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PR

Small business resources – promote and advertise your business

Bank of America has this bunch of very useful online workshops on advertising and promoting your business. Click here for list (opens in a new window). Even though most of the things there are trivial, the whole thing is compiled in a very concise manner. Must have

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PR

Yours Truly, Marketing Department

Manhattan Mini Storage Ad This morning I discovered a new ad from Manhattan Mini Storage in subway cars. Yep, the guys who put that “huge ass in a fishnet stockings” banner over the FDR Drive. The new ad is a very logical way of continuing advertising campaign – at least from my perspective. The ad in the subway is a bit different from the one on their site (the picture on your left). The difference is minor, yet very entertaining. The subway ad (which I couldn’t take a picture of) features the URL for web site to vote on, slightly different message and signature “Marketing Department” on a pink post-it note.

Now to the simplicity and te brilliance of the move. As a small business entrepreneur without any specific marketing skills I always try to learn from the environment that surrounds me. New York City, in this sense, is a perfect environment that allows me to see both good and bad marketing during a simple one-hour trip to work (or back home). Why do I think this ad is brilliant? Because the series of previous ads was controversial, because it got people talking about them and now it get the message out that you can simply go and voice your opinion. In simpler terms, it created traffic to company’s web site. No matter how one vote – he visits the site and, obviously, spends some time there. The company’s image is again reinforced in the consumer’s memory. Company gets feedback for ad campaing. In addition to that, old ads a reviewed and reused (which by itself is another great move, something like reusing old blog posts). By the way, you can even download all campaign ads in a single .zip file to review or share with those, who missed them.

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PR

Apple tries to make it right

As GigaOM writes (linking to Steve Job’s statement on Apple’s web site):

Now there’s a way to annoy the people who have stuck by the company through thick and thin. Today, realizing that Apple’s goodwill was at risk, Jobs announced a $100 credit to all early iPhone buyers, promising to do the right thing.

I see this as another marketing trick targeted specifically at Apple fans. They WOULD use this credit one way or another. As a different example, myself – the iPhone is the first product by Apple I have purchased in my entire life (and not even for myself), such credit is absolutely and perfectly useless.

Good thing I bought mine less then a week ago.