Here’s a marketing success story about the little company that could. Have you heard of the Orabrush? This company spent $28 – that’s right, $28 – to purchase Facebook ads targeted at Walmart employees in Arkansas. They said, “Walmart employees have bad breath. Walmart needs to carry Orabrush. It will sell better than anything in your store.” What’s fascinating is that these $28 ads sold BETTER than the typical $20,000 print ads placed in retail trade magazines. Within 48 hours of launching the Facebook ad, a Walmart manager got an email from the Walmart buyer, and before you know it, Walmart placed an order for 735,000 of the Orabrush tongue cleaners. Before this, Orabrush was known for its 39 million views of its funny YouTube videos. In fact, consumers who saw the character of Morgan The Tongue on YouTube led the company Boots in the United Kingdom to place an Orabrush order. The moral of the story? Use Facebook and YouTube to your advantage. It’s a brave new world out there for marketers. I say this as a Boston-based marketing and public relations consultant for plastic surgeons, cosmetic dentists, and hair and skincare salons. Contact me at Maxima Marketing at (781) 407-9305 for a free consultation.

Here’s today’s marketing tip from the Queen of Creativity at Maxima Marketing. What’s in a name? Shakespeare said even a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. But there’s much to be said for the name of your product or service, and product naming companies across the country would tell you that. The actor Ben Stiller has a new foundation, whose goal is to support children around the globe with educational initiatives. Mr. Stiller wanted a catchy name for it. He thought of all kinds of options including So You Think You Can Donate, and The Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can’t Read Good and Wanna Learn To Do Other Good Stuff. Those are terrible names. And he knew it. So, like any good marketer, he tried to think of a name that would entice and attract people to his website. A name like…..well, actress Jennifer Aniston. But he didn’t leave it at that. The new name of his foundation is – are you ready? — SeeJenniferAnistonNakedFoundation.com. Check it out and you’ll wind up on the real Stiller Foundation Facebook page. Clever. I say this as a Boston marketing consultant and publicist. I work with businesses in all industries but specialize in marketing and PR for plastic surgeons, cosmetic dentists, hair salons and skincare salons. Call me at (781) 407-9305 for a free 15-minute consultation. Ask me for some Off The Wall Marketing Ideas, which also happens to be the title of my bestselling book available on Amazon.com.

As the owner of Maxima Marketing for 25 years, I know a good idea when I see it. I am a marketing copywriter, marketing expert and publicist for plastic surgeons, and marketing expert and publicist for hair and skincare salons. Today’s tip? Well, why not consider a publicity stunt for your business? Staging an event to put your business in the public spotlight can be very effective. Remember, the Miss America pageant started in 1921 as a way to attract tourists to Atlantic City – and look at how popular the pageant is today. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade started as a publicity stunt in 1924, when six employees walked six miles to the Macy’s store, from the city zoo. One of the earliest publicity stunts in time was the Boston Tea Party in 1773, when patriots dressed as Indians threw 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor, to protest excessive taxation by the East India Company. If you’re going to stage a publicity stunt, think about doing it on April Fool’s Day, when you can make a joke go a long way. That’s what Burger King did once, when it advertised a Whopper for left-handed people. Give the media a good news story with your publicity stunt, and they’ll reward you for it.

I co-authored the bestselling book OFF THE WALL MARKETING IDEAS, so that makes me an expert on Marketing and Public Relations. I’m also a plastic surgery marketing consultant and publicist, and a cosmetic dentistry marketing consultant and publicist, although you name it, I can usually market it. I love wacky, crazy, offbeat, off the wall marketing techniques, which I call “Meshuganah Marketing,” based on the Yiddish word for “crazy.” July is National Ice Cream Month, and it reminds me of a successful marketing promotion that a friend of mine used years ago. He was seeking an interview at a major company, but one that was going through a hostile takeover, and the events made headlines every day in the newspapers. My friend needed a way to attract attention to himself by this business. So he went to the supermarket and bought a half-gallon of Rocky Road Ice Cream. He send it to the corporation, with a big note attached that read: “I know you’re on a rocky road in your business. But I can help you with all that.” My friend got a phone call the day after the package was received. Why don’t you find a fantastic flavor, send it to a company, and tell them that you’re anything but plain vanilla? Then get ready for the phone to ring. For more fabulous marketing and PR tips like this, check out my blog at Maxima Marketing.

As a publicist and marketing expert for plastic surgeons and cosmetic dentists, I know the value of making yourself and your business visible. Are you a recent graduate? You may need some marketing tips and marketing strategies to get that foot in the door. In fact, speaking of that, I heard about a job candidate who actually sent a pair of shoes to Human Resources at the company he hoped to work at, with the message, “I so want a foot in the door here I sent you my shoes.” Similarly, when I was researching my bestselling book, OFF THE WALL MARKETING IDEAS, I heard about another job candidate, who basically did the same thing, only he sent an inexpensive chair he bought at a yard sale, with the message, “I so want a job interview here, I brought my own chair.” You can’t do these things on Monster.com, but once you get the interview, I strongly suggest you get creative. Like the gal who wanted a job at Levi-Strauss, and wrote her resume on a piece of denim. She got the job. If you need a marketing copywriter, publicist, or marketing expert, check out my website at Maxima Marketing. My blog is also a wealth of marketing ideas, tips and strategies that are wacky, traditional, and creative. I have never met a “Meshuganah Marketing” tactic I didn’t love!

