These days the American population is bombarded with advertisements. Depending on the data you look at, some believe we see up to 5000 ads per day, while other numbers are in the high hundreds. Between advertisements that we see while driving, to commercials on TV, to the often-unwanted ads that pop up on the Internet and even in your email account, it’s easy to see how we can be exposed to so many ads. But how many of these do we actually see or process? According to data on Britannica we may actually miss quite a bit of it. Our eyes, skin, ears, nose (smell) and mouth (taste) are able to send any where from 1,000 to 10,000,000 bits of information to the brain per second. When put together, it is estimated that the human body sends approximately 11 million bits per second to the brain for processing, yet the conscious mind seems to be able to only process around 50 bits per second.
What does this mean for the business trying to promote its product? It all boils down to one key thing: it has to make an impression. (more…)
In a previous post we talked about how hard it is to get consumers to look up from their smart phone to actually notice the world around them and the challenge that it creates for event promotion. These same technology driven and time-starved consumers are also creating new issues for retail stores. It used to be that a retail store would have lower prices online to help encourage consumers to shop there, however, now more and more consumers are shopping online and retailers have to offer incentives to bring customers in to the actual store.
According to CNN, the rise of online shopping was behind the closing of quite a few stores in 2017. This leaves brick and mortar stores with a few challenges in trying to create a store of the future. We are seeing a few solutions being tried out by smaller business: sharing space and pop-up shops. (more…)
It’s mid-summer and that means that people have likely been attending more events that are outdoors. People take more vacations, work shorter hours and are generally feel a little more laid back these days. Which means you may be spending even more time outside promoting your business at various events. Whether that event is a sporting event, a concert, Farmer’s Market or even a community event you want to make sure you have all the right gear. What exactly is the right gear? A tent or canopy, of course!
Having a tent not only ensures you some visibility, it also offers something that is known as the decompression zone which is the area of transition between the outside environment and the smaller, indoor place into which your customer is entering. Having even a small shift from the outside environment (for example a Farmer’s Market) to your canopy (for example selling hair care products) allows the customer’s mind to relax, browse, assess what you have and hopefully purchase what you are selling. (more…)
Branding is everything. A good brand will connect with customers on an emotional level. It makes them feel good about buying from the brand. As we mentioned in a previous post about your logo, purchasing is an emotional experience for many consumers. They often make purchases based on various feelings and when given the choice between two similar products they will routinely purchase from the company that subconsciously makes them feel good. So how do you go about creating this experience for your customers?
According to Forbes, every brand needs a real style guide. It makes marketing easier and guarantees that a consistent message is being sent to customers and competitors alike. Ideally this guide should provide some flexibility for your marketing team so that they can be creative, however, you want the guide rigid enough to keep your brand easily recognizable. (more…)
Umbrellas. Here at VIP, when we think umbrellas, we think about promoting your name to people walking by your outdoor seating or your promotional booth at the beach. We think about golf game and promotional give-a-ways.
However, most people don’t think about an umbrella until they need one. So what else is there to this little piece of material that we frantically look for after a few raindrops hit us or once we discover a sunburn on our skin?
According to Wikipedia, the word “umbrella” evolved from the Latin umbella (an umbel is a flat-topped rounded flower) or umbra, meaning shaded or shadow. An umbrella typically refers to a device used to protect us from the rain, while the term parasol usually refers to an item that protects you from the sun. Umbrellas can further be divided into two categories: a fully collapsible unit that gets small enough to carry in a backpack or handbag and the non-collapsible version in which the support pole cannot retract (think beach umbrellas). (more…)