The University of Kentucky soars to all time highs today after frying up some Arkansas hog at a final score with Kentucky on top 101-70.  That’s 19-0 for the UK Wildcats and they are showing no sign of stopping !!

John Calipari is moving Kentucky up the ranks like bullet shot up into the air.  It’s amazing what he has done for this program in such a short period of time after Billy Gillespie – I like to say… after BG.  hahahaha.

After BG means good things ahead for this young and killer team of UK champions.  The SEC is on top as they often are and the conference couldn’t be any stronger.  March madness is a month away and Kentucky fans will be bleeding blue all over the country.

Very soon we will be launching a website that will be dedicated to all things UK basketball, complete with blogs, highlight reels, local sports and celebs, ESPN coverage, articles from newspapers and famous columnists, magazine spreads, endorsements, fan cam videos, major contests and prizes, happy hour specials for games, online stores etc —- stay tuned.  This town wont’ be the same again!

Here is an excerpt from ncaa.com about John Wall and I loved it… Stay tuned for more and thanks for reading.

John Wall – Kentucky
What can I say about John Wall that hasn’t already been said? The freshman point guard has garnered more attention than any other player in the nation, and rightfully so. He is averaging 17.1 points per game and dishes out 6.9 assists per night – which is third in the nation. He has been erratic at times, averaging over four turnovers a game, but lets remember, he is still a freshman.

His stats are impressive, but how he does it is even more impressive. A regular sight on SportsCenter, Wall is one of the nation’s top playmakers. He also shows more poise than any freshman should. In his first collegiate game, Wall hit a jumper in the final seconds to defeat Miami (Ohio). Against Connecticut on Dec. 9, he scored 12 of Kentucky’s last 15 points to earn a three-point victory. His free throws also iced victories over North Carolina and Auburn. Wall is a major reason Kentucky is the nation’s last unbeaten. FROM WWW.NCAA.COM

This is incredible to me because these are the same people who are advising countless small – large business owners on their “marketing strategies”. Many are just salespeople that “do the ads for marketing or graphic design work.” They have done zero marketing themselves and are not required to know tactics, strategies, case studies, response rates, industry data and research (the list goes on for days…) before they give advertising advice. They couldn’t tell you which fonts increase readership, they can’t show you ANY proof for what they are selling / telling you. They just give their opinion without any reason whatsoever and many people follow along blindly.  WHY? Because most aren’t experts either! That’s why they are seeking out ad space and marketing advice in the first place.  It’s truly the blind leading the blind.

Remember the ad rep for a popular local magazine I was talking about earlier? This is no joke, she tried to tell me to take out my offer, copy, coupon, testimonials, headline and other marketing tactics and to just leave a logo, website and address for a two page ad because she said “those tactics don’t work.” (PLEASE NOTE: I DIDN’T ASK FOR HER ADVICE IN THE FIRST PLACE). This ad rep was advising me to take away the very PROVEN GUTS that convince people to come into the business! These tactics have been proven to work for 200 years and this ad rep thinks they don’t work? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? HOW SCARY IS THIS? This is a lady that is advising numerous local businesses on their marketing!!! The truth is that most ad reps simply do not know any better. They do not know what it takes to get a customer to drive to your PLACE of business and walk in the door and slap down their credit card.  WHY AGAIN?  Because they have NO SKIN IN THE GAME.  They can’t track results and they DON’T want you to either!!!

99% of advertising doesn’t sell much of anything. — David Ogilvy (Founder Of Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Agency.)

I want you to stop for a moment and ask yourself: What is the REAL reason you advertise?

The bottom line reason you advertise is to get people to act. To make money. It’s not to be pretty, modern, funny or entertaining. It’s not to get people to say “Wow, great ad.” It’s simply to make money and get more business. You want your advertising to persuade people to whip out their credit cards and slap it on the counter right then. Branding, being funny, creating buzz and being creative is great and all, but the red line is that you simply want customers to pay for your stuff as quickly as possible. That’s what matters isn’t it? You can have all the buzz in the world but if it doesn’t produce any money in return then it’s completely worthless!

Focus your advertising on getting a direct response. Remember the purpose of your marketing and advertising: TO GET PAYING CUSTOMERS not getting “buzz” or to win awards. You want to be able to say, because of this ad, it brought X amount in return, If you can’t do this with your forms of advertising, then don’t do it and PLEASE dedicate the resources necessary to a marketing firm that can actually HELP YOU!  And for your sake, when dealing with ad reps: ask freaking questions. Ask them why they are advising you to do something. Ask for proof. Ask for more than demographics and how many people they are reaching….

Don’t just take their word for it because “they have found that —– (insert crap here)—– to be true. Make em’ prove it with real examples and better yet – NUMBERS.