Category: John Foust

Don’t follow the crowd, follow the idea By John Foust, Advertising Trainer When advertisers say, “Make my ads stand out,” they’re usually thinking of big headlines and big logos. There are other ways. During my ad agency days, one of my accounts was a fumigant manufacturer. Their products were developed...

Understanding the stages of competence By John Foust, Advertising Trainer We all discuss information with other people, whether it’s with an advertising client, a prospect or a coworker. And because people have different levels of understanding, it’s easier to get in step with some than with others. According to the...

Where’s the beef in your newspaper advertising? By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Wendy’s ran a series of TV commercials in the mid-1980s which featured actress Clara Peller, as she disapprovingly observed the size of the burgers in fast food places. I remember one which showed Clara and two of her...

Use the billboard effect for better ads By John Foust, Advertising Trainer A quick study of billboards can give us a better understanding of what works best in advertising. Because motorists are on the move, billboards have just a few seconds to be seen and read. It’s the same with...

Meet them where they are By John Foust, Advertising Trainer “Meet them where they are” is a popular phrase these days. It is defined as “a concept that emphasizes understanding and accepting individuals without judgment based on their current emotional, mental, or physical state.”The key word is “current.” We should...

The Thin Market’s impact on advertising By John Foust, Advertising Trainer The Thin Market is one of the best arguments for running ads consistently.If I were to ask if you are planning to buy a pair of shoes for yourself or someone in your family in the next year, you...

One way to get better information from advertisers By John Foust, Advertising Trainer You may have heard the old computer saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” It means that the quality of input that goes into a system will determine the quality of the output. Good input equals good output and...

The big news about small advertisers By John Foust, Advertising Trainer A number of years ago, I shared a story about an ad manager named Jay, who talked about the financial impact of happy and unhappy customers. On average, a customer will tell nine to 12 people about a good...

When advertisers are concerned about the economy By John Foust, Advertising Trainer You may have heard the story about the man who spent a hot summer afternoon doing yard work. When he came inside, his little boy said, “Come on, Dad, let’s play!” The man was tired after all that...

There’s no such person as 'occupant' By John Foust, Advertising Trainer During my freshman year in college, one of my friends wrote a letter home to his parents and addressed it to “Occupants.” In my immature 18-year old brain, I thought that was a cool idea, so I addressed my...

What’s fogging your view? By John Foust, Greensboro, NC On our honeymoon, my wife and I went to Ogunquit, Maine, which we used as a home base to explore towns along Maine’s southern coast. Years before we met, we had each been to that area, but this was our first...

An important question: Does this make sense? By John Foust, Advertising Trainer As I write this, I have on my desk one of the most confusing ads I’ve ever seen. I saved it, because it’s an example of what not to do in an ad. It’s an ad for a...

One way to end presentations smoothly By John Foust, Advertising Trainer I used to have a small Zuma sailboat, which I trailered to a nearby lake in the summer. With its 13-foot length and one sail, it was relatively easy to rig and handle on the water.Interestingly, the most challenging...

Reliability means paying attention By John Foust, Advertising Trainer I remember a billboard on an interstate in North Carolina which caught my eye. It was large 14’ x 48’ painted sign which promoted a law firm. The headline read, “We help people hit by drunk drivers.” Below the headline was...

A lesson from Lockwood’s Folly By John Foust, Advertising Trainer I remember a conversation with Brent, a long-time print and digital advertiser. “I enjoy meeting with advertising sales people and hearing their ideas, but I always cringe when they show up from out of the blue with a spec ad...

Advertising lessons from a car wash By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Jerry used to be in the car wash business. One day he was feeling down when he got home after work. When his wife asked him what was wrong, he said, “There were five customers who complained today.”She asked,...

Brand loyalty is a powerful force By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Newscaster Edward R. Murrow once said, “To be persuasive, we must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful.” Although he was referring to the reporting of news, the same can...

Avoid jumping to conclusions By John Foust, Advertising Trainer There’s a story going around about a new CEO who was on a tour of one of the company’s facilities. As he was talking to the assembled group, he noticed a young fellow leaning against the wall. The CEO was angry...

Following through is the thing to do By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Want to see something funny? Just watch me trying to hit a golf ball out of a sand trap. You’ve never before seen such an ugly, unathletic, uncoordinated golf swing. The Scottish pioneers of the game would be...

I shot an ad into the air By John Foust, Advertising Trainer When I was a kid, my family went on a family vacation to the mountains of North Carolina. For a couple of nights, we stayed at a motel which had a play area with a few activities for...

Don’t ghost your clients By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Eric is an advertiser who has dealt with a number of media salespeople. “In all of my years of placing advertising, I have only one pet peeve,” he told me. “I don’t like it when salespeople ghost me.”Although “ghosting” is most...

Two things that will never change By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Luke told me about a business panel discussion in which he participated. He represented the ad department of the local newspaper, and others represented industries like banking, accounting, and various office services.The moderator asked each panelist to introduce themselves,...

“I don’t know” can be a great answer By John Foust, Advertising Trainer I remember talking about sales presentations with Edwin, who is the marketing director of a regional advertiser. “I’ve heard all kinds of presentations from media salespeople and I’ve asked plenty of questions during those conversations,” he said....

Solving the puzzle of advertising By John Foust, Advertising Trainer We’ve all heard challenges described as puzzles. With that in mind, let’s take a look at a real puzzle and see how it relates to the particular challenges of creating advertising. Jigsaw puzzles, of course, are illustrations, photographs or other...

Put a stop to workplace silos By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Jim, who used to work with a local volunteer fire department, told me about the technique they used to keep everyone on the right roads to arrive at fire sites. “It was in the days before GPS,” he said....

