Your Weekly Marketing Tip from Sasso Marketing....

SNICKERS....

I stood in the store aisle overwhelmed with snack decisions. Did I want
candy? Chips? Nuts? I'd skipped lunch. I was pretty hungry. What would hold
me over? I studied labels.

I could get an ounce more Whatchamacallit for the same price as a Snickers
bar.

But I'd never had a Whatchamacallit. What if it wasn't any GOOD? It could
just be more empty calories and I'd still be hungry.

I chose the Snickers. The package promised: "It's so satisfying."

But this tip isn't about packaging. It's about comparing options. Media
options.

In advertising, most ad agencies compare print media by studying CPM (Cost
Per Thousand). I think it's a bean-counter's measurement. It shows what
you're paying to reach a thousand pair of eyeballs. Eyeballs that may never
even look at your ad. Or may not care what you're selling.

To be fair, CPM can analyze a readership demographic against your target
market. So, if your target market is auto repair shop owners, it can tell you
how much you're paying to reach them verses technicians. So it's not like
comparing candy bars with chips.

But CPM can't measure intangibles -- like is it any GOOD? Does it get READ?
How LOYAL are readers? How RESPONSIVE are readers?

That's the kind of insight you get from a specialized ad agency. As experts
in a field, we understand the marketplace. We know the publications -- not
just the formulas. We actually READ these publications. We talk to their readers.
And we know what works. And what doesn't.

Is your ad agency looking beyond the numbers? Perhaps it's time to
look for something more "satisfying". If so, you know how to reach me.

- Phil Sasso