Selling and Advertising Articles

RadioShack Selects Creative Agency of Record.
‘BSSP has a track record of delivering innovative solutions that break through the advertising clutter and resonate with consumers. They will be a valuable partner as we continue to develop our brand.’

BSSP”s scope of work will include strategic and account planning and creative development across all channels, including digital and new media. RadioShack reported total advertising expenses of $214.5 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008.

Greg Stern, CEO of BSSP noted, ‘We are thrilled and honored to be working on behalf of such an iconic brand and look forward to leveraging our insight and ideas across all relevant consumer channels.’

BSSP is a full-service marketing communications agency based in Sausalito, CA.more

Mary Larsen Featured in ‘Guide to Writing Web-Based Advertising’.
Redecorating and Home Staging Business’ was quoted in ?The Complete Guide to Writing Web-Based Advertising Copy to Get the Sale? by Vickie Taylor.

Larsen, who coaches other Designers to make their business more successful and profitable, is interviewed by Vicki Taylor and discusses how she effectively uses e-mail marketing to grow her own Design business. Mary Larsen?s newsletters and online marketing techniques are featured in this book. And as you know, the internet is more powerful than ever. We all need help with crafting home pages, product pages, emails to customers, blogs and articles for ezines. By incorporating the principles in this book, you will take your Web-based writing from boring to brilliant, while boosting your sales and increasing your customer traffic.more

Sports teams can help boost the local economy.
For corporate America sponsoring a stadium is simply a method of advertising and community goodwill.Recently, the Pistons ended their amazing streak of sellouts. I believe that’s a sign that all our sports teams, professional and collegiate, will be struggling to fill seats. When was the last time you recall the Red Wings advertising for playoff tickets? So the question becomes who is going to spend the big dollars just to sit in an existing or new luxury skybox? Will it be the car companies and suppliers who are fighting for survival? Will it be the financial services industry that has either taken bailout dollars or at least received so much negative press? How about the new movie industry our elected officials are aggressively trying to lure to Michigan? Or can all the wealthy alumni fill the new luxury boxes at the college venues?For the foreseeable future, I believe that many of these boxes will sit empty.more

Whopper of a McAdvertisement: Bending Content Squeaks Loudly.
Blending advertising into content is a troubling problem for struggling newspapers. This insight brought to you by Grandpa Stajich?s Old School Root Beer.
We?ll never know exactly where things got away from us. It might have been the moment that we decided that ?rock videos? were a contemporary art form and not commercials for CDs. It could have been the folksy popularity of ?gimme caps?, the cheap headwear that was free in exchange for wearing a corporate logo everywhere you went. It might go as far back as Jack Benny and his troop of celebrity players participating in commercials that appeared to be part of his radio and TV shows, a fanciful device that evolved into the free-standing video sludge we now accept as ?infomercials.?
The portion of the LA Times front page advertisement on April 9th meant to look like a news story was bordered with a big black line that enclosed what unquestionably was an ad for the new TV series Southland.more

It costs $450000 for car dealer to settle false-advertising suit.
Camden County, has agreed to pay $450,000 to settle state charges that it violated the state consumer law in advertising and selling its vehicles. Among other things, the state alleged in a March 2006 lawsuit that Foulke Management Corp., which operates as Cherry Hill Dodge, Cherry Hill Jeep Eagle, Cherry Hill Kia, Cherry Hill Mitsubishi and Mt. Ephraim Chrysler/Dodge, advertised ‘$8,000 guaranteed for your trade,’ ‘no credit check’ and ‘you instantly qualify, regardless of your credit,’ and then failed to provide the trade-in allowance or credit. The state also alleged the company failed to properly display prices on new and used vehicles.An additional $300,000 in civil penalties, suspended for now, will be due if the company does not adhere to the settlement terms over the next year, according to the New Jersey Attorney General”s Office and the state Division of Consumer Affairs.The $450,000 will be used for consumer restitution and reimbursement of the state”s legal fees and investigative costs, Attorney General Anne Milgram said in a statement.more

City”s signage restrictions upheld by federal judge.
Federal Judge Paul A. Crotty has ruled that city regulations dating back to 1940, limiting the size, location and lighting of advertising signs and billboards, do not violate the freedom of commercial speech provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

In the 60-page decision handed down on March 31, Crotty dismissed two related lawsuits filed in 2006 by Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. and Metro Fuel LLC.

