Welcome to another edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

It’s not just a matter of looking at a blank piece of paper – or screen – and saying to yourself, okay, I want a new brochure and here’s how it will look: I’ll put a picture here, put the logo there, and just write down whatever comes into my head and place it all on the inside…

So you say you want a brochure? Or an ad? Or a radio spot? Okay, but…have you filled out your “Creative Strategy Form” first?

Welcome to another edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

It’s not just a matter of looking at a blank piece of paper – or screen – and saying to yourself, okay, I want a new brochure and here’s how it will look: I’ll put a picture here, put the logo there, and just write down whatever comes into my head and place it all on the inside…

Not that that may not have a chance to succeed vis–vis what your competitors have floating out there in the marketplace. But the better chance is when initial thought and discipline goes into the recipe, you’ll be cooking up something far more flavorful and nutritional…if nutrition be a metaphor here for substance and a meaningful message.

Here’s what I prescribe to my clients before we embark on the vehicle itself – whether it’s a brochure, ad, radio/TV spot, billboard, even to an extent a logo design. They need to fill out a single sheet of paper, a questionnaire I call the “Creative Strategy Form.”

Here’s what it asks:

1. How would you describe your product/service?
2. What/who is your target audience?
3. What are your business’s (cosmetic) features – are you bigger, smaller, prettier, older, younger, in the city, in the suburbs, etc.?
4. What are the benefits to your clients (as opposed to “features,” what are the elements to your product/service that can actually help them)?
5. Who is your competition?
6. What do they have that you don’t?
7. What do YOU have that THEY don’t?
8. Do you have a “call to action,” such as a coupon, a giveaway, a website?
9. Do you have samples of marketing materials done by your competitors – or even in another industry – that you like, or particularly impresses
   you?
10. If your audience could derive one main, focused (important word!) thought out of this piece, what would it be?

And there you have it. If you can answer these questions…or even if you can’t, and it prompts you to think further about how to “explain” your business…you’ll be that much more ahead of the game when it comes to developing your message, your theme, even your artwork that puts a graphic “face” on the materials.

And it certainly takes the guessing game out of how to fill that blank piece of paper, or screen.

As to how yours truly has helped clients recently “fill in the blanks,” you’re welcome to check out my website (www.jdkmarketing.biz), go to the Portfolio link, and note what was done just recently for the Matthews Family Chiropractic clinic, and the Larry Hale Insurance Agency.

Joel Kweskin is the principal behind JDK Marketing Communications Management.

He is a former Advertising Manager and Creative Director for Royal (& SunAlliance) Insurance, helping to earn several industry awards for excellence in advertising and marketing communications. During this period, he served as national Vice President of the Insurance Marketing Communications Association (IMCA) and was representative to the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).

He has been a copywriter for New York City and Charlotte advertising agencies; his writing skills embrace virtually all disciplines of marketing promotion and journalism.

Since 1996, through the emergence of his own company, Kweskin has offered consultation on marketing strategy and creative development and implementation for such diverse national, regional and local corporate names as BellSouth Mobility DCS (Verizon); Transamerica Reinsurance; Bristol-Myers Squibb; John Deere; Moissanite Jewelry; Pro-Med Emergency Care; Charlotte Housing Authority and Archadeck.

Kweskin has also displayed his skills on both the publication stage and the theatrical stage: he co-authored articles for National Lampoon magazine and co-scripted a comedy revue off-Broadway in New York City.

Joel Kweskin
JDK Marketing Communications Management
704.846.4835, office
704.575.8850, cell
704.841.2746, fax
www.jdkmarketing.biz

The Impreza is the least expensive model Subaru produces, and it still packs a punch. It is one of the safest cars in the market with a 5-star ANCAP safety rating. Equipped with both driver and passenger airbags, as well as side curtain airbags and lower seat belt restraints specifically designed to protect kids in the backseat. The car is also economical, running 27 MPG on the freeeway and still costing under $25,000 brand new.

The Subaru Outback won the coveted 2010 Motor Trend’s Sport/Utility of the Year Award. The Outback is suitable for families with a more active lifestyle, it has a great body-style, created for function, strength and class.. It is one of the most affordable small sports utility vehicle, at just over $40,000.

