Tag Archives: Dan Katz

There’s a traditional Japanese proverb that says “The nail that stands out is quickly hammered down.” For generations, conformity has been a societal standard in Japan.

The funny thing is, it’s not that different in American business. More companies, large and small, are comfortable looking like all the others and doing things the way they’ve always been done. Breaking away from tradition is something one dare not do for risk of offending someone, or making the folks in the back offices uncomfortable.

To that, I say, Poppycock, balderdash, bull-pucky!

Every once in a great while, I’ll see some marketing effort that is truly exceptional, even edgy – and I’ll contact the marketer and ask about the results. Almost all tell me that the effort was successful and helped them stand out in their marketplace.

Do they get complaints? Yes, some…but mostly they get new business, so it’s worth the risk. And this has also been our experience. When an advertiser Dares to be Different, they get noticed, and sales commonly start to follow. Which is why our own motto, Dare to be Different, has been on our lips since we began in the 1990s.

And the funny thing is, it doesn’t take much to be different and get noticed.

Take our Red Shoes, which we always wear to conventions. You might say it’s our walking trademark, but really, it’s just our putting our own philosophy where our feet are.

People we’ve never met, never spoken with, stop us as we walk down the aisles wanting to know about our red shoes. When we walk along the booths, we’re always noticing how people’s eyes suddenly dart downward to our shoes and they smile. Friends will see us all the way across the hall because our red shoes stand out, even in a crowd. We even had one guy tell us, “I’ve now seen you walking down this aisle four times – but I never noticed anyone else!”

All this from just wearing a pair of red shoes. What does that tell you?

Different is visible. Different is memorable. Different is interesting.

So, the question is… will you Dare to be Different to capture attention and get new business? Or is your own comfort zone holding you back? As I always like to say, if you don’t know the answer to this, your audience certainly does.

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Dan Katz is president, creative director of LA ads. To discuss your thoughts with Dan on this blog or any marketing matters, email via this link, or visit www.LAadsMarketing.com.  You can also connect with Dan on LinkedIn. See agency work via this link.

Living in Los Angeles, you can’t avoid lengthy commutes, and with lengthy commutes comes lots of opportunities to see billboards.  Oh, we’ve got lots of ‘em…of all sizes…pitching everything from auto lube centers to Hollywood blockbusters.  Yes, even funeral homes and law firms use this tried-and-true medium, which as it turns out, is a great vehicle (no pun intended) for local advertising.  After all, done right, billboards can stand out.  If you’re stuck in traffic, you’re a captive audience.  They’re a great “reminder” medium supporting other marketing efforts.  And they can be located strategically, even across the street from a competitor!

Outdoor advertising, which includes billboards, bus benches, bus sides, bus shelters, subway panels and even entire sides of buildings, can be hugely effective if the creative is done correctly.  That’s the rub, because there’s a whole lot of outdoor that just sucks and the marketers don’t even know it.  Their messages are practically invisible, even if positioned at the best intersections of the city.

Yet doing it right isn’t all that difficult as long as one follows some basic guidelines.  Here are a few pointers that can lead to much more effective outdoor advertising.

Interestingly, the same pointers also apply to just about any medium that is either small or a quick read, such as online banners, yellow page ads or tee-shirts.

To start with, respect the medium.  It’s only big when you’re standing right next to it.  But in your car, it’s barely the size of your own thumb when you hold your hand at arm’s length.  And at 45 – 65 miles per hour, it’s only in view for about 5 seconds!

So a good way to test your billboard is to print it out on a sheet of paper and stand far enough back so your thumb can block it out.  Then look at it for 5 seconds.  If you can’t read the message for that tiny amount of time, redesign the artwork so you can.  That’s your litmus test.

Focus on one single, simple message. Don’t make the viewer have to work for it.  Have one thing you want to say, say it well, say it quickly and say it simply. And the same goes with any photo or artwork.  If someone has to figure out the picture in the few seconds they have, it will be a lost cause.

