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View Full Version : new phone book ad



huggytree
08-19-2009, 07:20 PM
I will be doing a 1/2 page ad in a brand new 'local only' phone book for a wealthy city.

After success advertising in my hometown's version ive decided this would be a good move

i will be competing against only 4 other plumbers and will have the 2nd largest ad.

right now i spend 10-15% of my time in this city...which is the largest % by far of any idividual suburb of Milwaukee that i work in.

because i cant say 'locally owned' im wondering if there is something similar which could mean the same thing, but yet not really....none of the other plumbers are local either, so if i could make it seem like im local i could have an edge

i am going to take a completely different angle to this ad. im going to use a photo of me and discuss my quality...im hoping a personal touch will give me an edge too.

Steve B
08-19-2009, 09:39 PM
I think the personal touch is smart. I was just talking to my mower repair man that told me once he put his picture on his newspaper ad his sales went way up. If you saw him, his face seems to portray honest and hard working - so it worked very well for him.

I don't agree with you - I think you CAN use the term "locally owned". What is the definition of "local" to you. Same neighborhood, same zip code, same county, same state, same country? I think you are well within reason to claim to be local.

cbscreative
08-19-2009, 11:30 PM
I'm thinking you should step up the ad design too. If you use the "free design" usually included with publication ads, it tends to lack the power of a well designed ad. The freebies are done quickly and without too much planning.

orion_joel
08-20-2009, 12:20 AM
I am guessing the city you are talking about could not be to far away or you would not be spending 10-15% of your time there, and you wouldn't be considering trying to get more work there either. So yes you could almost be considered local.

However saying local may have a little bit of a good thing and bad, depending on how you look at it. If people are in a bind and looking for someone local that can get there fast in an emergency (burst pipe) then you may be a little on the back foot, however it depends on specific situation i suppose.

Blessed
08-20-2009, 06:26 AM
I'm going to second what Steve said - this sounds like a good move to make, I like the fact that you are going for a "personal" touch with this ad and I think you should spend a little money to have a professional designer do the ad up for you.

painperdu
08-20-2009, 07:02 AM
Even on the net people aren't using the power of the mug shot as much as they should. I think it's a great idea.

As far as local, I think any association with the town name can be made to sound local. For example, 'Acme Plumbing Keeps Milwaukee Regular' creates a locally sounding association without stating whether you're actually local or not.

huggytree
08-20-2009, 08:04 AM
I guess I will put 'locally owned' inside my ad...I am in the same County and my company is named after that County...i am about 30 minutes away (im in the country(sort of))

under my photo im going to write

"We will show up on time, do the job correctly & use Quality materials designed to last"

it was a professional photo and looks good.

KristineS
08-20-2009, 12:45 PM
I'd say you could put locally owned. You're certainly in the general area.

Make sure you correct the capitalization on quality.

cbscreative
08-20-2009, 02:47 PM
Painperdu, somehow I missed your posts until now (and you did not start an intro thread for yourself). I should also mention that I was out of the loop in June (and some of July) when you joined, so that explains some of my missing your posts. Congrats on finding us and welcome to the .net.

DanaMac
08-26-2009, 08:37 AM
because i cant say 'locally owned' im wondering if there is something similar which could mean the same thing, but yet not really...

Not sure how long you've been in business. But if it's substantial, you could say "Servicing XXXX since 1995" or whatever.

BTW - the only phone books ads I've done have also been small "local" books. They work GREAT. Not even a large ad.

mingamo
08-29-2009, 06:09 PM
yes, Just say "Local References Available".

Then next summer sponsor a little league baseball team.

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