Kudos to Bell Media for Mental Health Awareness Day

When looking at our society and it's priorities this can be a touchy and subjective subject depending on who you are and what effects you personally.   Government monies whether provincial or federal has many channels to go through to get to each end user. Being a Landlord myself I have bared witness to extremes ways of living. Through default I've had to intervene in situations taking on the role as Ann Landers, fielding issues outside of the realm of typical Landlord accountability. Unfortunately at times I need to attend to issues from individuals who are mentally ill. This is a challenging and complicated undertaking especially when empathizing with the individual.

Mental health issues effect society in the most dramatic ways yet politicians and law makers seem to avoid dealing with this problem head on. Perhaps they choose to turn a blind eye because everyone assumes there are "Systems" in place to manage those individuals with mental health challenges. Yes, there are some weakly structured organizations in place to provide some support and assistance to those individuals but when a problem occurs such a persons living conditions are not kept clean then no one can really help. When I refer to living conditions as not being clean I don't mean that there are a few dirty dishes lying around or dirty laundry hanging on the floor, I'm referring to feces on the floor, bed bugs, mold, filth everywhere, decomposed organic matter on the floor etc.  This type of environment will effect the living conditions of other tenants and harbor disease and malaise.

Society not only ignores those individuals with mental health issues  but lacks to have the foresight of its repercussions and aftereffects. The ripple effect takes on many forms and effects many government agencies(By-Law, Public Health, Social Services), health care providers,businesses, law enforcement agencies and landlords.

I'm hoping I will be proven wrong when I say that society (Lawmakers, Politicians etc) deems mental health concerns as not a priority primarily because there is not enough money to be made and it is not a viable election platform for garnering votes. Mental Illness is our modern day leprosy. This may sound extreme but so many people are effected by it as it can be perceived as a private or embarrassing condition if it effects oneself or family member. It can be more embarrassing than being identified as having an STD.

Whether it's OCD, ADHD, Depression, Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, Schizophrenia, PTSD etc. these are issues which need to be super served and not shunned or swept under the bureaucratic carpet.  As a Landlord I have witnessed ALL of these conditions with tenants who have been diagnosed as such.  There is a huge degree of anger, confusion and sadness in the lives of these folk.
On the other hand, when a person has too much pride or is unaware that they may have a mental illness issue and they are unemployable in the short or long term they are supported by welfare (Ontario Works), Instead these individuals should be diagnosed with having a disability and collect ODSP.

Personally I can attest the fact that there is no support system for Landlords in dealing with the conditions of habitat, rent collection, individual tenant support. There are some Landlords who are not fit to be Landlords however there needs to be a government and landlord support network in place to streamline the issues and help those individuals suffering from mental health problems.

So kudos to Bell Media for taking on the initiative of creating awareness of "Mental Health Awareness". Let's hope that it has touched a nerve in those individuals in government to initiate more change to offer more support to those individuals and families who are directly effected....and that would be everyone!

Tired of the same old ad messages from Financial Instituitions and Investment Firms?

It never ceases to amaze me how financial institutions deliver their marketing message  in the same run of the mill, clichéd, hoaky, patronizing fashion. When financial institutions attempt to deliver a "Personal" correspondence through direct mail letters petitioning how they will save you money or have your best interest in mind, the message many time comes through as disingenuous.

Why do most of the images in a financial advisor or mutual fund ad have to  include a cup of coffee with a couple, man or woman either sitting on a sofa smiling in comfort. This visual is so commonplace and trite.  Attention marketing departments or agencies of financial institutions please change up the conventional and uninteresting advertisements to creative, contemplative and meaningful messages.

I won't point out any specific slogans as to not offend your  financial institution of choice however I just want to point out most people are not richer than they think.

Working with myopic businesses.

I'm not one to stereotype people but I will categorize some individual business owners as being myopic, limited and stubborn in perception when it comes to advertising. Over many years working with all types of businesses, in my experience there are  individuals who are not ideal at taking marketing advice. Whether it's the Jehovah complex or a know it all attitude some of these folk have such strong preconceived notions about how they should advertise vs how people search or find their type or business. Introducing a proven strategy  is like convincing a child that vegetables are good for them. Some of these individuals will assume their own advice for advertising rather than from an advertising consultant who has seen  the results of poor and good judgement in action.


