Cooperative Advertising
Advertising is expensive. As a result, successful businesses arelooking for more and more ways to save money on their marketingpackages.Co-operative advertising is taking on many shapes and faces. Itcan be online or offline. It can be in multi-piece packages ormulti-message single page flyers or fillers.The concept of co-operative advertising is not new. It is agreat way to stretch your advertising dollar and to reachadditional pockets of your target market.When multiple peop...
...le pool their advertising dollar they canreach more people. Its like the choice between sending 1000color brochures or 10,000 black and white ones. Your message maybe watered down a bit by the additional material but it also hasthe potential to reach so many more people. The power ofco-operative advertising is the opportunity to reach so manymore people. Every advertiser participating broadcasts theirmessage to their primary markets. And your advertising messagegets to piggy back along for the ride.Speaking of piggies, one of the most interesting co-operativeadvertising efforts, The Mom Pack, was founded by piggy bankartist Lynn Korff of http://www.korfforiginals.com Lynn hasspearheaded a group of work at home moms who share co-operativeadvertising distribution. At http://www.mompack.com work at homemothers send their samples, business cards, flyers and fillersto one another. When each participant ships an order or attendsa craft fair, festival, or event they hand out packets(MomPacks) of information from other members.MomPack has evolved quite a bit from its beginnings. The sitebosts a membership directory, text links, contest listings, andresources for moms who run home based businesses.http://www.MomPack.com has become a great way for women tonetwork and co-operatively advertise to people who already shopfrom work at home moms.Shopping With Women is also a great way for advertisers toco-operatively get your marketing message in front of targetedgroups of people. When someone needs a booklet to distribute attheir event, they request it fromhttp://www.ShoppingWithWomen.com and then advertisers purchasespots in the upcoming booklet. These booklets are going tospecific groups, organizations, and locations so that they offeradvertisers inexpensive yet targeted advertising opportunities.Shopping With Women is unique in that its advertisingopportunities are ever changing. Bookmark their upcoming eventspage and check back often for ways that you can reach verytargeted markets in a co-operative advertising venue.Another brand new advertising co-operative, and really neatwomen's group is located online at http://www.mywoman2woman.comThese ladies are producing joint mailings and catalogs that youcan participate in.There are also many ways that you can develop your ownco-operative advertising efforts.If you participate in home party sales, you might wish tocoordinate with several other people representing different homeparty plan companies. You could each supply a few items to beused in your own show displays and keep business cards handy forany guests who are interested in your co-op's products. You knowthat your samples will be seen by people who already attend,host, and shop at home parties.You might want to get co-ops together for booths at craft fairs,business opportunity seminars, or demonstration meetings. Youcan share the cost of the booth and share the leads obtained.This is especially helpful with multiple day events as no onehas to man the event around the clock. With multi day events,you can even put together a co-op of people representing thesame company.Another co-operative advertising effort that has grown steadilyover the years is the WAHMfest events. These are held nationwidethroughout the year and target women who are consideringstarting a work at home business. Visit them online athttp://www.wahmfest.org. You can participate in currentlyscheduled events or sign up to host an event of your own. Thisis an especially effective co-op because many people areparticipating who reach varied segments of a geographicpopulation. Since all participants help to promote the event,you are likely to reach people you would not otherwise come intocontact with in your own hometown.A finaly way that I would like to suggest co-operativeadvertising initiatives isn't really my idea at all. It is apart of the efforts of Shopping With Women. But the concept canbe spun and utilized in many different venues.Have 15-30 people come together and print tote bags, book bags,shopping bags, or even three ring binders for a specific eventor venue. Examples could be Christmas Shows or Festivals, ChurchSponsored Events, Training Seminars, Open Houses, etc. Eachparticipant pays the same amount towards the printing of the bagor binder. Ads are printed on the final product for eachparticipant. Then the bags or binders are given away for free atthe open house, show, party, or farmers market. These are justsample ideas. But it is a great way to be sure that eventattendees take home something with your marketing message.Advertising co-op participants might also include samples,coupons, flyers, or business cards in all the printed bags.Co-operative advertising is a good way to stretch youradvertising budget and reach more people with your marketingmessage. Always be on the look out for people that you canparticipate in advertising co-ops with. You'll get a bigger bangfor your advertising dollar and continue to build your networkof influence.
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