Brands are buying into entertainment. Just count the number of incidental exposures of products you've seen on television and movies. Take for example, American Idol. Judge Simon Cowell is often seen drinking from a cup with the Coca Cola logo. In fact if you watch closely, the logo is also seen on the plasma TV screens on stage. In other words, branded entertainment is about placing the product either subtly or prominently within an entertainment product.

Product Placement can be verbal, like a mention in the show or visual where the product is seen. It is increasingly a tool used by marketers to push their brands into the limelight and increase awareness through such exposures. What ticks for the marketing folks is that their brand is not just associated with the entertainment, eg. a blockbuster movie or a much anticipated television series, it is also seen being associated with a celebrity when the actor uses the brand in the movie or the television programme. The association has added value for the brand. But branded entertainment has its setbacks.

It can be a matter of too much too soon. If the brand exposure is too subtle, the audience may not see it. If it is too prominent, the audience may get brand fatigue and develop a negative perception towards the brand. That is something you don't want happen to your brand. Think about it. As an audience, you want to be entertained. The last you need is to have brands plastered all over your screen.

After all, there is a place for that in the form of commercials and advertisements. The key is to balance the exposure and the placement so that you can have an edge when it comes to promoting your brand without over-killing it.
Branded entertainment is here to stay. So the next time you're in the theatres or at home watching TV, see if you can remember the brands that caught your attention.

Say you have a new brand you need to promote and raise top of mind awareness quickly. But you've a budget that is hopelessly pathetic. Plus the fact that your boss is breathing down your neck. What can you do? If you have been developing good relationships with the media, this is the time it would come in handy. If you haven't, you should start, quickly.
The thing to remember is that you need to have open and honest communication with the media. This is because you can only control your end of the message. You can't control what the reporters will write about your brand. The report can make or break your brand, so remember to do your homework first before jumping into the frenzy. Know who you want to reach. Pitch your stories to the right media. Be sure to make your releases newsworthy. Provide good story ideas and angles in your press kits and releases. Always be ready and available to field questions from the media. Relevance and timeliness are important factors to consider. Know your surroundings and what your competitors are up to. Plan your news releases to coincide when an event that will add to your visibility. Say if you're launching an environmental friendly car, you pitch the story to the media to tie in with World Environment Day for example.

An editorial gets you through the clutter of advertisement. It is more believable than an ad and it gives your brand more credibility. You'll get your eyeballs and it's more cost effective than buying ad space. Although you don't have much control over how the article could turn out, a positive story could at least get your boss off your back and get your brand off on a good footing.

 

There are millions of websites on the internet today but the question that comes to mind is how many of these websites are actually generating money for their owners? the honest answer is “few”. The reason for this is simply because such websites are either not rich in content, not well managed or are not consistently updated. Some sites are so dull and uninteresting that visitors are not even attracted to stay up to 2 minutes before they move on other more interesting sites on the internet.

For the small business owner, your website is a major marketing tool, if you must profit. It gives you a platform to compete with large corporations. Marketing your business can be a very expensive venture but it's a necessary and important aspect of your business which if neglected can lead to the untimely demise of your business, capital for marketing can be a big problem for small businesses.

What then is the solution? A rich content site.

• A content rich site is one with lots of informative articles usually centered on a particular subject or theme. Having a content rich site attracts visitors to your business again and again. The content is what attracts or drives sales from your traffic. If the content of your site is rich, good and convincing enough then be rest assured that surfers will come back to make purchases from your site and even recommend your site to others.Therefore, your content must be useful, valuable, informative, educational or just simply entertaining while pointing towards your product.

There are three basic things to do to create a content rich site.

