Amish Heaters In USA Today...

Awesome. I'm going to start an Amish-designed Websites business and make a mint!

It isn't about ownership, but work ethic and history. Even in the TV commercials, they are shown using HAND TOOLS! HAND TOOLS, even hand POWERED tools, like the old drills that worked almost like old mixers, ARE allowed. And if they don't follow the rules, they can be SHUNNED! Yeah, where I live, there are a few "amish" builders of homes. They have crews that aren't amish, and they themselves aren't actually involved anymore. People DO leave. It is like the orthodoxed jews that park cars a block or so away from the temple, and then WALK the rest of the way. THEY are not allowed to even START a car on the sabbath! STILL, they break the rules.

Heck, I saw some that looked amish in cars and on planes. I checked, and they were Mennonites! THEY don't abandon technology.

Steve

Looks neat with special rates.

I use to sell woodworking machinery in Amish country both in PA and OH. They run factories just as modern and automated as those in China where most woodworking is being conducted these days. They are no more skilled in craftsmanship then their Asian counterparts. The flood of media advertising promoting this product is a good example of feeding the public a stereotypical myth.

It’s a prime offline example of filling a need with some down home imagined folkie quality and value.

OK Michael,

My knee jerk reaction is one that goes something like this:

"Ever hear of Google?" But I see the point, if someone mentions something, it wouldn't hurt to have a little explanation.

You are correct about ROP, sometimes also referred to as Run Of Press and comes from Full Run of Paper.

It is called REMNANT space. A newspaper has to have an even number of pages or do an insert, and it is easier to fill out the unsold space by giving a discount to advertisers who are willing to let their ads be placed anywhere in the paper.

However, these companies have been doing this for years and have committed to buying X amount of space over the course of a year in exchange for FAVORABLE position on Remnant Space.

So, because they spend the money, they get preferential treatment for their ads.

Now practically anyone can send a check to a newspaper and ask for ROP, and if they are willing to let the ad be run within a certain time frame, say between the 10th and 17th of the month, on any page or any section, discounts approaching 70% or more off of the rate cards can be had.

The reason is Newspapers have to use filler if they don't sell the space and today especially, they want MONEY. So they are willing to take your money in exchange for some space they couldn't sell.

But, it isn't very useful for a one off or a test campaign unless it is put into a tested media.

There are certain newspapers, for example, The Akron Beacon Journal, which are good TEST papers due to their readership and the amount of direct respone ads run over the years...so, if it flies in Akron, it has a good chance to fly in Des Moines. In the USA TODAY, they offer regional editions and often an advertiser can get huge discounts in a region to test.

In the case of the Amish heater and the Bob Vila heater, these ads have been tested and have been "rolled out" to newspapers across the country for a few years. A roll out means the promotion has been tested and proven to draw and pay it's way so it just gets used over and over and over until it runs out of steam. So far, neither of these ads have reached that critical mass point yet.

ROP is the proven way for Direct Response success and practically all major national direct response advertisers rely on remnant space to reach profitability.

So, an ad rate could be into the tens of thousands of dollars, or hundreds of thousands for magazines like AARP and PARADE, but even then, a regular advertiser can get discounts.

One other point, most and these two ads I'm talking about DO, most of these companies have in house advertising agencies which qualify for agency placed discounts as well.

And a very well kept secret is, in today's economy, there are even some PI deals going down. A PI is Per Inquiry, and the newspaper/radio station will take a % of profits/sales in exchange for the space or air time. Your local ad rep won't tell you this or discuss it, but the station manager or publisher's rep might be open to your PI pitch.

Here's the ad...

See? The problem with sweeping generalities about groups of people is, they don't hold up in the real world.

I have many Jewish friends eating bacon regularly, know Muslim college students who don't wear the Burqa, and even know of some Christian men (after all Christians don't cheat) who have had affairs...and then there is THE AMISH.

You have the Mennonites, Pennsylvania Dutch, Swiss colonies and German order, and perhaps many other sub sects. You even find SECULAR Amish, those people born into a Amish community but choose not to live their Amish born ways...however, they still think of themselves as Amishmen.

So, you can travel to Hartville OH, or to the Lehman's Kidron store and see many Amish families using electricity, watching TV and doing many things that the traditional or strict sects don't do.

It is never a good idea to generalize about a group of people.

There are Jews who do NOT eat bacon. Muslim women who DO wear the Burqa. Christian men who remain faithful. And by God, even a couple of Internet Marketers who DO blog.

The ads have been run for several years with slight modifications. Amish men do the woodwork.

And let's not forget, it is ADVERTISING.

Look no further than the Superbowl to see some pretty outlandish "claims" and advertising.

gjabiz

I actually saw one commercial where the "Amish" craftsmen were fastening the wood together with a nail gun LOL!!!