Rick Levin & Associates, Inc. Upcoming Auctions

We're updating this ad daily as details on properties - and more properties - are added to these Rick Levin & Associates real estate auctions. The ad appears in real estate sections throughout the Chicago metro area so we're keeping in close contact with newspapers to replace the ad as soon as updated versions are proofed and ready to publish.

The real estate auction business is normally fast-paced ... but at times like these when home foreclosures are peaking - the auction business is moving at lightening speed! An auction is the most effective method for bringing together motivated buyers and qualified sellers ... so property being sold at auction is at an all time high.

Of course ... the RLA website has the newspapers beaten hands-down for speed, so we encourage Buyers to go to http://www.ricklevin.com/ for the absolutely, most updated information.

New Media Merchandising: How To & Why To!

Learn about New Media Merchandising ... how you can brand your business and sell merchandise through social media campaigns. Click on each slide to get a close-up view and learn about the new way to go direct and how it can work for your business.

What’s your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?

If you haven’t defined it yet, take a look at the definition of the term, written in Rosser Reeves in his 1960 book, Reality in Advertising:

"Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. Not just words, not just product puffery, not just show-window advertising. Each advertisement must say to each reader: Buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit.

The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer. It must be unique – either a uniqueness of the brand or a claim not otherwise made in that particular field of advertising.

The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions (i.e., to pull over new customers to your product)."

info@measuredmktg.com
312.929.4882

4 Steps to Constructing a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

1. Identify The Differentiating Idea – Identify what separates you from your competitors; it doesn’t have to be product related. Figure out your difference and then turn it into a benefit for your customer.
2. Use It In Context – Understand the perceptions of both your product and your competitor’s product. Consumer perceptions are what matter and you need to know what they are. Your messaging has to make sense in the context of those perceptions.
3. Offer Your Credentials – You should be able to demonstrate a difference, providing proof of your claims. Your differentiating idea must be convincing and believable.
4. Tell Us Your Difference – Communicate your difference in everything you do, from business cards to packaging, and presentations to advertising. Perception is everything so get the word out.

info@measuredmktg.com

312.929.4882

If You Think Direct Mail Is Dying, Think Again!

You've heard it before and you'll hear it again ― direct mail is dying. How many lives does this cat have? With every new marketing channel created, or improved, the eulogies start for direct mail. The truth is direct mail will not be leaving us anytime soon.

Like internet advertising, social networking, newspapers, radio and TV, direct mail is simply another tool to get your message out. How you use it, and how much you use it, depends on your marketing strategy and your target audience. No one tool can do it all and a strong marketing strategy is one that's integrated and based on your organization's goals.

Here are the facts about the current health of direct mail in a report from the United States Postal Service:

According to the USPS Household Diary Study, in 2008, U.S. households received 148.6 billion pieces of mail, and sent 21.3 billion.

Advertising mail represented 63% of all mail received by households in 2008.

According to McCann-Erickson, says the report, American businesses spent about $271 billion in 2008 advertising their products and services, a decrease of 3.2% from 2007. Of this total advertising spending, 22% was spent on direct mail. In 2008, more than one-fifth of total advertising dollars was spent on direct mail advertising.

Direct mail was the second leading media choice of advertisers in 2008, after television. However, due to a steep economic downturn, direct mail advertising spending fell 1.0% compared to 2007. Except for the Internet and Other, all other spending media categories declined as well.

Direct mail's share of total advertising spending has been on a strong upward trend for most of the past 17 years. Since 1999, the direct mail share has risen steadily reaching 22% in 2008. Direct mail has maintained its large ad share even with the introduction of new, fast-growing ad markets such as the Internet.

Ultimately, advertisers send direct mail because it works, says the report. Household members read and respond to it. Households report they intend to respond to about one in ten pieces of advertising mail. While intended responses do not always lead to actual responses, the data presented help explain why direct mail is the number one choice of advertisers in America, concludes the study.

View the full report from USPS.

What's the status of your direct mail program's health? If it needs a check up and some new life breathed into it give us a call. Measured Marketing can also help you decide if taking a more integrated approach is appropriate for your marketing strategy.

info@measuredmktg.com
312.929.4882

Email Advertising is Skyrocketing

Here are the latest findings (5/09) from Borrell Associates, a research & consulting firm that tracks local ad spending across 11 forms of media (online, newspapers, direct mail, cable, radio, etc.):

E-mail advertising is skyrocketing. Last year, email advertising moved to the #1 position in online advertising, surpassing all other forms of interactive advertising. Advertisers spent $12.1 billion last year on e-mail marketing, more than they spent on display/banner advertising or search advertising. We’re predicting e-mail will continue to distance itself from other online advertising formats over the next five years, growing to $15.7. Most of the growth in e-mail marketing will be local. We’re expecting local e-mail advertising to grow from $848 million in 2008, to $2 billion in 2013.

Borrell goes on to caution: Managing large e-mail marketing campaigns requires database marketing expertise, a savvy sales force, adequate e-mail management software, familiarity with the rules and regulations and a lot of patience.

Which leads to the question . . . What's your email strategy and do you have the right tools and expertise to add it to your marketing mix?

Don't sweat it if you don't – that's why we're here. Let Measured Marketing assist you with the how-to in creating effective, deliverable email communications. We'll guide you in list building & acquisition, targeting, compliance with CAN-SPAM laws, channel-appropriate design & copy writing, and most important of all – Strategy. Contact Measured Marketing today to get your campaign started.

info@measuredmktg.com
312.929.4882

Visit this blog often for insights on direct marketing ...

Come to Measured Marketing Insights when you're looking for new ways to go direct. We're a creative bunch with years and years of advertising and direct marketing experience. We have a passion for doing it right ... for communicating clearly and effectively and using practical methods to reach new customers and keep good customers coming back.

We're looking forward to sharing our insights on direct mail, mailing lists, offer testing, internet strategies, targeting, back end analysis and more to help you get - and measure - your results.

Yes! We'll share our insights on all the fun things that we marketers do to figure out what's working (and what's not working!).

So, visit often and keep the faith !

Measured Marketing Insights

P.S. There are no magic bullets in marketing, but that doesn't mean there isn't alot of ammunition! Like the "P.S." on a direct marketing letter ... whatever you write almost ALWAYS gets read!