Many retailers in New Mexico are breathing a sigh of relief now that the New Mexico State Fair, or EXPO New Mexico as it has come to be known in recent years, is finally over. The EXPO means a great deal of business to the Restaurant and Hospitality industries but puts a serious drain on local retailers. Year after year these retailers have a downturn in sales because of EXPO New Mexico. We say, if you can't beat em, join em. Many of the media companies have opportunities to partake in EXPO New Mexico but many retailers are hesitant to try these avenues, which are considerably less expensive, than leasing space from the EXPO itself. Or retailers can make the decision to lease space and take advantage of the opportunity the traffic can afford you. While this information can not help anyone at the moment, it can be something that people start planning for next year. Remember, people are out buying products and services and the amount of traffic one can get from EXPO New Mexico is unsurpassed. Many are buying things they do not need. Take me for example, I purchased a mop and a "Mr Sticky". I would never have ordered it from an Infomercial but it was there and available and I just had to have it. Think of all the uses I can get out of this! Removing lint from my suits and the pool table! The fact is I will probably only use it a few times but I made a purchase based on the value created by the salesperson, the fact that they were willing to negotiate to get my business and most importantly...THEY WERE THERE!

Like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator, EXPO New Mexico will be back! There is no getting around it. So, if you can't beat em, join em.

We live in a fast paced society. That is a fact! I even know some people that will not go to Starbucks if there is not a drive up window. Fast food, crackberry, another app for this and that, scanners, webcams, text, you name it. We want it to make us FASTER. Technology has not made our lives easier, it just makes people expect things from us more quickly.However, most of us relish the opportunity to deliver on these (mostly self-imposed) timetables.

Since this is the situation in our daily lives why do some advertisers continue to use lengthy messages to promote their product or service? The answer is that they are not changing with the times. Have you ever asked a young person why they text instead of just picking up the phone and calling? They usually just shrug their shoulders and reply, "I don't know?" but the fact is that it is all about time management. Ah ha! Those teenagers do not seem so unresponsive when you put it in those terms. My point is that times have changed. The way we communicate has changed. Thus our advertising messages should change.

Our philosophy is: Get To the Point! The days of the 60 second ad in radio and the 30 second ad in TV are a dying breed. Why? Well, in the past we needed (and our audience had more) time to explain our product or service. However, now we have websites and the Internet to explain in more detail what we have to offer. Really listen to your messages. Do you say the same thing more then once in your ad in a different way possibly? Could you cut the ad in half? Why not just say it once lead them to your website and get on with it? Many people are getting a little fed up with giving time to get the end result i.e. TV commercials for FREE Programming. We know this is a fact or Tivo would not exist. That is why you have to get to the point! How do you do it without losing the message and are there any advantages? Well, there are many advantages to this approach that cover: budgets, frequency, multiple messaging and branding. My favorite 1 second ad is: "Beep, beep. Mini" which was developed for the Mini Cooper. I am not suggesting 1 second ads for everyone but if you had that strong of a brand you could!

RATES has been doing these type of ads for quite some time now and know how to make it work. We would love to talk with you if you have more questions.