Know when to stop talking By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Jonathan told me about his friend Dave’s sports car. They rode around in it in high school, and although it was old even then, they loved the car and didn’t let its mechanical eccentricities bother them. Through the years, after...

Learn from the ones that get away By John Foust, Advertising Trainer When I was a kid, my family took a weekend trip to Atlantic Beach on the coast of North Carolina, which is a popular place for fishing in the fall. One night, Dad took me to the Triple-S...

Treasure hunt for ad ideas By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Some years ago, I attended an exhibit of treasure from the Atocha shipwreck which treasure hunter Mel Fisher had located off the coast of Florida. The Atocha was the most famous ship in the Spanish fleet that sank in 1622...

Get more mileage out of testimonials By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Back in my ad agency days, I worked with a real estate client on a series of customer testimonials. We started with one, then added another and another. The final count was more than a dozen, which kept the...

Ad lessons from a wall poster By John Foust, Advertising Trainer I remember going to the opthalmologist a few years ago for my regular eye checkup. In the exam room, there was a large poster on the wall which featured a number of photographs of the same view of New...

Don’t sell your clients short By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Gene told me about an experience he had when he was fundraising for the Boy Scouts. “I was young and completely sold on the value of scouting because some years earlier I had earned the designations of Eagle Scout and...

What makes an ad campaign? By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Amanda told me about taking over the advertising account of a business which had been placing ads in her paper for a long time. “In our first meeting, the owner said he had been running what he called a ‘campaign’...

Do you know where your fire extinguishers are? By John Foust, Advertising Trainer We all want to take care of our advertisers and coworkers. Well, there’s no better way to do that than to help them stay safe in the workplace. There are some simple things we can do to...

If it’s 10:08, it must be a watch ad By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”That’s certainly true in advertising. Consider the nuances of photography. For example, the next time you...

What are they selling? By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Greensboro, NCMy wife and I once visited with Rick and Karen, a couple who had served as missionaries overseas. As part of their work to get involved in the community, Rick was assigned to teach a class at a local school....

The power of enthusiasm By John Foust, Advertising Trainer There’s a story about a professor of literature at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. As he approached retirement, someone from the newspaper interviewed him. During the course of their conversation, the reporter asked the wise old professor about...

We’ve got some explaining to do By John Foust, Advertising Trainer People usually say “no” to things they don’t understand. It’s a salesperson’s job to help prospects understand what he or she is selling. What makes media choice A better than choice B? What’s all this talk about target audiences...

Advertising’s Bill of Rights By John Foust, Advertising Trainer In the advertising business, there are things which must be done in order to create an effective campaign. Think of it as Advertising’s Bill of Rights: Send the right message…to the right audience…in the right medium…at the right time…about the right...

Oboes and leadership By John Foust, Advertising Trainer If you’ve been to a symphony concert, you’ve witnessed the cacophony of sound before the concert begins. Every instrument seems to be in its own world, independently running through the musical scale.Actually, this is a traditional and deliberate process to tune all...

Say it and do it, or renegotiate By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Joanne is an ad manager with a common-sense approach to managing her team and their goals. She believes in communication – not micro-management – but real communication on how things are going.“For years,” she told me, “I often...

The power of being specific By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Motivational speaker and author Zig Ziglar used to ask, “Are you a meaningful specific or a wandering generality?” He related his comment to a number of areas: long and short-term goal setting, day-to-day activities, and dealings with family members, coworkers...

Tell them why – and sell more By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Like some other kids, I learned how to drive before taking the drivers’ education class in high school. My father took me to the school’s football stadium on weekends when the expansive parking lot was empty. The car...

A key question: What’s next? By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Gregory talked to me about a lesson he learned in his early days of selling advertising. “In one of my first presentations, the prospect rejected my ideas for a new campaign. Back at the office, my ad manager must have...

Two advertising goals: Attention and Retention By John Foust, Advertising Trainer As mentioned in previous articles, there are two types of advertising: image and response. Image advertising – sometimes known as institutional advertising – is designed to give people a good impression of the advertiser. (“We’re the dealership that cares.”)...

A good idea is worth the wait By John Foust, Advertising Trainer When I was a kid and jumped to conclusions about something, my father often said, “Hold your horses, son.” That’s an old saying that means, “Whoa! Stop and think carefully before making a decision.” Dad had a lot...

The importance of proofreading By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Proofreading is one of the most important skills in the advertising world. While anybody with a sense of humor can appreciate a harmless blooper (one of my favorites is the sign that read, “Ears pierced while you wait”), no advertiser wants...

Advertising’s blast from the past By John Foust, Advertising Trainer In order to look ahead to a new advertising idea, sometimes it helps to take a look at the past. When an advertiser has been in business for a number of years, there are plenty of possibilities.Let’s take a look...

One way to make presentations more memorable By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Samuel, the ad manager at a community paper, told me about a simple technique his sales team uses at the end of meetings with prospects and clients.“I once read that people remember only about 25 percent of what...

Would you mind showing me around? By John Foust, Advertising Trainer One of the most important questions you can ask an advertising client is, “Would you mind showing me around?”Think about it. When you have a conversation in a client’s office, you get a filtered version of that person’s business....

Do you have an eight-inch frying pan? By John Foust, Advertising Trainer There’s a story about an old man who was fishing from a pier. He was catching more fish than anyone else, so a crowd gathered to learn his secret. His behavior was unlike anything they had ever seen....

Cut down on exclamation marks By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Lately I have noticed a disturbing trend in print and online advertising: the overuse of exclamation marks. They’re all over the place. Interestingly, no grammar book I have ever seen has suggested using more exclamation marks – or exclamation points...

The advertising sales cycle By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Let’s take a look at the sales cycle. For our purposes, the focus is on advertising media sales, but this concept can apply to any business. Although the cycle has a beginning and an end, the end leads to a new...