Tom Smisek Marketing Consultants (TSC) was launched in 1980 after a ten-year successful career as Tom Smisek Advertising Inc., a full-service ad agency with a staff of eight to eleven employees. While we did all of the creative and production in-house, we still utilized outside services like printers, auto-visual producers…
No, I am not talking about marketing hardware, but rather the basics of product and service sales promotion. Too much emphasis is being placed on creativity and on-line media placement while not presenting a compelling message. Effective advertising must appeal to the emotions, wants and needs and even fears of…
In these uncertain times, when state and politicians are pulling the strings on business operations, you have to be proactive. The on-going tug of war with openings, closures and restrictions have caused havoc to marketers large and small. The knee-jerk responses have been blamed on the Coronavirus, but some suspect…
The years spent in a profession yields a vast amount of valuable knowledge. This wisdom tells us what has worked in the past and what has failed and these understandings have a relevant future benefit. Experience is a major qualifying factor in determining the value of a professional. We ask…
Some marketers buy advertising based on graphic design alone. They sporadically run ads in the least expensive media and hope to attract business. While it is desirable to have attractive artwork, advertising is more than artwork… it’s more that posting on Social Media. Impressive advertising is more important than…
Whether you are launching a rocket, a new product or a new business, the four “P’s” apply. What are they? Product, Production, Preparation, and Propellent. Without these critical functions your rocket or your business endeavor will never get off the ground or crash and burn. Ninety-nine percent of new businesses…
Advertising is comprised of two primary media functions; Promotional and Directional. Simply put: Promotional Media is proactive advertising that reaches out to target markets with motivational messages. Directional Media is reactive, initiated by consumers shopping for those advertised products and services and looking for the best price and a place…
AN ALTERNATIVE TO HIGH PRICED AD SERVICES No one ever said that advertising was going to be cheap. Some of the most expensive advertising efforts have been attempts by marketers, who try to skimp by as cheaply as possible, by doing it themselves, or using freelancers to do their artwork.…
In spite of past predictions by some… today, print media is alive and well. Over a decade ago a former client predicted, that within ten years, all printers would be out of business and magazines would no longer exist. He claimed that the new digital media would take over, and…
Sales methods have changed over the years. I remember the door-to-door salesmen selling vacuum cleaners, encyclopedias and household products. Direct-mail promotions and telephone solicitation replaced some of the premise sales calls, but personal contact has always been the best way to present a product, or service and get an order.…
