Wizard of Ads Clay Campbell

Marketing to Rednecks & Goobers

Marketing to Rednecks & Goobers.
(How folks in "fly over" country respond to advertising.)

In “fly over” country there is a very large segment of people, people like me, who live in small towns across America.  In my view, many in the media, and ad agencies on the east and west coasts, believe that what we think here in “fly over country”  is not very important. They believe we are too stupid to “get it”. It seems like much advertising is written for the people in big cities and highly educated.  The rednecks and goobers call them the artsy fartsy crowd.

You remember Goober right? He was on The Andy Griffith Show, played by  actor and comedian named George Lindsey played the part. Gomer Pyle  on the show ( played by Jim Nabors) also was a goober. You know what rednecks are too right? They are red around the back of their neck from fishing, or farming or hunting, riding bulls in a rodeo, or some other really Redneck or Goober activity. They mostly live in places like Possum Trot, or Monkey’s Eyebrow, Kentucky or Bland Missouri. They have cell phones, and they buy stuff like guns, pickup trucks and SUV’s. They buy cigarettes, cigars, Budweiser, Jack Daniels and lots of Cadillac’s. (Remember Elvis??) They are country music fans and they buy billions of dollars of CD’s of people like Ray Stevens, Charlie Daniels, Larry the Cable guy, Jeff Foxworthy and lots of other redneck and goober stuff.  These people I’m talking about are the ones watching reruns of Hee Haw on RFD TV.

My wife is a very intelligent person even though she did not go to college. She is the General Manager over a very successful group of businesses, she figured out how to do QuickBooks by herself, she publishes two online newsletters, and does all the changes to our website, raised three children to adulthood and she’s a Saint because she has put up with me for 30 years!

On many occasions, while we are watching TV, a commercial comes on and after it’s over she says, “Now just what the heck is it they were advertising?” This is what I am saying. If they can’t reach my wife, how can they reach the Rednecks and Goobers? It seems to me that those people writing and producing  many of today’s commercials, tend to think that everyone thinks like them. That ain’t true. They tend to think that what they think is funny, everyone will think is funny. That ain’t true either.

At least half of the commercials that come on TV my sweet wife sits there and says, “That’s really stupid commercial” Then she always mutes the TV when it comes on again. Do you think she will make a purchase from businesses that she thinks is running “stupid commercials”? As rednecks and Goobers would say: “It ain’t likely”. Some of those ads seem to talk down to us rednecks and goobers and make us feel like we are beneath them.

Then other commercials like Geiko, Allstate, State Farm, Target, we leave the TV un-muted and watch and listen to the whole thing. Those ads are believable, sometimes entertaining, they are not insulting, they are NOT hype, they are not full of cliché’s they are relating to her and taking to us in a way we can understand.

Will the rednecks and goobers listen to your ads or turn them off? In future post we will have many examples of both.

FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real

Fear is:

False

Evidence

Appearing

Real

All of us experience fears of some sort. The Bible tells us to “fear not “; and according to the movie "Facing the Giants" it says it 365 times. I suggest you read them all.  

So, anyway, that’s a lot of “fearing not”.  Statistics show 90% of all the things we fear never come to pass. (These are my own personally gathered statistics and not a scientific study)

We fear our house will burn down. When Barbie and I went on a date and our kids were small, on the way home she’d say, “Honey, what if we get home and the kids have set the house on fire?” I would say something very encouraging back to her like “Well now that’s really stupid to be worrying about that!”( We did catch them playing with matches once)

Business owners today are worried and rightly so. Who in the world, 5 years ago, would have thought General Motors would be in bankruptcy? Business owners have their own unique set of fears for example:  I wonder if employees are stealing my money? Will my business survive this difficult economy?

We fear stuff like our kids getting hurt in a car wreck. We stay up late waiting for them to come in, and then they come in and they are fine, and we did all that worrying for nothing. The Democrats fear the Republicans might win next time, and the Republicans fear the Democrats will screw things up so bad that no one can fix it.

We worry the same way about not being able to pay our bills, we might not get the new house we are wanting, we fear our spouse might have an affair,  and my Dad was always afraid we would have bad neighbors move in next door, and then we’d all be miserable.

We are afraid that the government might make us pay more taxes, and that our company might be bought-out and we’d lose our job. We fear we might not be attractive enough to opposite sex to get a date, that our deodorant might not keep us from stinking, that our teeth aren’t white enough, we fear death, and I'm told, the biggest fear that Americans have is the fear of having to get up and speak in front of a group.

