Consumer Report

We don't have to imagine what's going on in the minds and hearts of consumers because we're part of the crowd.

• Survival - how to keep a roof over our heads, feed our family, take care of our healthcare needs and pay for clothing, fuel, insurance and taxes. Basic stuff.
• Saving money - how to do more with less, find less-expensive ways to provide for what we need to survive. Repair, reuse, recycle.
• Concern for the future - how to have enough to pay for education, retirement, care for children or aging parents. How to prepare for an impending economic meltdown or a return to better times.
• Staying home - how to make the place where we're spending more time ... our home ... more comfortable, inviting or even luxurious - "cocooning." How to explore simple pleasures ... "staycations."
• Small luxuries - how to reward ourselves in inexpensive ways that provide comfort, pleasure or fun.
• Escape - how to forget our troubles for a while and lift our spirits with games, social activities, food, music, movies and entertainment.

Advertisers who can ride these trends and satisfy the desires listed above can easily, as marketing legend Robert Collier said years ago, "enter the conversation already going on in the mind of your target audience."

Once you do that you can lead them to your door.

Analyze every advertiser you serve. What do they provide to match current consumer concerns and interests? That's what you need to help them advertise now.

If they don't have products and/or services ready to fulfill those needs, then help your clients create them, or show them how to add value to their existing offerings (more about this later).

Every week I consult with advertisers, agencies and broadcasters, helping achieve consistent success using these very techniques.

Does this effort go beyond selling media, advertising and marketing? Yes. Will it help your clients stay in business and even prosper? Yes. Will you prosper by doing this? Yes.

Let me know how they work for you and your clients.