1. Print Media
Now I know what you’re thinking, “It’s dated” or “People will just throw them away.” If you’re like me, on a nice walk it’s enjoyable to have something to peruse or inquire about. Print Media, flyers, and direct mailers are inexpensive ways of promoting a property and plant an idea or a referral into a potential customer’s subconscious and they may recall your services and the property for future business. And with Direct Mail, we can help you target a direct demographic to reach the right audience.

2. Website
There seems to be no limit on how far someone’s influence can reach on the Internet and with that prospect Electronic Media can have countless advantages. Having a quickly installed and fresh looking website for a specific property is a professional and enticing way to attract buyers. It appears official with images and information being more in-depth and dedicated to one property.

3. Social Marketing
Word of mouth has and will always be the best form of promotion, so why not take advantage of the fastest and most popular way of staying up-to-date and communicating? Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, etc) is a fast and infectious way of getting your property information and knowledge out to potential buyers. Through Social Media we are allowed to see what our friends may be reading or interested in, this ability makes your promotion go further and reach more.

4. Outdoor & Indoor Advertising
Any form of outdoor and indoor surface has potential to carry a message and attract a buyer. Whether the surface is inside or outside, vertical or horizontal, digital or print, anywhere consumers gather has potential to attract. Don’t forget the power of traditional advertisements (Billboards, signs, benches, etc), they withstand years of fads and for good reason: they work. And with bus bench advertising, you’ll quickly realize, it’s not always bad to have someone sitting on your face.

5. Promotional Advertising Gifts
Let’s be honest, we all love free stuff! Anything you can put your brand or message on has potential to reach numerous individuals. Bags, calendars, baseball caps, pens, or anything that seems miniscule and mundane can often remind us of a sufficient good or service. In today’s market, however, consumers want something they can use and not just throw away. A popular gift that people enjoy is a fairly high-quality drinking tumbler. People like to drink water at work; it’s always with them, and others will see the tumbler with your brand.

Remember to be creative and think outside the box. Advertising does not have to be expensive to attract your audience, it has to be smart. So put yourself in your customer’s shoes and think of how you can be attracted.

Call us today and we will be happy to walk through marketing opportunities that will best fit your needs, budget and audience.

Findings Based on Data from Adobe Digital Index: Global Digital Advertising Update for Q1 2012.

SAN JOSE, Calif., Apr 11, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Adobe Systems Incorporated today released findings from its Adobe® Digital Index, with a report focused on digital advertising industry insights for Q1 2012, as well as an outlook for the remainder of the year. The report shows that digital advertising continues its rapid growth across all channels. According to the report, while Facebook is still an emerging digital advertising channel, search remains the biggest driver of ROI for marketers. Previous versions of this report were published by the former Efficient Frontier, acquired by Adobe in January 2012.

Key Report Findings for Q1 2012

• Spending on mobile platforms reached eight percent of all search spend in the United States, and 11 percent in the UK. Tablets alone account for four percent of total search spend in the United States. Mobile devices and tablets are lower-cost channels and ultimately contributed to Google’s Cost Per Click (CPC) decline of five percent Year over Year (YoY). In contrast, Bing/Yahoo’s CPC increased by 18 percent YoY.
• Traffic on mobile devices, specifically tablets, increased four-fold YoY, and advertisers were quick to respond, growing search investments in mobile and tablets by 250 percent YoY.
• Facebook spend has grown by 93 percent YoY and now represents three to five percent of search spend, indicating that social continues to be a strong, emerging digital advertising channel.

Outlook for Q2-Q4 2012

Every month Adobe analyzes advertiser data from over $2 billion in annualized spend under management. Based on a client index from the past three quarters (beginning in Q2 2011), some key trends are emerging:

• Search spend in the United States is expected to increase at a rate of 10 to 15 percent for the rest of 2012 — consistent with macro trends.
• Tablet and mobile spend will likely make up 15 to 20 percent of all search spend by the end of 2012. Investments in tablet advertising will grow as tablet visitors are rapidly increasing. Conversion rates on mobile devices are comparable to desktop performance even though mobile CPCs are 30 percent lower.
• While Facebook ad CPCs have increased 40 percent Quarter over Quarter for the past three quarters, CPCs on Facebook ‘Sponsored Stories’ tend to be lower than Facebook ‘Marketplace Ads’, which may contribute to temporary decreases in CPCs.

In a blog post, Visible Measures found Kony outpaced other record-setting viral videos. For instance, the video featuring Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009, hit 70 million views in six days. Old Spice’s “Responses” campaign didn’t hit 70 million until five months after it launched.

