This is especially true with advertising where anyone can (and evidently does!) print up a flyer. Sources of information in a flyer may be unclear. You might find it difficult to identify the author or publisher and wonder about their motives. The qualifications of the source to speak on the particular topic or sell a particular product may be questionable.

Because of this, credibility is an important concern when advertising. As a business owner you can’t afford to be viewed by potential customers as anything less than honest, ethical and above board.

Yet few advertisers use more than half of the strategies that build trust in the prospective customer’s mind, according to advertising industry statistics. A recent study found that with major corporations, like major retail and department stores, the average advertisement was implementing only 55% of guidelines for trustworthy advertising design. Smaller companies tend to use even fewer of the recommendations.

So what can you do to make sure your advertising is believable and builds trust in the mind of your visitors?

Here are Eight Things You Can Do to Communicate Credibility In Your Advertising Campaigns:

1. Make sure that the contact information about your company is complete and easy to find. Include full contact information.
2. Implement good use of color and photos. Usually small companies tend to cut corners here because of budget concerns. Adding color photos is the easiest way to raise your level of credibility because usually only the “big” guys (Size really does matter: Big companies communicate more credibility.) Photos help your prospective customers trust you because they come to feel they know you.
3. If you’re selling something, don’t be coy and make prospects hunt all over for the price. Price it fair and put it there.
4. Give enough information about your product or service to allow the prospect to make a decision. YOU know why your “Wonder Widget” is worth $29.95, but your prospect doesn’t. This might also mean including important information such as shipping costs and return policies.
5. Make sure your advertisement looks professional, is up to date, and is free of spelling and punctuation mistakes.
6. If you require a specific disclaimer, display it and let your prospects know why it is important.
7. Make sure your prospective customers can reach someone quickly if they have questions, need help, or wish to do business with you.
8. Give your prospective customers what the’re looking for. If they’re looking for information on “how to build an igloo”, don’t make them read through a three page brochure about your company before they get to the instructions.

According to and old saying, “Honesty is the best policy.” If you want to be successful in advertising, it’s an essential policy as well.

Source: Chandler Chamber of Commerce.

So, how might traditional retailers catch this wave? If you apply your years of retail prowess online, your results could surprise you. Here are a couple of examples:

Sears recently unveiled a multichannel-services platform called “Shop Your Way,” designed to allow seamless shopping across all Sears channels, Retailer Daily reports. The Shop Your Way page offers a range of options: Shop online and pick it up at the store, shop by phone, get an online helper or sign up for Sear’s in-home service.
JCPenney launched a virtual-runway feature on its e-commerce site that allows online shoppers to use “3-D” technology to try clothes on online, Retailer Daily says. Cool stuff.

Features like these help evoke the old-style store experience in brand-new ways online.
The Po!nt: Make those retail charms virtual. Retailers can actually hold an advantage online-when they find new ways to make the virtual experience echo the store experience their customers have grown to love.

Source: Retailer Daily. Read the full post here.

Here is list of activities that will be there;

• Dunk Tanks
• Dolphin Water Slide
• Carnival Games
• Kiddy Play Land
• Cyber Maze Water Tag
• Misting Station
• Water Balloon Battle
• PowerAde Slam Dunk Contest

Location: Dr. AJ Chandler Park in Chandler, AZ

Date: Saturday, June 20th 2009

Time: 10am to 4pm

If you have any additional questions reagrding the event give HDE a call at 480-833-9181.

Don’t panic: Most marketers assume that consumers cut their spending when recession bites. In fact, total consumer spending rarely falls in nominal terms — it just grows more slowly and so fails to keep up with inflation. And some categories, such as packaged goods, tend to do well in a recession. So don’t panic — your sales may be healthier than you expect.

Cut the right costs: If you do have to cut costs, make sure that you cut the right ones. An analysis by PIMS (Profit Impact of Marketing Strategy) of how over 1,000 firms have reacted to previous downturns shows that some cost-cutting strategies are more profitable than others. Firms that cut manufacturing and administrative costs tend to do well, as do firms that cut spare capacity. But firms that reduce product quality or cut budgets for marketing and NPD tend to underperform.

