This time of year finds many marketers pouring over their budgets for the coming year, trying to figure out how to stretch precious dollars as far as possible while trying to keep the finance and marketing folks happy (which is nearly impossible to do).

I think we need to step back and rethink how we approach budgeting for marketing and establish some new rules. I submit for your consideration the new BUDGETS rules:

Blow it up. How many times have you started your budget-planning process by copying last year’s budget and pasting it into a new spreadsheet? From now on, start fresh. Don’t include things in this year’s budget simply because they were in last year’s budget. How can you expect to improve results if you always start with a copy of the previous plan?

Understand your profitability. This is how you make finance happy. Not all sales are created equal. Some of your products and services are more profitable than others. Talk to your finance team and determine where your profits really come from and build a budget based on growing that part of the business.

Don’t start with a number. When you start budgeting with a total number in mind, you box yourself in and put roadblocks between you and innovative tactics. Instead of starting with an overall figure, start with objectives and goals. Let them drive the budgeting process instead of a magic number that is probably just based on last year’s budget.

Goals are about more than measuring sales. There should be two sets of goals in your mind: marketing goals and communications goals. Marketing goals are most often related to revenues and profits. We want to increase sales by x% over the next 12 months. Communications goals are tied to your market position and branding. They detail what you want people to think about your company or products. They are less tangible than marketing goals, but just as important.

Educated guesses are OK. Setting budgets can be stressful because it feels like we are locking ourselves in for a long period of time. We almost never have all the information we need to make the best decisions. Let’s come to terms with that and realize that we don’t need all the answers. Sometimes we need to just look at the information in front of us and make an educated guess (emphasis on the educated part). The best budgets are never set in stone, but are flexible. If your best guess turns out to be wrong, you can always revise the budget accordingly.

Try something new. Be intentional about funding at least one new tactic in your budget. Again, doing what you have always done is not good strategy.

Short is better. It is a budget, not a novel. Keep it as short as possible. The page count of your budget plan is in no way related to how successful it will be.

There you have it. The BUDGETS rules for budgeting. Now, get cracking, because next year will be here before you know it.

Here’s an easy test: Do you want to be found by your target consumer? If the answer is yes, then yes — your business should be on YouTube.

Here are some stats to back this assertion up:

• YouTube is the 3^rd-most-visited website in the world. In the world. A quick search on compete.com shows that in September 2011, YouTube had 141,721,097 unique visitors in the United States alone. That’s almost 50 percent of the entire population of the U.S. And with a broad demographic of 18–54 years, YouTube is not just something “the kids” are using.

• YouTube is the second-largest search engine. It ranks just behind Google. If you are concerned about having good organic results for your website on Google, you should be concerned about having a consistent presence on YouTube.

• More video content is currently uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than the three major U.S. networks have created in the past 60 years. That’s a lot of content — something for everyone, including your audience. Find those channels and tell your story there.

• More than half of the videos on YouTube have been rated or received comments. Considering how many videos there are on YouTube, half is quite a lot.  Do you want to get the conversation started with your consumers? YouTube is a great place to start.

Still need more proof that your company should be on YouTube?  One word: Blendtec.

Blendtec is a company that manufactures food blenders in the U.S. You may have seen some of their “Will It Blend” videos on YouTube; if not, here’s one for your viewing enjoyment:

Several of these videos are on YouTube, each with millions of views. “So what?” you may be thinking. “Millions of views? What does that mean, and who really cares?”  According to a case study performed in January 2009 by SocialLens, Blendtec saw an increase in their retail sales of 700 percent — a 700 percent increase in sales as a result of one YouTube video campaign.

Perhaps not every brand video on YouTube will result in a 700 percent increase in sales, but if your consumers cannot find, like, share and interact with you, they’ll find, like, share and interact with your competition.

If you have to tell them, you don’t have them

I recently found an oldish article by Steve McKee on Bloomberg BusinessWeek about five words that really shouldn’t be used in advertising: quality, value, service, caring and integrity. Written in ’06, this article still rings true today.

Let’s briefly examine each word and see what the hullabaloo is all about.

Picture courtesy of Flickr user Mykl Roventine

Quality

McKee points out that every product being advertised has some version of quality. His article mentions high-priced items, such as a Lexus with its handcrafted finishes or über-smooth ride, versus low-priced quality, such as the Hyundai extended warranty plan. Both products offer quality of some sort. The perceived quality is a bit subjective because one person may be interested in plush seats while the next buyer only cares about not having to pay for service in three years instead of seven.

Then there’s the issue of high-quality products versus low-quality junk. And really, no one’s going to advertise that they sell low-quality junk, are they? So telling the targeted audience that your stuff is high-quality stuff isn’t what’s going to get them to buy. Detailing what the high-quality stuff is — made with Italian wool, heat-resistant up to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, able to leap 80-story buildings while putting a four-course meal on your table — will get them interested.

