radio – Pullman Radio

“Make Us Famous”

July 1, 2022 Rod Schwartz

Early in his snarky, whip-smart analysis of what advertising can and cannot do for a business or brand, veteran adman Bob Hoffman asks: – Why do some actors get million dollar fees for appearing in movies while other equally good actors get nothing? – Why do some people get […]

Dissmore’s IGA: a Memorable Advertising Partnership

June 8, 2022 Rod Schwartz

For most of its 85-year history, Dissmore’s IGA was owned and operated by members of the Dissmore family: founder Guy Dissmore, his son Chester, and grandson Mark. The store grew and prospered under three generations of Dissmore family stewardship. In May, 1998, it was announced that Dissmore’s IGA would […]

The Smart Money Is on Baby Boomers

May 6, 2021 Rod Schwartz

Do you invest in advertising for the goods or services you provide? Make sure you’re talking to and about the group that wields the most influence and spends the most money. You know who they are, don’t you? Source: Visual Capitalist Want a deeper dive into why you should be […]

Better Advertising

Ten Tips for Advertisers

March 22, 2021 Rod Schwartz

Bad ads waddle like a porcupine and make lots of little points. Good ads charge like a rhinoceros and make a single point powerfully. This is true regardless of your choice of media. Ad budgets are like that, too. When universities ask me to address their Advertising & Marketing majors […]

Remembering Rush Limbaugh

February 23, 2021 Rod Schwartz

So much has been written and said about Rush Limbaugh this past week in the wake of his death at age 70. Much more will be said in the weeks and months ahead, as his millions of listeners and fans mourn his passing and recall the impact he had on […]

Rodney Dangerfield, Bank of Pullman, and Me

October 14, 2019 Rod Schwartz

Celebrities are paid handsomely for endorsing products and services; the bigger the celebrity, the heftier the fee. Whether a celebrity endorsement is worth the sizable extra investment is debatable. It’s one thing to have a spokesman who is intimately if not inseparably associated with a brand. For example, Tom Bodett’s […]

Lentils, Lentils, Lentils! (Radio, Radio, Radio!)

August 12, 2018 Rod Schwartz

The National Lentil Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary on August 17th and 18th. I’ve had the pleasure of creating many of the festival’s radio commercials over the years. We’ve always tried to make them entertaining and fun, like the festival itself, and more than a few of them have received […]

“How Often Should My Message Be Repeated?”

July 28, 2018 Rod Schwartz

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” – entrepreneur and marketer John Wanamaker (1838-1922) Wanamaker’s quote on advertising has been widely disseminated over the past century. For some, it’s inspired bold risk-taking and marketing breakthroughs—”nothing ventured, nothing gained.” For others, […]

Message Before Money

June 24, 2018 Rod Schwartz

A sometimes controversial, unabashedly conservative first-term state senator is consistently vilified by the press throughout his first term in office. In the next election cycle, he faces a challenger from within his own party. The challenger is a popular local figure whose decades of public service include two terms as […]

How to Amplify Your Word-of-Mouth, Guaranteed.

March 28, 2018 Rod Schwartz

You prize good word-of-mouth don’t you? We all do. Word-of-mouth may not create business, but it helps create a preference for your business or brand in the heart of the hearer. Good radio advertising can have the same effect, only multiplied and amplified. Radio is word-of-mouth on steroids. Individual word-of-mouth travels slowly and unpredictably. […]