Cutting ad spending will reduce your income: Cutting the ad budget is a quick way to cut costs, but beware there is a penalty to be paid. Research shows that firms that cut ad spending during a recession typically see sales and income fall by 20-30 percent over the next two years as a result. So any boost to the bottom line is usually small and short term.

Cutting ad spending causes long-term damage: Research shows that advertising has long-term effects on sales — up to five years after the ads are shown. So cutting advertising does long-term damage to one’s business. In particular, analysis by PIMS shows that firms that cut advertising take much longer to recover when the economy begins to improve.

Cutting ad spending puts your brand and company at risk: Cutting ad expenditures doesn’t just depress sales and market share. Without advertising support, distribution becomes harder to maintain and the pressure to cut prices becomes harder to resist. With lower sales and lower margins, non-advertised brands often find profits spiraling down, sometimes with fatal consequences. Financial markets know all this and tend to punish the share prices of companies that cut advertising.

A recession is both a threat and an opportunity: The worst-case scenario is a marketer lowers an ad budget while a competitor increases his. The literature is full of examples of brands that have perished this way. But the flip side is that a recession can be a marvelous opportunity to deal competitors a killer blow. Because media prices tend to fall much faster than sales for most firms, the ROI from advertising often increases in a recession. The combination of low media prices and weak competition gives companies a unique opportunity to buy market share on the cheap.

Promotions are not the solution: When times are tough and consumers are looking for bargains, promotions may seem like the obvious solution. But beware promotions that are really just price cuts in disguise. Research shows that, for most brands, trade promotions are a mixed blessing at best. They may help to keep the retailers happy, but the extra sales they generate are purely short term and the net effect on profits is often negative. Heavy reliance on promotions tends to erode brand values and destroys profit margins.

Emotions are the key to brand strength: The key to maintaining a profitable brand is not to offer discounts or buy one, get one free promos, but to build and maintain a strong emotional bond with customers. An analysis of nearly 880 case studies published by the World Advertising Research Centre shows that ad campaigns that focus on emotional engagement tend to be more profitable than ad campaigns that focus on rational messages (such as low prices or special offers), even when times are tough.

Aim for fame: The same study showed that the most profitable ad campaigns of all are those that get consumers talking about the brand — and its marketing. Word of mouth is a powerful amplifier. To get your consumers talking, you need to do something remarkable. Unfashionable as it may seem, big broadcast media still have an important role to play here. Remember that research shows that TV is still one of the most important topics of conversation there is — second only to talking about family and friends.

Harness the power of integration: Stimulating word of mouth is one way to make a budget go further. Another is to harness synergies between different marketing channels. Our research shows that the most effective campaigns mix emotionally rich, publicly consumed media like TV, direct response media like online. Getting the mix right can more than double your payback.

“The ValueJet is a great and reliable printer that has helped our company grow very quickly.” As an advertising and marketing company, they provide large format ink-jet printing solutions for many companies from various industries.  A list of their highly satisfied clients are; Rigid Industries, San Marcos Golf Resort, JBL Spearguns, Autism Research Institute, Earnhardt Toyota, Power Toyota of Tempe, Boys & Girls Club.

“One of the biggest advantages of owning a ValueJet 64” printer with pre, print, and post heaters is not worrying about banding or ink curing time,” asserts Colin. The I2: Intelligent Interweaving Printing Technique that comes standard on all Mutoh America ValueJet printers helps achieve a high quality results.  

“Our clients expect bright, vibrant, and exact colors.  Utilizing Mutoh America’s ValueJet 64” printer, we have been able to give them a superior product every time, which has allowed our company to increase productivity and sales by 32%! We look forward to continue growing in years to come,” affirms Colin.  

For more information about Mutoh America, please visit www.mutoh.com 

email us at sales@mutoh.com or call 1-800-99-MUTOH (800-996-8864).

About Mutoh

Mutoh Industries, Ltd. founded in 1952 in Tokyo, manufactured and distributed mechanical drafting products. Since then, ISO 9000-certified Mutoh Industries, Ltd. has become the world’s foremost manufacturer of large format piezoelectric printers. Mutoh has engineering, manufacturing and distribution centers in Japan, Belgium and Phoenix, Arizona. Please visit www.mutoh.com