Case Studies
The following Case Studies provide info about some of the campaigns and projects I’ve worked on. Check them out - there may be a concept you can adapt to improve your business.
Case Study#11. Unique marketing for an outdoors store
Outdoorism is a small store in Murwillumbah NSW packed with stock for camping, adventures, travel, hiking, and the knick knacks you find in a disposals shop. It’s owned by Tony and Cathy, a good-humoured husband and wife team.
Tony’s a real character and one day while chatting to him about advertising, I asked if they went camping and used the products they sold. He told me they did, which gave them great opportunities to test various products and pass...
Look after your customers and make more money!
'Look after your customers!'
The above words have become so stereotyped they have lost effectiveness. Perhaps the following real life examples will provide you with some thought-starters to persuade more people to visit your business.
The Travel Show
Many years ago a Coffs Harbour travel agent asked me to organise a travel show. I was told it might be difficult to attract good exhibitors and crowds because other travel shows were held in the...
Case Study#10. Furniture store marketing with FUN!
I often find that the success of the marketing campaigns I work on is proportional to the amount of fun I’m having. This one was no exception.
Peter Hoad was a client who owned a large discount furniture warehouse. He’s a great character (reminds me of a shorter version of Pavorotti but doesn't sing as well) and he was open to any promotional idea (a dream client).
We used newspaper advertising for a two year period with enormous success. Peter Hoad’s...
Case Study#9. Successful supermarket marketing
Back in the days before I set-up ‘The Marketing Academy’, I worked with Radio 2CS Coffs Harbour as a sales rep.
I wrote most of my clients' copy and collaborated in the studio with the producer so my scripts were not misinterpreted. The ads worked and my clients continued to advertise with the station. It was always a thrill to help them get results, particularly smaller advertisers with limited budgets (some of those later became large...
Case Study#8. Harvey Norman promotion attracts huge crowd
When Harvey Norman opened in Coffs Harbour in the late 80’s, they initially had a ‘soft opening’ and didn’t make too much of a fuss so staff had the opportunity to settle in. I knew they wanted to have a full launch later with an impact, so I spoke to Justin, the manager, about an idea for a radio promotion associated with April Fools’ Day that wasn’t far away. He was up for it.
This is what happened. The day before April Fools’...
Case Study#7. Business college marketing
A few years back I was approached by the two principals of a north coast business college for urgent marketing advice (name of college withheld to avoid embarrassment). It was the beginning of their annual recruitment drive for the secretarial studies course. Their competition was another local business college and a TAFE college.
I scheduled a meeting for a few days later, but in the meantime I arranged for a colleague to anonymously visit each college as a mystery...
Case Study#6. Direct mail for fundraising
When I worked for Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter’s fundraising unit in northern NSW, the organisation’s annual operating costs doubled from $3 to $6 million over a six-year period.
Prices in the aviation industry went through the roof, fuel prices soared and as aircraft were replaced there were extraordinary increases in maintenance costs because of complex new technology.
Westpac and the NSW Health Dept contributed about 40% of the budget and...
It all comes back to words
Once upon a time life was simple and communication consisted of a friendly grunt or two. We didn’t need the written word.
Then life started to change. As people separated, new forms of communication were needed so people could stay in touch. Grunts were translated to smoke messages, beating jungle drums and shopping lists on cave walls (one bison, one woolly mammoth, one sabre tooth tiger). Then there were quills and ink and letters, then type, and now we email, blog, text,...
Case Study#5. Are you looking for customers in the wrong place?
Are you targeting the right customers? Many business owners waste serious $$$$’s because they promote to the wrong people (e.g. trying to export beef to India isn’t a smart idea).
A case study follows, but first take time out to consider who your best prospects are. Are they male or female, young or old, do they work, what’s their income bracket, where do they live, will they travel to you, where do they hang out, what’s the best way to reach or promote to...
Case Study#4. The value of being different
My first media job was with Radio 2MC as a sales rep. I worked from a small satellite studio at Coffs Harbour where the afternoon shift was broadcast. The main studios were about 100km away.
On my first day on the job, the boss told me that the copywriter was based at the main studios, so apart from selling radio advertising I also had to write copy for my clients. I was stunned. Write copy! How do you write copy? He told me to find out as much as possible about the...
