Below Zeros: This is a marketing term, not a temperature. They’re customers who cost more to serve than they return in value. Example: A customer who ties up a salesperson for 45 minutes while trying on 14 pairs of Gucci shoes, then buys a six-pack of tube socks for $1.98, complains about the price and walks out. Also known as BZs.

BZ is a great word to use. Much nicer than calling the client stingy or misery.

spaghetti marketing: To spend marketing dollars randomly without a clear plan, much like throwing spaghetti against the wall to see if it sticks.

Then: “Mr Client, you are wasting your marketing and advertising dollars if you don’t have an inkling what you want.” Usually, the client would be a little agitated and frustrated at this moment, either at his own helplessness or cursing under his breath at our “stupidity”.

Now: “Mr Client, what you are doing now is what we call “spaghetti marketing”. I’m certain that the new terminology will catch his attention. When he is interested to know a bit more, that’s when his mind is open to new understanding and idea. It will be easier to present our thoughts and proposals to him

phenomeniche: A marketing phenomenon that appeals to a small niche. Example: Trading Spaces, the TV series. While not a sweeping global phenomenon, it is the undisputed titan of one modest patch of pop-culture.

Many internet gurus swore by niche marketing. Tom Hua always said it’s better to be the king in a market of 1% of 1,000,000 than a battered soldier in the market of 1,000,000.

Barneyware: The purple dinosaur may have faded from the scene, but his legacy lives on. Barneyware is anything that has little or no substance. Example: A joint press release by two companies that have nothing new to announce, but in order to generate media attention declare their mutual admiration for each other. In effect, the release says nothing more than “I love you, you love me, we’re a happy family.”

Again, another nice word to substitute words like “useless”, “fluffy” or “phony”.

reverbiagized: To reword a concept or proposal with the hope of changing the minds of the people who didn’t like it the first time around. “It’s the same ad campaign, but we reverbiagized it.”

This one surely will get the client’s attention who are so used to “revamp”, “revised”, “re-worked”.

One function of marketing and advertising is to create buzz. I’m sure you folks who are reading this post would not require such buzzwords to make you more credible or trustworthy. However, if these buzzwords can help get the client’s attention to hear you out – regardless if it’s a marketing pitch, sales pitch, creative pitch or copy pitch – you’ll have a higher chance to convince him to look at things from your perspective. It might just open a brand new play ground for both of you.

I will certainly use these buzzwords to get attention when necessary.

Technorati Tags: buzzwords, marketing, advertising

If you are a designer, I’d suggest you hop over there right now to see if you have made some of the “mistakes”. Here is a short list of sample:

• He queried if Helvetica is over used with an “Argh”.
• He pointed out that leaving 2 space after a full stop is simply bad practice.
• He said automatically centralized text looked uninspiring.
• He was adamant that underlining is never to be used as it is “the most redundant thing you can do in life.”
• He highlighted that hypen is a typewriter habit.

Well, one’s meat is another’s poison, you might not agree with Cass’ opinions totally. I’m sure that’s perfectly all right with him; graphic designers can choose to take it with a pint of salt or a spoonful of honey. After all, the guy is entitled to his views. Personally, I agreed with Cass on point 11 and 14. Embossing text with drop shadow and all upper-case text made reading difficult and unpleasant, and so dated.

Whether you are a designer or a copywriter, whether if you are from the agency’s side or the client’s side, it’s great to check out a seasoned designer’s opinion and read the excellent feedback and comments his post had generated. You might learn something new.

Technorati Tags: signs of lousy designer

Besides the usual discussions about the effectiveness of long vs short headlines, sometimes, the mere change of a single word can totally destroy the impact of a headline. In such cases, do you stand your ground?

When we say “the customer is always right…” what does it mean in this context? If the customer really is always right, then why would they need a creative marketing agency in the first place?

It is always good to have this debate in your own team before facing the client.

One of the most common type of loans would be mortgages. Many agencies own their small office. Or some of the more daring owners would even mortgage their homes to get an agency off on a flying start. But one of the most neglected area of agency finance would be insurance.

Insurance is something that not many people talk about. You see, some feel that it is taboo to speak of things going wrong. Yet, to not have any insurance for your business is like going out to see with no life boats or even a life jacket. Sure, you might not end up in trouble, but when you do, they can save your life.

Small businesses are most susceptible to financial storms. Insurance can certainly help you weather storms, do not neglect getting them for your agency.

Unfortunately, as a small agency, the only thing you can do is to flip through the junk mail and attempt to compare loans – loans from various financial institutions. Most of the time, small business owners end up taking personal loans to avoid the hassle of getting a commercial loan approved. Is this the best way to do it? Most definitely not. But in many instances, that is the only recourse that a small company has. There is a great risk involved when the lines between your business and your personal life is blurred. As if the stress of running an agency is not enough, do you really need to put your house or you car on the line to get the working capital you need?

Some banks have tried to capitalise on the needs of the small businesses and have come up with various loans that are targeted at them. But the reality is that banks, being banks, have lots of rules and procedures, which bring us full circle, back to the difficulty of getting a loan. Perhaps it is tougher to get a business loan but easier to get homeowner loan. Getting a home loan, renovation loan and even refinancing seems so easy. In fact, I was offered some freebies when I applied for refinancing with a competitor bank. Will banks start treating small businesses this way? I’m skeptical but let’s see.

Technorati Tags: loans