Today’s marketing strategy is all about iconic brands – and I’m going to share with you some info about an advertising character who is currently being updated. He’s now 60 years old. He once got a facelift to make his football-shaped head more round. And his physique boasts a tiny little waist. Who is it? What if I said, “They’re GREAT!” Yup, it’s Tony the Tiger – whose purpose in life has been to convince Moms and children that Frosted Flakes should be in their shopping cart. But what’s making headlines is that the new ad campaign for Tony focuses on Dads. Marketing executives discovered that there’s a growing trend of fathers buying groceries. So there’s a new ad showing kids and Dads sharing a bowl together, which will air during adult programming on networks including ESPN. This way, Frosted Flakes stays at top of mind for dads and their kids – and at the top of the shopping list. Want more marketing tips? Call me at (781) 407-9305 for a free 15-minute consultation. I’m a Boston-based marketing consultant and a marketing and PR professional who specializes in working with plastic surgeons, cosmetic dentists, hair salons and skincare salons. Check out my bestselling business book, Off The Wall Marketing Ideas, available on Amazon.com.

Here’s today’s marketing question — How do you feel about the marketing of the king in Burger King’s advertising? No matter, he is now long gone, thanks to the new advertising agency that has created a new marketing campaign for the fast-food company. After seven years of marketing commercials such as the Whopper Freakout, and Chicken Fries and Flame cologne, the fast food chain believes it’s time to get back to the real deal – the food. In the new advertising spots, Burger King offers close-ups of avocados, lettuce, tomatoes and onions. The verdict? Well, most people believe the new ads are boring and could easily be an ad for McDonald’s, Red Robin or Applebee’s. Which brings us to the first rule of marketing – always make sure to concentrate on your unique selling points, which help you to differentiate yourself from the competition. I say this as a Boston-based marketing consultant and publicist for plastic surgeons, cosmetic dentists, hair salons and skincare salons. Call me at Maxima Marketing at (781) 407-9305 for a free 15-minute consultation. I’m also the co-author of the bestseller, OFF THE WALL MARKETING IDEAS, which is filled with hundreds of marketing strategies and tips, many of which are no-cost and low-cost.

Need to beef up your marketing?Then take your cue from this marketing idea, and I say this as a marketing expert and author of Off The Wall Marketing Ideas. Here’s the scoop. A New Orleans steakhouse used direct mail to get the word out about its restaurant. The restaurant wanted to sizzle up its lunchtime traffic. So they created a media campaign called “Let’s Meat Up For Lunch,” where “meet” was spelled “meat.” Six thousand, seven hundred postcards were sent to customers, offering a FREE burger and fries during lunch hours only. Customers logged onto to the URL, were walked through a four-step activation process, and asked to share the offer with friends through social media. More than 450 people responded, and an additional 2,469 customers visited the site. The moral of the story? Ask your customers to tell their friends about your business on social media. That’s the sage advice of this marketing expert, and that’s today’s food for thought. I certainly know all about restaurant public relations, and I am also a marketing expert and publicist for plastic surgeons, cosmetic dentists, hair salons, and skincare salons. Call me for a free consultation at (781) (407-9305.

I”m a marketing expert and the author of the bestselling book, OFF THE WALL MARKETING IDEAS. So I love a good marketing strategy when I see it. For example, are you tired of visiting restaurants that don’t display enough energy? Well, Friendly’s is about to change all that. This week the fast-food chain is ramping up an aggressive and extremely simple campaign to get the energy level at all of its restaurants, up to the that of a high-school football game, with everyone as enthusiastic as a cheerleader. So, there will be lots of employees high-fiving customers, with a new mascot called High 5 Heidi, who is said to be a cross between Flo, the energetic employee of Progressive Insurance, and the Saturday Night Live comedian Amy Poehler. There’s also a special High Five menu, of course, with items priced at Five Bucks. Friendly’s main customer base is families, and they are betting that this new personal touch will strike a chord with Moms, Dads, and their children. Just don’t eat too many of those fattening hot-fudge sundaes. If you’d like some similar creative and untraditional marketing strategies, give me a call at (781) 407-9305.

One of my favorite ways to market any business is with – are you ready? M&Ms candies. These colorful little bursts of chocolate, in a colorful candy shell, can be imprinted with the name of your business, your phone number, message, logo, and even a small photo. Isn’t that downright clever? There’s a rainbow of 25 M&Ms colors that you can select, and the packaging for them includes small tins and even business-card holders that can hold your business card and be used again by the recipient. I’ve personally used these adorable M&Ms to publicize my bestselling book, THE GLOBETROTTER’S GET-GORGEOUS GUIDE, and my marketing and PR firm, Maxima Marketing. (We specialize in cosmetic surgery marketing and publicity, and cosmetic dental marketing and publicity.) If you’re going to a business trade show, you definitely want to hand out your personalized M&Ms at your booth. They’re also great as wedding favors and party favors. If you have foot traffic at your office you can even purchase a gumball machine with your personalized M&Ms inside as the ultimate candy dish. They’re even kosher. Public relations manager Lauren Nodzak told me that these M&Ms are an incredible business marketing tool and as a marketing expert for more than 25 years, I agree. These are low-cost marketing tools that get attention. Visit mymms.com for more info.

