Even the most creative minds need stimulation. Inspiration can come from examples of exceptional work, exercises designed to motivate, or time to reflect. The more inventive pieces the mind takes in, the more resources it has to draw from. Street Smart Advertising: How to Win the Battle of the Buzz contains countless examples designed to jump-start the right side of the brain. Margo Berman's book is packed with memorable uses of new media, exciting on-strategy marketing, creative online work, and insightful quotes by giants in the advertising industry. She offers innovative techniques to generate 'sticky' slogans and headlines, easy-to-apply copywriting tips, and practical revision strategies. Berman has updated the book to reflect how online media has changed its approach from 'pushing' information to the audience to 'pulling' - i.e., engaging the audience in a brand. By using social networking groups like Facebook and Twitter, the author points out, even small companies can have a giant digital footprint by leveraging their online presence, offering relevant insights, and stimulating consumer-created content. In tough economic times, Berman says, savvy advertisers don't need huge budgets to engage the audience and create forums for them to share ideas. The biggest change in marketing is reaching people through new touch points: through audience intersection, viral marketing, and online dialogues. As Street Smart Advertising makes clear, those who become victorious in this new marketing arena will win the battle of the buzz.

Caution: This book could turbo-charge your MLM career! At last—here’s a serious how-to book that shows you the ropes of successful network marketing—from someone who knows and has the track record to prove it. Learn how to build a powerfully successful network marketing business of your own and create the lifestyle of your dreams—while avoiding all the potential pitfalls of “learning the hard way.”

A "how-to" guide to low-cost, effective marketing for small businesses and franchises. Shows you how to out-think the competition without out-spending them. Includes case histories of successful low-cost publicity campaigns that make for lively reading. Includes a wealth of tips on how to get press coverage without paying for it, increase sales through "grass-roots" marketing, get publicity exposure by promoting charities, manage inexpensive promotions with the help of local organizations, and negotiate the best possible local radio, television, newspaper, or outdoor advertising deal.

Even the most creative mind needs stimulation. The more inventive pieces it takes in, the more resources it has to draw from. That's why, for instance, many advertising creatives keep their own clip files. Street-Smart Advertising contains a plethora of

Experienced franchisees and franchisors tell entrepreneurs what they need to know before they buy a franchise. Second edition includes a sample copy of the entire UFOC plus 40% new and updated examples. This straight-shooting franchise guide goes beyond the “how to” to teach potential franchisees what to expect when starting a franchise. Real life stories from the trenches illustrate how to cope with the difficulties a franchise presents. The author reveals the personality types most likely to succeed at franchising, and identifies entrepreneurial traits that may increase risk of failure. Plus, it takes an in-depth look at the research and investigation of a franchise, something glossed over in most franchise books.

The poor health of today's roads--a subject close to the hearts of motorists, taxpayers, and government treasurers around the world--has resulted from faulty incentives that misdirect government decision-makers, according to the contributors to Street Smart. During the 1990s, bad government decision-making resulted in the U.S. Interstate Highway System growing by only one seventh the rate of traffic growth. The poor maintenance of existing roads is another concern. In cities around the world, highly political and wasteful government decision-making has led to excessive traffic congestion that has created long commutes, reduced safety, and caused loss of leisure time. Street Smart examines the privatization of roads in theory and in practice. The authors see at least four possible roles for private companies, beyond the well-known one of working under contract to design, build, or maintain governmentally provided roads. These include testing and licensing vehicles and drivers; management of government-owned facilities; franchising; and outright private ownership. Two chapters describe the history of private roads in the United Kingdom and the United States. Contemporary examples are provided of road pricing, privatizing, and contracting out are evident in environs as diverse as Singapore, Southern California, and Scandinavia, and cities as different as Bergen, Norway, and London, England. Finally, several chapters examine strategies for implementing privatization. The principles governing providing scarce resources in free societies are well known. We apply them to such necessities as energy, food, and water so why not to "road space"? The main obstacle to private, or semi-private, ownership of roads is likely to remain the reluctance of the political class to give up a lucrative source of power and influence. Those who want decisions about road services to be controlled by the interplay of consumers and suppliers in free markets, rather than by politicians, will have to explain the need for change. Street Smart makes a powerful case for the need for change and sheds light on the complex issues involved. Gabriel Roth is a transport and privatization consultant and a research fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland, California.