We are proud to announce that Neal Advertising has won a Gold Davey this year! Our winning entry is a radio spot produced for smart center Boston called “Smart Driver.”

Listen to the spot here.

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Business and Dating

We’ve all experienced dating. Waiting for the phone to ring, sharing your dislikes and likes, having open communication, and just plain manners. Well I bet you’ve never thought dating dilemmas could apply to work situations. Listed below are 5 dating scenarios with solutions that can be used at the work place or even on your next date.

Is my phone on?

After a date has gone really well we wait with anticipation for the next one to take place. We check our phone over and over for any missed calls or text messages. Some may even go as far to call themselves just to make sure their phone is still working. Well, sitting around at your desk waiting for a client to call you back can be the same way. Whether we are waiting approval on an ad or have a question answered, we sit and wait and wait and sometimes wait some more. The best way to handle a non-responsive client is to pick up the phone yourself and call. Yes, we can give them the benefit of the doubt that they are extremely busy and maybe calling you back slip their mind. But when you do call, don’t be afraid to sound pushy or too needy. Take control of the situation and try to make contact with the client. Use all means of communication. If the client doesn’t answer, leave a message and follow up with an email. Persistence by being respectful is the key.

Does this outfit look good on me?

Ladies, you know you ask this and Men, we know you hate to hear it. So what happens when a client shows you their “ensemble” and you just aren’t crazy about it? You must be delicate. Be honest but take their feelings into consideration. Take a piece of what they are presenting you and play up the qualities and say something like “This ad would look really great with what you are saying, especially if we just change the positioning.” This way you aren’t totally neglecting their “taste” but helping to modify it and making it better for them. They can still feel a part of the creative process but you can use your design expertise to make that ad stand out. Ladies, like ads, just love to grab your attention.

Performance failure?

So you’ve had some great dates and now it’s time to invite them back to your place. But what happens when you’ve built this night up in your head and there is performance failure? RELAX! Don’t freak out. Yes it happens to everyone. Here’s how to cope when a clients campaign isn’t performing up to par. Explain what you think happened. Be honest and up front. Lay out all the factors that came into place. Talk it over and try to figure out the next solution. Maybe take the ad campaign a little slower and not try to rush into everything all at once. Before you know it, everything will be performing splendidly.

Go dutch?

You’ve had a great dinner and just finished a bottle of wine and the check arrives. Who grabs it first and do you go halvsies? Money can be a hard topic to discuss so how do you handle it when discussing it with clients? Be up front. The old saying is “time is money and money is time.” The last thing you want to do is spend endless amounts of your valuable time on something that is not going to pay out. The same goes for the client. They are taking an investment into your work and want to see it pay off. They don’t want to pour loads of cash into a project that won’t have them hearing “cha-ching” ringing in their ears. In a business relationship there is always room for negotiating. Don’t be afraid to stick to what you are worth. Be fair and equal and don’t get taken advantage of.

My friend, told your friend, who told me…

Ah gossip. Rumors spread quick and by the time it reaches your ear the story has changed 10 times. What to do? Confront the client. It’s best to hear things directly from the person you deal with. Just calmly discuss the client’s needs with them so you can get all the facts up front. This will give you a better understanding of what direction the client would like to go with their ad or what concerns they may have about the task at hand. It’s always best to have open communication with your client. It gains respect and a great relationship.

Now, go get’m tiger!

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Hatch Award

We’re proud to announce that Neal Advertising received a Bronze Bowl at The Ad Club’s 49th Annual Hatch Awards. What project won this award you ask? This blog! UnderTheBigTopics.com was the only blog to receive an award in the blog category.

The Hatch Awards celebrate excellence in our creative community recognizing the best and brightest advertising agencies in New England.

Congratulations to illustrators Alexis Pacelli and Bryan Woodbury, designer Danielle Pikus, developers Jason Narciso and Jesse Friedman, art director Chad Foster and the rest of the Neal Advertising team!

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Most of you would not know who I was talking about if I mentioned the name Paul Rand. You would, however, be able to identify the IBM, Westinghouse, ABC and UPS brands by looking at their logos. Paul Rand is responsible for that.

