Category Archives: Advertising

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson Proclaims July 2025 as ‘Made in the USA’ Month

Today, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson issued the following statement proclaiming July 2025 as “Made in the USA” Month:

“In honor of our nation’s independence, the Federal Trade Commission has designated July as ‘Made in the USA’ month. As Chairman of the FTC, I am responsible for enforcing laws that prohibit companies from making false or unsubstantiated claims that a product is ‘Made in the USA.’ It is important to protect Americans from deceptive advertising, and also important because it provides consumers with confidence that when they buy something that says ‘Made in the USA’ they are actually supporting American workers, American manufacturers, and American communities.”

See More [Made in the USA Today News]

MARKETING MASTERCLASS Persuasion that Works: Hit the Heart – Then Hit Replay

Don’t check your heart at the door. Ever thought about why some messages really GRAB ATTENTION while others seem to disappear?

Persuasion has been around forever and is mandatory for your business, but you need to understand how it works. It impacts our choices, shapes decisions, and prompts action.

If you want your business to thrive, get a grip on this art. There are only two ways to persuade.

1. Significant Emotional Events and 2. Repeated Messages

First, at the core lies psychology, particularly significant emotional events like crises… …or amazing great news… …and second, the repeated message strategy, much like ads and commercials.

These two ways can boost your influence on customers, businesses, and government entities.

SEE MORE: [R. Michael Brown Marketing & Communications Consulting]

Local Marketing – Shopping | Business Works

Did you know that a staggering 54% of viewers suspect brands of “pandering” when local ads feel inauthentic?

This surprising revelation from The Local Lift white paper, conducted by Locality and The Harris Poll in November 2024, highlights a critical pitfall most businesses overlook: authenticity is non-negotiable in marketing.

The study shows 71% of Americans expect localized messaging, with 81% of 18-34-year-olds prioritizing it.

Local video ads far outshine national ones in relevance (68% vs. 13%), trust (47% vs. 12%), and purchase intent (63% vs. 13%). Viewers are 6x more likely to see brands in local ads as community members (63% vs. 11%), forging stronger bonds.

The report underscores the power of combining local streaming, broadcast, and social media video with over 70% of viewers agreeing local ads enhance relevance (74%), trust (73%), and curiosity (73%).

Using local news and sports as part of your marketing campaigns – and regular social posts – are an even better way to localize your content. – R. Michael Brown

See More [R. Michael Brown Marketing Consulting]

Disrupt Your Market – See Mike’s Freelance Writing Fees

Hire R. Michael Brown, Freelance Writer

Are you drowning in vanilla content, where commonplace rules? Are your competitors soaking in the drivel too – or are they beating you?

Inject a dose of rebellion – or a fresh impression – into your brand’s narrative. Maverick freelance writer, R. Michael Brown, is ready to shake up your content strategy.

Why Mike? 5 Reasons

  1. Attention Rebel
  2. Edge that Cuts Through
  3. Fearless Voice
  4. Brand Personality Matching
  5. Priceless Impact at a Bargain

See More [Meet Mike, Freelance Writing Maverick]

Is Advertising Worth the Investment?

1️⃣ Increased Visibility
2️⃣ Targeted Reach
3️⃣ Brand Awareness
4️⃣ Boost Sales
5️⃣ Competitive Edge

Have you tried advertising for your business? Share your experiences or questions in the comments! Let’s discuss the role of advertising in amplifying business success. 🌟💼

See More [R. Michael Brown Marketing Consulting]

Business Idea? 4 Tips to Make it Successful

Build Your Brand – 1 min.

The first work day of 2023 is today for most and many are setting goals for the year.

Start strong! Your goals and ideas will always work better when you collaborate with top performers. Think about all of your past successes. Did you do it alone? Probably not. Build your brand! Here are tips to help you do that: Design, Content, Marketing Strategy, Reliable Team

See More [R. Michael Brown Tips]

CyclingDiet Product Review

By: R. Michael Brown, Freelance Writer [Follow on Facebook: @RMichaelBrownLLC]
📸: Let Ideas Compete is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

After joining a bunch of Facebook cycling groups I started to receive ads for CyclingDiet. You may be getting them too because you are part of the Facebook groups or post about cycling.

As a former US Olympic Cycling Coach and professional freelance writer, I thought I would take a look at their plan and write a review to be helpful to other cyclists.

The bottom line, BUYER BEWARE!

According to their Facebook ads and their Facebook page [@cyclingdietforweightloss] they say, “Fun, easy, and safe way to lose weight! Find what will work for you with 60-sec quiz approved by cycling coaches and experts and get your personalized plan & diet!”

So I purchased the program to check it out and it cost $66… not including the international charges because the company is based in Lithuania (Didn’t know that when I registered).

In addition I paid an extra, $4.99, to get the “rush” evaluation on the quiz I took. They say the personal evaluation is done by cycling coaches and experts.

I signed up as a beginner to see what they were teaching new cyclists. When I received my plan it included some generic daily workouts for before and after stretching, calisthenics, and bicycle training. You could easily come up with these on your own via the web for free.

But when I got to the diet part, and you are led to believe with a name like CyclingDiet this is the robust part of their offering, all it had was a Cycling Recipe book in a PDF showing calorie amounts for the few dozen recipes they provided. No daily plan, no meals to sync with the daily cycling and off-day workouts, no technology to track your calories… Just two mentions above the recipe “book” that showed total daily calories you should stay within to maintain weight and total calories you should target to lose weight.

Honestly, you could buy a paperback weight loss cookbook for under $10 and get more information.

What they sent me is what their “cycling coaches and experts” came up with?

After working with Olympic cycling sports nutritionists and many nutritionists over the years on my own diet and my daughter’s because she has Type 1 Diabetes, the CyclingDiet isn’t a diet or diet plan by any stretch of the imagination.

The whole plan is basically – stay under 1,500 calories a day and you add it up on your own. Oh, and exercise a lot. Not worth $5 let alone $66.

If you’re used to MyFitnessPal, Fitbit, WeightWatchers, or the many other online programs, CyclingDiet looks like a bad joke.

Plus, when I attempted to get a refund after telling them the deficiencies in their product, they gave me some back and forth customer support static and said they would refund only half ($33) and it may take 2 weeks to process.

So just to check on them by doing a Google search, turns out the company for CyclingDiet, UAB Kilo Grupė, in the first few Google results, are about “unauthorized charges” and scam alerts.

Now I’m going to have to watch my PayPal and bank accounts to see what happens.

They buy a lot of online ads. They’re everywhere. I blocked them.

As you can imagine, I won’t recommend this product. Far from it.

In fact this is the best $33, hopefully, I’ve ever spent if it helps you not fall for this waste of your time and money.

If you need a diet, talk to your medical doctor or a licensed nutritionist. They work with you and legitimate online programs for you to evaluate, plan, and track your diet. That’s the safest and will get you the best results.

Happy cycling!

For more free reviews and stories go to BrownieBytes.net