Television commercials are a tricky business, largely because you are only given 30 seconds to get your message across to the audience. This message has to be highly focused and heavily targeted, because you simply do not have the time to go through a complete sales pitch. In this way, most commercials are designed more to build brand recognition than they are to increase sales directly. It’s important to be memorable and not get lost in the mix of all the other commercials.

One of the more effective tactics that I have seen lately is the use of unconventional music. By this mean I mean that there are ads out there that are using songs not usually associated with the brand, product, or industry. Just as they did for the first game, this Gears of War 2 commercial does not use an adrenaline-pumping and thrilling soundtrack that you would normally associate with an action game. Instead, the song is remarkably mellow and acts as a sharp contrast to the harshness of the world depicted in the game.

In like manner, this ad for Absolut vodka distinctly deviates form the norm. You see a riot squad out to combat a horde of seemingly angry people, but they are not armed with guns and batons. Instead, it’s a pillow fight and, in fitting with this strangely juxtaposed situation, the music chosen is quite light and airy. This makes the commercial much more memorable.

Even if you are not investing loads of money into a TV commercial and looking instead at other advertising options, think about how you can stand out from the crowd and make your brand more memorable than the other guy. Music is a great way to achieve this.

Last week we asked which best describes you and 50% said introverts. This weeks question is…

Our good friend Matt Freedman has been keeping pretty busy lately. It was just last week that we told you about his Comment Approval Notification WordPress plugin and this week, he’s got another great offering that will keep you in touch with the rest of Internet.

Twitter is a great networking and microblogging platform. Just as you may want to another blog from time to time, you may also want to link to a friend’s Twitter profile. Instead of typing out the URL by hand, you can simply make use of Matt’s Twitter Links WordPress plugin. In a nutshell, this replaces any instance of a Twitter username in your posts with a link to that person’s Twitter Profile.

Naturally, it would not be a good idea for the plugin to scan your entire post, replacing every second word with a hyperlink. That’s why Matt has it setup that it will only scan through terms that are prefaced with the @ symbol. For example, if I were to write @bluefur or @mattfreedman in a blog post, those would link to twitter.com/bluefur and twitter.com/mattfreedman, respectively.

You can find more information about Twitter Links on Matt’s blog and you can download it here.

CORRECTION: As per Matt’s comment below, the plugin is meant to work only with comments at this time and not within the blog posts themselves. He may change this with future revisions, however.

Last night Netenberg updated Joomla, Moodle, PHPlist, SMF and Xoops…

Updates:

- Joomla 1.5: 1.5.7 -> 1.5.8
- Moodle: 1.9.2 -> 1.9.3
- PHPlist: 2.10.5 -> 2.10.7
- SMF: 1.1.6 -> 1.1.7
- Xoops: 2.0.18.1 -> 2.3.1

If you are using these software’s I suggest you upgrade.

Continue to improve your blog in 2008 by networking with other bloggers. Join the November meetup of Vancouver bloggers and get inspired by other bloggers and create networking opportunities to grow your blog.

When is the event happening?
Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 6:00 PM

Where is it happening?
Gene Cafe – 2404 Main Street – Vancouver

Registration
You need to register here.

Word of mouth is perhaps on the of the best and most cost-effective ways for you to attract new clients to your business, but how do you go about getting people to talk about your products and services in the first place? Sure, you could invest thousands or even millions of dollars into elaborate ad campaigns, but these may or may not work. Worse yet, you may “waste” all of that money on minimal return. There’s nothing wrong with advertising when it’s done right, but there is an inherent financial risk involved.

An alternate strategy that you may want to consider is to develop relationships with other businesses in your niche, but not necessarily with your direct competitors. Instead, build relationships with businesses that offer products and services that best complement your company’s offerings. For example, a freelance writer would work well with a web designer, graphic artist, or search engine optimization specialist. These supplementary services do not infringe on the writer’s own offerings, but this two-way relationship can serve as a source of referrals for both parties involved.

Another great example would be in the hospitality and tourism industries. Hotels can develop relationships with cruise lines, travel agencies, car rental companies, and so on. Working together, valuable “bundles” can be offered to customers that result in profitable business for two or more companies. Have you ever wondered why you see so many flight+hotel packages at travel agencies?

No matter what kind of business you run, there is a good chance that there are other firms that can offer supplementary and complementary services. Work these relationships for mutual benefit!