Debtfree Magazine September 2019

ADVERTISING TIPS
Are you spending a lot of money on advertising and having little or
no success getting more sales? While the availability of funds in a
downturn economy is an influencing factor, people are still shopping
for products and services during hard economic times. Advertising is
meant to influence consumers who are ready to spend, to choose your
service or product over that of your competitor.
Back in 2007, the Washington Post arranged for a man in a rather non
descript jersey and baseball cap to stand in a grimy corner of a train station
in Washington DC. He stood next to a garbage bin and after setting out
his violin case to collect tips, began to play for around 45 minutes. Almost
1000 people passed him by that morning on their way to work. Some
sat nearby and had their shoes shined or bought items at a shop. Seven
people stopped to listen during that time. Some dropped in tips amounting
to $35 but nearly a thousand others simply walked right by.
Why is this interesting? Well, two weeks before the same man, Mr. Joshua
Bell performed at the Symphony Hall in Boston. He wore the traditional
black suit, and the excited crowds were all prepared to pay $100 each to
hear him play. The hall was packed. Mr. Bell is known as a brilliant violinist,
his performance has been described by some as telling “human beings
why they bother to live”.
In both locations, Bell played the same songs. The man was the same, the
instrument was the same and the music was the same. The different was
the environment or what marketing people call ‘context’.