A few weeks ago, we took a look at the 2011 TV event that blew up the biggest in terms of social-media buzz. (Hint: It wasn’t the Oscars or the Super Bowl.) The data for that charticle came from Ad Age’s editorial partner Trendrr, the social-media monitoring firm that collects and analyzes social chatter for its network, brand and agency clients.

Today, we’re taking a look at the top five regular, non-special-event shows — on both broadcast and cable TV — that captured the most social buzz last fall (from the start of September through the end of December).

Some notes and context:

• On broadcast TV, Fox’s “The X Factor” takes the top spot with an 11% “share of voice” (SOV) — that is, 11% of all the social-TV activity monitored by Trendrr, which includes tweets, public Facebook updates and check-ins on GetGlue and Miso. Fox, in fact, had three of the top five buzziest broadcast shows last fall, with two comedies — “Glee” and “Family Guy” — giving it a big boost.
• “WWE Raw” (the World Wrestling Entertainment show) on USA Network captured 7% SOV surrounding cable shows last fall, with AMC’s “The Walking Dead” not far behind at 5%. Like “The X Factor,” “WWE Raw” benefits from having a huge number of “hooks” to chatter about. Any given “X Factor” or “WWE Raw” episode tends to be packed with plenty of triumphs, let-downs, drama, controversies and assorted little pleasures and annoyances that motivate fans to react on social media. Both shows also have plenty of brands-within-the-brand — the celebrity judges and wannabe celebrity contestants on “The X Factor” and the “superstars” of WWE, many of whom have sizable cult followings.
• Social TV as a cultural phenomenon grew so much in 2011 that we felt that a full-yearranking of the buzziest shows would be kind of misleading. For instance, “The X Factor” was a bigger social-TV deal than “American Idol” in 2011, but “AI” aired at the start of the year when the total universe of viewers who were tweeting or otherwise commenting on TV was considerably smaller. “Idol” starts up again with a two-night premiere on Jan. 18 and 19 and it’s likely to eclipse the social buzz “The X Factor” achieved in the fall.
• Each of the five shows in the pie charts above do well for their respective networks, but it’s worth noting once again that nobody in the TV business expects social buzz to have a strictly linear relationship to ratings. For a quick primer on how and why social buzz does and doesn’t correlate with Nielsen ratings, check out this charticle we put together in October: How Social Media Ranks Fall TV’s Hit Shows.

Super Bowl 2012 Commercials is an online organization giving us all the sneak peak. Check it out!

Chevy Sonic – 2012 – Stunt Anthem

Chevy offers a look at their new Sonic performing a series of “firsts”: skydiving, bungee jumping, kick flipping, and performing with OK GO in a music video. It’s a fun commercial for what looks like a fun car, and the giant skateboard is amazing. Balls-of-steel award goes to the driver in the kick-flip stunt.

CareerBuilder – 2012 – Business Trip

They’re back folks, and we welcome them with open arms. While we’re all for treating animals kindly and with dignity, we can’t help but disagree with PETA on this one: these chimps look like they’re have a ball, and given the choice we’re sure they’d opt to be in the ad rather than sitting in.

Volkswagen – 2012 – The Dog Strikes Back

Volkswagen’s excellent new Beetle commercial manages to tell its own story while paying tribute to their smash hit from last year’s game. This extended version adds an extra 15 seconds to the 60-second spot that will be shown February 5, but you’ve all been really good this year so we thought you deserved it.

Kraft belVita – 2012 – Breakfast Police

Kraft is set to launch a strangely-named yet intriguing new breakfast food, and this hilarious spot about two small-town cops is exactly the way to do it. The script and style are funny, intelligent, and hip without looking like they were trying to be “edgy”. This is a pre-game spot but we won’t hold that

Researchers show the top lists of businesses’ marketing priories in 2012 are:

• Improve our social media presence and customer engagement
• Improve our search engine optimization to drive new business
• Increase brand awareness in new markets using an online presence
• Engage our customers in new, unique ways that set us apart from our competitors
• Be less distracted by watching what our competitors are doing and focus more on who we are and what we want to do

In 2011, our team of search engine optimization experts at NADA advertising focused on a few of these areas with Google’s introduction of Panda. Our clients, rightfully so, we concerned that without implementing changes to their site, they would soon be left in 2011 along with their impressive site traffic versus being on the forefront of 2012 – leading the keyword phrases and words in their industry.

