Vote for the positive

Election Day has dawned across our land and nowhere are voters more excited than they are in Central New York. It's not because they get to exercise their privilege today but because one of the nastiest Congressional races ever will come to a close, or at least the campaigning will. Democrat Dan Maffei squares off against incumbent Ann Marie Buerkle in one of the most hotly contested -- and negative -- campaigns in the country. It's a rematch of the 2010 race when Buerkle was the challenger, Maffei the incumbent and the race came down to the absentee ballot count. Polls show similar narrow margins are also likely this time.

Both candidates ran campaigns that attacked the other but even nastier ads ran thanks to national party and PAC money that flooded the market, much to the pleasure of area TV outlets as most of the funds went to local spot buys. Buerkle made a stop at our offices last week and she was very gracious, even kidding with some of our employees that they are likely happy to see all the mudslinging come to an end. Yes, even the candidates know that voters have had enough of it. One of the local news shows this morning interviewed a university political science professor who said that a little known third party candidate in the race could see eight or nine percent of the vote come her way just from backlash voters who were sick of all the negative ads. Why, then, did they continue to blast away at each other when no one seemed happy or pleased with the results? 

Marketing and advertising are part art, part science. A good ad campaign has a target and a goal and you hit both with good planning and consistent execution. But not always. In the early days of NASA, great scientific minds -- rocket scientists -- planned and participated in rocket tests that went haywire until they found the right stuff, the technology that took us to the moon. If you're an ad rep working with clients, if you're an advertiser trying to cut through the noise in the market today don't hesitate to take a long hard look at what you're doing and don't stick to something that isn't doing what you hoped it would. Staying the course just because you authored the idea or paid good money to experts for the plan isn't smart when everyone knows it's not working. If you need a case study, Google "jc penney ad campaign" for a recent walk down the wrong marketing path. There’s probably no way to tell for sure, but I bet local voters would have gravitated to the Congressional candidate who swung back with a positive ad campaign. 

We're not scientists here at the Scotsman, but we have a lot of expertise in helping advertisers succeed with print and digital campaigns. Drop us a note at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com if we can be of help and thanks for your time today.

Weathering the storm...and I don't mean Sandy

This is the morning after, the day following Hurricane Sandy's arrival in the Northeast. All of our thoughts and prayers are with those whose lives have been turned upside down by the event.

Here in Central NY we were spared much of what was promised by local weather forecasters. Watching local news this morning I almost got a sense of disappointment on the part of a couple meteorologists that there wasn’t as much wind and rain for us, not because they wish devastation upon their community but because they are so passionate about what they do.  Each of these local weather people have a little bit of the Weather Channel's Jim Cantore in them, that pioneer-meets-stunt man work ethic that puts them literally in the eye of the storm. You can't help but wonder what a little more enthusiasm and passion would do for all of us in our jobs and in the world we would create.

Flip side. Here is text from an e-mail I received yesterday from a media buyer at an ad agency we work with, asking for a rate proposal for their client's insert delivery this year (client name removed):

Tom-

Relative to the attached RFP for the Xxxxxx Xxxx 2013 insert distribution schedule, we request that your response to this RFP provides the lowest (non rate card) CPM level you will offer – the discount level is not to be compared to 2012, but based on current downward trends of newspaper circulations, in addition to the surge of other options that all annual advertisers have to consider.

We need to provide Xxxxxx Xxxx with the most cost effective way of getting their weekly promotions in front of as many customers as possible in 2013.

Woe is me! My passion is crushed! How depressing to work in the newspaper industry! At least that's the message this industry youngster is conveying in the quest for rock bottom pricing this year. My initial reaction is to run out and secure employment with one of those "surge of other options" companies, many of whom weren't here for the 2012 RFP and may not make it to the 2014. I can't blame the media buyer for her attitude, though. The fact is that during her time in college and career all she has seen and known is a declining attitude toward print, be it paid or free, home or rack delivered, newspaper or shopper. Couple that with the worst recession any of us have likely lived through and voila...drop your price because we don't see rate card value in your product any longer. 

Woe is me, and I mean it this time. I think I have always been passionate but it's not enough anymore. I think I work hard, work smart but it's not enough anymore. I know we in our industry have to find new ways to bring relevance, value and excitement to readers and clients. Jim Cantore is exciting. I need to be like Jim. And I need to do it before the next storm comes through. Hope you'll join me.

