Selecting the Most Effective Advertising Media

Selecting the Most Effective Advertising MediaHow can you tell if your ads are reaching the right audience and generating the best response?
October 06, 2003
By Roy H. Williams  

Q: Where can I get reliable response rate statistics for different advertising media? A: I'm wagering you'd like to calculate your own, personal answer to the age-old question: "If I spend this much money on advertising, what can I expect to see as a result?" A few years ago, a team from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia set out to establish the definitive answer to that very question. Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Colgate-Palmolive and a host of other big companies collectively invested more than a million dollars so that Wharton might track the return-on-investment experienced by several dozen small businesses as a result of advertising. These businesses were scientifically monitored and measured for seven long years. The final report filled more than 2,500 pages. Only three conclusions were reached:

1. There is no direct correlation between dollars invested and results gained.

In other words, how much you spend and what you can expect to see in return are not directly linked by any kind of mathematical equation.

2. Results are inextricably linked to the message.

Two advertisers invest the same amount of money reaching the same target audience. One succeeds brilliantly and buys the mansion on the hilltop. The other fails miserably, receiving no response whatsoever. The difference between these two was in the message of their ads. Ads that speak to the heart of the customer and touch a nerve are the ones that turn little companies into big companies. But few people know how to write such an ad. Most business owners approach advertising with the goal of merely getting their name out. But there is no evidence to suggest this will help you in the slightest. The Wharton study indicates that everything hinges on the message you attach to your name. Is your message predictable and, consequently, boring? Is it believable? Is it relevant to the perceived need of the reader/listener/viewer? Tempt a dog with a bowl of rice, and he'll ignore you. Put a steak in the bowl, and you'll have his undivided attention. Your prospective customers are no different. What have you been putting in their bowls?

3. Results increase with repetition.

When you've identified a message that generates a positive response and you deliver that message consistently, business growth in year two will be approximately twice the growth of year one. Growth in year three will be approximately triple the growth of year one, with growth measured in dollars, not percentages. But following year three, anything can happen. Your business can explode exponentially, or it can flatten out as though hitting an invisible glass ceiling. I've seen clients grow to 70 times their original size, and I've seen clients slowly grow to only double or triple their original volume and then flatten out. The difference is in the clients, not in the ads. The follow-up question I'm sure you're dying to ask is, "OK, let's assume we've found a message that works. Now which medium is going to give me the most for my money?" Again there's no simple answer, but I'll try to give you a frame of reference. These are the major media, with some more expensive than others. The one that's right for you depends entirely on your business.

• Outdoor advertising/billboards: These reach more people for a dollar than any other media, but are limited to a picture and no more than eight words.
• Radio: Reaches the second most people for a dollar, but cannot be targeted geographically and can only be loosely demographically targeted. But if people will drive significant distances to buy your product, or if you're selling a "we come to you" service, this is likely your best bet.
• Cable television: Offers the impact of moving images as well as spoken words. Can easily be geographically targeted. But your ad will likely look homemade.
• Broadcast television: Big prestige. Big bucks. But able to target psychographic profiles. Buy specific shows; never buy a rotator.
• Newspapers: Reach customers who are in the market to buy today. Unfortunately, people not currently in the market for your product or service are less likely to notice your ad than if it had appeared in another media.
• Magazines: Expensive, but high-impact with tight targeting. Little waste. Weakness is infrequency of repetition.
• Direct mail: Highly targeted, all the way down to the level of the individual. But shockingly expensive to do right.
• Yellow Pages: Essentially a service directory for the customer who has not yet made up his or her mind. Very foolish for retail businesses.

www.entrepreneur.com

Selecting the Most Effective Advertising Media

Selecting the Most Effective Advertising MediaHow can you tell if your ads are reaching the right audience and generating the best response?
October 06, 2003
By Roy H. Williams  

Q: Where can I get reliable response rate statistics for different advertising media? A: I'm wagering you'd like to calculate your own, personal answer to the age-old question: "If I spend this much money on advertising, what can I expect to see as a result?" A few years ago, a team from the

Wharton School of Business at the

University of
Pennsylvania in
Philadelphia set out to establish the definitive answer to that very question. Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Colgate-Palmolive and a host of other big companies collectively invested more than a million dollars so that Wharton might track the return-on-investment experienced by several dozen small businesses as a result of advertising. These businesses were scientifically monitored and measured for seven long years. The final report filled more than 2,500 pages. Only three conclusions were reached: 1. There is no direct correlation between dollars invested and results gained. In other words, how much you spend and what you can expect to see in return are not directly linked by any kind of mathematical equation. 2. Results are inextricably linked to the message. Two advertisers invest the same amount of money reaching the same target audience. One succeeds brilliantly and buys the mansion on the hilltop. The other fails miserably, receiving no response whatsoever. The difference between these two was in the message of their ads. Ads that speak to the heart of the customer and touch a nerve are the ones that turn little companies into big companies. But few people know how to write such an ad. Most business owners approach advertising with the goal of merely getting their name out. But there is no evidence to suggest this will help you in the slightest. The Wharton study indicates that everything hinges on the message you attach to your name. Is your message predictable and, consequently, boring? Is it believable? Is it relevant to the perceived need of the reader/listener/viewer? Tempt a dog with a bowl of rice, and he'll ignore you. Put a steak in the bowl, and you'll have his undivided attention. Your prospective customers are no different. What have you been putting in their bowls? 3. Results increase with repetition. When you've identified a message that generates a positive response and you deliver that message consistently, business growth in year two will be approximately twice the growth of year one. Growth in year three will be approximately triple the growth of year one, with growth measured in dollars, not percentages. But following year three, anything can happen. Your business can explode exponentially, or it can flatten out as though hitting an invisible glass ceiling. I've seen clients grow to 70 times their original size, and I've seen clients slowly grow to only double or triple their original volume and then flatten out. The difference is in the clients, not in the ads. The follow-up question I'm sure you're dying to ask is, "OK, let's assume we've found a message that works. Now which medium is going to give me the most for my money?" Again there's no simple answer, but I'll try to give you a frame of reference. These are the major media, with some more expensive than others. The one that's right for you depends entirely on your business.

