You don't know what you want until it's gone...

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, if you love something set it free, too much of a good thing can be dangerous. All true when it comes to advertising. There comes a point where your advertising may be ignored due to over exposure. Not common in small business circles, but take notice of some of the worlds biggest advertisers, Coke, McDonalds and Tim Horton's. While their branding never goes away, they do have big ad campaigns during certain times of the year, then are gone for awhile. When their ads do come back, do you realize you missed them? That first ad back can be very effective.

So how to relate this to small business? In a similar way, if you are running the same ad in the same medium over time, then a break from that medium for a time, may be all the doctor ordered to make it fresh again. More importantly, I think it makes sense to change the ad up a bit and keep it fresh. You might ask, how long should I run for, how long should I break for? That is something your customers may tell you. Take the time to engage customers in some way about their opinion of your advertising. You will then know how effective your ads are and when that effectiveness decreases, take a break.

You may have noticed I took a break from this Blog. Did you miss me? Until next time, I am Larry "The Ad Man".

Event marketing can help your business

Watching the Heritage Classic going on right in my city, seeing the build up and excitement and the NHL announcement that they surpassed sponsorship revenues from past outdoor games proves again that an event like this can kick start and excite ANY business. #heritageclassic, Don Cherry and Rene Bourque are all trending on Twitter in Canada for a regular season match up between 2 mediocre NHL hockey teams in February. It's a wonderful spectacle and will add excitement for the playoff fight for the Calgary Flames. It excites the fans, excites the players and puts a few dollars in the pockets of the league and team.

Jarome Iginla says you can do this too! Well, not really, but you can. Take a hard look at your business. Do you have a space inside our outside that you can put on an event? What kind of event might might fit with your business? For a mechanic or car dealer perhaps a soapbox derby or antique car show? For a kids clothing retailer a carnival, for a bookstore a book signing or for a sports retailer an outdoor hockey game?

Beyond that, think like Tim Hortons or Canadian Tire and sponsor a local event. Perhaps your local community association has an event you can sponsor? It might not even cost that much to do so. Perhaps a title sponsorship like the Water Solutions Multi Cultural Festival or the Calgary Motor Products Soap box Derby. These type of events will leave a great feeling about your business with your local community, fire up your staff and give you a sense of pride. Kickstart your business with a great event. Until next time, I am Larry The Ad Man.