Drop us a note with comments and ideas on how to get excited in business today. Reach me at tcuskey@scotsmanmediagroup.com. Thanks for your time!

My campaign starts today!

Last night, the candidates squared off in the first of the 2012 presidential debates. The timing is odd but today in my e-mail inbox I find a message titled "Could 2013 Be Worse That 2008?” (What a happy thought). A connection? I didn't think either candidate did that poorly so perhaps the timing of this email is just coincidental. The email promotes a free seminar on how to sell, specifically by examining "what causes sales." Like what causes earthquakes, or what causes spots on glasses in the dishwasher? I am dying to find out.

I am experienced in training others on how to "cause" a sale, at least in the old school sense of selling. Things are different today in many ways. But I am equally versed in the science of what doesn't cause a sale (you are too, no doubt). And those things never seem to change. If you don't seek out new customers you won't make a sale. If you don't bring new value to old customers you won't make a sale. If you give no service, or (worse) if you give crappy service you won't make a sale. If your terms and timing aren't right you won't make a sale. If your price exceeds your value you won't make a sale. The list goes on.

If your place is like our place your sales staff & your sales colleagues come up with some of the most innovative, creative ways to explain why sales don't happen. Even I can explain in graphic detail why sales stink right now. I sometimes even convince myself that it's not my fault. "It's the economy...goes back to 2008...I keep waiting for this recovery I keep hearing about. Maybe in 2013!"

But I am wrong. It is my fault.

It’s my fault for believing that I couldn’t sell in a tough economy. It’s my fault for believing that because it stinks for everyone else it’s okay if it stinks for me. It’s my fault for thinking that the coming election will solve our woes, at least for a little while. Truth is, the only positive thing that can happen this November will be the things that I accomplish with my positive attitude in action. Positive attitude in action will cause sales. Positive attitude in action will prevent 2013 from being 2008 all over again. Positive attitude in action will help me to grow personally, professionally and financially. Maybe prevent another economic meltdown. Not Obama, not Romney. Me.

So vote for me. And I’ll vote for you. Together we can figure this out.

Attitude adjustments come free with advertising packages you invest in with Scotsman publications. Drop us a line at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com. Thank you!

It doesn't last long

A few months ago I changed my gym schedule. I switched my erratic evening gym routine to a consistent early morning gym routine. 5AM, Monday through Friday and a 7AM Saturday visit. To my surprise I have been pretty true to the schedule and feel the best I have felt in a long time. Unfortunately I gained three pounds after my first month but that's another topic for another day.  I made the change as the days were growing longer and was happy to get up at 4:45 in the pre-dawn light when even a few birds were already chirping. By late June it was definitely daylight at that hour but here at the end of July, only one month later, it's black again at 4:45AM. And it's getting a little tougher to drag my sorry self out of bed. Pray for me and my effort when winter comes and light (and warm weather) are nowhere to be found.

The point is that opportunities don't have a very long shelf life. Long days, warm weather and 5AM songbirds are here but for a brief time. In life we have to enjoy every minute of them while they are here and, if we're lucky, we may get another chance someday. The same is so true of ad sales. Opportunities that come our way today may never be back, at least not soon. Fail to take advantage of the fall home improvement/ lawn & garden season sales and you miss out on that chance for a year. Same is true of holiday selling. Missing out on advising a new client to run a door-busting grand opening campaign and you (and the advertiser) have lost that opportunity forever. Think about it. You get one chance.

If you are the ad rep that makes sales calls based on ads you see (or hear) running in another medium that you are really missing out. Settling for seconds will never put you in first place.

This morning as I entered the gym I asked Jim, one of the other early AM regulars if we were "having fun yet?" He sensed my waning enthusiasm for being up early. "Being here is like going to church," he answered. "Not everybody goes but those that do can have their lives changed by it. In life it's not the big things we do but the little things we accomplish that make the difference." Jim should have been a motivational speaker. He told me exactly what I needed to hear today.

Join me in a pledge to pay more attention to the little things that make us more successful. I noted this morning that the 5AM late July sky is an amazing gradient color when you look east. Venus and Jupiter were as bright as could be; couldn't see them at this hour a month ago in the early daylight. But you can see them now. By late August there will be other amazing sights. You'll find them if you look for them and embrace them fully.

The same is true of ad sales.

If you're reading this (God, I hope someone is) then drop me a note on the little things you do that contribute to your success. I'll try to include them in a future post. I'm reading mail at tcuskey@scotsmanmediagroup.com. Thanks for your precious time today.

