Don’t over-think your advertising. Make a plan. Stick with it!
Looking back on Bottom Line Marketing’s early years – and even just as far back as ten years ago, some of our most effective media plans usually included:
- Television – Broadcast or cable
- Radio – Mostly just the FM dial
- Billboard – vinyl or poster
- Newspaper ad – usually for events or special price offers
We grew a lot of businesses with creative messages that always stood out from the rest.
Fast-forward to 2020, and now we’re creating media plans that include:
- Television – broadcast, cable, OTT, network streaming, YouTube, pre-roll
- Radio – Traditional, Pandora, Spotify
- Digital – this list gets long….
- Mobile Display
- Desktop Display
- SEM/SEO
- Retargeting
- Omni-Channel
- Billboards – Vinyl, Poster & Digital
- Newspaper – for 55+ targeting
- Social Media – Facebook & Instagram (Posts, Stories, Events), Pinterest, more
Whew, there are a lot more options and audiences are getting more fragmented each day.
The one thing that hasn’t changed in the nearly twenty years of BLM’s existence is this: The best recipe for success in any media plan is CONSISTENCY AND FREQUENCY.
No two media plans are the same. What works in one market and with one budget may not work in another. BLM spends a lot of time learning each client, their market, demos, media, strengths & weaknesses, competition, etc. All of this goes into a lot of strategizing and planning. In other words, we overthink your advertising plan so you don’t have to!
The most critical part of your success is to STAY THE COURSE!
Advertising builds value over time and with repetition. As the old Zig Ziglar phrase says, “repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.”
In all Bottom Line Marketing ad campaigns, there’s generally at least one or two, and potentially several medias that are planned to run every single month. Because it’s through repetition (frequency) of message that a consumer remembers the ads and takes action. Because your consumers and your competitors’ actions fluctuate each month, along with other outside forces, so can the results of your advertising. But if you just start something for a short period and then stop, you’re throwing money away. While there are direct-response promotions or events that can often yield immediate results, top-of-mind-awareness takes time and requires clients to STAY THE COURSE! The great news is, if done over a long time, with proper placement and outrageous creativity, that awareness can also last long after advertising is stopped.
With all the online research before a purchase is made, there’s the necessity of a great website and search-based advertising like search-engine-marketing, search engine optimization, retargeting, etc. But, if you have a plan that reaches your target consumers regularly through one media or multiple medias, the likelihood of getting them to visit your website or better yet, your business, is much greater because they will already have an awareness of your store. If you ran a strong audio or video campaign, they probably already feel like they know and like you too!
Advertising isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.
Find an agency, a partner that understands ALL media and their strengths, will learn your business, your market and your customer intimately and will help you make a solid plan. And then STICK WITH IT!