At the top of the Subaru line, in terms of price and luxury, is the Tribeca. Prices for this SUV begins at $68,000 and you’re treated to the finish you would anticipate in a higher-end vehicle: leather, power moon roof, heated front seats and a backup rear-vision camera.

In between these models are the Liberty and Forester, also highly rated for safety by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. An advantage of owning a Subaru is its strong resale value and an impressive engine life. Buying a used Subaru that has passed an inspection is still a good investment.

The symmetrical All-Wheel Drive feature is standard across the Subaru line. Instead of having to engage 4-Wheel Drive, each tire moves when you’re driving. This includes turning, giving the Subaru unmatched turning radius and grip.

This unique feature is a little different from what you may be used to, which is why some Subaru dealers actually offer defensive driving courses. They are designed to teach new Subaru owners how to comprehend the AWD, as well as various advanced driving techniques. Customers that attend the advanced driving courses find that they become better familiarised with their new vehicles and end up enjoying them more.

The Swiss Army knife was first made in Switzerland in the 1890s. First produced for the Swiss Army, it is now the greatest selling pocket knife in the world. Victorinox and Wenger, the manufacturers and owners of the patented term ‘Swiss Army knife‘, still issue the Swiss Army with about 60,000 of these knives each year. With an extensive number of instruments, the Swiss Army knife is favoured among travellers, armed forces, hikers, campers or for those who are searching for the perfect present. With their globally recognised name, they are one of the most well known products across the globe.

Karl Elsener was the first individual to produce the Swiss Army knife in its current form. Upon finding out that the Swiss Army were using knives manufactured in Germany, Elsener took it upon himself to produce locally manufactured knives. He was not content with his first knife so took upwards of 5 years to perfect the design. As a special touch, he added the cross and shield that is still utilised by Victorinox today.

Common tools on the Swiss Army knife include multiple sized blades, pair of scissors, toothpicks, tweezers, corkscrews and many more. Larger models contain a number of application-specific instruments such as screwdrivers, pens, saws, magnifying glasses, scalers, pliers and can openers. The latest models, termed ‘Victorinox Cybertools’ feature a digital clock, MP3 player, laser pointer, altimeter, hex screwdriver and even a USB thumb drive. The knives come in a number of sizes, with the Basic model being about 9 centimetres long and the smaller models about 6 centimetres long. ‘The Giant’, manufactured by Wenger, was the longest ever manufactured. It was upwards of 22cm long and featured 85 different tools.

Camping Gear

A couple days ago we got back from camping. Sometimes the mountains just dump a ton of rain on you when you least expect it. It’s good thing we had a tiny bit of time to do some shopping. We needed a big tent. Timing was everything – the tent had to ship the same day or we couldn’t make it. We ended up having time to set up and inspect the tent when we got it. It was the right one! This website was awesome – check it out. The tent was here right on time for an awesome one week camping trip in the mountains! Maybe next weekend!

Security System

My wife told me that I absolutely had to get a home security system installed before we left. As a family we started getting more electronics, photos, etc. Memories. One burglary is all it takes to ruin somebody’s life in the short term. Ack. Monitoring a security system is the way to go. It’s a tiny bit more expensive, but much safer we think. It only took four hours to get it in. Ready for another vacation. Hooray!

Energy

Energy is required in large amounts for hiking, cooking, living in the wild. Efusjon saved us on this trip. It is totally worth the money. Efusjon came to the rescue really fast. haha – I had to drink two or three on the first day with a big hike, rock climbing and more. Efusjon is great for the drink and for the income opportunity. It’s a young opportunity – jump in now. It’s about time to visit that link!

Until next time, I’m out. Did you like this format?

We exchanged phone numbers and email ids and promised to get together and spend more time in summer. Sheila and Rod are married now and invited us to spend a couple of days with them in Aruba where they had a timeshare vacation home. That got Andy and Celine reminiscing about their honeymoon in Amsterdam Manor on Eagle Beach in Aruba. The topic turned to the beaches at resorts and public beaches in Aruba.

