Category Archives: Publicity

How Can I Find Sponsorship For My Game Show?

Publicity

My company, which is an entertainment based business, is building a game show production tour for fall of this year in Metro Atlanta, GA. The production will be geared towards the sports industry and will be hosted by various sports bars and venues in the area. I am hoping it will expand to other venues i.e. Falcons pre-game festivities etc but that’s another issue. The name of the tour or production has not been named yet but it will focus mainly on football trivia…something like "Ultimate Football Challenge" and will be based on the game show format similar to Jeopardy and will be prize driven. The production will be a real game show set with podiums, host, projector screen, lighting etc….

As far as the marketing end, getting businesses and venues to donate gift cards and products as prizes for visibility isn’t going to be a problem on this one. But getting corporate sponsorship is what I am not familiar with. To make this profitable for my company I will need sponsors and this format is a great way to promote businesses/brands. Game show podiums can host brand or business logos, the projector screen can rotate through logos and advertisements for businesses during intermissions and before the show similar to movie theaters, product boosting through trivia questions and as prizes as well. How do I go about finding key contacts for corporate sponsors in my area that would be interested in this? Also how do I start to tier sponsorship amounts and what exposure they will receive? How do I make this attractive for the sponsors? I’m new to finding corporate sponsors so where is a good place to begin? Also how can I get the local radio stations to promote the tour on their show? Would I offer to brand their station logo on the set? Or if that’s not enough, what could I offer? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also on a side note as mentioned before how can I find contacts for pro sports events so I can pitch the production?

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Jay’s Answer: You’re looking for sponsors that want to attract the sports bar demographic in your region. This could be local breweries, wineries, clothiers, placement services, dating services, travel agencies, cell phone providers, or even auto dealerships. Your presentation would identify the size of the audience, their demographic (age, income, etc.), and the context of the ad.

Again, to get a radio station involved, do your homework to find one that’s targeting this demographic. Offer to be a guest and provide some questions for a football trivia call-in show.

What Should Be In A Brochure For Our Dog Club and Park?

Clubs + Associations, Publicity

Our business is unique in our area. We are a private dog club (www.wolfbrook.com) with a 12 acre dog park (off leash socialization). We offer dog training and dog daycare as well. I’m having trouble putting together a brochure. I’ve been doing tons of reading online to try to learn as much as I can about writing/marketing/press releases…. I think I would like a question on the front of the brochure and then maybe answer it inside with some of the major benefits. Just an FYI, we are NOT into cute dog things with the words paw, or woof or bark if you catch my drift (for example I don’t want to say "your dog will pawsitively love it here").

I’m thinking of putting the question "Wouldn’t you like to do more with your dog?" on the front and then maybe put something like "more fun" "more exercise" "more sports" "more communication" on the first flap. Would those be considered benefits?

I hate to leave out our "features" as we do offer some pretty major things, for example we have a large clubhouse for members use. It is heated and air conditioned and has a full kitchen and bathroom as well as a dog washing area free for members. Most other dog parks don’t even have a port a potty, much less a clubhouse that is for both dogs and humans. Am I wanting to put too much?

Our biggest benefit (to me) is hard to verbalize. We evaluate all potential members. The dogs must be able to socialize and the owners must be willing to become a part of the community. I guess you could say we are selective about the safety and enjoyment of our members.

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Jay’s Answer: I think your benefits are: freedom for dog owners, safety for socialization, exclusive natural beauty, ease of cleanup, and room to exercise.

As for "more fun", etc. – compare your offering with the competition: public dog parks and open (walking) spaces. You do have some unique offerings, and you need to figure out what demographic is likely to want to join your club (given the price & location).

Instead of "Wouldn’t you like to do more with your dog?":

  • "Is Walking Your Dog More Work And Less Play?"
  • "Tired Of Dog Park Bullies?"
  • "WolfBrook: Dog’s Best Friend"

How Can I Make A Creative Table Top Display On Tight Budget?

Publicity

I have to design a table top display for a user group meeting on a very tight budget ($500). I have ideas for content, my concern is presentation. What’s the best way to ensure traffic to our location? It’s a small show, with mainly our partner’s customers, but we are in a back room. Is it better to do a table top display, or an easel display? And what type of material would you suggest, foam core board, vinyl??

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Jay’s Answer: If it’s a small show, then people will eventually filter to the back room. Other vendors in the room will have a similar problem – so you’ll be working as a team to draw in people.

As for your booth – realize that unless you’re selling something low price at the show, that your purpose isn’t to close a sale, it’s to start one. Listen to people, make appointments with them 1 on 1, find what their needs are, and follow up showing how your product/services solves their needs. At a show, it’s hard to have a meaningful show "on the floor" let alone think.

