 | “I made a killing on Wall Street...I shot my broker.” Small businesses are the unsung heroes of our economy. The one person, five person, twenty person shops doing their thing - often completely unnoticed. And, while they may not be getting the recognition they deserve, it is the small businesses that are the true engines of the United States economy and the ones we are depending upon to create most of the new jobs our country so desperately needs. |
 | “Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.” When it comes to reach versus frequency Roy Williams, the Wizard of the Wizard of Ads, is a big believer in frequency. He argues the more limited your advertising budget the more important frequency becomes. |
 | “College football is a sport that bears the same relation to education that bullfighting does to agriculture.” The overnight ratings for the January 1st Rose Bowl featuring the University of Wisconsin (my alma mater) against TCU (whoever they are) were released a week ago. This was the first year the Rose Bowl was carried on a paid subscription network, ESPN. The game did an 11.7. Last year's Rose Bowl pitted Ohio State against the University of Oregon - Ohio State won - and was carried on the ABC Broadcast TV Network. That game did a 13.8. |
 | “Dashing through the store. It is the holidays. You're buying so much more and charging all the way. Bells on cash registers ring...” You have to admire Consumer Credit of Des Moines' advertising campaign. Clever, creative commercials with a strong message. So well written and produced they make you want to watch the commercial. That's a good commercial. |
 | “The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.” There are those that try to make advertising and marketing an exact science. And, there are those that believe in winging it and flying by the seat of their pants. Maybe both are right or maybe both are wrong. |
 | “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” I had a meeting the other day with David Sinnwell, Chairman-CEO of Dahl's Foods. I like Dave a lot - he is an interesting guy. During our meeting, we talked about several areas of business including advertising, marketing, his competition in general and ended up on customer service. |
 | “The federal government has sponsored research that has produced a tomato that is perfect in every respect, except that you can't eat it. We should make every effort to make sure this disease, often referred to as 'progress', doesn't spread.” Over the years, the television industry has allowed Nielsen ratings to become the currency of our business. Dating back to 1950, Nielsen surveys television audiences and translates those surveys into ratings for TV programming. TV stations then use those ratings to establish the rate we charge an advertiser to advertise in that program. It's not rocket science. |
 | “Most ads aren't written to persuade; they're written not to offend. This is why most ads are boring. At KCWI/KDMI-TV, we believe that too often TV commercials are produced as quickly as possible. We see commercials and wonder - did anybody involved with the creative process ever stop to ask if they believe this commercial will actually get results. Our guess is - "No". We think they fall victim to the old cliché "that a good ad is a done ad". |
 | “Your saying, like Harry Reid's flip-flop on whether to amend the filibuster is just a pro wrestling move?” In the late '80's I was sales manager at a then independent TV station. As the name implies, an independent TV station is independent - in other words, it does not have a network to rely on for programming. As a result, we were always looking for shows to carry. So, one day I contacted the World Wrestling Federation in Stamford, Connecticut to see if they had anything available. |
 | “I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.” The United States Census Bureau released results from the March census last week. The report reflects some interesting shifts going on in our country. |