Thank You for Your Participation.

Caz. Bielen
President Premiere Media and NJTVADS,com

CAZTV?
It all depends the media you will be using and the purpose. First of all what are you trying to accomplish? Second of all, if you are planing on using video on a web site, go with something that everyone already have installed on their computer. Don`t make your customer`s have to download extensions and software. I would consider Flash or Windows Media... By far these are the most commonly used. Quick Time.. Well they been around for years but, not everyone has it installed on their system.

I`ll echo Nuevolution. What do you mean by "web content?" I try to never install Flash, and I surely don`t want QuickTime on my system! If the site doesn`t show me something, that`s their problem...not mine. I hate a cluttered system registry! If I click a button to watch a video, I prefer Windows Media Player because it comes with the system, and rarely needs upgrading. I have no interest in whiz-bang blinking ads or text content, though.

I recently watched the Web demo of "Cashflow 101," and that was very useful! Since I was almost forced to install Flash, I suppose it was done in that, but I don`t know.

Hi Craig
I`m in the process of designing a site, and was quite surprised by your post.
I was under he impression that only 4% of the people can`t see Flash

Are you saying that you purposely un-install flash from your machine ?
Are you sure you don`t mean Shockwave ?

Could you do me a favor?
Go to this link at adobe, and it will tell you what version of flash is running if any.
thanks  jeff

http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/about/

Yes, I have version 8 installed right at the moment, because I needed to see a site a friend of mine sent me. It was a complete waste of time, but I did it given the friendship. I`ve just been too busy to uninstall it, but will get around to it later.

The main reason I switched to Firefox was that it doesn`t come with these plug-ins. I use IE when I want to see a site that simply won`t allow functionality without some sort of dumb plug-in (like my bank, for instance!!). I also have an extension for Firefox, "View this page in IE" which allows me to switch over in the event I`m forced to.

But I keep Firefox clean. When I have the money, there`s this emulation software I intend to buy that`ll allow me to create virtual machines and a menu. At that time, I`ll set up a "junk" machine that can run Shockwave, Flash, QuickTime, and whatever other nonsense people demand I use. Then when I`m tired of it, I can "delete the machine" and start it up again.

Understand, though, that I`m coming from the DOS 2.0 days, and a Windows that didn`t force me to install crap into the "registry." I like clean and fast, and still run Win98SE so I don`t get viruses. I still use many utilities written in Assembler, and the machine runs exceptionally fast, rarely has problems, doesn`t get viruses, and so forth. It`s only when I have to use these multimedia plug-ins that trouble begins. So don`t use me as a "standard" of any kind :-)

A good community to run this post through would be the Linux community. Those guys are similar to me, in that they hate junk.

Thanks for the info Craig.  I might need to have an animated GIF stand in for the flash for you hard core guys.  
I need the animation to illustrate something, not for entertainment.  I did learn that Linux users have access to Flash 6, and I have no problem publishing in that version.

I have no problem with Flash if it actually serves a purpose. Online product demos, or zoom capabilities to an image are useful. I use IE to view Flash pages, and leave Firefox clean. It`s only the ongoing junk with Flash where it serves no actual purpose that`s got me antagonistic. :-)

Please Review this Idea. Thanks

Can`t help but wonder what would drive traffic to that site?

Local Businesses promoting the site in the store and their other print ads.
Also a local cable infomercial showcasing the larger businesses and
telling people to goto this web site to see these and so many other great
local businesses 24 by 7.

How does that feel?

IF THERE IS A BETTER WAY PLEASE ADVISE...THANKS IN ADVANCE CB

I am sure you`ve already read the advice I`m going to pass on, but in case you haven`t I`ll tell you.  First you need to focus on the ad not the medium.  Write an ad that drives your demographics off of the couch and directly to your store.  Don`t overload them with information, give the ad some personality, leave them wanting more.

Once you have that killer ad, remember your ad needs to be displayed frequently.  I believe the statistic is something  like it takes 7 impressions to stick in the mind of the audience.  If you spend your ad budget on a great TV commercial that gets displayed once, your odds of making a sale from the ad is low.  So you need to know your budget.

Not that you have a killer ad, know your budget, what medium do you choose?  If you want to target a specific geographic area consider Transit Advertising, Direct Mail, or Local Newspaper.  Newspaper and Transit Advertising may be your best options depending on the duration of the ad campaign.  TV is good but expensive.  Radio can be less expensive and you can pick you target audience if you know the age, political affiliation, and region of your target audience. 

As far as Internet Advertising, I believe if you have a website you need to advertise online and have your site optimized for search engines.  Do a lot of research,  choose 5 specific keywords, create the ads and the landing pages and you`ll be surprised that a few dollars a day can bring in a handle full of visitors.

I hope this post was helpful.  Please contact me if you have any more questions.

If by "cost effective" you mean cheapest out of pocket expense - then using one of the free methods may apply.

However, marketing including advertising is an investment so the most "expensive" approach is the one that doesn`t work. 

I think you choose the medium and method based upon who you are trying to reach (target customer). 

The most cost effective advertising is the one that has the best ROI (Return on investment). Never just settle for the “cheapest” way as sometimes the cheap can come out expensive if  the return is very little for what is spent.

 As RobertJ stated, It all depends on who you are targeting and where they will go (TV, web, newspaper, etc.) that will enable for them to be repeatedly exposed to your advertisement.

 TV advertising is expensive, but if you have a good understanding of ratings, cumulative reach, cost per rating point (CPP) and Cost per thousand (CPM) then you can effectively determine whether TV advertising is worth the cost.