Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello all,

I just came across the forum today, it is fantastic I`m truly enjoying going through the previous posts and hopefully becoming an active member in this group!

Anyway to get started I have a hypothetical question thats based on reality for you folks... I apologize in advance if this is the wrong forum...

on page 75 of the February 2007 issue of Entrepreneur, there is a discussion about a company helps companies advertise on eggs. Using laser they will display your companies advertisment on eggs... the biggest company to bite so far has been CBS who is advertising their TV shows on these eggs.

Now there was a little background... here`s the question. Suppose instead of needing "laser technology" to imprint advertisemtns on these eggs suppose it was hand written. and all this company did was bring CBS to the egg manufacturer to advertise there shows.

1.) How does a fledgling company. Still a sole proprietorship limited resources implement an idea like this?

2.) How do you get in touch with egg manufacturer about placing ads on their eggs for revenue?

3.) How do you get in touch with cbs about putting ads on eggs and not getting laughed out of the room (or the mail box).

4.) How do you get companies to take you seriously?

5.) Finally how do they make money?? CBS is paying the egg manufacturer to advertise on their eggs how do you fit in?

I thank you all for taking the time to read my post, I apologize again if it is in the wrong forum. I look forward to reading your responses.

Sincerely,

Shhhh

Hi Shhh... :-) Welcome to the Startup Nation (SuN) community.

First of all, would you say that there`s an "egg manufacturing" company, or would those be chickens?

So we`ve got egg suppliers. What I`d like to know is the feasibility study behind all this. I cook a lot, use eggs all the time, and have to say, I never look at the shells other than the one that has the date I bought them. I write that in grease pencil, just so I know how long I`ve had the eggs.

I`d suppose that the laser technology makes for a small font, easily readable, along with graphics---all done without breaking the shell. But why would I even look in the first place?

Your posting has some questions, but don`t they all first depend on that feasibility study? Consider #4, being taken seriously. There`d have to be some research that claims....somethig like, 54% of Americans use an egg at least once a day. Studies show that people using eggs spend 3.9 seconds looking at the shell of the egg, which could be used for billboard advertising.

I dunno....I`d think a company the size of CBS has enough money to "waste" that they`d take a flyer on something like this, just because they have that money. Y`know?

Now consider our own startup, bootstrapping, where we have no money at all. We suddenly get $1,000 dropped in our lap, and we really want to use it for advertising where we`d get the biggest bang for the buck. Do you think we`d invest it toward printing our company info on eggs? :-) I`m thinking probably not so much.

Craig,

Thank you for your reply. I completly agree the concept sounds crazy. I was just trying to use it as an example of a basic idea. Bring company "A" (in need of advertising) to company "B" (Blank canvas of advertising space, or in need of additional revenue)

You have this idea how Company "A" can get their message out to a much larger audience. and you have an idea how Company "B" can find a new source of income.

Lets forget about the eggs... and say that the above statement was your basic premise. It`s simply an idea,

how do you go about getting Company "A" and "B" interested, considering they didn`t know they needed this idea in the first place.

And since basically all you are doing is telling Company "A" and "B" your idea how is it possible for you to make money on a strategy like that.?

I appreciate your response, and hope to keep hearing from you kind folks.

Thanks,

Shhhh

It`s interesting. But it does come down to the numbers.

I run an "earthborn & handmade" products site and although this is "earthborn" advertising, I must agree with CraigL. If I paid one cent per egg, what do I expect my return to be? Would a person look at the egg, then leave the kitchen and go to the net to see my site? Would they save the left over shell to remember where to go at a later date? To both questions I say, no.

All advertising comes down to exactly what CraigL said. "We [biz owner]  suddenly get $1,000 dropped in our lap, and we really want to use it for advertising where we`d get the biggest bang for the buck."

So whether is eggs or a billboard, the capitol we have to invest, must return way more than what was spent to advertise... I do think CBS is involved to gain the return on the novelty rather than the actual public awareness of the product being advertised. Think of all the news article written about, "check out what CBS is doing." Matter of fact, that`s how you heard about it. But have you ever seen an egg with the ad?

I am all about grassroots (cheap) methods of advertising. After all, that`s the only method I can afford, yet I know without advertising no one is likely to know about ElusiveTreasures.com.


