Purpose and Goals for Advertising Returns

Football season is now upon us and already the college football faithful have been treated to some unbelievable games. Fresh on all of our minds is the major upset that Appalachian State pulled off against powerhouse Michigan. The headline pretty much said it all: 'One and Done'. That's a powerful headline and it sums up the situation for Michigan very well - they played one game, lost it and with that their dreams of a national championship.

Think about the power of headlines as they related to your marketing efforts. Are they meaningful? Do they stop the reader in that 2-3 second slot of time you have to capture their attention? Your goal is to make a very quick connection with the reader or passerby who says 'wait a second...what is this?' The body copy and graphics then work together in harmony to effectively tell your story - but with precision and crispness - to lead the reader to a call for action.

While attending a recent college football game in a famous stadium known in the Southeast as Death Valley, I couldn't help but find my attention drawn to the big, bright, flashing advertisements and promos running along the border between the upper and lower decks. What I found fascinating was the lack of any message. In all fairness, most of these high-dollar sponsors had some local brand recognition so this was definitely positive reinforcement. But for those 'me too' guys who spent who knows how much to have their logos animated in neon - - well, I'd really like to know their ROI. No web address, no solution bullet listing - - just a flashy logo in front of 83,000 people who were given no reason to check these guys out.

Have purpose when you advertise. Do it with a goal and solid objective in mind. Don't be one of these people that wonders six months from now why their big dollar stadium advertising went no where. Instead, approach it with purpose like a true business winner!