Value

I know of at least one company that puts the word “value” on just about every piece of literature about their products and services. Is that truly effective? Doubtful.

Who decides whether something is valuable or not, the seller or the buyer? One or more buyers may have told the seller that the offered product or service is, indeed, a good value. But it’s ultimately up to each buyer to decide the innate value of what’s offered. And what is a terrific value for one person may not ring true for the next. Don’t bother telling them you offer exceptional value; tell them, rather, what that exceptional value is, and then back it up by providing it.

Service

Advertising that promises great service is just that: a promise. Saying that the customer will get great service — or better service than what they’ll get from the competition — is not a great selling point because unless and until they experience otherwise, customers assume that you will treat them fairly, promptly and courteously. And if it’s in the advertisement that the customer will receive top-notch service, it’ll be that much easier for the customer to find something to complain about. (“Your ad said top-notch; you call this top-notch? Who you kidding?”)

When it comes to service (and, really, everything else on this list), perhaps the smartest advertising move is to underpromise and overdeliver.

Caring

This one is touchy. Or maybe just touchy-feely. Saying that you care about your customers is akin to saying that you offer great service — it’s expected of any decent company. It’s a bit like asking someone to trust you. And if you’re anything like me, you don’t trust anyone who says, “Trust me.” If you do trust those who ask for your trust, perhaps you also believe those who pepper their phrases with “actually,” “to tell you the truth,” “in fact” and “for real.” Why are those phrases necessary? They simply imply that what’s just been said is, indeed, true. Does that mean that all that came before is either flat-out wrong or should be questioned?

Don’t tell them that you’re telling them the truth; just tell them the truth. Don’t tell your customers how deeply you care about them; just care about them. Your actions speak much, much louder than that four-letter word.

Integrity

Integrity doesn’t rely on the customer to decide whether you have it or you don’t. You either do or you don’t. No gray area here.

Are you honest in all of your business dealings? Great — you’re full of integrity and it shows. Your customers will sing your praises all over Facebook and Twitter, not to mention through the telephone and during casual bump-ins with friends.

Do you dabble in shady deals and half-truths? Your ticket’s numbered and you know it.

A final note

As McKee points out, “what you think about your company doesn’t matter.” You can tell your potential customers how caring you are and how fantastic your service is until your pen runs dry, but what counts is their opinions. Tell them the benefits of your product or service. Share with them the results of those who have tried what you sell. Give them hard numbers, honest facts, real quotes from real people. Offer them a fair price for what you sell. And choose your advertising words carefully, putting yourself in your customers’ shoes. Would you believe what you write? If so, go for it.

If you have them, you don’t have to tell them.

This year, we are celebrating 30 years in business. To commemorate this achievement, we hosted a 30^th anniversary event that included a presentation by author and business blogger Drew McLellan entitled “Storytelling and Social Media.” In this five-part series, we will recap the highlights from his presentation. This is Part 4 of 5.

If people don’t have a strong feeling about you, they’ll never connect with your product.

Push yourself to tell great stories — or risk being forgotten.

Find out how author and business blogger Drew McLellan describes the “mushy middle” of advertising.

This 52-second video from Armstrong|Shank’s  “Storytelling and Social Media” seminar emphasizes the point.

Part 1: How much copy is too much?

Part 2: Listen and engage

Part 3: Telling your audience a story

This year, we are celebrating 30 years in business. To commemorate this achievement, we hosted a 30^th anniversary event that included a presentation by author and business blogger Drew McLellan entitled “Storytelling and Social Media.” In this five-part series, we will recap the highlights from his presentation. This is Part 3 of 5.

We know that telling your audience a story brings your message to life. And we understand that people remember stories far longer than they recall facts.

But how do you incorporate storytelling into advertising?

Most businesses begin by talking about their product and its features or benefits.  Unfortunately, this approach isn’t as effective as it could be.

In this wonderful example, author and business blogger Drew McLellan illustrates the magic that can happen when you begin by looking at the product from the customer’s point of view.

Watch the three-minute video from our “Storytelling and Social Media” seminar.

Part 1: How much copy is too much?

Part 2: Listen and Engage

In 2011, Armstrong|Shank client Newton Medical Center made a major investment with their purchase of the robotic da Vinci® Surgical System. This amazing piece of medical equipment is a game-changer in surgery. Our task was to introduce the da Vinci robot and its amazing advantages to the market served by Newton Medical Center, a 103-bed facility 25 miles north of Wichita.

Newton Medical Center’s da Vinci robot was the 7th in Kansas, so a simple claim of “first in” would not suffice. Since this was an introduction of great science to the market, our first element was an outdoor board that paid homage to two of history’s master scientists and thinkers, Leonardo da Vinci and Sir Isaac Newton: thus, the resulting outdoor, print and digital campaign “Newton, Meet da Vinci.”