If you know your target audience well, then clearly identify the top 1-3 problems they have (think headlines for ad copy or web site), and make that your sign. The point is to get contact information, do a brief "intake", and schedule a follow up.

You could use Powerpoint to run a slide show highlighting the points. Movement attracts people’s eyes – but don’t overdo it (with the slide transitions). One headline per slide. Bring your laptop to power the screen.

How Can I Attract More Customers To My Nonprofit Thrift Boutique?

Products, Publicity

As off-shoot main business (lg upscale consignment ) started thrift next to one store. Thrift separate store. Tiny. 700 sqft sales-19 years. Main business left unsold stuff becomes main business’ property but wanted to sell to benefit community. Solution – operate the thrift for a different group local non-profits’s and split sales quarterly. Cute/boutique like. No smells/junk. Decorated. Clothes, books, jewelry, small decoratives. Down outside hallway, around corner/cheap rent. Prices dirt. Get same customers. Don’t care $ for NP’s. 2 problems: How to advertise/get new customers w/out increasing public donations ’cause mostly crap/big labor/disposal costs. How to reward current repeat customers w/out giving away NP’s profits or train to wait for ‘sales’. (Staff so tired of hagglers)

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Jay’s Answer: Your question is basically, how can my store (which supports non-profits and sells goods cheaply) get more customers?

A thrift store is basically like an indoor garage sale – you don’t know what’s there until you show up, and it can change daily. The people who are looking for a bargain will continue to shop your store, and haggle as well. So, you need to do something different. Make it easy for people who are looking for your goods to find them.

  • Create a website for your store, and list the inventory (allowing searching).
  • Create a service for people who are looking for something special to be notified when/if it comes in (and you could charge for this VIP service).
  • List your new goods daily on Craigslist for your community.Connect with a local business that handles eBay (or other online) auctions. You’ll no doubt be able to sell your (better) goods for more $

The key is connecting your supply (of goods) with the proper demand.

Need An Event To Attract Customers To Our Shopping Center!

Publicity

We have a fairly large shopping center along busy highway. Entrances and exits were not well planned. The center is so broken up with free standing buildings and parking lot areas that customers cannot find their way around the lot easily. I get phone calls from inside the lot asking where my store is located! We have several large retailers…Costco, Stein Mart, HomeGoods/Marshalls and several small restaurants (Outback and Carrabbas are the two biggest.) Parking is limited. My strip is closest to and facing the main street but developer felt it necessary to plan pine trees on berm in front of our store. Tall trees also planted behind which hides us from rest of center. Almost all of the merchants in the center are willing to contribute/participate to increase traffic. The village government is not so helpful. Even new signs and banners are prohibited. Any ideas if some kind of "event" (e.g. car show, carnival, snow making machine (we’re in FL) would be of benefit for (1) getting customers into the center and (2) getting them familiar with all the stores in this chopped up center. If so, which events have worked for you? If not, what do you suggest? My concerns are whether (1) the parking lot would hold a large crowd and (2) would it be a distraction from the stores rather than a benefit.

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Jay’s Answer: Invite the local boy/girl scouts to come and help lay the footwork to your stores. Have each child assigned a paint color, a route (and perhaps a store). Their job is to step into their paint color, and create footsteps for their route. (The paint could be washable, of course, if the merchants are concerned). Then, create a color-coded map that matches the footsteps.

You now have an "event", a theme, and a result that will help foot traffic.

Boost Your Store’s Foot Traffic For Free

Creative Business Ideas, eMarketing, Publicity

Store Queue
Photo by tata_aka_T

To get more customers into your store, make it easier for people to find your business online. Use Google’s Local Business Center to get your business listed in Google Maps, include a photo of your store, a description of your services, and even downloadable coupons for free. The entire process takes less than 15 minutes and you can easily change your store listing at any time.

  1. If you don’t already have a Google account, get one here . A Google account is also a necessity for using Google Analytics, Google Pages, etc.
  2. Create your Local Business Center Account
  3. Enter your business name, street address, phone number, website, and description. While you don’t need a website, Google requires a valid street address and phone number.
  4. Categorize your business (major categories include: retail stores, organizations, business to business, entertainment, transportation, travel, education, services, health & medical, restaurants, government offices, and real estate)
  5. (Optionally) Specify your hours and payment options.
  6. (Optionally) Upload pictures of your storefront or goods.
  7. (Optionally) Add details such as keywords, price ranges, and/or areas served.
  8. Confirm your listing (either by phone or postcard).

Many Good Ideas Google Maps Listing

The more information you provide, the easier it will be for people to find you: by location, by type of your business, by the hours of your business, and even what your store looks like. Think of Local Business Center as a free online Yellow Pages listing. Make sure you highlight the key benefits of your store to attract online attention.

