LET'S FACE IT! by David Margolis, President, Syndicated Ad Features

What a great idea! In 2004, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg launched what was to become a multi-billion-dollar company based on the idea of coupling photos with personal information that users would find to be infinitely appealing. Now, why didn't we think of that? As it turns out, we did! 

More than fifty years ago, Syndicated Ad Features, Inc. created an advertising program for its clients which combines the advertiser's picture, byline, a headline and written informational copy, to create print-media advertising that captures the reader's attention and rewards them with useful information. What we knew then, and continue to promote now, is the time-tested notion that people prefer to deal with others on a personal basis. 

We all prefer to see the faces of those with whom we interact so that we may make decisions and draw inferences based on shared personal understanding and knowledge. In short, when your face is on your advertising, it gives people a chance to feel that they know you personally. As we all know, that's how relationships develop.