I have a favorite saying: “Fear knocked at the door, Faith answered and no one was there!”

Fear is really just false evidence appearing real. My Dad was also afraid of getting poisoned, because his cousin had been poisoned by a neighbor that hated him. So Dad never enjoyed eating any food except my Moms cooking. Howard Hughes was the richest man in the world at the time he was living, and he was very fearful the same way. He was afraid of getting germs and getting a disease and dying. He had someone taste all his food first, then, if they didn’t die, he would eat it. Many Kings back in the old days were the same way.

Many people are just plain bent out of shape in their fears. Most of them are never ever going to happen. My wife used to fear that while we were passing an eighteen wheeler that the driver would fall asleep and come over the line, run into us and kill us all. Hey, it could happen; but not very likely. I think if you are going to fear something, you ought to be afraid not using all the talents and gifts that God has given you.

Two great books that will calm your fears are: # 1 The Bible, and # 2 Dale Carnegie’s great book: How to stop worrying and start living. I highly recommend both and that you get started ASAP!

 

 

Taking Chances

 
I am signing on to do something I have never before attempted. I own a country music theatre tourist attraction on Kentucky Lake. We are celebrating our 21st anniversary. You have heard of the Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee? Well, I own, run and try to make profitable the Kentucky Opry in Kentucky. It’s like the Grand Ole Opry except the people that run the Grand Ole Opry are all millionaires, and I am more like a few hundred thousandaire.

I have promoted and marketed my country music concerts over the past couple of decades. I have worked with and fronted the shows for Merle Haggard, Lee Greenwood, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ray Stevens, Loretta Lynn and about a hundred others. I feel like I know what I am doing there; and some would say I have been extremely successful. I have stayed away from venturing too far from what I know best.

But today - today I am venturing into new water, and maybe I’ll be treading water. A man asked me a few years ago what I was good at and I said, “Starting over”. He said, “No, I mean what is your specialty?” I said, “Skating on thin ice”. I believe that is what a business owner has to do; be willing to skate on the thin ice and continuously be on the lookout for creative ways to add revenue.

I am partnering 50/50 on some rock and roll concerts; starting with Kansas & 38 Special. We could make a lot of money but we could lose some too. Life is a gamble. I’m gambling that I will succeed. We plan to live but we could die tomorrow. We plan to win but we could lose. Success is overcoming obstacles. If you have not had very many failures, I don’t believe you can have very many successes. I used to sing the song Don Schlitz wrote for Kenny Rogers ; “The Gambler” It goes like this:

You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, Know when to walk away and know when to run. You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table. There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.
The Gambler-Artist Kenny Rogers -Writer Don Schlitz

My wife was a bit worried by this new venture into the unknown, and said she was concerned that I was going into an area where I had no experience. She didn’t say I should not do it, but she did say, “Just be careful that you don’t lose a lot of money.” I said, “Yes dear,” like a good hubby should. God gave me a great helpmate, for occasions such as this; to keep me from going off and doing something really stupid. I am truly thankful for her input. She has saved my butt on several occasions.

But for my part - I just won’t live my life being too cautious and not taking any chances. I just won’t do it. I’m not that kind of man.

I believe like old Teddy said:
“It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause. Who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
-Teddy Roosevelt

Are you willing to take a chance on something new or untested?
Do you have a story of you taking a chance and succeeding? If so, please email me the story and I will choose a couple and reprint them in the Wizard Times.

My challenge to you today is from Jim Rohn:
Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you.
Jim Rohn

Do you have enough margin in your life?

I copied this below from Rick Warren’s daily devotional email.  It’s always a good read, and helps me keep perspective in my life. Even if you have read it before; I recommend you read it again. It is one of the reasons Americans have so many heart attacks. It’s another reason for a 50% divorce rate.

It is also another reason why consumers are oblivious to the unending, constant barrage, of advertising they are subjected to.

“A lot of people are on overload and headed for a crash. Consider these statistics among U.S. citizens:

• People now sleep 2 1/2 fewer hours each night compared to people from one hundred years ago.

• The average work week is longer now than it was in the 1960s.

• The average office worker has 36 hours of work piled up on his or her desk. It takes three hours a week just to sort through it and find what we need.