-------------------------

Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

Alright, but this is the crux of all of marketing and promotion, not to mention sales.

Consider the question in an even larger light: "You have this Internet that`s a wide open, under-utilized space. How do you get a company together with the Web to promote their message?"

People decide on advertising because of various things, budget being right up there. So assuming a high budget, that would also assume the Company A already knows they *need to* (not just feels like it) do some advertising. In that case, they would be actively looking for new or unusual ways to advertise. That`s why advertising agencies get paid big bucks.

But assuming a very low or non-existent budget for advertising, either Company A could care less, or they don`t need to advertise, or they can`t advertise. So what if you have a brilliant idea for them? It`s casting pearls before swine.

So.....what`s your basic question here? Do you have an idea for a new advertising venue, or are you interested in the mechanics of the advertising industry? :-) We have lots of folks in the community, and I`ll bet you could find help and answers to either question, or any other question. It only comes down to some level of specificity.

Craig and Vincent,

Thank you so much for your answers to my questions, I guess it`s pretty clear, I`m a long way from having the knowledge and knowhow I need to succeed in any business. Your answers helped me out... and I truly appreciate that. I hope to continue posting and asking questions... and in time hopefully being able to provide some answers of my own!

Thanks again,

Shhhh

Oh....I don`t think you should get off so lightly! :-D Waddya mean you can`t succeed in any business because you`re so dumb? LOL! Hey...that`s basically what you said, right?

You`re NOT a "long way from having knowledge and know-how!" Okay, you may not have as much as you`d like, or you think you ought to have, but you HAVE knowledge.

The concept here isn`t to fixate on a single idea, determine if it`s functional, discover it may not be, then throw out ALL future ideas!! The lesson is to understand that forming an idea, then testing it, is a basic part of life and business.

BrandAlchemy introduced me to a nifty phrase: "Proof of concept." It sums up so many things, I really like it. What you have here is a question that brings out some basic market research. In the process, logic would make it seem that the idea---as a concept---isn`t feasible. Does that mean NONE of your ideas will work simply because you missed a point or two of logic on this one? Of course not!

I used to tell all the players in my bands, "If you`re going to make a mistake, make it loud! Make it bold, with gusto, with panache! In 90% of the cases, you`ll be so convincing, nobody will know it was a mistake. In the other 10% of the cases, we`ll probably hear a cool way to re-arrange the song!"

Be bold! Have ideas! Find connections like you`ve done here. :-) So what if they might not work, probably won`t work, or could work with a lot of extra effort? The principle is to find connections, see possible markets, envision new products, and search for the unique and interesting.

This eggshell idea is certainly weird, but so what? It *could* work, it`s just a bit labor intensive. Never fall for that routine, "If you`re so smart why aren`t you rich?" The correlation to that is, "If you`re not rich, you must be stupid!" And that, is simply toro-poopoo! :-)

CraigL... (musical mistake) That`s funny. I used to follow the rule... if you make a mistake on one part of the progression, make the same `mistake` at the same point of the progression the next time it comes around. Everyone (in the audience) will think you did it on purpose. I may have been a few years behind you in the learning curve, but we must have a similar mentality of stage performance!

Shhh... Also remember, just because we (Craig & I) didn`t find value in this idea, doesn`t mean there isn`t value. After all, we are not marketing Gods. We simply pointed out some issues you will need to find ways to overcome.


-------------------------

Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

Dittos to Vincent ;-D

Greetings,

I should have introduced myself here before I posted in another section. So here goes

My name is Calie and I recently launched an Interior Decorating business Nohea Interiors in San Francisco. My company offers interior decorating, interior redesign, staging and color consultations.

I have been listening to Start Up Nation podcasts for a while and finally decided to go on the website (glad I did).

Today was a very big day for me, because I gave my resignation at my day job where I have been working as a graphic designer. Since the moment I told my boss I was leaving I have had a number of emotions, from scared, nervous, excited, to free at last!

So that`s a bit about me and I`m really excited to be among all of the entrepreneur folk. If you like interior decorating, definitely check out my blog Nohealookbook for some fun design inspiration.

-Calie