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 …
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John Foust
Greensboro, NC
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7/26/22
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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 …
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John Foust
Greensboro, NC
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6/25/22
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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 …
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John Foust
Greensboro, NC
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5/25/22
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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, …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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3/24/22
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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 …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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2/22/22
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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 …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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10/21/21
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My friends Mark and Sandy invited me to spend a couple of days in a vacation beach condo they had rented, about a month before their first child was born. Mark and I decided to do some fishing, so we …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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9/29/21
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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 …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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8/30/21
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Generally speaking, there are two types of advertising. Image advertising, which is often referred to as institutional advertising, is designed to create a positive overall impression. Response …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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7/29/21
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Let’s say you’re meeting with a florist who has been running ads with the headline, “For all your floral needs.” Of course, you and I know this is an empty headline that …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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6/2/21
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Kirk likes to work directly with his ad clients on their creative strategies. “Making a sale is just the first step in the journey,” he said. “It’s a big part of my job to …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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5/5/21
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In my advertising and training career, I’ve observed – and heard about – a lot of boss-employee encounters. Some have been good, some have been bad.
All have been …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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4/5/21
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When we learned how to drive, we heard about blind spots. Those are the areas which are not visible in our rear and side view mirrors. As a result, we have to be extra careful when we change …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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3/4/21
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Imagine the editors of a prestigious news organization sitting around a conference table discussing a breaking story. The story is written and all they need is a headline to convey its importance to …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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2/8/21
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Once an ad’s graphic design attracts readers’ eyes, it has to say something of value. Otherwise, readers will skip the ad and miss the message completely. Here are a dozen copywriting …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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1/12/21
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Want to get more eyes on your ads? Let’s take a quick look at some ad design tips:
Keep things simple and uncluttered. The four basic elements of a print ad are (1) headline, …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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12/17/20
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One of the basics of selling is to get the right kind of information from prospects. There is a big focus on asking about prospects’ goals, target audiences, marketing budgets and previous …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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10/26/20
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Check out a new exclusive benefit to members of the Newspaper Association Managers thanks to a Relevance Project partnership with Metro Creative Graphics and Pulse Research.
…
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10/14/20
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Over the years, I’ve heard ad professionals talk about the outstanding copywriting that can be found in catalogues. Of course, there are other approaches to advertising creativity, but …
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John Foust
Raleigh, NC
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6/30/20
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This will be an election like no other as the Covid crisis has forced us into remote work stations and candidates into dramatically different campaign strategies. But that is just where the …
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6/24/20
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