Small Market Myths

Just this past weekend I was at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course, outside Mansfield, OH. Clear Channel owns a couple stations in the area and they've recently made a big stink about "Less Is More", their corporate mandate to sell :30s instead of :60s. They said as a company "It's more about the message!". Bravo, I say. Yes!

Except, their folks in Mansfield, OH were still airing a bunch of crap.

Why is mediocrity tolerated if the city isn't large enough to be written in BOLD on a map? I argue that if you're an advertiser spending your money, you should get what you pay for regardless of market size. Sometimes that means you'll have to be smarter than the 22 year old DJ that's voicing your spot (he's certainly not "creating your advertising"). Sometimes that means you'll need to spend a few bucks on an outside service to do better-than-your-market-sized-production (of course, I'm a big fan of hiring BigMouthAudio...those guys are BRILLIANT!)

See, Clear Channel is on the right track: Less IS More. It IS about the message. But while corporate pats themselves on the back, Joe Advertiser outside of the big cities is still getting hosed.

Don't wait for good advertising to come to you...go out & CREATE it, then watch your business grow!