Above And Beyond Promotion

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History Of Advertising

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290

Summary:
When advertising is considered from its entire history it is not surprising at all that it currently maintains such a significant factor in our lives and society.

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History Of AdvertisingHistory Of Advertising

Article Body:
When advertising is considered from its entire history it is not surprising at all that it currently maintains such a significant factor in our lives and society. The history of advertising can be traced all the way back to the people of Babylonia and was present in several societies from that time forward. Moving forward outdoor adevertsing was implemented announce such things as properties for rent and sites where food and drink was available in places such as Rome.

It seems that we’ve all heard various tales of town criers and the travels to various villages to spread the day’s most significant news. But, these traveling announcers also delivered promotional pieces detailing the positive qualities of various products. The products producer’s of course were behind the promotions.

Although, the property advertisements were a form a graphic advertising it wasn’t until 1472 that the first printed ad appeared in England. What was for sale? As one indicator of issues and products of importance today, the same held true in 1472 England. A prayer book was for sale.

The profitability of advertising finally captured the attention a Philidelphia entrepreneur, who started the first advertising agent for hire in the U.S. in 1841. It wasn’t long after this that our current advertising agency systems began to take form. The agents, and later agencies, turned profit in those days primarily by buying advertising space from newspapers and then selling and creating ads to various businesses. The next step to make the advertising as recognizable, and complex, as it is today was to implement market research and the writing of copy based on the findings, which was done by an advertising agency in the late 1800′s that is still in existence today.

The corporate world understands the market power of internet video advertising. Web display ads and videos are going to generate a lot of income. Jupiter Research forecasts U.S. online spending to rise from 19.9 billion this year to about 36 billion in 2011. Most people who serf the web are looking for information.

The web brings a new phenomenon to advertising by presenting streaming video. The consumer can learn about a product, and the advertiser can feature as much content as he chooses. In terms of time and distribution the web is the best way to reach a large audience. For a business to have this type proximity to their customer has been unheard of before the web.

The market power of internet video advertising is felt across the globe, in such a way is not matched by any other media. The market power that the web offers a small business is the direct results of the technology section. The opening of this type communication is still gaining steam. A sizable surge in consumer confidence in the web as an information portal will occur as the secondary market of mobile devices grows.

Now you do not have to be at your PC to get the latest information on the web. The objective of advertising is to get your brand known. To do that you have to give the consumer reasons for using your product. In the advertisement you have to reflect your firm’s commitment to the customer and product. Internet video advertising helps you do it in a personal way.

What was once a Mom and Pop type business can blossom into a giant. The focus of the web is to offer a chance to fabricate a world wide business without moving outside of your base of operation. The important geographic advantage to having real estate on the web has to be the fact that you can be everywhere at one time.

Location is everything in some businesses and the bulk of web advertising is to give you a solid logistical foothold throughout the United States and abroad. The lack of a regional nature of the web coupled with a methodically packaged advertising campaign can be the most powerful tool to reach a diverse target market. This is what online advertising does that you are not likely to find anywhere else for the same price.

Online advertising shows you how to develop a new market outside of your location. Web streaming video is a way to reach in an emotional and interactive way a wide audience. It is the least expensive commercial for you to produce and show. Motion content can exist right alongside of static content. This is a way to get back into the saddle if your sales are lagging. It is time to explore the world of online advertising and invest in your future.

Lawyers have several sets of rules to consider when creating advertisements. The FTC regulates all advertising in every state; each state may have its own regulations governing advertising; and the attorney ethics rules of the state in which you are advertising will regulate lawyer advertising. A review of FTC rules can be seen at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/guides/guides.htm. Most rules are just plain common sense and are meant to protect the public. Some state lawyer ethics rules go further. For instance, some rules are meant to protect the image of lawyers.

In the past, lawyer ethics rules have been more restrictive, however, they have been slowly eroded by both State and U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Because they have been losing ground, state regulating bodies have have become complacent. Consequently, lawyer advertising has continued to evolve and today there are many lawyers advertising without even thinking about ethics rules. It is at this point that the enforcement wave may return. Where the violation is minor, it is unlikely that any action will be taken, but when a lawyer advertisement contains a major ethical violation, authorities will have no choice but to attempt to exert their control. If they do nothing, there will be no need for rules. They may as well take their chances in court.