There's no slam dunk off the court any more

I will apologize right up front for the sports content herein. No one likes a speaker/writer that hangs his or her hat on too many sports analogies but I can't resist this one.

LeBron James has taken his Miami Heat team to the NBA championship. The man many sports fans have decided to despise (and I don't understand why -- a long story for another place) has transformed himself into a leader of men and a true champion. This isn't about him. It is about all of the analysts, the commentators and the reporters who spew ad nauseum about LeBron and all the other sports figures out there. With so many 24/7 sports channels on TV, radio and online there is a need for programming and analysis of who's hot and who's not is the standard fare. Here's my point:

It's all about "what have you done for me lately." When you win Game 1 of a seven game series, you're the best. Lose Game 2 and you're a bum. A coach leads his team through ten straight playoff victories and he's a certain Hall of Famer. His team then gets swept in the next four games and he's a certifiable numb skull.

The culture goes beyond sports. There is no loyalty. There is no long term, big picture goal for most businesses. I'm not sure there is a real appreciation for value any longer, not a great deal but real value where you get something that adds worth to your investment, more than you bargained for. Nowhere is this more the case than in advertising. Advertisers want fast results. They don't want to give away the store but they want customers to flock to their doors like they are giving it away. A 13-week campaign that isn't cooking after week two probably won't see week three. And there isn't much we can do about it. It's the world today.

I still believe advertisers will enter into long term relationships with media reps that prove their worth, but you have to prove it fast and right up front, before the first ad runs. You have to show yourself to be the consummate expert about advertising and marketing and sell yourself as such quickly. Selling print? Not good enough. You have to know radio, TV, mobile and online...especially online...practices and metrics. And you have to be a real authority, not a smart phrase dropper, but a real know it all. And if your company isn't training you, then you have to train yourself.

There is a boatload of facts and figures out there on media and marketing. That's the good news. The bad news is that it changes as quickly as a sports reporter's opinion of the superstar flavor of the day. Mediajust  changes quickly. So you're going to have to keep training and reinventing yourself as an expert every day of your career. At a minimum.

Your thoughts? Need help? Drop us a note at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com and thanks for your time!

The last word was the best

It's been a very busy spring season -- and as a result I must apologize again for the infrequent blog updates. Frankly I have found myself looking more for advice than being in a position to give it as the challenges of vying for still-limited ad dollars continue to face our sales force and our industry. One of the places I looked for ideas was the Association of Free Community Papers annual conference, held this year in Atlanta. Good conference but as the days went on I didn't think I'd come back with any "home run" experiences that might energize our efforts. That was until I left for the airport.

At 4:22AM on Sunday April 22 -- exactly the time he said he'd be there -- Mr. Ventura pulled up at my hotel driving the shuttle van to the airport. He engaged me in conversation immediately and within about two minutes time I felt like I'd known this guy all my life. At one point in his driving career, Ventura decided that he was going to become the "Top Gun driver" in his company. Every morning when he would arrive at work the owner's son would be there working in the office. A call to action for my new friend. 

"If you want to be the man, then you have to beat the man," Ventura told me.

From that day forward, he has been the first one at the office each day, and I mean each and every day because, to quote Ventura again "consistency and persistency are the keys to success." I knew that.

At our next stop, two ladies joined us for the ride, one of them remarking that Ventura was right on time. "You must get up awfully early,” she told him. 

"Yes, ma'am, I do. Every morning I get up and say 'Thank you Lord for giving me another day to enjoy.'"

Game over. Home run found.

I went looking for new technology, innovative ideas and industry best practices. What I found was that success still relies on the basics. It's still up to you and no one else. Have passion for what you do, whatever that may be. Love what you do, love your product or move on. Be genuine. Be nice to people. Talk to them. Listen to what they have to say. Work on relationships. Do what you say you're going to do. And do it all the time. Do it with a smile. And be thankful for every blessing you have. 

Paying attention to the basics is a big part of marketing your business. Give us a call at 315-472-7825 or e-mail us at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com if we can be of assistance. And thank you for giving me another opportunity to enjoy!

Best (and worst) practices -- the best advice there is!

This one is for the girls and boys on the front line, those out there building relationships with advertisers and prospects for advertising in our publications. It's a little bit like Dragnet...the stories you're about to hear are true, but some names have been changed or omitted to prevent embarrassment or lawsuits. These are just a few ideas and war stories that we can all learn from in today's hectic selling environment.