I’m a marketing expert for plastic surgeons, cosmetic dentists, and hair salons and skincare salons. Here’s a marketing tip. Today, if you want to make a statement about your business, you shouldn’t just think ahead. In fact, you may want to look back, and go retro. Some of your favorite brands are rolling out old-school items, in response to an uncertain economy and a desire for simpler times. For example, Pepsi is bringing back the first-edition designs that graced its soda cans in the 1970s, and the Mountain Dew cans in the 1950s. And Heinz, which discontinued its eight-sided glass ketchup bottle in the Nineties, is just now bringing back that version of the classic condiment. Doritos chips are even reviving their taco flavor chips, and the design on the bag that originated in the 1960s. No matter your industry, you can look back, perhaps to the age of Mad Men in the Fifties, and take notice of the way that certain brands were advertised and packaged. If you can bring some of that to bear on your product or service, you just might have a hit on your hands. Check out my website at Maxima Marketing.

If you’ve read my blogs here on my Maxima Marketing site, you’ll know that I abhor much of the food marketing that goes on today. That’s why I’m excited about the new KidsLive Well program that 15,000 restaurants in the USA adopted a few weeks ago. Under KidsLiveWell, which was unveiled by the National Restaurant Association and Healthy Dining, the company that runs healthydiningfinder.com, more than 19 chains will offer healthy choices for children on their menus. That means that chains including Burger King, Cracker Barrel, Chilis, Dennys and iHop will offer kids meals that include a healthy entrée, side dish and beverage and contain 600 calories or less. These meals will carry the icon of a red apple. Today, children get more than one third of their calories from eating out, and eating out is a big contributor to obesity. If the KidsLiveWell program can counteract that, I’m all for it. If you have a restaurant, or any business that needs marketing and publicity, check me out at Maxima Marketing, where I mastermind marketing and public relations for all kinds of businesses, especially plastic surgeons, cosmetic dentists, and hair salons and skincare salons.

I”m kind of a Jill of all trades. At my Boston-based business, Maxima Marketing, I’m a skilled editor and proofreader, as well as a marketing copywriter, marketing and public-relations expert, and a publicist for plastic surgeons, cosmetic dentists, and skincare and hair salons. With all of my clients, I search for the angles that make them special, unique and different. How to be a marketing success? Well, one way is to determine what aspects of your industry are predicted to experience growth – and go from there. For example, McDonald’s is now promoting itself as a hip, happening place, that serves mango-pineapple smoothies. That’s because restaurant analysts have determined that snacks and breakfast will be the restaurant industry’s only growth categories in the future. So, McDonald’s has positioned itself as a healthy place to eat. McDonald’s launched smoothies last summer, and it has also rolled out oatmeal, fancy coffee drinks that compete with Starbucks, as well as free wireless access, all making it seem like a cool place to hang out, have a snack, and surf the internet. What is going on in your industry, that you can take advantage of? Get those statistics, and get growing. For more assistance with your marketing efforts, make sure to read my blog at Maxima Marketing, and check out my bestselling book, OFF THE WALL MARKETING IDEAS.

Always give away freebies as your marketing strategy. Everyone loves freebies and swag bags – even rich, well-heeled celebrities. In my book Off The Wall Marketing Ideas, my co-author and I profiled a copy center that every day, offered 10 FREE copies to all customers. The store owner said that customers so loved the freebies, that when they had actually had to pay for copies, they didn’t go anywhere else. Here’s what I do. I have a new bestselling book called THE GLOBETROTTER’S GET-GORGEOUS GUIDE. In it, I describe the top 10 snacks for dieters who travel – and that includes Sunsweet plums, low-calorie Fitnutz powdered peanut butter, and Emerald Cocoa-Roast almonds. These manufacturers gave me tons of samples for my book signing parties and book-signing events, including my lectures on the upscale cruise ship Silversea. Giving away freebies as your marketing strategy is smart marketing. For more information, visit my website at www.MarketingAuthor.com.

Today’s tip? Employ good taste in your marketing strategies. Sensationalism sells, but is that what you want to be known for? Here’s food marketing gone bad. The Denny’s chain of restaurants recently introduced – are you sitting down?? – an ice cream sundae topped with maple syrup and hickory-smoked bacon. Bacon. The ingredient you put into a BLT. It’s a pity, when this country is experiencing an obesity epidemic, that food marketers introduce such atrocitires. But wait. It gets worse. An ice cream store in Great Britain sells Baby Gaga, which is ice cream made from breast milk. It sells out at $22.50. This is an abomination by food marketers. I’m sorry that such sensationalism sells, and yes, here I am talking about it – but remember, the best marketing uses good taste. For more information, visit my website at www.MarketingAuthor.com.