There are numerous outcomes to poor advertising decisions including wasting money, thinking that advertising doesn't work, misleading customers, leaving an inaccurate impression or the worst scenario going out of business.The professionals  who work with the right marketing mix, budget and message unequivocally reap the rewards. Yes, "Word Of Mouth" is a powerful form of advertising however using major media vehicles will compound your "Word Of Mouth" effectiveness and brand awareness exponentially over time.

Recently I had a conversation with a prospective client who happens to be a family lawyer. We started chatting about how people find her types of services on-line and she immediately said she doesn't have time for people with mobile devices and that people don't go on the internet to find her even though she has a website and deems it force ably necessary to have one. I had 2 ways to handle this. The first way is to let her know that there are many lawyers reaping the rewards of on-line marketing and that I could provide her with examples and case studies. The 2nd approach is to fire this client by exiting the conversation politely and moving on. I decided to do both. Ultimately if I can provide information which this person will  take to mind and heart there is a small chance that she may see the light. If a business does not value your opinion and it takes so much convincing in the first place, this is a tell tale sign this individual may have unrealistic expectations and will be high maintenance in the long run. Case closed.

Wix Websites - Over Promise and Under Deliver

There is always a problem with template sites. The key word here is templates which can limit create vision.  Wix is a story of over-promising and inevitably under-delivering. Beautiful templates are ultimately undercut by a lack of structure and limitations in custom data base expansion.

Wix is a drag and drop website. This can cause problems. For example, the “snap to grid” button is a must for anyone using the editor. Snap to grid is a smart tool that can accurately guess how you’d like elements to align. If it’s turned off, you will end up inches from your monitor trying to line up items perfectly. Not fun and an inevitable pain with a true drag and drop editor that Wix smartly fixed.
Another annoyance with true drag and drop editors is with element ordering on a page. For example if you have a paragraph with an image below it, it can be a hassle to add new text to the paragraph because the text will overlap the image:

Think about your visual message with Billboards, Transit Ads, Direct Mail etc.

With over 20 years of media advertising experience noticing and critiquing business ads has become second nature. When I see weak visual business messages on billboards or bus sides I ask myself if the media rep could have given better advice to the client on maximizing their message.

The other day I noticed a new pizzeria restaurant advertise its business on the side of the bus. It basically had the name of the business and perhaps a slogan included. There was no physical address, website or more information about the experience or any emotional assimilation triggers.

The big issue I had was that there was no address. You have rolling billboard exposure throughout the city with no address attached to a business which should be pulling in people. What went wrong there. $3000 - $4000 down the drain.

2 weeks ago I noticed a billboard for a local dentist. The logo was so tiny with grey over tones. There was no powerful complimentary image attached. Hardly noticeable.  It promoted the street it was located on which happened to be right around the corner from the billboard. Why not a simple message "Your new dentist is just around the corner" with an arrow to the right...simple and to the point complimented with a visually complimenting logo.

If you are a business planning on growing your revenue through advertising, connect with an advertising agency with a good reputation and proven track record. As a business owner you know your business really well, advertising agencies know advertising and how to deliver your message effectively. When you work directly with a media rep from a local media outlet (TV, Radio,Billboards,Print etc) you are leaving chances to someone who may care more about commission than providing you with an unbiased recommendation on what you will need to do. An advertising agency knows that if your advertising works your relationship with them will continue.

You can typically count on an advertising agency to provide you with an unbiased opinion based on your businesses goals. Their experience and understanding on how each media operates, creative input, and scheduling is invaluable. You will save money and avert making common mistakes. An agency will also negotiate the best rates on your behalf. There are many things to think about when considering your campaign including but not limited to targeting your audience, the frequency of your message, crafting the message, consistency in your campaigns and your budget.

Work at your business and doing what you do best. Hire an agency to help you with your advertising, after-all it's what they do best!

Rob Balla
Balla Media