Ethics rules have been slow to keep up with changing times. I believe that some ethics rules, such as requiring that your local office address appear in the advertisement, may become unenforceable and should be eliminated. This rule may have originally intended that clients should have the means to find your office address if your telephone number changed or to determine if your office was geographically convenient for them. This rule no longer makes sense. Use of a toll-free telephone number ensures that your telephone number will never change even if you move your office. According to Nielsen/Net Ratings, in February 2004, 74.9% of households had Internet access. Telephone companies are now offering high-speed Internet access and electric utility companies are now able to offer high-speed Internet access simply by plugging into an electric socket. According to New American Library, computers are now outselling TVs. In a very short time, every home in the US will not only be able to have Internet access, but high-speed Internet access and can easily access a lawyer’s web site and determine the office address. Lawyer advertisements can include a web site address where a potential client can find the lawyer’s contact information. Requiring the lawyer’s office address in a TV commercial, effectively prevents smaller lawyers from joining group advertising where smaller budgets are combined to effectively compete against wealthier lawyers. There simply is not enough room in the TV commercial to list the address of every lawyer.

With regard to the public’s need to know if a law office is near them, this is the least important qualitative factor that a client should consider. Instead of looking for a lawyer who is a couple of blocks away, a potential client should look for other factors such as experience with the client’s problem, personality, etc. Many times, clients and patients are willing to travel from the suburbs to the city to find a lawyer or doctor because of the perception that professionals in the city are more competent. Additionally, upon making a call, the caller can simply ask for the address of the office.

For your state’s ethics rules, see ABA Links to State Ethics Rules Governing Lawyer Advertising, Solicitation and Marketing at http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/clientdevelopment/adrules.html#. For a list of resources and articles on ethics and lawyer advertising, see http://www.hurt911.org/lawyer-advertising/lawyer-advertising-tips-articles.html

Below is a short list of what I believe are some of the most important ethics rules to consider when creating attorney advertising:

1) Referrals: If you pay money to anyone and a client is referred to you, you are probably obtaining an illegal referral, unless the referral is from a Bar Association. Advertising involves a risk. The risk is that you may pay for advertising and may not sign up any clients. If you are offered a guarantee that you will sign up enough cases to cover the cost of advertising, this guarantee turns your advertising campaign into an illegal referral system. If you are considering working with an advertising agency that offers a guarantee, have an ethics lawyer review the guarantee before you work with that agency. If you work with an advertiser or an agency, make sure you are actually paying for advertising and not for the cases. Beware of advertising schemes where “someone” offers to send you clients which have been obtained without advertising and offers to bill you on their “advertising agency” bill head for advertising services or consulting services. Several lawyers and doctors, I have spoken to, mistakenly believed that if they have a bill for advertising, it’s legal. These schemes are clearly illegal in addition to violating ethics and can result in an arrest and conviction. Know who you’re doing business with and live by a simple rule: If you’re trying to make something look like something else, it’s probably illegal.

In some states, such as New York, if telephone calls are answered in a central office, no person can decide which calls go to which lawyers. For instance, if the agency or call center receives telephone calls from callers requesting different services such as bankruptcy, criminal, divorce, and personal injury, a referral may made when the operator decides which lawyer to send the call to. Even if all calls request personal injury services and an operator is able to decide whether to give the call to lawyer “A” or lawyer “B”, a referral would be made.

2) Disparaging Other Lawyers: Advertising which includes a remark disparaging other lawyers is probably one of the quickest ways to get into trouble. Not only is it unethical in most states, but lawyers who view your disparaging advertising will likely report you.

3) Misleading Advertising Claims: Claims should be carefully examined to avoid being misleading. Claims implying that your law firm can get more money or that your law firm is powerful are misleading. Even a claim that you are a big-city lawyer, while it could be true, can be considered misleading as an implication of power or competency due to your location. In states, such as New York, where the lawyer is required to charge the client for expenses, stating that there is no fee unless you win will not only violate ethics but subject you to a lawsuit.

4) Claiming to be an Expert: Most states prohibit lawyers from stating in their advertising that they are an expert or that they specialize in a particular practice area, unless the lawyer is board certified. Where the lawyer is not certified, some states, like Texas, require that the lawyer state that he or she is not certified (this rule should also be eliminated).

5) Vanity Telephone Numbers and Web Site Domain Names: Some vanity telephone numbers and web site domain names can violate legal ethics. Make sure that your vanity telephone number or web site name avoids use of certain words which could potentially create an incorrect expectation in the mind of the consumer or violate one of the other ethics rules. Both vanity telephone numbers and web site domain names should not imply that you are better than another lawyer, that you can accomplish something for the audience that may not actually occur or that you are an expert.

