Welcome to checkpoint number six.

Number six in our series of six and the final summary of 57 Media Spikes.

Whew—you can exhale now. Thanks for staying along for the ride. Including these checkpoint summaries, you've been with me for 63 messages. Abut 6 months along now. I hope you've enjoyed and have been able to use some of the tips and ideas in your business practice to improve your business.

#51: Waiting on tables. Powerful place based marketing by one enterprising jeweller gave them a big creative footprint that literally put their catalogue in the foodcourt. Top of Mind from Top Of Table.

#52: What's the best media? WELL- let me ask you...What do you want to do? Who do you want to reach? How much can you afford to spend? What do you want to say? Every campaign has —or should—have their own media mix. And magazines, well they are a perfect place to be a good storyteller.

#53: Radio. The music is the bridge that connects my past to my present. Radio is always theatre of the mind because the listener is painting the special effects in their own mind from the narrative you provide. We also gave you a link to our 10 part series on radio by clicking here.

#54: Television advertising is alive and well and living in your living room, basement, bedroom, kitchen, garage, handheld, laptop and our thirst for it is unquenchable.  When you're advertising, TV means you are on stage performing. Don't miss your chance to shine.

#55: While social media is gaining traction and usage, it remains a sociable environment, and less so a sales environment. But like all other media, it is evolving to find ways to monetize itself. Right now it seems you need to work very hard to make your ads work rather than your ads working hard for you.

#56: On The Road Again with Willie Nelson and the thousands of billboards he's seen in a lifetime of touring. Outdoor media is your chance to Make Some Noise Without a Sound. We also provided a link to our 10 part series on outdoor media by clicking here.

#57: You are HERE! Just like our series opened. We've explored lots of media options, history and links to multiple sources that I hope were worth the price of admission - Your name and email address was worth it to me.

The 57 Media Spikes email series has come to its conclusion, but also come to a transition the inner circle if you'd like to continue to receive additional media commentary.

Thank you.  I look forward to seeing you as part of the Spike of Angels Inner Circle

It has been my privilege. Thank you. Be well.

Sincerely.

Dennis Kelly
dennis@firstimpressionsmedia.ca

100 Days Of Summer Savings

In appreciation of your loyalty, and in recognition that June 2015 marks my 20th Anniversary owning First Impressions Media, and as my way atoning for the link hiccup, you are offered a 20th Anniversary discount.

Nine Secrets is available for an unheard of deal of $20. Yes that’s right, only $20 for
Nine Secrets which may transform your business, JUST LIKE THAT.

This is a summer discount of 100 days and will end at midnight, EST, on Friday September 4th, 2015.

The new link for this special offer is: Nine Secrets - 20th Anniversary - 100 Days of Summer - for $20 Deal

Thank you dear Masthead readers for your loyalty. My regrets for any inconvenience you encountered.  I hope you enjoy Nine Secrets and I encourage you to invest in YOU with this Special, One Time Only, 20th Anniversary offer for $20.

Greetings once again.

The most amazing part of this advertising series is that after 56 previous Media Spikes, YOU ARE HERE!

Not unlike how we opened this series 11 weeks ago.

I am the lucky recipient of your eyeballs and attention for 57 consecutive business days. For those wondering or counting, this series will conclude at approximately 36,000 words.

I am honoured and humbled you’ve stayed with me. Thank you.

The intention throughout this series was to demonstrate for you the power of owning your platform. We’ve together explored, television and magazines, online/social media, outdoor media and radio and I’ve offered strategy, critiques, commentary and I hope some education for you.

Clearly more than I could ever deliver in a typical 20 minute boardroom setting with each of you, this series has been my platform. A chance for you to see my style first hand.

I appreciate and have enjoyed the e-mails I’ve received from several of you along the journey. Please keep them coming, I’m glad to help you where and when I can.

Some readers may love me and want to hire as several already have. (Thank you). Others may be less passionate about my overtures and they certainly have that right.

Other readers have taken it upon themselves to access several of the links provided for further information and still others have accessed our link for our Nine Secrets E-Book.

In this we provide details on 9 Secrets and seven easy to follow assignments to help you improve your advertising. One reader coined it ‘His desktop Media Director’ which I thought very appropriate. It distills 30 years of media trenches into 9 Secrets for just $30 because you’re a Masthead reader.  Not bad. A buck a year for you to learn what it took me 3 decades. Lucky you.

By the time you reach this page you will have made some decisions about your media, and about me.

The following invitation is extended only to those who have stayed with me to now. Your reading this is testament to your interest and appreciation of my efforts to date.

This is an opportunity to join my Spike of Angels Inner Circle extended exclusively to readers who have stayed with me all this time. At the time of this writing, there is no charge for this membership, but if that changes, we will give full up front notice of any monetary obligation, so you can make an informed decision.

The best part about continuing education is you continue learning, for as long as you choose. I do hope you will continue to be part of my e-mail universe. I’ve loved having you and hope I’ve been able to help solve one or more media problems or concerns since you’ve joined us.

Like you, I’m not ready to pick out curtains, but I’ve enjoyed our dance, dating, repartee, and the Inner Circle will bring you my continued media thinking as well as some special Bonuses and unannounced Opportunities exclusive to the Spike of Angels Inner Circle. You don’t get access unless you’ve completed 57 Media Spikes.

Thank you it has been my privilege.
Look forward to seeing you on the Inside of Spike of Angels Inner Circle.

Sincerely.

Dennis Kelly
dennis@firstimpressionsmedia.ca

100 Days Of Summer Savings

In appreciation of your loyalty, and in recognition that June 2015 marks my 20th Anniversary owning First Impressions Media, and as my way atoning for the link hiccup, you are offered a 20th Anniversary discount.

