This is such good advice! You might not see immediate results from your TV, radio, or print advertising. You shouldn’t expect them, either. Think of advertising as an investment. It’s an effective at keeping your company at the top of potential customers’ minds. That’s where you want to be. That’s where you need to be when the time is right and they’re ready to buy.

Maybe your advertising is spread out over several media or you just don’t have the time to devote to it.  A good advertising agency will help bring direction and focus to your media strategy. It will also allow you more time to do what you do best – run your business! Contact Attention Marketing for more information today!

Sparky the Wonder Dog

I recently had the opportunity to work with two different dogs while creating two different commercials. It was quite an experience. Although they are both trained, obedient animals, achieving the exact behaviors we wanted took a lot of time and patience. The end result was well worth it, and I look forward to sharing the new commercials with you once they’re ready to air.

One of the dogs, Sparky, is pictured here. He is a terrier mix with tons of spunk. He has so many different expressions, from happy and content to fierce and annoyed. He was very fun to work with once I learned to flow with him and wait for him to be ready to perform. I even persuaded him to speak over and over again. He must have thought I was crazy or just hard of hearing.

After all of this experience I have decided that the challenge of working with animals is well worth the time and effort. Not too surprising, since working with horses is one of my hobbies.

I often trying to think of ways to make my hobby into an occupation. Wouldn’t it be great to get paid to do what you love? Maybe I could actually get paid to photograph horses, shoot video, or better yet, to exercise them, ride them, and groom them. It all sounds ideal. But if I had to do it every day would it still feel like a hobby? Would it still be fun if I had to get covered in dirt, sweat and horse hair every day? I don’t know.

For now, horses will just be my hobby. But if someone offers me a job working with horses…I’ll let you know.

Tip 2 – Get Out There! Business networking events can be a great way to meet new clients and to make other business people aware of you and your company. I have forged several business relationships as a result of contacts I made at networking events. You may not be able to attend every event, but you can make the most of the events you attend:

• Practice your listening skills. Invite others to talk about themselves, their business, and what makes them unique.
• Be ready to tell a story about your business – for example, how you were able to help a client solve a problem.
• Bring plenty of your business cards. Your card should have a brief description of what you do or what makes you unique.
• Follow up after the event. If you met someone that has an interest in what you do or vice versa, call or send an email. Ask if you can set up an appointment.
• Above all, bring a positive attitude! Any new person you meet could be your next client! Smile!

Earlier this week I saw an electronic ad for 3D television. Having purchased several HDTVs to replace the old tubes within the last two years, I must say that I wasn’t very excited to hear about the newest TV technology. You’re going to tell me that I have to replace my TV sets again? That’s not going to fly with the American public. We still think that TV sets should be replaced as often as an appliance or a piece of furniture, right?

Then there’s the iPad. It’s not even available in most places yet, but it’s already generating lots of buzz. Cool aps, touch screen, 3G. But we just bought new computers! Ugh!

When does it all become too much? Do you ever want to escape to a place where there is no cell service and dare I say it… no wi-fi? I daydream about it sometimes. I even found such a place on the picturesque Oregon Coast. But I don’t know how long I would last in that tech-free zone. Maybe a day. I haven’t made a reservation. Yet.

In this commercial, Lady Gecko is all about technology.

Lady Gecko Loves Technology

She is on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. So, if you want to see the latest about the Lady, you can just look her up.

Recently, I attended a workshop about using social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace) to promote your business. We know that people are spending more and more time online, and that it’s increasingly harder to keep their attention and achieve top of mind awareness. Social media can be a great way to do that.

You probably have someone within your organization that spends a lot of time on Facebook or Twitter. So even if you’re not a big fan of social media yourself, it doesn’t mean your business can’t have a presence on these increasingly popular sites. Put your resident expert to work creating and maintaining your business account. Just make sure all of your social media accounts drive users to your website.

If you don’t know where to begin, your advertising agency should be able to help you. Or contact us!

In the meantime, follow Lady Gecko — the latest creation of Attention Marketing — on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

I love the opportunity to see and appreciate the work that brilliant advertising professionals and students are creating! Too often the unsung heroes working behind the scenes, advertising agencies and producers rarely get recognized for their work because their job is to make their clients’ ads shine and their clients’ brand a household name.

Like my colleagues, I’m happy to point the attention to my clients. But for today’s winners, it’s OK to bask in the limelight…for now! Enjoy the victory!

Then there are the flashbacks with the visibly younger PC. “Windows Vista won’t have any of the problems XP had.” And so on.

Well, I’m happy to say that I’ve moved over to the cool side. Rather than take my chances with Windows 7, I purchased a Mac. I’m delighted with its speed and stability. No crashes or lockups during my first video project. Impressive!

It may be true that “…mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” I decided I was done suffering. Hello Mac!