Does your company send holiday gifts to its best clients or customers?  Instead of a more “generic” item, consider a gift that will remind the recipient of what you do.  And while treats are always welcome at the holidays, does it make more sense to give something that will still be around and in use…

If you’re in retail, you should never be more than a few feet from a copy of “Why We Buy.”  Writer Paco Underhill offers a wealth of practical information about how people shop, along with a lot of suggestions for setting your store up to increase sales.

Consider humor in your marketing.  Research consistently shows that people remember marketing messages better when they’re delivered with a laugh.  In fact, nearly every TV commercial you’ve ever told anyone about was a funny one.  Think about it.  Could your marketing use a few laughs?

Back in the day, Marlboro ran an entire series of print ads featuring babies proudly proclaiming their parents’ addiction of choice.  Above one cherub’s picture: “My dad would never smoke anything but a Marlboro!”  But this 1946 headline gets the nod for best use of statistics by a tobacco company: “More Doctors Smoke Camels Than…

“You hate to repeat yourself.  I don’t like to make sequels to my pictures.  I like to take a new thing and develop something, a new concept.”  Walt Disney (Apparently Michael Eisner didn’t get the memo.)

Some books should be required reading.  One is “Ogilvy on Advertising,” still one of the best books ever written on the subject.  The author, the late David Ogilvy, was a chef in France and a farmer in Amish Pennsylvania before founding, at age 40, what would become the biggest ad agency in the world.

No matter what media you use, does your marketing include a call to action?  Virtually every marketing message, from direct mail to TV to print, is more effective when you tell prospects what you want them to do.

In the U.S., about 6% of all advertising dollars are spent on…drumroll, please…the yellow pages! Nearly one third of baby boomers expect to inherit $50,000 or more from their parents.  And 65% of boomer heirs say they’ll put at least some of the cash into savings.  Brokers, take note!  The next biggest plan for inherited…

Without discussing it ahead of time, try this test.  Have several key people in your organization (including yourself) write down a single sentence describing what makes you different from your competitors.  Compare notes.  Strong brands elicit similar responses from insiders.

One of the most recognizable product names in the world was literally pulled out of a hat.  In 1971, Nike co-founder Phil Knight had 45 employees toss name ideas into a hat.  The winner was the name of the Greek goddess of victory.   Knight’s own suggestion?  “Dimension Four.”