AAdvertising Dollars Well Spent

Have you gotten this phone call?

“Hello, may I speak with the business owner or whoever is in charge of advertising and marketing decisions?”

It’s the Yellow Pages or one of the other phone book companies, and they want your business to advertise in their publication. What to do? What to do? Well, you have two obvious options: buy an ad or don’t. It’s that simple. The decision, however, might make you want to commit hari-kari.

There are pros and cons with each. So what’s new? Everything has a dark side, even duct tape. A lot of businesses still advertise in these directories, and they’re one way to get your name out there. People will see your business name, and maybe a little blurb about what you do, but that’s it.

In the not-so-distant past, this ad space was priceless. If your business wasn’t listed in the yellow pages, then your potential customers couldn’t “let their fingers do the walking” and find you. Of course, if you operated Wilson’s Whitewash, your listing would be well below AAble Whitewashing Company. As a result, you probably got a lot fewer calls. So, even though it was incredibly important to be listed in the telephone directory, there were still drawbacks.

Fast forward to today. When was the last time you pulled out a phone book to look up a number? It’s more likely that you use the book as a booster seat at the Thanksgiving dinner table. It’s going away, and replacing it are Google rankings and search engine optimization. A well programmed website will go a long way to increase your chances of landing a job when a potential customer searches for a whitewashing company. The old trick of adding a couple of “A”s to your business’ name to beat out the competition are over. Good riddance to bad practices.

Even if you and your audience are not computer savvy, there are still better ways to spend those advertising dollars. Instead of buying a phone book ad, consider a billboard or vinyl lettering on your company cars. Remember, not everyone is going to see the van driving down the street with Wilson’s Whitewash emblazoned on the side, but a lot more will see that than the phone number buried under little Timmy’s tush.

If you want to explore your options, find the best place to put your money, contact an ogre for a free consultation. We have a phone. The number is 850.912.4203. We’re on Facebook, Twitter, and at cleverogre.com. You can even email us.

A Bite of Inspiration

It’s been sunny and beautiful in Pensacola the last, well, the last several weeks. Summertime is here and we’re enjoying it. The writing ogre (that’s me) was sitting at his computer trying to figure out what he would write. Sometimes inspiration is hard to find, so he went for a walk. Lo and behold, right there, beside the sidewalk was inspiration.

For those of you not familiar with fire ants, they’re a kind of ant found in the southeastern United States. They build big dirt mounds, or anthills, some of which are so big one might think they could be seen from space; oceans, the Great Wall of China, and anthills… yep. The thing about fire ants is that they’re extremely territorial and aggressive. The slightest disturbance to the hill and thousands of them emerge, looking for a fight. Their main goal is to defend the queen, so that she can produce more fire ants and grow the colony. The fire ant’s bite packs a painful and venomous punch. They’re not deadly, unless the victim weighs about a gram, or there are thousands of them biting a larger creature or person at once. The bite swells up, develops a red, itchy rash, and is dang near impossible not to meddle with. Their tenacity, however annoying, is admirable.

Here’s a short video of fire ants emerging from the hill, ready to attack.

Much like the fire ants, a good team - whether family, friends, or coworkers – will defend one another against intruders and unwanted outsiders. They work together, each one doing his or her job, and helping out as much as possible wherever needed, to perform each task to the best of the group’s abilities. These are the kind of groups we all seek out in life; others with a common interest and goal, who will fight for and defend one another and their collective task. Find these people, and you’ve found something special… something different.

At Clever Ogre, this is artistically illustrated. Ogres do what’s required, and then some, to produce the best possible product. Whether it’s a logo, a website, a blog or a full-on branding campaign; rest assured, they’re on it. Each one knows what is expected of the other and what the end result should be. When they’re working for you, you’re part of the group. You and your product or image will be defended just as vehemently as the fire ants defend their queen and hill.

Do you have questions for the ogres? You can find us all over the web. We’re at www.cleverogre.com, on facebook, and on Twitter. Say hi, let us know if you need anything, and we’ll be there for you. Don’t worry, we don’t bite.