Advertising: Art, Science and More

“Advertising is based on one thing: happiness. And do you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of a road that screams with reassurance that whatever you’re doing is OK. You are OK.”

The above lines from the Mad Men could be a timeless classic in beautifully expressing the essence of advertising. Advertising is indeed all about happiness, of being assured, of being worth it, of being taken care of, of being valued and of being loved.

Love of Advertising

Ask any advertiser, what do they love about a job where work hours a tiresomely long and the pressure to come up with new ideas consistently, is high? Whether or not they answer you, their answer would invariably come to rest on one thing – the thrill of creating something which could affect the minds of many.

Like the gloriously heady concept of ‘Dream within a dream’ in the movie inception, the power to affect the minds of others through your art and witticism, is a great one. It is not hard to miss for most advertisers.

Art of Advertising

Also, all advertisers are essentially artists who use their art for a purpose. There is no greater happiness than being able to express yourself through your art and getting paid for it, maybe even obscenely (yes but only if your ‘art’ is loved equally well by others, that is).

Being allowed to be able to be an artist for a career and not be a starving one at that (in fact quite the opposite) is what draws many talented people to advertising and also keeps many working in this line of work despite everything.

Science of Advertising

Any ad concept or a campaign is well researched before coming into picture. This research could be quite in depth and intricate which is directly proportional to the budget of the ad and the stakes involved.

The science of advertising is the complete planning which takes place before an ad comes in front of the audience. There is market research, target audience’s psychology analysis, decisions with regard to place, product, pricing, packaging and people, understanding of the client’s needs and goals plus so much more.

It is only by a proper understanding of the science of advertising that the ad creative’s are briefed accordingly to take over the next step.

People in Advertising

There are several different kinds of people who work in advertising – right from ad visualizers to copywriters to filmmakers to graphic designers to art directors. Each has their own specific role in the advertising ecosystem like an ad director is responsible for how an ad will look like in terms of its visual appeal and a copywriter will be responsible for writing the content for the ad.

Advertising also has its set of mangers and client servicing people who may or may not be involved in the creative process. Normally the ad world creative’s are known to be wild and woolly, bratty and sentimental, poised and wild, simple and complicated, normal and crazy and what-have-you, usually all together in one person.

The people in ad world are generally quite liberal in values and open minded as compared to people in other industries.

Atmosphere at an Ad Agency

Most of the times, an ad agency that you may work at may have quite a chilled out environment. Clothing could be casual on all days (not for the managers and client servicing people though) and more than average make up, revealing clothes, torn clothes etc may all be okay as long as you are producing good work.

Drinks may be easily available and most people won’t mind you smoking. There may be some game room or some games handy that you probably will never have the time to play. Every day may seem to be like a high pressure party where you must keep working too hard to stay.

Architecture and Interiors of an Ad agency

An ad agency may have one of the most interesting architecture or creative decors. With over sized human dolls, interesting paintings on the wall, makeshift furniture, crazy curtains, cool office stationary, spray paintings, swear words, collages or other messages on the walls and what think you, things certainly feel quite crazy and creative in an ad agency.

One surely cannot comprehend what these creative’s may fancy next and which may form a part of the decor. Things present in an ad agency may spell creativity out loud and make a creative person feel amply at home in their imaginative world.

The architecture may be equally interesting with completely round buildings, differently shaped ones or even a fusion of architectural styles.

New age advertising

With the advent of technology, advertising too has moved up the quarters. No more is the ad must sitting in the print or even in the television commercial. Today we find advertising having taken over the short message service (SMS) and OBBD in the phones, social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, websites like YouTube and blogs with any content worth their salt. Advertisers make sure that anywhere there is human presence; there must be ads to call them to action.

Criticism of Advertising

And like all good things, the field of advertising has had its share of criticism too, chiefly among these, is that it is a field which makes money by fooling people.

While good advertising never writes lies but the whole profession of advertising works on highlighting the good. Sometimes it might happen that the good gets highlighted so much that it may make the consumer blind to other aspects which could be detrimental to them. In any case, too much of even a good thing is harmful.

Five Tips for Selling at Live Auctions

Ah, the old-fashioned country auction! The idea of a country auction conjures up certain images for people. The image of a fast-talking auctioneer offering up an antique table or chair is a popular example.

People who are buying household goods or collectibles are looking to get their items at the lowest price possible. However, the people who are selling their items at auction are hoping for the highest price!

Unless a person is in the business of buying and selling antiques or other items, not a lot of thought goes into how goods are prepared for sale via the auction process. However, if you are one of the growing number of people using auction venues to sell your collectibles or other inventory, there are a few things to learn first about how to sell at auction before you bring a truckload of stuff over to the next event.

Tip 1: Make sure the things you want to sell are a good “fit” for the auction house you’ll be using.

Never bring a load to an auction house without actually having been to one of the previous auctions. It’s important to get a feel for the type of goods that the house sells. For example, at one very rural country auction it was common for the owners to sell live chickens, pots and pans, car parts, and farm equipment.

