There are many theories in Advertising, which we learned in MBA school, yet many fall very short in the real world, where there is competition, changing demographics, intense adjusting of consumer buying behavior and so many more methods of advertising than ever before.

Indeed it is truly amazing that the MBA textbooks can keep up with it all and really they can’t. If you wish to stay up on what is new in advertising you really need to read the research data and white papers on the subject and how the Internet is changing and evolving. For instance AdSense at Google did not exist during the last reprint of college textbooks in advertising and even it is evolving once again you see?

There are so many changes and well I hate to break it to you MBA’ers out there, but I am simply not so interested really in any of your guff, you see I built a small car washing empire and never used the conventional marketing or advertising venues. We built the largest mobile car wash company in the world, without blowing our money on the MBA advertising methods.

In fact I use to be an avid reader of “Advertising Age” yet even so I could have easily re-written a third of those articles with a reality check. No, I am not bragging, but rather trying to get you to think on where advertising theory so often falls short you see? Consider all this in 2006. And no you cannot reprint this article for you next MBA Textbook.

Are you getting the proper return on investment of your advertising dollar? Do you feel that your marketing dollars and advertising expenditures are getting the results that you want? How do you track your advertising and marketing dollar expenses? Do you survey customers to make sure how they learned about your products or services?

Have you considered the ratio of advertising dollars to new customers? Are you sure that your advertising dollar delivery is sending the proper message to your target market and potential customers? What methods do you have a place for tracking advertising and marketing dollars? Do you have a sophisticated system or are you relying on the data that the last advertising representative or account executive gave to you?

If you were an advertising salesman what kind of data would you want to give to your customers and businesses that advertise with you? Probably data that make it look like their advertising dollars and marketing dollars are well accounted for and deliver excellent results from the target group or target market.

If this is the system you are relying on to make sure you are not wasting your marketing and advertising dollars then you can expect to continue to waste your money and never achieve the goals you have set out to achieve in your company. Please consider this in 2006.

Is your company heavy on the advertising and marketing side of things? Are you able to insure that your customer is indeed getting the message? Are you properly getting the word out and are you able to make sure that your customer or target-market it indeed absorbing this message?

Perhaps you need to consider a strategy to make sure that the customers mind is indeed picking up your message and registering it. Perhaps you need a disruptor in your advertising; a way to single your ads out and increase your chances of being seen? Do you have an advertising disruptor strategy? Do people see and remember your advertising; is it registering? Well, one way to tell is if it is actually working?

What I am saying is your advertising is competing for the consumers eyeball and you need to know if it is working. Sure, you can put a scantily clad picture of a gal in a bikini in your ads, but is that relevant if you are advertising for a bank, accounting practice or a Karate Studio?

You see you need a disruptor to grab their eye. If you put a picture of a high kicking person in a karate outfit with a black belt on, well they will get the idea and then you can give them you on target simple pitch and message. You must consider a disruptor in your advertising. Consider all this in 2006.

Is your company heavy on the advertising and marketing side of things? Are you able to insure that your customer is indeed getting the message? Are you properly getting the word out and are you able to make sure that your customer or target-market it indeed absorbing this message?

Perhaps you need to consider a strategy to make sure that the customers mind is indeed picking up your message and registering it. Perhaps you need a disruptor in your advertising; a way to single your ads out and increase your chances of being seen? Do you have an advertising disruptor strategy? Do people see and remember your advertising; is it registering? Well, one way to tell is if it is actually working?

What I am saying is your advertising is competing for the consumers eyeball and you need to know if it is working. Sure, you can put a scantily clad picture of a gal in a bikini in your ads, but is that relevant if you are advertising for a bank, accounting practice or a Karate Studio?

You see you need a disruptor to grab their eye. If you put a picture of a high kicking person in a karate outfit with a black belt on, well they will get the idea and then you can give them you on target simple pitch and message. You must consider a disruptor in your advertising.

Many small businesses or even large corporations do not understand that you can market your wares on a relatively small budget. It is all about delivering the message to the target customers or target market and the more inexpensively and more efficient you can do that the smarter you are and the better marketer you will be.

Are you spending more than you would like on Advertising? Would you like to cut costs and save money? Do you believe that you can deliver your message for less?

Well, that should be your goal, even if you decide to use the money saved to deliver your message more times or too a larger percentage of your target market or target customers. You see; Advertising and Marketing on a Small Budget is possible and desirable, the key; Delivering the Message.

How do you deliver the message in your business? Do you spend a lot on advertising? Is that working for you? Are your customers getting the message? Have you set a reasonable budget for your marketing and advertising projects?

Are you getting the right exposure to your target market for that budget? Are you looking at more efficient ways always to deliver your message? Well, you should and you should indeed consider all this in 2006 when marketing for your company. Think on it.

If you can’t find a banner that meets your needs, and can custom design your own. You can customize your banner and distinguish yourself from hundreds of banners seen everyday. You can then submit your specification to a banner production company; they will produce it for you.

Make your design simple – the simpler the design, the easier it is to read. People glance at banners as they are passing or driving by. They will not take in minute details, so the less said the better. If you’re advertising for a road race, give the facts like name, date and location. Also include a number or location to go to for more information. Attractive designs with direct to the point or edgy captions work best. Consult a graphic designer or ad copywriter for advice on this point.

Captions or any words printed on your banner should be in large fonts, and a combination of contrasting colors will work well. The key is to outline the letters with white to separate the colors. If you have at least a sentence to print use a banner that is a horizontal, rectangular shape. This will allow you to maximize the surface of the banner. Drop banners, or those placed vertically are usually for one-product advertisements, with very short captions. Squares are also used for the same purpose. Again, stick to simplicity. A professional artist can help you transform your bright idea into a life-sized banner. To save time and fees, be as specific and detailed as possible with your directions.