Regular or Waffle Cone?

September 22^nd is the anniversary of the ice cream cone. Some say cones were invented at an ice cream stand at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair while others credit an Italian immigrant street vendor as the inventor of the ice cream cone. Either way we all enjoy ice-cream cones!

Use this anniversary to promote your business either with free ice cream vouchers to a popular ice cream store or host your own in-house ice cream party. Or if you are an ice cream shop or restaurant offer coupons or discounts on ice cream cones on this day.

You can send out fun mailers with ice cream cone themes. Customer appreciation can be a yummy day on September 22^nd. What other ideas can you think of to promote your business with the anniversary of the ice cream cone?

Wash Your Hands!

September 21-27 is National Clean Hands Week. Avoid colds and other germ related illnesses that can be transferred with dirty hands by promoting clean hand awareness.

Schools, doctor’s offices, hospitals and pharmacies can use this week to raise awareness on the value of clean hands. Adults and children alike can benefit from learning why it’s important to have clean hands. Give adults hand sanitizers and soaps personalized with your business logo.

To make clean hands fun for kids check out  Henry the Hand for information to use in your marketing media. The site has four principles of hand awareness and a cute song that Henry sings along with other educational articles.

The Henrythehand.com has kits for schools or hospitals to encourage children to have clean hands. Available for other businesses there are also stickers, buttons and temporary tattoos available. These items will take the guesswork out of what to give away at health fair or other event focused at children. You can also use the items for promotional mailers and not worry about getting your logo embossed on items.

What do you plan to do for National Clean Hands Week? I’d love to hear about your marketing promotions.

Rock Around the Clock Marketing

The radio show “American Top 40 Countdown” was first hosted July 4^th 1970 by Casey Kasem. It’s still heard across the U.S.A. and in several countries around the world.

Have you noticed if your customers buy more when certain songs are playing? I know if I hear songs I like I’ll stay in the store longer and likely buy more. But if I hate the music that’s playing I leave in a hurry – sometimes not even buying anything at all.

Research has shown that music can play an important part in the shopping experience for you customers. Enhance the shopping experience; keep them in the stores longer which gets them buying more. Music can also emphasize your brand to your target market.

Have a music themed promotion in July to get your customers bobbing to the beat while they shop. Send out music themed mailers with special discounts during July. Have customers participate in a “What are your favorite top 40 hits?” promotion and then play some of the songs they submit.

Keep your clients dancing to your tune with top marketing hits. What are your marketing plans for the rest of the summer? Need more marketing hints and tips then stay tuned to this blog.

Four Keys to a Successful Direct Mail Marketing Campaign

You want your direct marketing mailers to:

1. Get delivered – Make sure they meet postal regulations
2. Get opened – Does it catch your prospects eye?
3. Get read – Once its opened is your offer compelling so the prospect reads to the end?
4. Get responses – Ok it got read. Are people buying what you’re selling?

If you answer is no to any of these questions don’t send out the mailer. Fix the problem so you can answer yes to all four points and prepare to rake in big bucks!

Make Your Brand Smell Fresh & Reflect Your Business!

Remember scratch and sniff stickers from childhood that smelled like pizza, popcorn, chocolate and pickles among other scents? How would you like your customers to associate your business with a scent that evokes positive emotions and hits their emotional center with a desire to buy your products or services? Scent has been proven to elicit memories and highlight emotions and now you can use this fact to make your products sell!

Sniff out your competition with scented marketing materials. It’s not just for perfume samples! You can have almost anything scented. Gift cards, coupons, bookmarks, wrapping paper, movie tickets, note pads and yes the good old sticker!

Consider advertising with scented mailers! This marketing edge will increase your chances of getting your mailers opened and read. Rub’ N Smell was brought to my attention and I can’t wait to use it. Check out their site at www.scentisphere.com.

Let me know if you make use of this new technology and what results you get. Oh, and don’t forget to tell me what scent you decide to use.