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Advertising - More Bang for Your Buck

 

ADVERTISING - MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
 
 
We’ve all heard the saying ‘Only half of all advertising works - the trick is knowing which half!’. Large companies can afford to lose money on ineffective, badly-targeted and poorly timed ads. Small companies can not. How can you get more bang for your advertising buck?
 
 
Consider Objectives
 
Before you even think about placing any ad you must consider your objectives.   What precisely do you hope to achieve from the ad?   Who do you want to reach, where are they and what do you want to say to them? In what mediums should you advertise to get across your message? What are the relative costs of the various options? Would less expensive PR be a better option? 
 
Monitor Success
 
Particularly for small businesses with limited budgets it’s vital to monitor the success of your advertising campaigns. To do this you need specific objectives e.g. to attract 200 new customers within two weeks of placing the ad or to attract 100 new sales enquiries within one month of the ad. These targets are measurable.   
 
Where to Advertise?
 
Freesheets
 
So where should you place your ads? Local freesheets are cheap sources of advertising and reach large numbers in limited geographical areas. They tend to be quite thoroughly read. When they’re issued weekly they tend to stay around and can be re-read - particularly when trying to source local traders etc. On the other hand, because the main revenue source of freesheets is advertising they do tend to carry a lot of ads. And some people don’t read the freesheet specifically because it’s free!
 
Local Paid-For Newspapers
 
Local paid-for papers are ideal if you want to target a specific geographical area. Ads can be placed at relatively short notice and coupon responses can be used which makes response measurement particularly easy. Local classified advertising in particular can be a very cost-effective medium. On the downside it’s fair to say that people buy newspapers for the news and may simply ignore ads and daily newspapers in particular have a very short shelf-life.
 
National Newspapers
 
National newspapers can be a godsend to any business that truly understands its customers. Because each paper has a very distinct readership profile this can make quite precise targeting a possibility. There are fewer ads so there’sless competition and readership numbers are generally high. Obviously advertising in national papers is more expensive but it’s often possible to get a cheap last-minute deal on unused space. Don’t forget, however, that national newspapers will expect more stylish, professionally designed ads and you’ll have to factor in the cost of design time and ’camera ready’ artwork.
 
Trade and Specialist Magazines
 
Sometimes trade and specialist magazines are the ideal medium to reach customers interested in a specialist product. Targeting is simple - in general only people interested in interiors will read interior design magazines. Reproductive quality is generally better than newspapers, the shelf-life can be very long and there are usually fewer ads to compete with. Many issues lie around in peoples’ homes, hairdressers, doctor’s waiting rooms etc. and could potentially be read by many people. The downside is that they can be expensive, there are generally a number of publications within each category (so you may have to advertise in quite a few to reach a reasonable saturation of your target audience) and fairly long lead-in times (often around three months) mean you have to be organised and plan your campaign well ahead.
 
How to Produce Ads
 
 
When producing ads for print-media, keep your copy short, to the point and scannable. Include one or two key words that may catch a readers eye. If you’re relying on the ‘repetition’ factor to build your brand-awareness, make sure you use a standard layout, standard typefaces and the same colours if appropriate (colour ads attract twice the attention of black and white!). If you build on previous ads you won’t have to re-establish your brand every time. Ideally your ad should be attention-grabbing. Good design, striking photography and attractive design will help make your ad stand out from the competition. Make clear what action is required - send for a free sample, complete a coupon for more information, ring for details, ask for a quotation; take out a subscription etc. If you can come up with a clever slogan or headline - use it. 80% of people don’t read beyond the ad headline.
 
Local Commercial Radio
 
Local commercial radio can be an ideal locally-focused advertising medium, particularly if you’re target audience is social classes C, D and E. Many stations have in-house production teams who will help you put together a suitable ad - often surprisingly cheaply! Radio ads are harder to ignore than newspaper ads and listeners don’t need to make any effort - the ad is brought directly into their home or car. Voice-overs, music and sound effects can really bring your ad to life.  
 
Bear in mind, however, that radio is often regarded as simply background noise and not attended to. Also it can be more difficult to measure response. It’s not possible for example to use coupons. Listeners may not have a pen and paper handy to take down your number so you may have to repeat the ad many times for the information to stick. This adds to the cost. Any ’small print’ which is legally required (e.g. terms and conditions apply etc.) must be read out on air. Although national commercial radio has the benefits of more precise targeting of social groups (e.g. Classic FM is favoured by social classes A and B) the same drawbacks apply as with local commercial radio.
 
TV Advertising
 
Being expensive, TV advertising is generally out of the reach of most small businesses, though some are able to take advantage of localised deals. Though it can be very powerful and persuasive the expense and the need for the help of an advertising agency does put many small businesses off. And because so many viewers now record programmes to watch later they may fast-forward during the adverts the small business owner may want to consider a more cost-effective medium.
 
 Bus, Tram and Tube      
 
 Bus, tram and tube advertising can be a high-profile medium that’s within the reach of small businesses.   Large ads can be placed on the outside of the bus and smaller, more affordable ads on the inside. Many companies swear by bus advertising because it is served up to a fairly captive audience - unlike other forms of advertising it cannot be switched off or turned over! It’s been estimated that this form of advertising can reach up to 90% of the population since - it stands to reason - bus routes tend to follow the movements of the population, usually in and out of towns and city centres. An ad inside a bus can cost as little as 15 pounds per month, though you need to factor in the cost of having your vinyl panels designed and produced. When deciding where to place your bus ad, again consider your target audience. The people inside the bus may be very different from those driving alongside or behind it. External ads have to be brief and to the point as people won’t have much time to digest it. Internal ads are read by a captive audience with more time to kill so more detail can be given.
 
Monitoring and Evaluation
 
 
Monitoring/evaluation should be a key part of your advertising campaign. Detail each ad you place then keep a log book of enquiries which come directly from that ad. Ensure that you ask customers where they heard of your business. At the end of the campaign work out what your ads have cost you and assess the number of orders that have resulted. Have you achieved your objectives?   
 
 

 

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