Born In Brooklyn New York 1914, Paul Rand became one of the most well known graphic designers in the field most notably for his logo and corporate identity design. Rand was able not only to produce a quality logo design but he had a great ability to explain the importance his designs would have on branding a company. Graphic designer Louis Danziger says,

“He almost singlehandedly convinced business that design was an effective tool. [. . .] Anyone designing in the 1950s and 1960s owed much to Rand, who largely made it possible for us to work. He more than anyone else made the profession reputable. We went from being commercial artists to being graphic designers largely on his merits.”

Rand’s simple clear cut designs are some of the best and most recognized logos being used today. He said that neither logos nor art need be over the top to be recognized and grab attention. As the says goes..more is less.

UPS just went though a very controversial issue when they changed Paul Rand’s original logo to a more flash and 3D looking logo. Now UPS has a logo that blends in with the crowd. It is a very trendy logo and lacks the creativity that Rand originality put in. What is your opinion about the update?

In the process of paving the way for graphic designer he also helped brands thrive and become more recognized. It is something to think about and appreciate.

Paul Rand

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There are a number of services out there that provide analytics reports of your website. At Neal Advertising, we are partial to Google Analytics for its accurate reporting, ease of use and the amount of available data. Today we’ll take a look at 3 basic metrics. 

The total amount of web pages that were viewed on your site in a given time period is referred to as page views. If someone visits your site once, but views 15 different pages, your site just generated 15 page views. When using this to analyze your website, you also need to look carefully at the number of pages you have on your site and the content on each page. You can also delve deeper into this by looking at which individual pages garner the most traffic.

An individual or browser that views your site is measured by a unit called a unique visitor.  If an individual visits the site more than once, it is only counted as one unique visitor. This is a great way to measure your websites traffic, giving you an accurate reading on your audience size. 

When Google calculates your time on site, they take the total amount of time that each visitor spends on the site before exiting the website. If you view 2 pages for a total of 10 minutes or 20 pages for a total of 10 minutes, your time on site will be the same. Every website is unique and thus, the amount time a visitor spends on your site gets will vary. When analyzing this metric, it is important to look at the number of pages, content of those pages and your ultimate goal or purpose for the website.

As with any web metric, Google Analytics is not 100% accurate, but it is a great tool to measure the effectiveness and stickiness of your website.

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I hear a lot of people saying that print is dead, and the digital age is taking over. This is something that I disagree with. I am aware that technology is very abundant in advertising, but just because technology has become the new way to advertise doesn’t mean that the art of print design is dying out.

Print design in mainly used in advertising to create products such as posters, billboard, direct mail, magazine ads and much more. What people don’t see is the other side of print design that is needed to make a business run. Business cards are a good example. The design of them is extremely important to a business. That little card that you leave behind is the first impression people get of your company. It gives your company personality and helps support its brand and image.

Let’s take a step back from business cards and think about what is the most important thing for a company to have. A logo. Your company’s logo is what identifies your company. Without it a business is not branded and advertising will not be as beneficial. A logo makes you associate with the brand. That logo will go on anything and everything your company creates throughout print or web.

I am not saying that technology is bad; it is a wonderful tool and I think it has a lot of great benefits. The best way I think of web design and print design, is to see them as two different things. Web design is a new tool to advertise your brand, but the root behind getting web advertisements recognized by consumers goes back to good print design. So while print advertising may be dying, print design itself is not dead.

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As part of the Account team at a small ad agency, we tend to wear a lot of hats. Whether it is helping out with a creative idea, proof reading, copy writing or analyzing campaign results, our job description is an ever-changing chameleon of advertising duties. But our most important job is the relationship with our clients.

Establishing a rapport with a client and making that client feel comfortable dealing with you is crucial. When you are working with a client, you are the face of the company. You are representing everyone in your office, from the president of the company to the receptionist. Once a solid relationship is established with a client, it must be maintained, which is true for any relationship that hopes to be long-term.

It is sometimes very difficult for the client to realize that we are working with them and have their best interest in mind. It’s not just about putting together a few new ad layouts and spending dollars. Our job goes deeper than that, we want to be a part of the team. We strive to be the marketing arm of our client’s company, helping them every step of the way.

