Maximizing Small Advertising Opportunities
Today while in the car I was listening to the radio. That on its own is a rarity, but what I noticed was the radio station has now sold out their ticker that usually displays the name of the song playing and artist. They have now made it an advertising opportunity. Two things came to mind. 1.) Wow, some salesman has created a new way to make money! 2.) Wow, some client was just taken!
It is no surprise that the current state of radio is in decline and that new forms of programming and advertising are vital to the success of the industry. It’s also no surprise that radio advertisements, even with some success stories, are generally passed over. This is for many reasons. Some of which are the ease of the listener to quickly change the channel to another station that is playing music, the difficulty to positively grab the attention of a listener, and lack of action that can be taken with an all audio ad.
Positives of this new form of advertising include the target is visually taking in the message, but the negatives far outnumber. The listener must look at the radio display while trying to concentrate on the road. Depending on the vehicle, the name of the company and message they are trying to convey is either cut off, or presented in a choppy matter. After the 20 minutes I watched this, I still cannot tell you who the company was, their phone number, or even what they were promoting. The closest thing I can come up with is that I saw the word ‘furnace’ more than once.
What concerns me most about this is a small local company, apparently dealing with furnaces, spent a good amount of money on this advertising. As most forms of radio advertising go, it was probably comparatively cheap to other forms of media but not if it is absolutely pointless! Taking that same amount of money and doing a small amount of detailed research into your audience allows so much more opportunity for action to be taken.
What is even more dis-heartening is that the radio salesperson, who undoubtedly knew this was a crock, took their clients money and promised a positive outcome. The relationship between salesperson and client is an unbelievably important relationship, and if at any time it is apparent the salesperson is working for themselves and not the client, the salesperson will certainly experience a loss of clients and in return, revenue.
Some action steps:
1.) Always know your market. Know exactly who you want to present this information to and who you want to provide a service for. There is no comparison in having a large amount of data about your potential customers. Quick Surveys, printed research, and an overstuffed data base about facts of current customers allow an insight unmatched. The more you know, the better you can serve them, which in turn will deepen your relationship.
2.) Make sure your marketing and advertising campaign are for the purpose of helping those who will need your service. This will keep you grounded in the sense that all of your efforts will be for those you wish to serve, not for your own interest. Many times it is important to focus on a smaller group that are guaranteed to act then wasting time and energy on a campaign that will just turn into white noise.
3.) Take the time to properly search different forms of media and advertising opportunities. Make contacts and friends with those involved with theses different types of media and gain as much information about what they provide as possible. Ask for references of clients and make them prove to you that their product will be worth the effort. There is a vast supply, and maximizing the benefits of the appropriate type of advertising will make your efforts extremely positive.
I hope this helps and would love to hear comments on what has worked and what hasn’t worked for people on this topic.
