I was listening to a speech about advertising from the Marketing Director of a major theme park in Ohio. If I mentioned the name, you would know it.

He said how his advertising budget was a half a million dollars a year. He gave us a few pointers. He said that they didn’t advertise in the Summer months because they didn’t need to. Summer is the theme park season. He told us about how he modified those old ads to make the new ads look more aesthetic. I listened for an hour.

After the talk, I met with him for a few minutes. He told me how he took graphic design in college. The grinding sound you’re hearing is my teeth. I was pleasant. I was a guest. I kept my mouth shut. Until now.

Don’t advertise in the Summer? He wanted to "even out" the attendance. Oh? Is it better to have even attendance? Is the park overcrowded in the Summer? Are people being turned away? No.

Strike when the fire is hot. People want to go to a theme park in the warmer months. That’s the time to advertise. That’s when the most people will respond to the ads. That’s when the most money will be made.

The old ads they used last year were all "muddied up" with descriptions of the largest roller coaster in the world!, descriptions of all the attractions, and loaded with reasons to show up.

Nope, all that had to go. Now their ads consisted of two money off coupons and the theme park logo. Remember, you have to discount now, because the ads are going out...after the season.

Half a million dollars a year being flushed down the toilet.

He is in charge of a half a million dollar budget. The whole concept of "advertising budget" is flawed. If your advertising is producing a profit, why would you limit that profit by restraining your ad production with a budget? If your ads are losing money, why would you continue to use them just because you have to use up the rest of your budget?

I asked my new acquaintance what marketing books he found most informative. He told me that he knew there were books on marketing out there, but he was already trained...in graphic design.

Test your ads...record the results...advertise most when people want to buy. Load your ads with reasons to buy. Re-invest in new advertising that is tested to pay for itself. Your ads will then perpetually pay for themselves.

And won’t that be a pleasant change?