Our SEO team worked hard tailoring search engine optimization strategies for our SEO clients throughout Minneapolis, St. Paul, Laguna Beach, Hawaii, and Palm Springs to not only sustain web traffic, but improve it. A few of the tactics we took on to improve their search engine rankings included:

• Developing micro sites with cross linking with corporate sites based around keywords and phrases
• Integrating more key phrases into their social media strategy to drive more specific traffic back to their site
• Increasing content on their site by writing more informative blogs, adding articles and services – all based around their keywords and phrases
• Partner with other websites in similar fields to share links and stories with
• Analyze user trends on the site and revise page structures and content to give users what they want, faster
• and more

If you search engine optimization is a priority of yours in 2012, contact one of our offices in Minnesota or California for a consultation.

Nathan was pleased to attend the opening on December 7, 2011. The raised funds supported:

• New Classrooms
• 8 door VIP latrines (Sponsored by Brent & Nancy Nerland, Moxie Java & Brian Dernbach)
• 125 new desks
• 39 cartons of sanitary pads for girls
• 3 cupboards
• 3 tables
• 5 chairs
• 20 text books
• 15 soccer and footballs
• Volley ball net
• Science kit
• Bench marking tour for pupils, teachers and parents
• 2 School Management Committee training
• 2 Teacher refresher training
• 2 peer educator workshops for teachers and pupils
• HIV/AIDS peer education mentorship program (sponsored by NADA advertising)

Thank you very much for everyone who helped make this a reality!

In 2008 Pepsi Co aimed to reconnect with consumers by offering a new look to their already iconic logo.  The new logo uses a series of white stripes that are uninspiring.  Pepsi Co should have saved their $1.2 billion and stuck with what they had; an icon.

Imitation can be the sincerest form of flattery or can be plain confusing.  Capital One forgot to respect the past and rebranded their logo in an unoriginal manner that is oddly similar to another familiar brand.  Let’s just say they shouldn’t have “Just done it”.

The Olympics offer moments of inspiration and stories of great human endeavors.  Then why is that human spirit absent from the London 2012?  Instead we get a choppy and dare we say it 80’s retro looking design.  The Olympics logo should appear timeless, classy and harkens back to the human achievement.

So keep those logos and designs consistent to what is successful, appreciated and expected by the public.

For a small business social media can be an immeasurable tool.  So how do you keep that tool clean and sharp?

Have a plan Stan.  Decide on the amount and frequency of information you want to share with the public and your followers.  You don’t want to drown the public with information, but you want to keep them interested and show that you’re business is relevant.  Conserve your information, stories and tidbits.  Intentionally place them and share them at the correct moment.

Social media can be like a bad first date with someone who talks about nothing but themselves.  Engage with your followers and viewers.  Talk to them, ask questions and get their opinions on enjoyable topics.  You don’t have to converse about deep issues such as politics, but a simple question about color, favorite vegetable, or Coke or Diet Coke can open an amusing door to conversation and interaction.

Show a softer side.  We all remember what happened to Jack when it was all work.  Share with the public different aspects of your business life beyond the cold information and statistics.  This is an opportunity to promote your business without really trying, but rather sharing.  Stories of volunteering, awards received or interaction with the public humanizes your business and confirms with the public that their time is important.

Not every business has to be social, but if you’re going to mingle within the party remember to put your best foot forward, be yourself and have fun.

We are being bombarded by the advancements of new technology and trends on a regular basis and if we are not able to adapt and acknowledge these waves we might as well throw our hands in the air (don’t wave them like you just don’t care) and surrender.  So how do you make your website relevant within 2012’s onslaught of the new?  Adopt a few of these recent and necessary trends and you’ll be able to hold your own.

Simplicity.  Forget trying to impress and sway viewers with loud colors and explosive graphics, but blow them away with simple designs and a limited color palette.  It’s softer on the eyes, calming for the brain and easier to navigate.

Function friendly.  As a society we want everything instant and right away, so keep your viewer’s needs in mind.  Make it easy and enjoyable to navigate with simple menus and keep the number of pages of your site to a lean amount.  Since we’re talking about function, don’t forget a mobile ready site.  Smartphones, iPads and netbooks provide an easy function for the user and a mobile ready site will appease that demand.

Flash this!  Flash, although is very enticing and mesmerizing, is also very annoying and a hindrance.  The program can take time to load and not be compatible with mobile devices.  Once again, functionality and simplicity are in.  Keep your site minimal and free from FLASHy gimmicks.  A clean site with well-place designs and textures will be even more eye-catching and promises repeat viewings.