EXAMPLE 1: The fine line between use and abuse:

I shared this at our sales meeting last week. A good friend of mine who works for an area competitor sent me an e-mail, touting the benefits of doing business with one of her clients. "I'm sending this to all my friends. If you ever need (omitted) repair services, you should call (omitted). I know him and trust him and I'm sure you will too." I have no idea if her advertiser paid for this or if she was adding value or maybe just helping out a friend. All I know is (a) I didn't really mind receiving it even though (b) I never signed up for it and (c) was not given an opt out link. I don't mind being "used" a little...but I don't want to be "abused" either. I'll see what other e-mails the future brings but the lesson here is to be careful when crossing the business and personal address books in the interest of doing business with your clients. Be nice to your friends.

EXAMPLE 2: Ask questions before committing.

I know the person who made this goof, know him very well. His name rhymes with "me". Got in my car last week, drove 45 minutes to spend an hour with one of our representatives and one of her customers, helping develop a plan for their "spring campaign". (Then drove back, too). There are many things I am not very good at, but I think a do a pretty fair job of working with customers on a marketing analysis model and was pretty proud of the work I did for this client. What I didn't know (because I didn't ask) was that this customer runs the smallest ad he can and might bump up to the next bigger size based on our planning session. Bottom line: two of us invested the better part of a morning in a session that held little if any promise of growth, all because I didn't do my due diligence (nor did my colleague). Spend time with customers, call on everyone but invest quality time in direct relation to the results you might garner. Just makes sense.

EXAMPLE 3: If you don't have something good to say...

An auto sales pro I know shared a story about a salesperson for another print media outlet who visited their dealership recently. This person mentioned how well they were doing but pointed out that other area print outlets were not doing well to the best of his knowledge. He may have thought he was putting himself in a good light but the impact on the auto person was highly negative. I'm paraphrasing but the summation was "if the only thing good you can say is something bad about your competitors, then say nothing at all." Great advice...the salesperson didn't hear it, though. He won't get a chance to, either. Don't throw mud...you can't do it without getting your hands dirty.

I can't promise our advertisers that our salespeople will always be the answer to their needs, but I know we will knock ourselves out trying to find solutions. For more information, call us at 315-472-7825 or e-mail us at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com. Thank you!

Super lessons for the rest of us

It's over! It's over! Giants win! Anybody win...please!

With all due respect to the Giants, their fans and any other related groups, I am so glad that the "big game" (as we who have no license must refer to it) is over. I love football, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. But there is happiness in watching the two week, non-stop, overdone media frenzy finally wind down to just one more day of post-game analysis. And then we can get back to our normal mundane media experiences.

For our purposes, the question of what is normal looms large. Two "super" points to reflect on:

1. Commercials -- an annual highlight of the game. What did you think? Is it me, or was the big picture of big game commercials a little lackluster this year? Or are our expectations so high at this point -- because we have been conditioned by past experiences -- that we expect to be bowled over (no pun) by every spot that airs?

2. Big money -- yes, those spots cost millions just for air time. Production costs must soar, too. Do polar bears really sell more Coke? Does the Dorito dog (my favorite, by the way) really sell more crunchy chips by burying the missing cat? Enough chips and soda to justify the cost?

There are likely no definitive answers to these questions. Only the sponsors can determine if they got the value they paid for, and building on their brand recognition is certainly a bigger priority for super commercials than just selling product. Thus, here are the takeaways for the small business people like you and me:

a. Careful not to overdo it -- most small businesses don't have the time and budget to over-promote an event. But too many e-mail blasts or Facebook updates or value-less coupons can have the same effect on your customer database as too much big game hype can have on fans.

b. Establish a marketing goal -- every campaign, every ad you do must bring you some value. But before you promote, be sure to establish a goal for the event and determine how you will realistically measure results so you'll know if you're on the right track or not. Whether you're selling your brand or hoping to move a specific product off your shelves, make it a measurable event.

c. Don't be missing in action -- I will venture a guess that part of the decision making process for Coke and Doritos is their past experience and the expectations of a loyal fan base. Their spots have become part of the big game experience and viewers might notice them as much by their absence as they do their presence. In other words, if you are considering changes in your media mix, always make allowances that some of your customers expect to find your ads where they currently do. If you move the ads you may lose some of the faithful you've attracted. Jumping around in the media can increase your expenditure and make it hard for your loyal fans to stay in touch with your brand and products.