As a marketing expert who specializes in marketing doctors, dentists, and hair and skincare salons, I know a great idea when I see one. One idea that always hits a high note with me, is to create a jingle for your business — why should the big companies be the only ones to do this? Having a jingle for your business, no matter its size, is smart and effective marketing. One company that has achieved enormous success, just based on the strength of their jingle, is Bernie and Phyl’s furniture stores…it goes like this: “Quality, Comfort and Price – that’s nice!” This jingle is so successful, it has a 97% awareness in the marketplace. That’s why Bernie and Phyl’s always uses it to their advantage. On one rainy, snowfilled day in March, more than 4700 people showed up to audition and sing their version of the jingle, in three different Bernie and Phyl stores. It was a resounding success, and every child who auditioned got a $5 gift card. Bernie and Phyl’s also partnered with Honda and gave away a hybrid Honda to the person who sang and created the most original arrangement of the jingle. Bernie and Phyl’s also goes out into the local community, and simply tapes people singing their jingle. Quite simply, it works. It may not be the “Meshuganah Marketing,” wild and crazy tactic that I frequently discuss, or typically advocate at my business, Maxima Marketing – but a jingle is a tried-and-true marketing idea that has withstood the test of time. Bravo to Bernie and Phyl!

As a marketing and public relations expert, I’m always asked by business people: “What’s the best way to market myself and my business?” I like traditional marketing tactics, but I especially love off the wall marketing strategies and unusual marketing strategies, which I chronicled in my bestselling book, Off The Wall Marketing Ideas. Here’s one tip you can use: Create your own Top 10 List just like David Letterman, and highlight your achievements. Let’s face it: everyone loves Dave’s Top 10 list, and you can use that idea to your advantage. For example, after I make a sales call, I handout a one-sheet that lists, and I quote, “The Top 10 reasons should hire Debbi Karpowicz Kickham.” My mini biography of myself even gives my dates of employment, and it’s clever, witty and funny. For example, for one of the points, I mention that I offer the sizzle with the steak, as I used to write, snappy advertising copy for Lechmere and Filene’s stores. If you check out my website at www.MarketingAuthor.com, you can see this handout for yourself. But take your cue from funnymen Letterman or Leno and you may just get a new client. This is a low-cost, no-cost Meshuganah Marketing strategy that gets attention.

What can you do to maximize your marketing and make you and your business memorable? I’m a marketing and public relations expert, who frequently works with plastic surgeons, hair and skincare salons and dentists. But I look to Cardi’s Furniture Stores for this tip. Why not spoof movies and TV shows? That’s what Cardi’s Furniture Stores have been doing for years, and owners Nick, Ron and Peter Cardi confirmed to me that it’s been great for business. They admit that their movie spoofs of Batman and Star Wars have little to do with sofas and chairs, but the idea takes their business out of the everyday advertising clutter, and gets people talking – and paying attention. To create their movie spoofs, the Cardi brothers built their own in-house studio to keep costs down. When they spoofed Betty White’s performance on Saturday Night Live, they put their 89-year-old mom in the commercial, and aired it right before SNL began on Saturday night. It was a huge hit – and sounds like an Oscar-worthy venture to me. This is unconventional, unusual marketing that I call “Meshuganah Marketing.” Try it and see for yourself!

Today’s marketing tip is to look for new venues where you can market and publicize your business. That’s what happened with 800 GOT JUNK. When Ben Hopper started up his 1-800-GOTJUNK franchise in Canada he had problems with a tried-and-true grassroots-marketing technique: the signs that he plunked into lawns and street corners. In his neck of the woods, homeowners and city work crews perceived them as clutter. So Hopper innovated and tacked his signs to telephone poles. He keeps them 10 feet off the ground, no one bothers them – and everyone driving by notices them. He says that as soon as we started this strategy, there was a dramatic increase in call volumes. In my book, literally, that’s MESHUGANAH MARKETING! Hopper spends about $1,200 a year – or about $1.50 a piece – on the signs. These signs stick in people’s minds because they notice them while they sit in traffic. As a marketing expert and author of OFF THE WALL MARKETING IDEAS, I like this idea. If you need a marketing and public relations expert, check out my website at www.MarketingAuthor.com.

As an expert marketer and marketing copywriter, I know a good example of branding when I see it. Whether you’re writing newsletters, ads or press releases, or making a TV appearance, it’s smart to establish your brand.

Just like big businesses, you should brand yourself, no matter what your business, to make yourself memorable. And no one does it better than Louie di Raimondo, who calls himself, “America’s Hot Dog King.” Mr. Raimondo has made a name for himself by selling hot dogs out of a cart. But what is most intriguing is that most people have asked him where they can buy a cart like his — and not just the hot dogs. Mr. Raimondo has a flair for promotion, and he dons a red royal robe, crown and scepter, when he has made appearances on CNN and The Today Show, and in several commercials and films. He says that the more he goes overboard, and more his sales increase. That’s Meshuganah Marketing that works. Check out his website at www.Allamericanhotdog.com. And don’t forget to get yourself a gimmick, no matter your business or brand. That’s good marketing. Check out my website for Maxima Marketing,my business.