Use of words such as “BEST”, “TOP”, “FOREMOST, “LEADING”, “WIN” and similar words in a vanity telephone number or web site domain name would likely create a misleading expectation in the mind of the consumer and will violate ethics rules in most states. The question is by who’s standards are you the best or leading and in what? 1-800-WIN-XXXX may be good for a casino, but when used for personal injury will imply that the person who becomes a client of the firm will win money when, in fact, that may not happen and even if it does, it’s an award for just compensation, not a “winning”. Laura Hodes in her article for the ABA Journal entitled Vanity Phone Numbers Make Your Firm Less Forgettable, quoted Will Hornsby, an expert on lawyer advertising and staff counsel in the ABA Division for Legal Services, who said that while there is nothing unethical about vanity numbers, “1-800-I-WIN-CASES would be unethical because it is making an unsubstantiated claim, creating unjustified expectations that can be true but still be misleading.”

6) Trade Names: Most states do not allow lawyers to use trade names. While a 1-800 vanity phone number can be branded in advertising so people remember how to call you, it should not become your trade name.

7) Verdict Results: If you advertise previous settlements or verdict results, most states will require a disclaimer that prior results are not predictive of future outcomes. Claims must be true and you should be able to prove it.

Use of Actors in the Commercial: Some states prohibit lawyers from using an actor in the commercial to portray a lawyer and have strict regulations regarding the use of testimonials, and the portrayal of clients.

9) Dramatic Accident Re-creation: Some states prohibit use of dramatic accident recreations in the commercials.

10) Jingles: Some states prohibit use of jingles in commercials.

11) Office Address: Most states require that your main office address appear in your advertising.

12) Copy of Advertisement: Some states require lawyers to keep a copy of the advertisement for certain period of time. Some states require lawyers to submit a copy of their advertisements for prior approval.

Some guru sells his program because he has 60 ways of marketing. One Dentist was asked about his marketing he said he had 100 ways and use them all. Well I came up with 66 so far. I will work on more sometime after tax season or you can email me with ones I might have missed.

The true is you can’t use them all. Some are too costly for many of us. Some won’t work. Try as many as you like and find the ones that work and work them till they stop working or you stop working, whichever comes first.

Here they are:

1. Direct to Consumers
2. Party plan
3. Rack Jobbers
4. Wholesalers
5. Mail Order House
6. Resident Buyers
7. Fairs and Exposition
8. Chain Stores
9. Discount Stores
10. Lease Departments
11. Supermarkets
12. Free Publicity
13. Sales People
14. Franchising
15. Co Party
16. U.S. Government
17. Direct Mail
18. Co-op Mailing
19. Trade shows
20. Advertising Specialties
21. PX’s
22. Premiums
23. Classifieds:
24. In Papers
25. In Magazine
26. On the net
27. In Special papers
28. Articles
29. Ezine
30. Emails
31. Sig files
32. Radio
33. Television
34. Seminars (paid to You)
35. Bill Boards
36. Flyers
37. Brochures
38. Seminars you give free
39. Telephone
40. Referrals
41. E.books
42. Free Search Engines
43. Paid Search Engines
44. Post cards
45. Yellow Page ad
46. Cross Selling with others
47. Joint Ventures
48. Telemarketing
49. Take out Boxes with ads on
50. Posters
51. Booth at Mails or stand at mall
52. Man or Women with sign about your business
53. Window Display
54. Outside Signs
55. Articles for directories on the net
56. Free downloads with ads about your business products or services
57. Free Recording
58. Free Video
59. Free CD
60. Free Report
61. Free Samples
62. Special Events
63. Contests and Sweepstakes
64. Column in a Newspaper
65. Editorial writing by you
66. Free Phone Messages

Let me know at Joetrevis@aol.com if you would like me to explain any of these in a report that your interest in. It will be at least 2 pages with a lot of information.

I have this friend Sloan. He’s a real lunatic. I’ve never met anyone who could pole dance without a pole. But when he’s not shaming himself and his entire family tree he is truly the smartest person I know. Perhaps to you that seems as if I might not be saying much. But, don’t take a cue from my spaciness as indicative of the company I keep. I’ve got a couple razor sharps in my crew for sure. Read the rest of this entry »