That started the buzz. Our next strategy was to humanize the benefits of what is really a very high-end machine but a machine nonetheless. We needed someone who understood the machine and could explain it passionately yet simply.

Enter Dr. Kent Bradley, fertility physician and leader of Newton’s robotic surgery team. We had several conversations with Dr. Bradley about the da Vinci Surgical System, and his passion for the robot and the benefits it gives his patients was apparent.

We took Dr. Bradley into the radio studio and produced two radio spots in which he explained why he, as a surgeon, loves the machine and why patients end up loving it, as well.

Newton Medical Center da Vinci Radio 1

Newton Medical Center da Vinci Radio 2

This year, we are celebrating 30 years in business. To commemorate this achievement, we hosted a 30^th anniversary event that included a presentation by author and business blogger Drew McLellan entitled “Storytelling and Social Media.” In this five-part series, we will recap the highlights from his presentation. This is Part 2 of 5.

The new reality is that customers (happy and unhappy) are leading the conversation about their experiences with a company:  Social media has given individuals a bigger voice than ever before.

Smart companies will listen to those customers and engage with them.

Here’s a story that will terrify business owners who aren’t paying attention to what others are saying online about their brand.

In this excerpt from our “Storytelling and Social Media” seminar, author and business blogger Drew McLellan opens eyes to the importance of listening and engaging.

It takes less than three minutes, but this video is guaranteed to change the way people think about using social media.

Part 1: How much copy is too much?

This year, we are celebrating 30 years in business. To commemorate this achievement, we hosted a 30^th anniversary event that included a presentation by author and business blogger Drew McLellan entitled “Storytelling and Social Media.” In this five-part series, we will recap the highlights from his presentation. This is Part 1 of 5.

When you want to tell an advertising story that connects with your audience in an emotional way, less is more: Use fewer words to tell a story for greater impact.

Here’s a powerful reminder to avoid packing 10 pounds of information into a five-pound bag.

Watch this three-minute video from Armstrong|Shank’s 30^th anniversary seminar, “Storytelling and Social Media,” presented by author and business blogger Drew McLellan.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is a pretty serious institution. Talk of the walking dead would seem like a topic they’d like to avoid. But earlier this year they posted a blog titled Preparedness 101: The Zombie Apocalypse.

The article asks and then answers the question of how to prepare for the zombie apocalypse. It’s humorous, zany, and more than a little out of character for a serious group like the CDC. But, strangely enough, preparing for the zombie apocalypse is remarkably similar to preparing for any other major disaster like hurricanes, floods, tornados and extended power outages.

The article was a hit. In fact, it attracted more than 3.6 billion impressions (yes, that’s a b). Not bad for an estimated $89 to produce the article. (Insert joke about the irony of the CDC going viral.)

But I can imagine, sitting here at my desk imagining things, that during the process of producing that article someone at the CDC held up a red flag. I can hear it now. “Are we sure that this is the image we want to project to the public? I’m not comfortable with it. What if someone thinks we are serious? Our credibility could be at stake here!”

I’m glad they remembered that it’s okay to show you have a sense of humor now and then — even if you are in a serious business.

Image is important to any business, and you certainly don’t want to undermine it just because some crazy marketing guy has an idea. But we shouldn’t sell short our audience’s ability to play along when we take a bit of a leap. And sometimes, crazy ideas really work.

The CDC has since added a permanent Zombie Preparedness page to their website. And a lot of people who never before thought about preparing for a natural disaster now have an emergency kit on hand.

During a volunteer build day for Habitat for Humanity, I learned that hammering a nail into a piece of wood is not an easy thing to do. It seems easy: The equipment is relatively straightforward. There is a hammer, a nail, some wood and your body. The process seems reasonable – drive a nail into the wood by hitting the nail with a hammer.

But when I actually got down to doing it, it was a pretty sad scene. Countless swings seemed to only produce horribly bent nails sticking far out of the boards. It took me hours to finally hammer with a faint glimmer of proficiency.

The lesson: Just because something looks easy doesn’t mean that it is.

Not unlike advertising. On its face, advertising appears uncomplicated. There is a product with a target audience, a message and a few different media options. Simple, right?

Except when it’s not.

Anyone who has put together an advertising plan knows that things get complicated quickly. Budget constraints make decisions more difficult. Fragmented media consumption by the target audience creates communications barriers. Trying to find creative and unique messages that cut through the clutter can, at times, seem impossible.

So what are we to do?

I was able to learn how to hammer better by asking the experienced project coordinator for help. He has spent hours upon hours of his life hammering nails and was able and willing to share his knowledge with me.

When you are tackling an advertising challenge, there is no shame in reaching out for help. Maybe you need the guidance of a media planner to find the right mix for your budget. Maybe the traditional media side is all set, but you need advice on how to integrate digital marketing tactics. Whatever the task, there is someone out there who can help. And a bit of time and money spent on consultation can save a tremendous amount of wasted investment in the long run.