Lots of emails and calls later, a whole bunch of us were headed to Aruba, though we had chosen different resorts to stay in. We planned to meet at Surfside Beach, a public beach close to Oranjestad and then go on from there to check out the beaches at resorts in Aruba where the others in the group had chosen to stay. We found out that the white sand beach on Renaissance Island where we were staying was available only to guests of the Renaissance resort. All of us had a blast at Palm Beach, with its water sports activities and fine sand under the shady palm trees. Three couples from our group were guests at Holiday Inn and the Marriott. The beaches at resorts like these have beach chairs and umbrellas for their guests. We flopped down for a snooze under those thatched umbrellas called palapas after a vigorous game of beach volleyball and a sumptuous lunch at one of the restaurants.

Rod and Sheila’s time share villa had a beautiful garden and we had a great barbecue dinner, with the kids happily running around. The whole group trooped down to Eagle Beach for a moonlight walk on the beach and more excited conversations of “remember when…”

In a recent survey conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), where 3000 employees were interviewed, around half of them admitted to facing increased stress at work.

In response to these disturbing facts, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the CIPD, along with Investors in People (IIP) have jointly funded research into the managerial methods of stress reduction at the workplace. The result is the launch of the guidance, ‘Line Management Behaviour and Stress at Work’. Background research included a study of managerial training in stress management skills in 17 organizations and the survey of a number of employees and managers.

The guidance can be perceived as the first step in the proposed four year project to help workplaces with stress-reducing techniques by correcting management practices. These practices have been broadly classified into four key categories: managing problematic situations, control of emotions and maintaining integrity, managing team members, and holding discussions on present and future assignments. Workplace Law Training is approved to offer programmes that meet the standards for Associate membership of the CIPD, click here for information on their CERLAP courses.

Stress related problems have doubled in the last 17 years. Senior Public Policy Adviser at the CIPD, Ben Willmott, is of the opinion that stress management, as reflected by the guidance, is necessary for any good management agenda. Long term stress is harmful to not only the mental health of employees but can also cause physical problems like headaches and even heart ailments. He also pointed out that employers who train their managers to manage stress levels at work get better returns in the form of increased employee motivation and fewer employee disputes.

This is never ordinarily a big concern; most firms can often be able to change your firm’s cash instantly, planning the forward transfer for the settlement date; this point may be typically pretty near to two mid week days after the order has been made. This way of doing things will probably ensure that you achieve your business’s aims – if you consider it, if you are satisfied that will mean the currency broker could well end up being contented as you might be more likely to utilise their company next time you come to exchange foreign currency; this kind of transfer is specifically known as a Spot.

Additionally you may certainly want to talk over the business’s unique foreign currency exchange requirements with an experienced expert in good time before you decide to commit to anything – this way of doing things is very much particularly advisable even if you happen to be a long time veteran in the foreign currency exchange game – things shift frequently and it is always good to chat circumstances over with a person who has their finger on the pulse.

In this time of world wide financial uncertainty it could well be comforting to know that you have the ability, if your business find you suddenly require it, to change your cash pretty much instantaneously. This ability to react promptly to shifts in the market place could not only stop people from losing significant amounts of currency – but the savvy trader can even turn a good return if they really know what they are doing. Want to know more about the process when you exchange currencies? This site has some good information.

The lesson in this; know that you have the ability to be reactive – find a reliable foreign currency exchange expert to give advice and act on your company’s behalf, then survey the market place for opportunities and threats.

Cavity wall installation is a wonderful place to begin. I know all that may look like a hard going home project I can promise you its not, cavity and roof insulation is an exciting approach to improve the energy efficiency of your apartment. Most homes here just now were built after 1910 the walls are made up of two layers with a little air cavity in between, if you have an unfilled wall in your apartment then you yourself might be losing a large amount of the warmth in your house. Wall installation is definitely something you yourself want to think about if you yourself desire to improve your eco living. Wall insulation is astonishing for the world. Reduce your heating bills with Loft Insulation.

By insulating the walls you will see that you might be helping to reduce climate change and help to save the country one flat at a time which is tremendous. With the climate change we are dealing with, every residence in the world should be as green as humanly possible. You yourself can also support to eco friendly your apartment with floor insulation as well as using green friendly oven cleaner products. For other magnificent eco friendly proof tips please visit BBC Green.