• We spend eight months of our lives opening junk mail, two years of our lives playing phone tag with people who are too busy to answer, and five years waiting for people who are trying to do too much and are late for meetings.

We're a piled-on, stretched-to-the limit society; chronically rushed, chronically late, chronically exhausted. Many of us feel like Job did when he said, "I have no peace! I have no quiet! I have no rest! And trouble keeps coming" (Job 3:26 GWT).

Overload comes when we have too much activity in our lives, too much change, too many choices, too much work, too much debt, too much media exposure.

Dr. Richard Swenson says, "The conditions of modern day living devour margin. If you're homeless we direct you to a shelter. If you're penniless we offer you food stamps. If you're breathless we connect you to oxygen. But if you're marginless we give you one more thing to do. Marginless is being thirty minutes late to the doctor's office because you were twenty minutes late getting out of the hairdresser because you were ten minutes late dropping the children off at school because the car ran out of gas two blocks from a gas station and you forgot your purse. That's marginless."

You need margin in your life. When you're not hurrying and worrying all the time, you have time to think. Time to relax. Time to enjoy life. Time to be still and know that God is God (Psalm 46:10).
by Rick Warren

I am putting some margin in my life right now. I am making reservations at a nice hotel and kidnapping my bride of 30 years for a 3 day get away. What about you? Are you just going to say, “Well that’s a nice idea” or are you going to do something about it?

13 Golden Rules to help you grow in a poor economy

"The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it."

-- Jean Paul

I have been thinking this morning, about a speech I am giving today to a packed house of business owners. They are gathered to hear me speak about how they can get big results from their small ad budget by doing certain things and avoiding others.

I am speaking to Chamber of Commerce in Murray Kentucky. I am going to show them many ways  to grow a business even in a poor economy such as we are in now. And I will offer several case studies. But nothing I can say is more relevant than Ole Norman Lambert's 13 Golden Rules of doing business. The sign out front says the restaurant is “The Only Home of Throwed Rolls.”

This is a portion of a chapter in an upcoming book with the working title: Marketing 101 Rich Ideas to Help Your Business in a Poor Economy.

Here are the 13 Golden Rules from Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston Missouri.

1.    As the Bible says, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
2.    "Always offer our guest at least one service they can't receive anywhere else."
3.    "You, our guest, are very important, you are the reason we are here! THANK YOU!"
4.    "We need you, our guest, much more than we need ourselves."
5.    "You, our guest, are always right."
6.    "It's our job to take care of you, if we don't someone else will."
7.    "If we make a mistake, we will correct it immediately!"
8.    "Our simple but powerful rule: Always give you, our guest, more than you expect to get."
9.    "You are our guest; guests in our home, not clients or customers, but guests."
10.    "Good enough for some is not good enough for us."
11.    "The difference between ordinary and extra-ordinary, is: give that little extra."
12.    "Quality rather than quantity matters, we offer BOTH."
13.    "We do simple things, but in exceptional ways!"

I challenge you to implement these in your business. We have adopted these 13 as our own, as well as a few more ideas besides. As a result, ( business owners are always wanting to see the results)  in an industry that is down 25% our tourism attraction in Kentucky is up about 20% over last year.

Do you have the discipline to succeed?

A friend of mine said to me in an email:

 

 “Clay… have you got any tips for me, on how to be diligent enough to finish a book? I’ve started, but have allowed myself to get sidetracked for long periods of time.” 

 

I wrote this response and thought it worthy enough to pass on to everyone:

 

“I don’t know if it will work for you; but here’s what I know to be true and what I have found out personally.

 

·         If a person can just have the discipline to develop a habit of eating an apple each day, they can do anything!!  (I try to eat an apple every day some days I miss but almost every day!)

·         If you determine that come hell or high water, you will eat the apple each day, then you would have the discipline to eat healthy that day. (I eat healthy every day.  I am 5ft 9in tall and weigh 170 lbs and have 33 inch waist and I take no medications of any kind; at 58 that’s pretty good results from that good habit I started 30 years ago)

·         If you can eat healthy and make it a habit then you could/would have the fortitude to add another habit (or discipline) to that first one. I added saving money. If you can eat an apple a day, you can make yourself save 10% of your income. (We save 10% every month. That’s where the money came from to start the Kentucky Opry; this month is our 21^st anniversary.)