Our ad staff at the Scotsman can help you plan campaigns and ads so problems like these never happen. Just give us a call at 315-472-7825 or e-mail us at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com. As always, thank you so much for your time!

Gut check -- I'm not so hot after all!

Humility always wears well. I pray daily to be blessed with wisdom, patience and humility; folks who know me will likely say that I am still waiting for those prayers to be answered. I know I'm not a wise man. Wise guy, yes. Wise man, no. I also lack in patience most of the time but I do think I'm a humble kind of guy. Except when it comes to sales training. You see, I perceive myself to be kind of a hotshot trainer. Give me a couple of hours and a crowded room of sales types and I'll turn them all into passionate pros. How wrong I must be!

A professional colleague of mine spent a little field time recently with some of our sales staff visiting some of our best customers. He had nothing but great things to say about this experience...loved our people & loved our customers. But his final comment to me cut to the bone: "I don't know that I got a real sense of what the value in your product is, though." Ouch! Pain! We have very good salespeople, but apparently they don't have a very good trainer because today's message is all about value. A good manager should make sure that value oozes from everything a salesperson says. I didn't get that done.

I shared this with a co-worker who was quick to point out that the sample used to arrive at this conclusion wasn't very scientific; "these are our best customers...they know about our value already," he said. He was trying to make me feel better and I appreciate that. But we all need to appreciate that every customer needs to hear about the value we provide every time we have an opportunity to chat with them. That may be especially true of our best customers. We have all heard the stats on how much effort it takes to get new customers -- that same effort should go into keeping our current ones. Lord knows our competitors will be filling their ears with value statements so we should always be doing the same.

Our job at the Scotsman Media Group is to help businesses make the strongest value statement they can to their target markets. Give us a shout at 315-472-7825 or e-mail us at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com any time you need help making your value known. Thank you for being here today!

A little "religious education" to share

Belated wishes for a happy and productive new year!

Here is my only prediction for 2012: some businesses and business people will have a great year, some won't and the rest will fall in between. Nostradamus I am not. But my prediction could be correctly made any year, boom economy or bust, because whenever two or more are competing for the same dollars, someone is going to come in first and someone is going to come in last. Where you come in is thankfully up to you.

For those who don't know my total background, I lead something of a double life; in addition to the business world I am also an ordained deacon in the Catholic Church. Don't worry -- a spiritual message is not contained herein, but valuable marketing lessons can be learned almost anywhere. Like your car.

I recently leased a new car for work and one of the "extras" is the standard three month free trial of satellite radio. I'm a big believer in free so I am making the most of the 90 days. Given my deacon life, I was especially interested when I flipped the dial past the "Catholic Channel." Now for those who don't know it, the Church has its share of, shall we say, marketing concerns:

1. The whole sexual abuse of children chapter of church history was mishandled and it has understandably turned some of the faithful away. Corrections have been made but it takes time to heal.

2. Church attendance for almost all denominations is down over the last 10 to 15 years, especially in the Northeast. Demographic and sociological shifts.

3. In spite of declining attendance, there are not enough priests to take care of the number of parishes and churches that exist, and closing and consolidating churches makes even more people unhappy.

Make you feel a little better about your own business fortunes? There are a lot of aspects to what I have briefly listed above but the bottom line is that the Church is making big efforts to re-engage their membership. Unfortunately, I'm not sure they know what's going on with the Catholic Channel. I listened for 15 minutes and decided that (a) if I wasn't Catholic I wouldn't want to be one after listening and (b) would I want to publicly identify myself as a Catholic after listening. I admit it just was a narrow slice of their programming but the two people casually chatting on this program were obnoxious, unfocused and flippant. And as anyone in business and sales has learned, an unfocused knucklehead can erase more goodwill in ten minutes than a competent marketing staff can achieve in ten months.  And the public is happy to form an incorrect opinion of you based on knowing very little of what you really do.

The first of the year is an excellent time to do inventory of all your efforts: your signage, collateral material, advertising campaigns, marketing and customer service staff to make sure your message is put forward in a consistent, effective manner. And it's time to make one resolution: don't wait a year to re-evaluate it. Do it consistently.

Our Scotsman staff is ready to help you with your business needs -- call 315-472-7825 or e-mail us at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com. And, again, best wishes for a great 2012!