Mom. The next day, Little Susie examines the odd messages printed on the hearts, tastes one, spits it out and spends the week with Bobby, who thought to bring her some chocolate.

Story 3: A TV station once decided to fill a void - A void it saw as black hole in the American heart that truly loved it's music. And with the announcement, "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll," the Music Television Station was born. Twenty years later, that little station lost it's way. No longer did Rock and Roll rule the screen. Instead it was filled with talk shows, reality TV, date shows and every once in a while a music video popped up. Teenagers, radicals and rebels checked their TV Guides and saw the logo which proudly announced itself as "Music Television," only to tune in to betrayal. For over ten years, people turned away from their televisions in hurt and confusion.



And now for the next line...

"...change zip codes." - It might be time to make a change - a small change or a big change, it. is. time!

And the ending to each story to illustrate...

Story 1: Heinz Ketchup announces that it will finally change it's Ketchup packets so they are easier to open. Better late than never? And they are so sorry for the ruined clothing over the years.

Story 2: Necco who makes the age old conversation hearts has decided to update their messages, flavors and colors. It might be too late for Timmy, but surely someone will benefit from this long awaited update.

Story 3: MTV finally changed their logo in the most subtle way possible. They simply removed the words, "Music Television," from the logo and left everything else. This attempt to note the difference in their format probably should have been more dramatic, but they did try.

The simple lesson here?

Make sure your business changes with the needs of your consumer, so you aren't left out. Keep up with your customers. Sometimes change is a good thing.

Pepsi Did WHAT?! - The Final Act

So we've briefly reviewed some of Pepsi's advertising mishaps over the past three decades (and we've never even ventured into the Britney Spears issues) and now we've come to Super Bowl XLIV and what could possibly be the Pepsi fiasco of 2010. After 23 years of advertising during the Super Bowl, Pepsi has decided not to participate this year.

Here's the catch.

Pepsi has decided, instead, to sink the $20 million they'd spend in advertising on social media instead.

Pepsi Refresh is a site where you can go and submit or vote for projects that impact your community and the world. From sending girl scout cookies to the troops to providing a health care clinic for the under-served of rural Tennessee Pepsi is asking everyone to vote for their favorite community effort. Don't see something you like? Submit a new idea.

Finally, Pepsi has broken out of the "celebrity" mold and decided to try something different. Bravo Pepsi!

As for whether or not this will work? I imagine three future scenarios in the Post-Super Bowl World where Pepsi has not advertised.

Scenario 1: 50 years into the future when all advertising is suggestive and integrated into shows and daily life you see a women walk into her apartment, open the fridge and crack open an ice, cold Pepsi. She then starts talking to her husband about how important it is to continue the fight against global warming.
You go to the ballpark to watch your favorite baseball game and the man behind the counter pours you a Pepsi. The same thing happens at ballparks across the U.S. because Pepsi is now part of the American Dream, not Coke.
Coke, a more bitter version of the sweeter, more considerate Pepsi, is seen only in the hands of a hero's bitter enemy.

Scenario 2: Pepsi Fail. 50 years from now the only people who remember Pepsi are the senior citizens. Like eight track tapes, records and VHS, teenagers roll their eyes at the story of more than one popular colas.

Scenario 3: Coke counters Pepsi's attack. The war wages on.

Pepsi Did WHAT?! - Part II

In part two of our review on the Pepsi/Coke war we're going to take a look at Pepsi fiasco #2. Madonna.

The material girl was another heavy-hitter in the line of famous Pepsi promoters. And yep, it was another failed Pepsi spot.

Madonna's commercial featured around her new song "Like a Prayer," was a sweet look into the past of a little girl drinking Pepsi and that little girl, all grown up, still drinking Pepsi. The commercial was an amazing feat for Pepsi's media planner - it aired in 40 different countries to an estimated 250 million people one night. It only aired once.

Madonna's Pepsi Commercial


Not bad, right? And trust me that commercial is hard to come by, because Pepsi wanted it buried. After the commercial aired, the next day Madonna aired her music video for "Like a Prayer." This video was a far cry from the sweet Pepsi commercial - Pepsi never watched the music video of Madonna with a black Jesus, burning cross and other controversial scenes.