Nine Secrets is available for an unheard of deal of $20. Yes that’s right, only $20 for
Nine Secrets which may transform your business, JUST LIKE THAT.

This is a summer discount of 100 days and will end at midnight, EST, on Friday September 4th, 2015.

The new link for this special offer is: Nine Secrets - 20th Anniversary - 100 Days of Summer - for $20 Deal

Thank you dear Masthead readers for your loyalty. My regrets for any inconvenience you encountered.  I hope you enjoy Nine Secrets and I encourage you to invest in YOU with this Special, One Time Only, 20th Anniversary offer for $20.

Glad you could join us.

On the road again?

If your first reaction to this is Willie Nelson then that’s a great testament to an iconic musician and someone who has toured the world one mile at a time, by bus.

Imagine the places he’s been, the venues he’s played, the things he’s seen, the billboards he’s passed..?

Billboards he’s passed?

We remain a nation, perhaps a continent perpetually on the go. Toing and froing. To the office or jobsite, home, shopping, traveling, visiting, always behind the wheel. Our attention and focus should always be on our driving. But the pace or lack off sometimes plays favourably into an advertiser’s strategy.

Outdoor advertising in the form of outdoor posters, billboards, transit shelters, wall murals, bus wraps, train wraps, TaxiTops and wheel advertising, truck advertising, underground pathway electronic signage, stadium or arena advertising spaces are omnipresent and powerful.

The on the road, out of home messages can hit like a sledgehammer when a bold idea is served up in a skyline dominating powerful visual with just the right words. The visual impact and stopping power with brevity will resonate long after you’ve driven past if done correctly.

Some have likened outdoor advertising to cheap television. You still have a powerful visual, but no audio to amplify the message. Thus the skill of your copywriter has to distill paragraphs of sales copy into a short memorable thought.

Here’s an example of the power of outdoor and the limitation of social media.

One client had a series of spectacular beauty shots of their wine region prepared. Each one featured a distinctive image of the region. The one word describing it all was: untweetable (Client was Wine Country Ontario, in a campaign composed by Agency 59).

How powerful is that. You have to be here to experience the vibrancy, the exquisite charm, the joy, the history, the nature, the elegance, the people, the passion, the architecture, the food, the experience. A picture was certainly worth more than a thousand words, and 140 characters.

My favourite description of outdoor advertising is to Make Some Noise Without A Sound.

A few things to consider:

• Most outdoor media will rotate in four week cycles. This way every advertiser gets exposure to multiple geography of the city(ies) where they’re appearing.

• It’s a chance for you to refresh or change the creative, or to ensure the same look now appears at different parts of the city. 

• To the best of your ability, try to keep the media units constant from market to market. Production-wise, it’s typically cheaper to print 100, paper posters at 10 feet X 20 feet than it is to print 65 Posters and 35 Transit Shelters. We respect that sometimes the availabilities or not of some formats in your markets make it mandatory to use a secondary format. We’d encourage you to confirm availabilities ahead of printing to make sure you get the best value.

• Many transit shelters offer a excellent opportunity to remain backlit, adding a dimension of visibility and creative ‘pop’ when viewed at night. This lighting is accomplished sometimes by electricity, others by battery, still others by solar lighting. Knowing this can help your production team set the colours best in your ad to maximize impact and visibility.

• Be UNMISSABLE. As I expressed recently in Media Spike #51, Behave like you Own The Place. Dabbling, trying out is best left to less expensive media. Go Out There and Blow the Doors off OutDoors.

• I want you to get to the end of the flight feeling – WOW. We were EVERYWHERE. And if you put a call to action in the ad, your results will tell you just how much impact going outside had.

• Apart from an explosive display of creative excellence, outdoor offers repetition that delivers the necessary frequency to become memorable in a short period of time. We are creatures of habit and those habits include our driving and commuting patterns and while the media is static, the audience isn’t.

• Outdoor, not unlike TV or radio, can act very powerfully as a Stand Alone media, and many successful campaigns have relied on an Outdoor advertising campaign only.

* Happily, also like TV and radio, it’s a great team player via visual impact and in your face presence. It’s also a wonderful tool in your arsenal as it quickly adds so many more touchpoints of communication for your message.

Has Willie Nelson seen all your ads?  Well I wouldn’t bet the ranch on it just yet. However, considering the mileage he’s racked up touring, the outdoor ads may be the reason he just can’t wait to get on the road again.

Stay tuned.

Dennis Kelly
dennis@firstimpressionsmedia.ca

P.S. I know you’re busy. Thanks for making this far. In case you’ve missed the original link from Media Spike #24, here’s where you can find more Outdoor Advertising info for your reference.

In addition, there is also a single page, printed two sides PDF which speaks to the Powerful Partner that is Outdoor.

100 Days Of Summer Savings

In appreciation of your loyalty, and in recognition that June 2015 marks my 20th Anniversary owning First Impressions Media, and as my way atoning for the link hiccup, you are offered a 20th Anniversary discount.

Nine Secrets is available for an unheard of deal of $20. Yes that’s right, only $20 for
Nine Secrets which may transform your business, JUST LIKE THAT.

This is a summer discount of 100 days and will end at midnight, EST, on Friday September 4th, 2015.

The new link for this special offer is: Nine Secrets - 20th Anniversary - 100 Days of Summer - for $20 Deal

Thank you dear Masthead readers for your loyalty. My regrets for any inconvenience you encountered.  I hope you enjoy Nine Secrets and I encourage you to invest in YOU with this Special, One Time Only, 20th Anniversary offer for $20.