• Outdoor advertising/billboards: These reach more people for a dollar than any other media, but are limited to a picture and no more than eight words.
• Radio: Reaches the second most people for a dollar, but cannot be targeted geographically and can only be loosely demographically targeted. But if people will drive significant distances to buy your product, or if you're selling a "we come to you" service, this is likely your best bet.
• Cable television: Offers the impact of moving images as well as spoken words. Can easily be geographically targeted. But your ad will likely look homemade.
• Broadcast television: Big prestige. Big bucks. But able to target psychographic profiles. Buy specific shows; never buy a rotator.
• Newspapers: Reach customers who are in the market to buy today. Unfortunately, people not currently in the market for your product or service are less likely to notice your ad than if it had appeared in another media.
• Magazines: Expensive, but high-impact with tight targeting. Little waste. Weakness is infrequency of repetition.
• Direct mail: Highly targeted, all the way down to the level of the individual. But shockingly expensive to do right.
• Yellow Pages: Essentially a service directory for the customer who has not yet made up his or her mind. Very foolish for retail businesses.

www.entrepreneur.com

Effective TV Commercial

Effective TV Commercial

Put People in Your Commercial

People relate to other people. Putting people into your commercial can help draw your target audience in as opposed to a 30 second shot of your building's interior, exterior and the parking lot. You don't want your commercial to look hokey so you do want to be careful

about having people waving at the camera or standing there smiling.

Have them doing something that relates to your business so your commercial doesn't look like a photo that's come to life.

Plan Out Your Video

Using a furniture store as an example, you may have ten different kinds of recliners, eight living room sets and six bedroom suits you want to feature. You're going to have to narrow those shots down because you simply can't get them all into a :30, :45 or even a one minute commercial without flashing so many different pieces of video on the screen that your potential customers will feel like they're in a lightning storm.

Wide shots of your showroom are good to get a bunch of yourfurniture displayed at once and you can select a few items you want to be featured alone. It's crucial you not cram a bunch of video into the small amount of time you have for your commercial. Your video should tell the story about what you're advertising even if a customer has their volume turned down.

Writing the Script

Make sure your commercial's script times out to 30 seconds (or however long you have bought air time for). Use short sentences that grab your potential customer's attention. You've got a very limited time frame to capture your audience and you need to get your message

across quickly. Don't get wrapped up in long sentences. Keep them short and punchy. Your audio should also tell the customer what you're advertising even if the customer is in another room and can't see the TV when your commercial airs.

Audio and Video Must Match

When writing your commercial, you must make sure your audio and video match. When you're talking about new car models arriving, you don't want to see video of the current year's make. When you're talking about your big showroom of furniture, you don't want to see the building from the street. You must merge your audio and video to

create a powerful sales tool.

Never Forget Your Call to Action

Your call to action gets customers to buy or act now. Don't get to the end of your commercial and leave off your call to action. You want to tell customers to visit today and give your complete contact information, including Web site address, phone number and street address (giving a quick line about how to find you if possible). For example, "That's Simple Designs, located next to the old train depot

downtown

Stick to Time

You've bought a :30 commercial package. As tempting as it might be to squeak in an extra few seconds, you just can't do it. Your commercial must time out to the exact time you've paid for. Going over will only get your all-to-important call to action clipped because those last few seconds will be cut off when your commercial airs.

Hiring a Production Company

Of course, you want your commercial to be professional. You can hire a production company or many television stations have their own production companies in-house. They can handle all aspects of your commercial, including writing, shooting and editing your commercial.

Shop around for prices. Some production companies are able to offer you a commercial package for as low as $100 that will include still pictures shot with a high quality video camera.

Scheduling Your Commercial

Placement of your commercial is very important. It determines who will see your commercial and how much you will pay for its air time. Having your commercial air at 3 a.m. will save you money but if you don't reach your audience it's not money well spent. The same holds

true for the station you're airing your ad on as well. If you're advertising your maternity clothing store, you don't want schedule air time on TV with your local cable company.

Frequency

Television is less demanding on frequency than radio but it still deserves more than a one-shot deal. If you were advertising during the Super Bowl, that would be a completely different story. But on the local level, you need to identify the key times your ad should run and buy enough air time for your commercial to reach your

audience at least twice. More times would be ideal.

Consistency

Use the same announcer, jingle, fonts, colors, etc. to keep your commercial consistent. This helps people start to get to know your company by all of these factors. The more you recognize the lady pitching the hair salon down the street, the more you know exactly what that company's name and address is before she even speaks in the commercial.

- Taken from millist -