Poor Pepsi. They paid $5 million for one commercial, which might not seem like a lot in 2009, but in 1989 it was, and it only aired once.

Pepsi Did WHAT?! -Part 1

We get it - Pepsi has declined to advertise in this year's Super Bowl. Breaking a 23 year tradition, Pepsi is taking a chance in it's battle with Coca-Cola for market share.

The big question - What kind of doom does this spell for the future of advertising?!

Well, before we answer that question, I think we need to do a brief analysis of Pepsi's past Super Bowl history. Maybe I should say fiascoes, because Pepsi seems to be doomed when it comes to advertising at the Super Bowl. Let's take a trip back in time.

It's 1984 and the war of the colas is in full scale battle mode. Pepsi brings up the big guns for it's Super Bowl surprise - Michael Jackson - The King of Pop.

Round 1. Pepsi.

In a much anticipated spot, Michael was supposed to sing and dance amidst a series of explosions.




You may want to rewind that, just in case you missed it.

Yep. That's right. Pepsi managed to catch The King of Pop's hair ON FIRE!! And try as you might to pass the blame, it lands squarely on Pepsi's doorstep.

And Pepsi Fail.

Oh, and I think this is what the commercial was supposed to look like.

Playing to Your Audience

All I can say is, "Congrats Walmart!"
And if you're not laughing after watching this, I have some serious doubts about your sense of humor! Walmart has finally found a commercial tame enough for their family and housewives while appealing to the darker humor of their younger audience.

Walmart, regarded as the biggest retailer on Earth, with an budget of over $800 million dollars, has plenty of loyal fans and plenty of haters. With such a big budget, it is impossible to have one target market. Instead Walmart has had to appeal to a larger audience in order to draw more people into their stores.

Walmart has tapped into one area that very few can truly hate - humor. This commercial made me laugh and for a few, short seconds I forgot about the evil side of Walmart. Humor is, after all, the ultimate distraction.

Stealing the Golden Goose

So your small business doesn't have the advertising funds of that giant across town. No worries! As a smaller business you have abilities that a giant doesn't. Just think Jack and the Beanstalk! You move left, you move right and before that giant can even think about reacting you're on your way down the beanstalk with that giant's golden goose.

Okay, so maybe you aren't Jack and maybe there isn't actually a beanstalk, but you can still run off with the giant competition's golden goose. You just have to be ahead of the curve and make smart decisions about how to reach your target market.

One of the best ways to stay ahead of the curve is to watch what's happening with mobile these days. Smartphones are becoming so popular that this is one trend you need to watch closely. And if you're a small business, this is a great opportunity for you.

"A number of new location-based services are beginning to provide attractive alternatives for such small-scale advertisers. Foursquare, for one, allows small business to target offers based on a user's actual proximity to their location. These offers can deliver heightened relevance by appealing to a player's status, nearby friends, or demonstrated preferences." - Five Mobile Trends for 2010

What does this mean for you? It means that if your customer is within a certain distance of your business, you can reach out to them in a timely, attention-grabbing, cost-effective manner! Now, isn't that so much better than trying to compete with a million dollar ad budget?

Take that golden goose! RUN!!

Something to Talk About

Google has decided to continue it's attempt at global domination by patenting new technology for selling ad space in 3D mapping technologies.

Now that's something to talk about. In a world of clutter, where every consumer has learned how to tune out even the most obnxious advertising, Google has found another new way to grab attention. Now when you search the map for that new restaurant across town you'll see active billboards displaying advertising for your convenience.

This does, of course, raise quite a few questions about how one would go about purchasing this ad space, how tracking would occur and how often you can change or update the billboard.

My theory? It's going to be a combination of alternating billboard (out-of-home) ad buying with banner ad tracking and some low pricing (at least until this becomes more popular).

Just imagine the future possibilities of this technology. Similar to Second Life, I predict 3D maps will soon give you the ability to view directions in a 3D environment. You'll know to turn left at the McDonald's because you've already seen yourself do that from your own, personal computer. You'll know the building you're searching for is gray and black because you've already been there in virtual reality.

If you're the last person on earth to view Google Earth, go check it out. We're getting there.

As for the media and advertising gurus? Be there, be on top of this technology and be ready to take advantage of the low, low initial price offerings. ;)