After close investigation, this would not be the right venue for selling your daughter’s “Hello Kitty” collection. On the other hand, the spare John Deere parts that you bought at last week’s yard sale might be just the right thing for the buying crowd at this auction.

Tip 2: Be sure you clearly understand the terms and policies of the auction house.

Visit with the auctioneer ahead of time. Call to find out what the best days and times are to visit. One of the worst possible times to drop in for an informational visit with an auctioneer is the day of the auction. Call ahead and ask. While you’re at it, find out what are the best days and times to drop your stuff off.

Once you have a little time with the auctioneer, you’ll be able to find out what type of commission he or she takes from consigners (which is you), and what type of paperwork might be needed. Some auction houses send out Form 1099 tax forms at the end of the year. An auctioneer may need to see your identification and have you fill out a W-9. Be prepared.

Find out what happens to your items if they don’t sell. For example, some auctioneers may have a minimum starting bid. If, for some reason, one of your items does not sell, it may be grouped with another one of your pieces. Know the auctioneer’s strategy beforehand so that you aren’t surprised on pay day.

Tip 3: Make sure the auctioneer knows what you’re selling.

It might be perfectly obvious to you that the signed print you are consigning is a rare and valuable piece of art. However, the auctioneer may not know this particular artist. Make a note of anything particularly special about your items, and leave the note with the piece. Be sure to tell the auctioneer about it as well. He or she might determine that this is something to highlight on the company website or in the newspaper listing.

Tip 4: Present your items neatly.

No one likes to have to dig through a box full of grimy and greasy car parts to see what treasures might be in there. Separate the parts and lay them out on a flat, or use more than one box to de-clutter the lot.

There is no need to buy fancy display boxes. It’s easy enough to go to the local convenience store or supermarket and ask if you can have the emptied boxes or flats that they are discarding.

While it’s good to present clean items, take care not to ruin the value of anything by over cleaning. For example, if you find some old cast iron cookware, clean the obvious dirt and grime, but don’t scrub it to its original finish. For many people, this ruins the value of the item. So, clean and tidy and organized is the key here.

Tip 5: Don’t complain to the auctioneer if your stuff doesn’t sell for as much as you’d like.

The phrase to remember here is, “You win some; you lose some.” That’s just the way it is. There are some days where an auction house is loaded with people who all seem to want what you’re selling. There will be other days where the crowd is sparse, and the bidding is simply not competitive.

Remember that it’s in the auctioneer’s best interest to sell your things for the highest possible hammer price. But sometimes, it’s just not going to be a stellar sale. The auctioneer is only human, and is also disappointed if a sale doesn’t go as well as planned.

If you notice that every time you bring a bunch of goods to sell that you’re not realizing as much as you think you honestly should, try another auction venue and compare apples to apples. That is, bring the same types of items to the new auctioneer and compare the results.

Unless the auctioneer is particularly disagreeable or inconsiderate to you or buyers, there is no reason to confront him or her about a sale. If you find you just don’t care for an auctioneer’s style or methods, find another one. Believe me, there are plenty of them out there!

The primary thing to remember as you learn how to sell at auction is that the business is unpredictable at best. You will have good days, some not-so-good days, some great days. The more you sell, the more experience you will gain, and the more enjoyable the business will be.

Food for Thought: A Successful Home Based Business Starts Within Yourself

On a constant basis, lots and lots of people find ways to solve one of their top problems-that on the financial side. Although their regular jobs must be providing them enough money to shoulder their needs, they just could not settle for anything that is just enough. Much more, they could not lie around receiving anything less. Thus, they always make it an excuse to search for successful home based business ventures and earn more than enough.There is always that anxiety that you are not making enough money to sustain all of your personal and family’s needs. Therefore, it doesn’t come as shocking when you re-think your choices and prefer to own your time while making big cash.If you have heard individuals who vow that there are just successful home based business opportunities out there, then you better believe them. For sure, they will not be telling around tales if they themselves have not experienced such. Many of them have started with nothing. Many of them have gone through the same rough roads. They have struggled with the odds of running a startup home based business. They have likewise traded their regular and stable jobs with time, flexibility, and the potential of earning more than what they have been getting. Hence, realistically, there is that possibility of turning a startup home based business into a successful one if you will just loosen up. You will come to see your own success if you strive hard.Alright, so how do you spot at a successful home based business? Why don’t you start out with one of the greatest sources these days, which is none other than the Internet? Yes, you got it right! The Internet can turn every single willing individual into an entrepreneur. What basically sets an Internet business apart from the typical brick-and-mortar investments is the fact that it will not force you to shell out too much money. As it goes, a successful home based business requires very minimal financial capital.But then again, be very careful about idling. Others will lead you to the assumption that a successful home based business on the Internet will not require effort on your part. It is but one of the many false assumptions made by others, which must never apply to you. Remember that you decided to let go of your current job because you wanted to be your own boss and work at your own pacing. More importantly, you shifted from a 9 to 5 job to a home based one because you wanted to do business. It is not just a hobby, which you will attend should you have the interest. Rather, it is a source of living that when executed the right way can make you earn more than what you have been expecting.