Ramblings-n-Writings

Archive for September 12th, 2008

I am amazed at the power of advertising – how seeing and hearing about a product makes us want it. I’ve had classes on advertising, so I’m familiar with all the psychological tricks and stuff associated with commercials and ads. And over the past 10 years, I’ve worked in public relations and also designed hundreds of appealing (hopefully!) print ads.

But today it hit me how powerful advertising really is.

We train our brains to tune out TV commercials and radio ads and how to skip over the ads at the bottom of the newspaper or magazine page. We know what the ads say, but we don’t “compute” them.

However, there’s one form of advertising that most of us don’t tune out. Do you know what it is?

In the public relations world, it’s called “word of mouth.” What others, especially people we know, say about a product often carries more weight than the company’s own words.

So what hit me today that I noticed the value of advertising? I want to buy books! What books? The ones I read about on people’s blogs, the ones Mike Hyatt talks about on Twitter, the ones CFBA schedules for review.

I’m a reader. I love books. So much so that I’d consider giving my right arm for a good book. Well, maybe not. But you get my point. (By the way, I’m a diehard lefty so my right arm isn’t too valuable. ) And I confess that I occasionally give in and buy books!

Reading the great reviews about books, especially ones by authors I’m familiar with, makes me want to buy the book. Mr. Hyatt has mentioned the attention and publicity some Thomas Nelson books are receiving. That makes me want to find out what’s so “great” about the books and that means I’ll probably pick up a copy to read. (If I’m lucky the library will have a copy!)

Word of mouth applies to more than just books or tangible products. We spread the news of our faith in Christ through word of mouth. Do our reviews make others want our product? Would they give their right arm to have what we offer?

I read an article in our local newspaper about a future presidential hopeful. Check out his blog and his posts about attending the Republican Convention. His blog name “potus2036″ stands for President of the United States 2036. He plans to run for president when he turns 39 (in the year 2036)!!! I think he has potential, especially since he’s only 11 and already showing more insight and appreciation for our country than most in office now! =)