The challenges focused on advertising signs that are not accessory to the businesses on the property where the signs are located. The challengers contended that recent administrative regulations have so many loophole exemptions that they compromise the city?s intent to regulate billboards and signs.

Clear Channel, one of the world?s largest media companies, operates 236 signs in the city; eighty-four of them are ?arterial? signs, visible from the city?s main highways, and range in size from 315 square feet to 11,258 square feet; but most are either 960 square feet or 1,200 square feet.more

Theorem and Ad-ID Collaborate to Promote Online Advertising.
Ad-ID.org), are jointly working to raise awareness of the need to improve online advertising coding. Ad-ID aims to increase online advertising coding process accuracy by creating a consistent method for online ad identification.

Ad-ID is a Web-based system that generates a unique identifying code for each advertising asset, creating a means to identify them across all media. The initiative upgrades the previous ISCI commercial coding system and replaces other methods used to identify advertising assets. Ad-ID was developed by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA).

Theorem’s work with online advertising campaign data reporting and analysis, as well as its ISO-certified operations, led the company to support the adoption of an industry-wide standard.more

Ad Agencies To Blame For Financial Crisis? Let”s Get The Sexy Back.
A new poll from Harris has found that two-thirds of Americans (66%) believe advertising agencies have at least some responsibility for the current economic crisis because they caused people to buy things they couldn”t afford. The study goes onto to say that one-third (33%) believe they have complete or a great deal of responsibility. And people say advertising isn”t effective? In your face! Advertising FTW!

Of course, this argument that agencies are to blame is ridiculous on so many levels. Sure. Folks need to point fingers at someone - other than themselves, banking institutions, government and the oh-so pathetic SEC. Still, this is yet another blow in the perception of advertising as an industry.

One of the many conversations weeding its way throughout the industry is the marketing of advertising as a career choice, as a desirable profession.more

Stone Ward Named Winner of AEDC Account.
Little Rock advertising agency Stone Ward was named Tuesday the winner of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission”s annual $1.2 million advertising account. The agency has held the account since 1994.

Stone Ward bid against fellow Little Rock advertising agencies CJRW and The Communications Group.

‘We are truly excited about continuing our work and partnership with AEDC,’ Millie Ward, Stone Ward”s president, said Tuesday afternoon. ‘We look forward to building on the commission”s momentum through the positive message that we will put forward.’

The AEDC is responsible for economic development in the state and is led by Executive Director Maria Haley.

The three agencies presented advertising proposals for the AEDC business March 30.more

IGA Worldwide To Deliver Dynamic In-Game Advertising in Sony.
MLB(R) 09 The Show(TM) provides a vast array of customization options and in-game advertising opportunities, including stadium signs and billboards.

‘MLB(R) 09 The Show(TM) is easily the most authentic and versatile baseball title on the market, and the incorporation of in-game advertising will enhance the entire game experience for baseball fans who can now interact in a very personal way with the brands and products they associate with their favorite team,’ said Tim Walsh, executive vice president North America, IGA Worldwide. ‘MLB(R) 09 The Show(TM) is the first disc-based PS3 title to incorporate dynamic in-game advertising, opening up a whole range of opportunities for marketers to drive brand awareness and recall within the context of an extremely popular game.’

‘We are pleased to partner with IGA Worldwide in bringing this exciting marketing opportunity to MLB(R) 09 The Show(TM),’ said David Winding, Director - Network Advertising, Sony Computer Entertainment America.more