All posts by Civilian

Some people will tell you that March Madness is some “big dance” between a large pool of college basketball teams. They think it’s the greatest thing since football season. Well, I don’t buy it. I went to a college, and by the time March rolled around, we didn’t even know what a basketball was. We…

TV is generally considered one-way communication. As an advertiser, it gives you a chance to show your target market what your company stands for, what you offer, and what makes you different. It lets you try to build an image for your brand. The reality of branding is different. Brands are built on relationships, perceptions,…

In case you didn't already know, AdEase has moved to a new location. We're just a few blocks up the road in a nice, big office with plenty of parking. All the change makes me think about what the agency will be like in the future. Which makes me think about the future of media…

If you’ve ever taken a basic marketing course, you’re probably familiar with the four Ps. You know – the marketing mix: product, pricing, placement, and promotion. When you mix these ingredients well, it’s a recipe for success. But if you get one wrong, it’s like substituting salt for sugar. That’s a recipe for disaster. I…

It used to be different. Advertising was simple. Just a fancy picture and some inflated diction, and you’d have yourself a stream of sales. You had complete control over your message and your brand, and they had a strong influence on the customer. That’s how it was 100 years ago. Let’s say it’s still 1909…

Design is everywhere. It’s built into every product we purchase; every store we visit to purchase these products; the product’s shape, functionality and materials, the packaging, the branding and the advertising. It’s all designed to entice us to purchase one certain product or service over another. We can tell when a product has been well…

By: Marjie the Intern There are more choices in advertising placement today than ever before. Newspapers, billboards, Internet ads, sign spinners, dry cleaning bags, coffee cup sleeves, radio, TV, airplane banners…  and the list goes on.  A big part of creating a successful ad campaign is choosing the right ad vehicle for your demographic. I’m…

Marketers have long been concerned with ‘name recognition’ or ‘brand awareness’. But in the18 years that I’ve worked in the industry what my clients really care about is what that campaign did to sales. There are four steps, and they all relate to Kipling's five W’s and an H. Step 1. PLAN the campaign around…

Most credit union marketers have been tasked this year with increasing membership, increasing product sales and tracking their ROI (while increasing the "R" and decreasing the "I"). Digital Signage Slavic Federal Credit Union (PSFCU) in New York had those goals in mind when they installed a digital signage network featuring LCD screens displaying entertaining content…

We recently installed Google Analytics into our site (which you should do to) and noticed a variety of trends: 1. No one logs on to adease.com on Sundays. 2. The most popular time for our site is Wednesday afternoons. 3. Most people directly type in the URL (as opposed to search for us or following…