Some key things to remember:
a)  Be friendly – when answering the office phone, greeting a client at the office, or working with your client on a daily basis. This will make your client feel comfortable when trying to reach you or anyone else in the office because it is a friendly environment. The client should not feel like they are bothering us or hesitate to pick up the phone. When coming into the office they should feel welcome and at ease.

b)  Listen to your client – always hear what the client has to say at first, even if it is negative. Negative news can be hard to handle and hard not to take  personally. Remain positive, and stay focused on the task at hand. Listen to the client’s needs and make sure they are met with your own personality thrown into it. A client might not understand all the design factors that come into play so it’s good to be open with your client about new ideas WHILE STILL making sure their needs are met.

c)      Be reliable – do what you say you are going to do. Clients will respect and admire a quick turn-around on a project. This is not to say do a rush job, never sacrifice the quality of work to get something done. This means to deliver the project when you say you are going to. Hold true to your deadlines. Make your deadlines accurate. Clients will be impressed if you deliver ahead of time. They will feel important because you are focusing on their project and it’s on the top of your mind to complete. Clients will be assured that you are going to get a project done when you say it will be done. Not only is this good for your client but good for your piece of mind. Get it finished and move onto the next goal at hand.

Remember, you want to develop business relationships that form into life-long partnerships with your clients and both parties will benefit from respectful, friendly interaction.

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Cooperative advertising reimbursement funds can be used to offset advertising expenditures. Instead of cutting back on print, electronic, direct mail or interactive advertising, which reduces their effectiveness, your company will be able to place an effective advertising program at a reduced cost. With manufacturers reimbursing a sizable percentage of your advertising expense, it is a good way to get your message out to the consumer while keeping your advertising costs down.

Let us guide you through this cost effective budgeting tool.

First, make sure you have funds available and find out the guidelines of the co-op program…

1. What percentage will the manufacturer reimburse?

2. What products do you need to advertise?

3. What are the advertising requirements?

4. When do the funds expire?

Next, check with the manufacturer about pre-approval requirements. If the manufacturer does require pre-approval, make sure you have a written copy of this. You will not be reimbursed without it.

Finally, you must gather all the information needed to submit your claim and obtain your funds in a timely manner. Most submission must be done in a sixty to ninety day period. The deadlines are strict. Keep the following in mind…

1. If you are doing radio or television you will need to provide a notarized script and invoice from the station(s). Television also requires a DVD of the spot.

2. Print advertisements require a tear sheet or e-sheet (electronic tear sheet) from the newspaper or magazine along with an invoice.

3. Direct mail advertising requires an invoice, a postal receipt and a mail sample.

4. Interactive advertising requires an invoice and screen shots of banners from the media website. If you have a pre-roll video you will need a DVD.

Coop funds are paid to you by check from the manufacturer, or can be done as a credit to your open account with the manufacturer. Who wouldn’t want to supplement their advertising budget with cooperative advertising? If you’re considering co-op but it sounds a little overwhelming or too time consuming, a professional advertising agency will be able to help you receive the greatest benefits from your cooperative advertising account.

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Every personality on a radio station has a job to do, and that job is no easy task. They have to create unique content every day to engage their listening audience. That personality is the moderator of a “community”. A community analogous to communities you find online, like blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. It’s people who can relate to that DJ, whether its their programming including views on subjects, poking fun at people, news events, satirical opinions- the list goes on and on. What’s most important is that they add value to the station, and changes the “vanilla” flavor to something that adds “spice” for the listeners. There is such a disparity between “cookie cutter voice tracked programming,” to a personality who can relate to the local community and listeners alike. It is like going from one end of the spectrum to the other. Yes, radio stations CEOs can save money by eliminating the talent on air and replace it with voice tracked programming, but at what price? You save a salary but you deteriorated and cannibalized your audience as a by-product. That same audience you worked so hard to acquire.

So let’s get back to the original question, why do radio stations need them? Their unique content becomes the personality of the station and an integral part of the fabric composing their listening audience. Their loyal followers are the audience that advertisers are attracted to. Local programming, talented DJs, unique original content are just some of the important ingredients that go into the recipe for a successful radio station. Top the cake off with a talented well trained sales department to market this to their agencies and advertisers, as well as a strong digital component; and behold, you have a formula and blueprint for success, and one helluva cake! See what jacobsmedia blog says about promoting local radio. The digital component is where there is a tremendous uptick in potential. It changes the face of terrestrial radio like a facelift and brings radio into the new millennium. The unique generated content on the radios respective web site allows the interaction with the audience but on a new platform. Some stations have a webcam set up in the broadcast booth(link to story), others are streaming, and still others are providing UGC that do not fall under the FCC regulations. Watch an interview online with a guest in its entirety without the timeline given on terrestrial radio. Today the consumer is in charge of what they want to listen to and what they want to watch. If radio stations hit those aforementioned benchmarks, then they have successfully engaged their audience. And that is something they have to earn!