At the same time, don’t bury your product or brand. When all’s said and done, people must know who or what is being advertised. I see plenty of boards that only after I’ve driven past them a number of times do I know who’s the sponsor.  If your brand isn’t Coke or Target or MacDonald’s, make the logo or product a major element.

And finally, billboards are a great reminder medium.  They’re a great branding medium.  But unless you have a really simple vanity phone number or super-simple and memorable URL, don’t rely on your billboards to generate immediate action if someone has to write down a number or website while driving.

In the end, the old K I S S rule applies – keep it simple.  But also, don’t forget to make it powerful too.

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Dan Katz is president, creative director of LA ads. To discuss your thoughts with Dan on this blog or any marketing matters, email via this link, or visit www.LAadsMarketing.com.  You can also connect with Dan on LinkedIn. See agency work via this link.

Whittier, CA – LA ads client Rose Hills Memorial Park has been selected as this year’s winner of the prestigious ACE (American Cemetery Excellence) Award. The award, presented by American Cemetery & Cremation Magazine, one of the leading publications serving the funeral and cemetery industry, recognizes the most outstanding cemeteries both within the United States and abroad.

This year’s award honors the largest memorial park in North America, whose history spans 102 years, and reflects one of the most culturally diverse communities anywhere in the nation.  While Rose Hills provides approximately 9,000 burials annually, its commitment to caring, individualized service has remained its hallmark since its opening.  The cemetery has been acclaimed nationally for its cultural diversity, its social responsibility and its community involvement, including a massive water reclamation project that began well before California’s drought crisis, and the effort to literally reshape itself to offer aesthetically and spiritually exceptional spaces for burial and remembrance within in the principles of Feng Shui, reflecting its growing Asian community.  Throughout the year, Rose Hills hosts numerous religious, cultural and veterans’ events, drawing many thousands of attendees from across Southern California.

“We are extremely proud to be the recipient of this significant award,” said Rose Hills president and CEO, Patrick Monroe. “To be officially recognized as the best cemetery in the nation acknowledges our mission to serve our entire community with passion and excellence.”

In addition to its spectacular grounds and exceptional family service, Rose Hills was cited for being at the digital forefront, developing multiple websites, specialized landing pages, Facebook pages and other key social media platforms that speak to its many different audiences in their respective languages and cultures. Most recently, the cemetery launched a light-hearted series of YouTube videos (“Short Takes”) that answer questions people often want to know about cemeteries and funerals…but were afraid to ask.

From Cemetery & Cremation magazine: To help these groups feel “included,” Rose Hills has sought out multiple marketing agencies that specialize in selected populations. Today, three agencies serve Rose Hills: LA ads, responsible for English-language and “general” audiences and lead agency for creating the messaging strategy for all agencies; ARAS for Latino (Mexican) and other Spanish-speaking families; and InterTrend for reaching Asian communities, notably Chinese but also Korean, Vietnamese and others.

“People tend to think that a cemetery is about honoring preserving the past.  We feel here that Rose Hills is just as much about looking forward to the Future,” added Mr. Monroe.

Former ACE winners include Curlew Memory Gardens in Palm Harbor, Florida; Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York; Springvale Botanical Cemetery in Victoria, Australia; and East Lawn Memorial Parks in Sacramento, California.

About Rose Hills Memorial Park & Mortuary

Founded in 1914, Rose Hills Memorial Park & Mortuary, #FD970, has since grown to be the largest memorial park in North America. It is a full-service memorial facility with a modern mortuary, flower shop, reception center, and premiere cemetery property to serve the community in both pre-need and at-need situations. It serves 10,000 families a year. Rose Hills is located in Whittier, California, with approximately 1,400 acres of property for current use or future development and is considered to be the largest single-operated cemetery in the world. Although it is purposely secluded, Rose Hills is only minutes away from any point in the Greater Los Angeles or Orange County area, and offers a full range of cemetery and funeral services to meet the memorialization needs of Southern California families. For information, visit www.rosehills.com.

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