In a recent article in Florida Trend, Small businesses are advised to get into neighborhood networking groups and to get involved in activities and events that showcase the business to the targeted groups. It is important to showcase the company`s values and interests by sponsoring community sports teams or by joining community nonprofit groups. A specialty advertiser can provide advise on the most innovative advertising strategy.



Wikipedia hits in right on the head when they write, "Advertising is paid, one-way communication through a medium in which the sponsor is identified and the message is controlled by the sponsor"

There are a variety of advertising methods, here we are going to touch on 5 of them. They are publicity, public relations, product placement, sponsorship, and sales promotion.

Publicity is "the deliberate attempt to manage the public`s perception of a subject." Between the client and selected target audiences, publicity is the management of product- or brand-related communications between the firm and the general public. It is primarily an informative activity (as opposed to a persuasive one), but its ultimate goal is to promote the client`s products, services, or brands.A basic tool of the publicist is the press release, but other techniques include telephone press conferences, in-studio media tours, multi-component video news releases (VNR's), newswire stories, and internet releases.

Public relations or better known as PR is a promotion intended to create goodwill for a person or an institutions image. Corporations normally use public relations to convey information about the products they manufacture or services they provide to customers in order to support their direct sales efforts.

Product placement are advertisements placed by marketers using real commercial products and services in media. One of the better known product placements (in my lifetime anyway), is the showing of Reese`s Pieces, a candy manufactured by the Hershey Company, during the film. That placement increased the sale of that candy by almost 80%.

Sponsorship is an arrangement to exchange advertising for the responsibility of funding a popular event or entity. You see this all the time on TV, beer companies sponsor sporting events and so on. This can be pricey, but if you the correct target audience, you can lift your business or product to whole new level.

Sales promotions are non-personal promotional efforts that are designed to have an immediate impact on sales. They include, coupons, discounts, contests, rebates, free samples and other gifts and incentives to name a few. Sales promotions targeted at the consumer are called consumer sales promotions. Sales promotions targeted at retailers and wholesale are called trade sales promotions. Some sale promotions, particularly ones with unusual methods, are considered gimmick by many.

Above are just a few ways you can spark new ideas into an advertising campaign. You can take these ideas and put some twists on them and get your business, products or services going.

By: Michael C. Podlesny