People just don’t veg out like they used to.

Remember when people used to get comfy in their recliners with some popcorn and just watch TV?  After dinner, they settled in and stared blankly at the pretty images moving around on their TV screens, and then eventually, they went to bed.  During those hours of TV viewing, the marketers of the world had a captive audience to which to advertise product after product.  And they knew that a large portion of the population was getting their messages.

These days, the veggers of the world are dying out.  Everyone’s so darn busy that TV watching has become something that we do as a backdrop to other activities.  Many folks watch TV while they’re simultaneously paying their bills online, poking friends on Facebook, and practicing on their ukuleles.  Multitaskers are absorbing a lot less of the information that the commercials are throwing out at them.  And some people skip commercials altogether by DVRing all their shows.

So commercials used to be a safe bet for advertising…but now…not so much.

So what is a safe bet?

Do everything.  Sometimes do TV ads.  Sometimes do radio.  Send out printed mailers.  Have a website.  Tweet.  Write a blog.  Set up a Facebook page.  Give out promotional items.  Send out an e-mail blast.  Advertise in the newspaper.

This might sound like we’re telling you to spend a ton of money and time on trial and error until you find something that works.  But that’s not it at all.  The truth is, you aren’t going to find one thing that works.  You are going to find that each of those possibilities will work for some of the crazy kids you are trying to reach.  If you want to reach almost everybody, then you do have to use multiple strategies.

This might seem a little overwhelming, so take it one step at a time.  May we suggest that Step One be printed materials?  We’d be happy to take care of everything for you so that you’ll have more time to kick back like the good old days and veg out in front of the TV.