·         If you can eat the apple, and save 10%, you can add another discipline. I added a daily morning devotion.  (I have been doing the morning prayer-time, and Bible reading for several years now…and it has changed my life.)

·         I you can make yourself eat the apple, save the 10%, and do your daily devotion, then you can add another discipline; I added exercise. (I try to exercise 3-4 days per week about 20-30 minutes at a time. I use an Ab Lounge 2, an Ab Doer Pro model,  A Nordic Track Ski Machine,  a Nordic Elliptical, and also 10 lb weights)

·         If you eat the apple, save 10%, do a daily devotion and exercise, then that would give you the confidence to add another discipline, I added writing. After going to my first writing class at the Wizard Academy 7 years ago, I read the book Bird by Bird. It’s all about the discipline of daily writing.

·         Next I had a story. I had a story I really wanted to tell. The story of my extreme poverty as a child and how I overcome the odds to become almost famous. And how I used to be sinner and God changed my life. The story of me hitch hiking from Missouri to California when I was just 16.  The story of a bankruptcy and two divorces and on and on…

 

Now here is my point: one good discipline leads to another, and also…one lack of discipline leads to another.

Now, I just wrote to you about 480 words (not counting these added words) and if you would just write 480 words each day, for 45-50 days,  you will have your book!!  It all starts with an apple a day. You can do it! I’ve never seen a determined woman that could not get done what she disciplined herself to do. You can do it. (I will help you through if you want”   

 

Clay Campbell

Benton Kentucky

270-703-2700

 

 

"Let's Lead the Recovery!"

"Let's Lead the Recovery!"
by Clay Campbell

I have said, and have heard other business owners say "We're Not Participating in the Recession" and I understand what we all mean by that. But this past week at Toastmasters, our “Table Topics” discussion was “being positive” when you are surrounded with negative. This morning I received an email from a client with an attached newsletter from a guy named Doug Fleenor. He said that using that phrase "We're Not Participating in the Recession" could do harm instead of good. I agree.

He said:
“Late last fall I used the same line in a presentation. Afterwards, a woman came up to me and reminded me that a lot of people don't want to participate in the recession but that hasn't kept them from losing their jobs. While she didn't say so directly I could sense that maybe the recession was hitting home for her whether she wanted it to or not.”
A better way to state that would be: "Let's Lead the Recovery!" That is so much better! That’s much more Positive!

10 Ways to Lead the Recovery.

1. Read an inspiring motivational book. Take a look at my list
2. Listen to some positive, CD’s ( Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, and my favorite Jim Rohn)
3. Hang around with positive people; avoid the negative ones.
4. Pray (statistics show people who pray are happier and more positive than those who don’t)
5. Do something for someone who can’t do anything back for you in return.
6. Write out your goals on a piece of paper and stick it on the fridge. Have some goals that are short term, (this month) mid range, (6 months) and long term (2-3 years)
7. Tithe. Give some money away to Scouts, the Red Cross, missionaries, etc. It always makes feel you better to give than to receive. Clean out the stuff from your closets you don’t use, and take it to the Salvation Army.
8. No matter how hard it is to do it, you must save some money; even if it’s only $5 a week. Having a little stash of cash makes you more optimistic that you could make it through a difficult time. Strive for a goal of saving $1000 in cash.
9. Plan to go to either a motivational, or fun/educational, or inspirational seminar in the next six months. It would be great to go to find one that would have all three in one meeting; but that may be difficult to find. But go find a seminar that inspires and motivates you.
10. Start a “thank you file”. I have a sizable thank you file now, that I started a few years ago. You should start one that has thank you notes from people who appreciate you, like you, and love you. (If you don’t get notes like that refer to item #5)

So I say let’s lead the recovery; let’s stay positive; let’s stay at it and persist. This famous quote of President Calvin Coolidge, “press on” is the attitude for us to adopt.

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Calvin Coolidge

The Missing Bowl

My wife Barbie, came to me this week and said, “Honey, have you seen my crystal bowl; the one that was my Mother’s ?” I said that I had not seen that bowl. Well my sweet wife went a bit frantic looking for it. She called our children. She looked all over for it at our place of business. She asked her Dad about it. No Bowl. She was frustrated.

The next day she took everything out of every cupboard where she thought it could be. No luck. She called the housekeeper; and she had not seen the elusive crystal bowl. She said that it was her favorite bowl and was so distraught that it was gone.

