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Want to really mess up your advertising campaign? Barry Cohencan tell you how. The 47-year-old co-owner of AdLab MediaCommunications LLC (www.adlabcreative.com) inClifton, New Jersey, points out common bad ideas in his book, 10Ways to Screw Up an Ad Campaign (Entrepreneur Press).
"After 21 years of working with businesses, I saw adesperate need for people to have a no-nonsense, simple guide tohelp them avoid common mistakes," Cohen says. Among his sageadvice on what not to do in your ad campaign:
Hire your brother-in-law asmarketing director. Relatives don't always make thegrade. Instead, hire someone who is really qualified to handle yourpromotion.
Handle everythingyourself. A better idea: Spend your time doing what youdo best-and leave the advertising to someone who does that for aliving.
Do what you've alwaysdone. Nothing's worse than getting stuck in a rut.Don't be afraid to try new ideas.
Above all, Cohen emphasizes that "You can out-advertise thecompetition, even if you can't outspend them. There is aformula to doing this right. Follow the formula and it willwork."
Gwen Moran is president of Moran Marketing Associates, apublic relations and marketing communications agency in Ocean, NewJersey. She is the creator of BoostYourBiz.com, a marketinginformation Web site. E-mail her at gwen@boostyourbiz.com.
