Are we Facing the New Reality In Advertising?

I don't have to tell you that we are in rather disruptive time in the Advertising Industry.

As we witnessed a significant percentage one way print advertising migrate to a digital format, we hardly have time to catch our breath as we now face the growing mobile digital era. On top of it, our clients are changing the rules of engagement.

Traditional (One Way) Print and Broadcast Advertisers have been slowly moving towards an interactive relationship with customers through the Social Networks, websites and email. Every time I order something online, I'm asked to take a short survey that usually takes 20 minutes. If I don't participate, they have learned something about me and if I do, they learn even more!

I was at the nations 13th largest newspaper for 23 years up until 1995. Zip Code Targeting to Total Market Coverage were all the rage back then. Wal-Mart, Target and Sears were demanding it and Direct Mailers were beginning to eat away newspaper ad revenues, with Marriage Mail Programs at what many of us considered to be an alarming rate.

So finally newspapers, (dragged kicking and screaming), were forced to redefine their relationship with advertisers. Some have done well and some haven't. The newspaper I left in 1995 had just about 2500 employees. Today! I have been told, by an unnamed source, they are around 1000. I don't know if that's good or bad and I'm not judging... I think it's just the new reality.

So now the question is: Will Ad Agencies and Public Relations firms reinvent relationships with clients? Will they have to provide better ideas and increase the arrows in their quiver to keep clients on board? If you haven't started, you need to or you will lose the business to someone who will. From what I hear, there are many that are already on their way.

You know that at some point, the question will come: How much has to be done in house vs outsourcing to make a respectable profit? That depends on how much control you want to maintain.

One change we have made is that our interactive technology has allowed Kennedy Advertising to form strong interactive relationships with Preferred Service Providers Across the country rather than just in Las Vegas NV and Minneapolis/St. Paul MN.
Today we can design a catalog, product sample or an imprinted promotional item in Las Vegas, print it in Boston for an East coast Mailing and save Distribution Costs. Or we can launch a product fulfillment operation within days of an idea because we have the technology, distribution channel and the relationships built to handle lots of volume in a short period of time. None of what I listed above is really new! Some of you have probably created some of these ideas.

Now! What if you had a single (blind to the public) business partner that worked behind your brand to implement your ideas for you? That's an interesting question that needs more discussion. If I can help you think it through, let me know.

In the meantime:

1. Here some other opinions from some names you'll recognize: 
2. Here are 10 Proven Ways to Market Your Clients Website: 
3. Direct Mail is out Email is in for Large and Small Clients.
4. Services that will help you improve your value to the client: 

Have a Safe 4th of July!

Best Regards,

John Kennedy
Kennedy Advertising
Las Vegas, NV.
Local: 702-324-1334
Toll Free: 888-725-4487

Nivea’s Custom Cell Phone Chargers Promote Fun In The Sun by the Pool or in the Ocean

For all the beachgoers who hate to pack up when their phone batteries die out, Nivea has a solution: custom cell phone chargers.

The global skin- and body-care brand has unveiled a smart promotion for its line of sun products: solar chargers built right into its ad in the Brazilian Magazine, Veja Rio.

The idea is that you can stay on the beach for longer – all day if you want. Nivea’s products keep you safe in the sun, and the promotional cell phone chargers let you use your phone freely. You can listen to music, make calls, check your social accounts and play games, and then reach for Nivea’s solar-powered promo to charge your phone back up.

The sunscreen ad includes an ultra-thin solar panel and phone plug. It’s made from a solar material that captures the sun’s rays and converts it into energy. Users plug their phone in via the port and voila: They can get a charge while relaxing in the sand.

Finally, there’s a print ad we like. People don’t just flip past it – it provides something tangible and immediately useful. The ads become keepsakes. People can easily pack them in a beach bag and use them again and again.

We love seeing brands create something relevant for customers, and with Brazil’s deep roots in beach culture, this promotion is perfect.

See for yourself:



KennedyPromos Product Tip:

Think about your target audience and a need they have or a problem they’re facing. Then use Promotional Products to fill the gap. Give us a call to chat with you about what you’d like to accomplish. 

Google has Changed our World and Helped Save Lives.

In a crisis such as yesterday’s Boston Marathon terrorist attack, people need information about their loved ones—and they need it fast.

With Google Person Finder, they have access to this important information. Google built the tool after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. People can use it to search for someone or provide information. If no information is available, users can create a new record. They can also subscribe to status updates on a particular person, and if updated, they’ll receive an e-mail with new details.

Currently, Google’s Boston Marathon Person Finder is tracking 5,500 individuals. The tool has been used all over the world to reconnect people in post-disaster situations. What a remarkable advancement over the past 10-12 years. We can’t imagine the horror of being there or desperately seeking the whereabouts of a friend or loved one.

Google! We appreciate your helping people track down their friends and loved ones after such a scary and horrifying event.

To the City of Boston! We are praying for you and with you.

Rev Up Your Marketing With Promotional Car Sunshades

Big, bold and unmistakable, Promotional Car Sunshades get your logo across loud and clear. When your company name is printed prominently in gigantic, look-at-me letters, the effect is similar to having hundreds of billboards—people see your logo everywhere.

What makes Promotional Car Sunshades such powerful marketing tools? They move. Wherever recipients park their vehicles and pull out your imprinted sunshade, your logo gets seen. This exponentially extends the reach of your marketing message.

Promotional Car Sunshades have huge imprint areas, so take advantage by imprinting your logo, company name, phone number and web address. If you want to promote it, there’s room on the sunshade.

Here’s a look at the main types of promotional Car, Truck and SUV Sunshades:

Pop-open car sunshades. This type of sunshade features one or two panels that fold up for easy storage, and then pop open for maximum sun protection.