Of course, adding a listing alone isn’t going to make your business an overnight success. It will make your business easier to find, and is a great addition to an old-fashioned brick-and-mortar store that doesn’t have a website but does want an online presence.

This tip will help increase awareness of your store online. Getting customers to tell their friends and return back to the store is vital strategy for creating an ongoing stream of clientele.

In addition to Google, many other search engines also allow you to submit your store (in many cases for free) to their business lists: Yahoo , Super Pages , Yellow Pages , MSN , Insider Pages , Local , and City Search .

How Can We Promote Our Wildlife Conservation Park?

Clubs + Associations, Publicity

I’m looking for unique ways of promoting a wildlife conservation park to get more visitors, more members, more donations more animal adoptions and more corporate sponsors.

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Jay’s Answer: Each of your needs requires a different strategy, but some of them will no doubt overlap.

For example, to get more visitors, identify who is your competition (zoos? animal rehab? Animal Planet? Pet stores?) and identify what’s unique/special/rewarding about going. Educational? Fun? Healing?

Members/donors require another level of involvement. What benefit will these people receive from this relationship? Will they get behind-the-scenes tours? Private parties?

Sponsors will need both visibility and core value alignment. They’ll want to know how their name will be displayed, to what demographic, etc.

Because the park doesn’t have a direct benefit (except for people that want to stay at/visit the park), you need to appeal to people who care about the animals. I volunteer with a wild animal rehab organization so I know it’s often a struggle to get sufficient funding. (donations-in-kind are easier).

How Should We Market Our Intellectual Property Company?

Publicity, Services

I work as a marketing officer in an Intellectual Property office in the Middle East, we offer services like Trademarks registration, Patents registration, copyrights, and everything related to Intellectual Property. As a marketing Dept. we depend on contacting more clients by making more visits, and that is the only Marketing Tool we use. The CHALLENGES we face are:
1- We don’t have Marketing plan / Marketing strategy.
2- We need more marketing tools to depend on.
3- Many clients are not convinced that registering their Trademarks are for their best benefit even though we try hard to deliver them the idea of the many advantages they will get when having their TM registered and the disadvantages of not registering.

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Jay’s Answer: First, recognize that the biggest expense with intellectual property (IP) isn’t registering – it’s protection. If a small company registers a trademark and later finds another company infringing, they need to file a lawsuit. And we know that lawsuits are expensive to file and defend. Therefore, I don’t generally recommend that small businesses register their IP unless:

  • They have “deep pockets” to defend in court, and/or
  • They plan to sell their company in the foreseeable future

Intellectual property is highly valuable in valuating a company. Patents, copyrights, etc. can all become sources of licensing revenue.

Instead of making more visits, I would strongly suggest creating a series of white papers (available for free in exchange for a prospect’s contact information) detailing the pros and cons of registering their intellectual property:

  • How much revenue a company lost (or gained)
  • How companies have created new opportunities by “spinning out” licensing divisions.
  • How having copyrights, patents, etc. in a company’s marketing materials increases the perception of their value/expertise.
  • How to protect the value of their intellectual property

I would encourage you to also offer free seminars in-house as well as educating local marketing/advertising firms about the issues of IP, and encourage them to have their clients’ work protected.

How Should We Spotlight Our Hospital’s New Award?

Publicity, Services

I need an idea for branding and highlighting our new “Stroke Center of Excellence”. We are competing with another local hospital receiving the same.

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Jay’s Answer: Congratulations on the new accolade. To include this in your marketing message, you need to consider why someone would care and what they’d do about it. If someone has a stroke, they’re not going to think about which hospital they should go to for emergency care. They’ll go to the hospital that’s either: closest and/or associated with their doctor.

Therefore, you want to focus your message on highlighting the doctors that practice at your facility. For example, list the excellent physicians that specialize in stroke intervention & prevention. The message would be, “Is your doctor on this list? If so, you’re in safe hands – these doctors will have the support of a recognized “stroke center of excellence”. If not, consider using one of them – for your loved one’s sake.”

How Can I Get Our Tax Consultancy Noticed?

Publicity, Services

I am the sales and marketing manager of a small tax consultant office. As part of our services, we also offered tax related computer applications, and tax compliance outsourcing.

It’s been hard to conviced the market about our services, they tend to accept the large players such as PwC and EY. Although we do have the experience and knowledge, since some of our people are ex PwC or EY.

We are thinking of having some kind of events or such to let people know who we are and what we can do. But we are little afraid that the events will only be a waste of resources.

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Jay’s Answer: If they already have a tax consultant, why should someone switch to you? If they don’t why should they choose you?

If you do events, then coordinate with a local chamber of commerce (or other business organization). Best is to offer a free class about the "Top 10 Tax Problems To Avoid". During the class, offer lots of useful information. The point is two-fold: to show people that you know a lot and you can help them.