Over the years, I’ve heard ad professionals talk about the outstanding copywriting that can be found in catalogues. Of course, there are other approaches to advertising creativity, but …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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6/30/20
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This will be an election like no other as the Covid crisis has forced us into remote work stations and candidates into dramatically different campaign strategies. But that is just where the …
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6/24/20
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Abby, who owns a retail store, told me about an appointment with a salesperson from her local newspaper. “I did plenty of research before I contacted him and decided to run a campaign in his …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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2/3/20
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Tim manages an ad sales team. “When I started my career in the newspaper business, I quickly learned that advertisers can be worlds apart in their knowledge of marketing,” he said. “That’s …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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12/11/19
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Statisticians disagree on the number of commercial messages we are exposed to each day. Some say 1,000. Some say as many as 3,000. And others claim the number is closer to 20,000.
With estimates …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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11/7/19
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I once encountered a car dealer who took advertising puffery to new levels. They publicized themselves as being number one in every conceivable category. Their general advertising theme was, …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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3/4/19
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Joseph was talking to me about something he feels is important to the ad staff he manages. “These days, there’s a lot of talk about multi-tasking,” he said. “But according to what I’ve read …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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1/2/19
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Jodi is a sales manager with an interesting philosophy. “We’re all familiar with win-win,” she said. “It’s a common cliché these days. In business relationships – especially any kind of …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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12/6/18
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Back in my ad agency days, I learned a big lesson about what to do – and what not to do – in a sales presentation.
I was sitting in the office of the owner of a construction business, …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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10/3/18
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Back in my ad agency days, I learned a big lesson about what to do – and what not to do – in a sales presentation.
I was sitting in the office of the owner of a construction business, …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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10/3/18
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Back when I was in the ad agency business, I made a logo presentation that turned into a fiasco. It was an uncomfortable reminder of the importance of a presentation environment.
This …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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9/4/18
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On a visit to my eye doctor for a check-up, I noticed a poster on the wall in the examination room. It featured a series of photographs of the same scene. The first photo depicted the scene through …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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8/6/18
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I was talking to Greg, a veteran sales manager “Our sales team knows the importance of asking questions and gathering the right information,” he said. “But the key is to write it down …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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7/9/18
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We’ve all been there, flipping through seemingly endless television listings. A minute goes by. Then two. Then three. Next, a 10-minute scroll and a difficult search through Netflix. And still …
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6/12/18
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Carla has been selling advertising for many years. She has researched and tried a variety of techniques to answer objections. “Just about everybody knows the Feel-Felt-Found formula,” she said. …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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4/13/18
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Carl is a marketing manager who has been on the receiving end of hundreds of media presentations. He knows a thing or two about effective sales techniques. “Most of the time, I’m the point person …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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3/19/18
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Selling and sailing have a lot in common. Consider the jibe.
A sailboat cannot sail directly into the wind, but it can sail at angles to the wind. The closest point of sail is approximately …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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1/19/18
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Sometimes it’s a good idea to feature a boss in an ad. Sometimes it’s not.
Two ads come to mind. One shows a plumbing company’s president seated at the head of a conference table, …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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12/19/17
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We’ve been getting lots of questions about political advertising, thus this interim FFR. There are seven main things newspapers* need to know/do about political advertising.
· You cannot …
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Amanda Martin
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10/31/17
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Headlines are the entrance ramps to effective advertising. The better the headline, the higher the readership. The key word is “engagement.” How can you engage readers – with just a few words?
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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9/26/17
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