Accordion-style sunshades. Your customers can fold these out and put them in the windshield when they park their vehicle. It doesn't get easier!










Insulated Sunshades. This style of sunshade reflects more of the sun’s rays, keeping vehicle interiors cooler. They have a high-end look, and they’re durable, typically lasting for years.










Roller Custom Car Shades. These help reduce the temperature inside the vehicle and block sun rays from passengers’ faces. They’re ideal for side and back windows, and because drivers typically install them and leave them up, your company gets year-round exposure.








Few marketing ideas have the same amount of intensive, consistent exposure. Promotional Car Sunshades can make an impression on hundreds of people a day. In one month, your company could possibly gain exposure to hundreds of thousands of people—all with one promotional car sunshade.

KennedyPromos know-how tip: Promotional car sunshades aren't just used for keeping away the sun’s penetrating glare—your customers also use them to protect their dashboard from the sun’s rays or to block visibility inside the vehicle. They make a practical gift any time of year.

"Behind a Successful Man or Woman, there needs to be a Supportive Partner for Life."

As I perused reading material over the past few days, for this post, my wife, Mary Kennedy and I decided to download the Audio Version of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. by Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook.

We listened to the book on the way back from visiting our daughter, Layne Kennedy, in Los Angeles last weekend. If you've never listened to an Audio Book, it's kind of fun when you're traveling and it makes the time fly.

I thought the book was very thought provoking and way past due. I especially enjoyed the section on how important it is for Women(and Men for that matter) to pick a good partner that's supportive in whatever endeavor each partner aspires to throughout their life.

The old saying that "Behind a Successful Man there is a Woman" needs to be updated to say "Behind a Successful Man or Woman needs to be a Supportive Partner for Life."

After listening to the book and watching Ms. Sandberg's interviews on the Television and Internet during the past week, Mary and I spent some time talking about Women in the Workplace issues of today and agreed on how fortunate we were to find and support each other for nearly 35 years. (I guess some would call that back in the dark ages)

Obviously the road was quite different back then. After I left the traditional corporate life at the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 1995, I joined Mary and we ran our Specialty Advertising business together in Minneapolis, until we moved here in 2001 and Mary added her Real Estate business to the mix in 2004.

With both Paul and Layne in college that year we entered the world of empty nesting and realized we had diversify as the college bills started rolling in.

2004 and 2005 were very good years, for us, in Las Vegas Real Estate. 2006 is when the character building, as the market turned down, began for both of us. Mary stepped up her game through a really tough Las Vegas Valley Real Estate Market and has grown into a great Realtor and the best partner anyone could ask for.

I encourage everyone (man or women) to read or listen to Ms. Sandberg's book and when you get to the point of picking that special partner for life, I hope that special person will make you feel as fortunate as I was on that blind date way back in 1978.

Hopefully Mary would say the same about me... (Of course that kind of depends on the day!)

The last thing is... If you have not seen the Pepsi Test Drive Commercial with Jeff Gordon video, kudos the Ad Agency! It's up to and over 29 million hits so far on YouTube and is hilarious.
 
Best Regards,

John Kennedy
Kennedy Specialty Advertising
Las Vegas, NV.
http://kennedypromos.com

Trade Show Planning & Execution are Essential for Success

Buzz Builders

When exhibiting at a trade show you’ll want to use imprinted products that will attract people to the trade show in the first place, to your booth while there, and more importantly, to your company after it’s all said and done. Consider your booth personnel; it’s a good idea to provide them with matching, imprinted shirts. Pick a bright color, so they stand out among the crowd of exhibitors. Pre-show, get your hands on a list of attendees and send lanyards, wristbands, badge pouches and tote bags to your top 500 prospects from that.

Education Sessions

Along with the pre-show goodies, provide some of the items people will need for education sessions. Bottled water allows attendees to keep hydrated on the go, while a folder, pen, or highlighters are items they are sure to use. USB flash-drives show prospects your company is far from ordinary.

In-Booth Traffic Builder

During the show, grab attendees’ attention. Mints will attract their eye. Then, after you have introduced yourself and the company, offer items such as a letter slitter, stationary pail, or key-chain as an additional gift for stopping by. Draw attention to your booth with a custom pop up or table display.

After-Show Follow-up

In addition, after the show, a simple paperweight is functional and appreciated and will really reflect positively on your company.

Promotional Folders are Great Distribution Tool

 

When you have printed information to transport and share with various audiences, promotional folders serve more than an operational purpose—they become mobile branding tools. That’s exactly what our client, Gary Cox, of Kemp Broadcasting likes about the Eco-Friendly Promotional folders we designed, produced and delivered to his Las Vegas event.

As General Manager for KVEG, KMZQ and KVGQ and a medium size billboard company, in the Las Vegas Valley, he needed to get a package of advertising materials to potential partners—and he needed to do it efficiently.

Kemp Broadcasting used large custom document folders to distribute this important information to stakeholders. They are printed in full color and can be customized based on your requirements.

“We needed a way to effectively communicate the various initiatives that we are involved in throughout the year,” he says. “The folder was an opportunity to present the material in a neat and attractive way. 

Custom folders were the perfect way for Cox and his people to organize tiered layers of information about Kemps capabilities for personal customer calls. It was also was an attractive package that were sent to Ad Agencies and PR Firms for distribution to National Advertisers.

As a longtime Kennedy Advertising client, Cox has been impressed with our customer service, product quality and delivery times. “We will continue to enjoy Kennedy Advertisings Outstanding Customer Service for our future promotional needs,” he says.

KennedyPromo Tip: Tuck a thin, lightweight promotional item such as a magnet, bookmark or pen inside your custom folder to extend your message