After several days of searching, we got up and were getting ready for the day and we “discovered” the lost bowl sitting right there in the middle of the kitchen table with plastic fruit in it. It was right there in front of us all week long and we didn’t even see it. She said, “Don’t tell anyone about this, they will think I’ve really lost it” But we both have been telling our friends and laughing about it. The same kind of thing has probably happened to everyone at some time or another.

Business Owners are you searching and looking everywhere for some way you can advertise or promote your business that will bring people through your doors in this troubled economy? It’s could be right there in front of you! An idea that you have over looked. A virtue or core value that you could “find” that could mean the difference between success and failure this year.

If you can’t find it by yourself I have some brilliant Partners that specialize in finding that thing, or idea that will help you. Each one has a different specialty. I offer a free complimentary meeting or phone call to help you get pointed in the right direction. We'll ask questions and listen before we make recommendations. We will never try to sell you.

2009 your best year ever? Dont you wish you had a crystal ball ...

I talked with a good friend that owns an Outback Steakhouse. He told me that 2008 was his best year ever and that he was expecting to see an increase in business in 2009. I talked to a car dealer client of mine and he said he was very optimistic about 2009 and that his January was very good, except for the last week when the ice storm hit.  In my own business; we just had a big concert and had a full house with a major called The Elvis Connection.  We sold 1600 seats in an 1800 seat venue and made an outstanding profit over our expenses.

People are going to spend money in 2009 on what they want; but what do they really want? Buying things to satisfy ones ego will be less, and buying that you legitimately want, that you realistically can justify, will be more.

Buying things to lavish yourself with the appearance of being wealthy will diminish and giving money to help the poor will increase. Don’t you wish you had a crystal ball that could look into the future and tell you how things would go with your business? I don’t have a crystal ball, but I can recommend something much more certain and realistic…the Wizards on the Road Small Business Advertising Seminar in Denver.  Find out how your business might grow and prosper in 2009.

Are you Expecting Instant Results?

Take the time. Plan ahead. Do an Uncovery

Precious ad dollars are wasted when you expect your advertising to work instantly. So many times a business will advertise on TV, radio, newspaper or billboards in an effort to “get more people in here.” During and just after the campaign they ask, “Why aren’t people coming in?” In my article, Unrealistic Expectations, I address this in more detail.

Take the time. Plan ahead. Do an Uncovery first. What is an Uncovery?

In an Uncovery the decision makers of the business to come together. Ask questions to find out:

• The short and long term goals for your business. Is everyone on the same page? What direction shall you go?
• Find out what the branding strategy and Image Building would be for any advertising
• Discover where to start, where to end up, and what to leave out
• Gather information to build a campaign around your strategy
• Discover the strengths and weakness of your business as well as your competitors
• Determine how success will be measured
• What are you trying to accomplish?
• What will you consider a happy ending at the end of a year one, two, three?
• Find out what your core values are, what you stand for, the things you will never quit on.

From that research, determine your untold story and the amount of money you can spend. Spread that money out for a year in a media you can dominate. Be very shrewd in your media buy. Decline any other advertising until you do your advertising and marketing planning session for the next year.

Every successful business owner does those things. Small business owners that search for a magic ad or some gimmick to “get the people in here” will always fail. They fail to get the best bang for their buck and sometimes the business fails too.

“Hype doesn’t sell anymore.
The effectiveness of artificial urgency is in sharp decline. People are no longer naive. Companies that were built on high-impact ads are finding their dwindling, traditional customer base won’t respond to anything but high-impact offers and new customers won’t take them seriously. These stores are closing their doors and no one is noticing.”
~Roy Williams Monday Morning Memo on 5-21-07

I’ve had the opportunity to chat with multi-millionaire Jim Rohn on several occasions. In the year 2000, we were talking at a conference in Louisville Kentucky, on the subject of becoming wealthy in America. Jim said, “Clay, the best way to get rich quick, is to get rich slow.” That’s the best way to woo potential clients and grow your business too. Read Sam Walton’s book, Made in America, and you’ll see he started off slow in the early years. With a great deal of thinking and planning, Wal-Mart slowly grew into a giant.

One of my favorite quotes is by Willie Nelson. He said, “It takes about 20 years to become an overnight success.” Successful wealthy small business owners will say the same thing. Try to avoid that very strong desire for instant gratification with your advertising. You’ll get a much bigger bang for your buck.