In Boston, radio personalities like Greg Hill(Hillman) on WAAF, Matty Siegel and Billy Costa on KISS 108, Karlson and MacKenzie on WZLX, Michael Griffin and Jay Severin from WTKK, and a host of others, generate that “audience” by virtue of their content and embedding themselves into the local communities of their listeners. They are the glue that holds the radio station’s listenership together. Eliminate them, and their respective radio stations are no better then piped in music. O.K. for some, but not the majority of people that each format represents. And certainly not what is going to capture the x, y and abc….z generations.

Let’s dissect for a moment (not literally WAAF fans, relax) Greg Hill, a.k.a. Hillman, and his audience on WAAF. Greg has been the host of the morning show for over 20 years. Greg researches compelling content everyday in order to engage his audience in discussions ranging from sports and entertainment to politics. Is their anything else left? But that’s exactly the “glue” he uses to attract his audience from business professionals to blue collar small business owners. His audience is predominantly men 25-54, but women too!! His guests have included sports figures such as Kevin Youkilis, Theo Epstein, Cam Neely.

These are relationships Greg Hill has built in this Boston marketplace! Local with unique content! In addition to sport celebrities, Greg has developed relationships in the music and entertainment communities. How is this for unique online content? Greg will setup a video shoot so his audience can engage with his guest online. This is just one way WAAF successfully integrates Hillman, his guest, with his audience. Again unique generated content using VIDEO! When you have a following, a TRIBE, like Hillman has, it enables that celebrity to get involved with local community charities such as the Joshua Frase Foundation, Heart Ball where he presents and MC’s the event, Celebrities for Charities among others. This is why local radio stations need talented personalities.

On another front, let’s look at Matty in the morning with Billy Costa on KISS. Their core audience is women 30-40’s and “soccer moms!” That mother often times grew up with these two guys and still follows them today. One of the things they do extremely well is their contest promotion. They have built ‘appointment listening,’ where there audience tunes in at the same time every day. As an example, gambling with Jon Bon Jovi at Mohegan Sun or winning a $10,000 New Kids on the Block VIP dinner with the band! Their interviews in the morning have included celebrities like Oprah, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Jennifer Lopez and the list goes on!

As far as embedding themselves in the local community, you don’t have to go far. Matty’s involvement with the Parkinson’s Walk and Billy’s involvement with The Herb Chambers Platinum Plate TV Diner Gala raised over $40,000 for Children’s Floating Hospital this past November. Let’s not forget when Matty, Billy Costa teamed up with Herb Chambers , to give Michael DeMello the keys to a Ford Ranger! Mike’s Ford was destroyed after the Red Sox won the World Series by an unruly mob. Herb Chambers came to the KISS studio to surprise Mike with the keys to his new vehicle. How about that for local community involvement? The list for these two guys goes on. These are just some of the things Matty and Billy do to keep their audience active, engaging, and listening.

The brand that each personality represents is NOT what they say they are, it’s what we, the listening audience are saying about them!! That is what makes a successful brand. Whether its a company, a personality, a product, a service, or a radio stations format, programming, and content-we the consumer decide if it is what we want it to be! read “how to create A “BRAND PERSONALITY” for your radio station.

As far as the online component goes, the radio website must have the look and feel of the radio station. Just because you have a strong radio listenership on terrestrial radio, don’t think you can dupe your audience with a sub par web site. The consumer compares your site with all other sites online. Do you have video, stream, easy navigation, contests, etc. Here again is where your radio personality fits in- they can engage the listener with additional unique content via video, audio . How good is that??

Do you think your listening audience would enjoy engaging with your “brand” online? Better yet, do you think your advertiser would embrace your online audience the way they do on your station. These are just some of the reasons why RADIO STATIONS NEED LOCAL RADIO PERSONALITIES!

It’s the NEW DAWN OF RADIO!

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