1. Be disciplined to maintain your site constantly
2. Update your site regularly-this you can do by setting a schedule for updating e.g. weekly, biweekly ,every 2 days etc
3. You must be able to adapt from other people's articles or use them out rightly but make sure you obtain permission before you use them and ensure that such articles are relevant to the theme of your site

Your site content can be anything from politics, editorials, news stories, art, galleries, business, reviews, romance,interviews etc

Getting content for your site requires you to carry out research and have a fairly good knowledge of your theme. You can do that in the following ways:

• Write the articles yourself
• Exchange articles with guest author's sites
• You can purchase exclusive rights to an article
• Take advantage or reprint rights. You must ensure you have obtained permission, once this is done, you can make the articles more interesting by putting in your own additions e.g. you can write an introduction on the subject or comment on the opinions or conclusions. Avoid at all costs overused or over aged articles.

If you can make your website content rich, it becomes easy for you to advertise whatever products you have and since your visitors now see you as an authority on that area it becomes easy for them to trust you and subsequently make orders form you and when you deliver on their purchase, you simply earned yourself a referral from them to their friends, remember word of mouth is still the best and most potent form of marketing for any kind of business.

Over ten years ago, I worked as a window display demonstrator for a magnetic window company that was based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company made magnetic windows that were installed on the inside of people's existing windows to stop drafts, noise, water and damaging sunlight from coming through. I was eventually promoted to a trainer who taught new hires to do the demonstrations at local stores. I will teach you how to present yourself as a demonstrator or salesperson in the retail field.

Be knowledgeable about your product. Read your company's product information and rehearse your presentation frequently. Always think of answers to questions your prospects might ask. Be creative when you are asked an unusual question. If you give poor presentations and cannot think quickly, you will not be successful.

Always smile at your sales job. If you stop smiling after someone rejects your sales pitch, others might think you are someone who gets discouraged easily.

Keep all necessary materials at your work station. I put ice inside my display booth to give the windows a cold, frosty appearance and feel to reinforce window drafts my prospects might have. I kept a “6x9” clipboard that contained lead-generation sheets on the booth. You should use a small clipboard to avoid making prospects think they will have to give or fill out a lot of information. I also kept customer discount coupons on hand to give everyone signing up for an in-home window inspection.

Be receptive to everyone. I once ignored a child who came up to my display booth because I was too focused on finding potential homeowners to talk with. When I approached the kid's mother as she came by, she said, “I'm not going to listen to you because you wouldn't talk to my kid.” I should have quickly showed the kid the booth.

Employ a good approach to encourage plenty of people coming your way to stop and listen to your presentation. Your approach should combine enthusiasm with respect, proximity and clarity. Approach shoppers with a smile on your face and make your pitch with firmness. You will have more trouble getting people to stop if your voice is too weak or soft.

If your product is a window, you could meet a shopper with a small window sample from your booth and say, “Good morning, Madam. Have you seen our magnetic windows? Feel how light this is.” “It is light,” she will probably say. Using an approach like this in which you are friendly and get the prospects directly involved is necessary to build a rapport and make your prospects more willing to give you the opportunity to do your presentation.

Once you begin your presentation, you must qualify your prospect. I usually began my presentation by saying, “Put your hand on this (frosty) window. Feel how cold it is.” After the prospect affirmed the window was cold, I said, “Our magnetic windows keep out cold and hot air. Do you feel any drafts coming through the windows in your house?” I mentioned the word "house" to make sure the prospect was a homeowner.

Present all the features and benefits of your product. Ask your prospects questions regarding your product and listen to them. If the prospect does not display interest during your presentation or does not have problems that can be solved by your product, thank him or her for listening to you and start approaching others.

Do what it takes to overcome objections. For example, if my prospects said they were not ready for an inspection when it was time to write a lead, I said, “You're under no obligation. Let me give you this discount coupon so that when you are ready, you will save a lot of money. What's your last name?”

Offer your prospects flexibility. As I scheduled an appointment with prospects who agreed to let my company come inspect their windows, I would say, “Would 5:00 PM or 8:00 PM be a better time for you?”

Take advantage of special shows. Events such as home shows will bring you many prospects looking to buy your product now.

Follow these steps to have more success with your sales job!