Advertising: Pro's and Con's of Various Media

Shonuff

Shonuff

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I'm sitting here facing re-ups of my billboard contracts, and figure this would be a good place to talk about different mediums of letting customers know you exist. Probably the most difficult thing in business is managing your demand. Cut all the costs you want, but if you don't have sales, you are toast. A lot of business owners poo poo this, but there is a reason why a lot of them in my industry have no work, while we are booked until February right now.

As Peter Drucker said it,Marketing is the most important function of any business, every other function is just detail work. I've known many people in business, including scientists with Phd's and engineers. They seem to think that because they build a better mousetrap, that people will flock to them. Unfortunately, their businesses tend to fail. Get rid of the egotism that because you know your business exists, everyone else does. Own that statement by Peter Drucker, and let it guide what you do for a good portion of your day, and there's a pot of gold waiting for you at the end of the rainbow.

We can start with billboard, because I'm making the decision on reupping a 25k contract, and it would help me out.
 
Shonuff

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http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advan...vertising.html

Article_sl said:
Advantages and Disadvantages of Billboard Advertising

While billboard advertising can be a very effective promotion tool for your product or service, it comes with its pros and cons. Are you aware of them? Check out the good and the bad on billboard advertising before you put your ad up there.

Can you market your product or company within 5 seconds to your consumers? Yes, you can, through billboards. It is one of the most popular methods of outdoor advertising, especially among big companies. You can make an impact in the subconscious mind of the pedestrians, drivers and passengers, everyone who uses the road where your billboard is located. You instantly connect to your prospective customers. People easily register photographic data and short phrases (slogans). One billboard and you have thousands of people who are now familiar with the product. There are so many types of billboard advertising; posters, bulletins, mobile billboards and others that creatively employ the use of large objects and even buildings. You can even go digital like those at New York's Times Square. Did you know? Billboards are the second most effective form of advertising that reaches over 93% Americans. But, is it all that rosy? Would people be stimulated by a billboard to buy your product?

Advantages

Huge and eye-catching
Targets a large and diverse market
Easily registered information
Increased frequency of consumer exposure
Effective medium of awareness advertising
Targets middle and upper classes
Photographic information (strong visual effect)
Builds company reputation and product image
Quick rise in sales
Guaranteed audience
Customers find you

Disadvantages

High costs for brief exposure
Risk from vandalism, weather conditions
Visibility issue
Stationary mode of advertising
Time insensitive
No feedback
No advantage of space
Does not target a specific market
Short term advertising tool
Limited information

Upside of Using Billboards

It may seem like a big investment. Yes, a billboard can cost you anywhere starting from $1000. But, it will help your company build a brand image. Imagine, a stationary billboard at one location will be noticed by all the people passing by. This will strengthen your product presence in the market as you reach numerous target groups simultaneously. The size of the billboard makes it impossible to not notice it. Although, your audience has a very limited time to take note of your ad, there will be a high frequency of customers being repeatedly exposed to it. This results in the ad automatically getting registered in their photographic memory so they will remember it. Advertising by billboards is especially useful if you want to create product or brand awareness for your company in the market. You do not have to go around looking for customers because they will be attracted to the product. Think about it.

Downside of Using Billboards

There can be some uncontrollable factors like harsh weather and vandalism that can damage your billboard, although, chances of vandalism are less likely in traditional billboards that are several feet above the ground. Also, if the site of your billboard is blocked by a tree or a branch, it will hinder its visibility. Again, this is less likely because all obstacles are generally removed when the ad is put up on the billboard. If you are looking to target a specific target group, billboards is not for you. It does not cater to a specific segment of the market. Another disadvantage is that you cannot ascertain whether your billboard has successfully drawn new customers. Even though a huge space is available for advertisement, it only gives a short message that must make a strong impact on prospective customers to stimulate sales.

By indulging in the best practices for advertising by billboards, you can ensure that you reap more advantages of this advertising tool and minimize the disadvantages.Today, the road traffic is 53% more than what it was 30 years ago. This means there are more people on road viewing your advertisement so your billboard will reach out to a larger share of market within a geographic location. Most people on roads and highways are those who can afford a car or an automobile, which corresponds with their purchasing power. This means they can mostly afford to buy your product too. Companies like Heineken, McDonald's, Mercedes, Berger, Calvin Klein, The Economist, Eskom and Coca Cola have creatively used billboards. Once you adopt it, watch your sales rise for yourself.
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Using the best practices are important. I did a lot of research on the best billboard design, and took input from the hosting company, who had their own creative. Some things I've found:

1- Use nine words or less. That's all the room you've got. If not, people's eyes will glaze over and they'll ignore your board.

2- Use distinguishing colors. My boards colors you would associate with a landscaping company. I use bright yellow letters on a bright green background. No one else is using those colors, so it makes us stand out.

3- For God's sake, if you are doing multiple billboards, use the same design. There is a concept in advertising called frequency (or impressions). You are getting more impressions when people go past the same billboard in various places. Given that a customer needs to see an ad eight times before they make a decision to call you, by being consistent, you are increasing sales geometrically. And the same goes across various mediums, my yellow page ads all use the same format as my billboard. One day, when I start doing TV ads, they will be consistent with my billboards. The more consistent you are, the better. Your average person sees millions of ads a year, and by being consistent, you are making yourself more prominent in their mindspace. Let's be clear - you are fighting for mindspace, and nothing else.

4- Put up billboards where your target customers are, and not where they are cheapest. None of my competitors have followed me to where the big corporations are. Two of them have put up boards in the lowest HHI areas, because they are cheaper. Both of them are not doing well. If you want to gain millionaire customers (or upper class or upper-middle, or middle class customers) put up boards where the live, work and eat and shop. If you think you are going to sell luxury products in the part of town where blowjobs go for .50 cents, you are mistaken. Yet, a lot of business owners make this mistake. One of my competitors put a billboard across the street from my place of business. Sounds smart, except we are in the part of town with very few residential customers, and customers don't visit our office. Duh.

5- Listen to your creative counsel. The reason why a lot of billboards don't grab anyone's attention is that the owner overrides counsel. They pick colors that don't stand out (I once saw a business do dark maroon letters on a black board, you couldn't even read the print, what a waste of 1k a month) or they put 50 words on the board (and no one wants to read it). Most creative counsel isn't going to fight the decision maker too much, for fear of losing the contract.
 
Shonuff

Shonuff

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I think I'm going to re-up my contracts with billboard. In talking with my estimator and Secretary, they tell me 50% of our customers are seeing us on them. A problem with billboard is tracking sales directly to them. People tell us (when asked) that they saw us in the print yellow pages or Internet, because that was thelastthing they saw. But when I'm running estimates and asking them, half of them have seen our billboards. I have three billboards strategically placed near the malls or corporate offices, and a digital billboard in the wealthiest country club in the state.

I'm absolutely shocked that people pay attention to them (I don't), but they do. Since I put up my first billboard, sales and customer calls started going up (and every month has been an increase in year over year sales, basically almost 2.5 years of month over month sales increases). There is also a "halo" effect they give, in that none of my competitors have followed. Billboards make people trust your company more. I've had residential customers tell me that they signed up with us, because if we had billboards up, we must be more professional. It also helps for commercial jobs.

One of the things that makes me not want renew one of the billboards, is that it's $1,200 a month, and it's near where all the corporate offices are, so daily headcount is 1/6 what it is on the billboards on the highways. But, I still remember the first call we got off of this board was from an Exec who called the estimate in off of his private airplane. That is the type of customer we want. Since I just put this board up, and it's our slowest time, I'll give it a few more months to see the results. Calls are lower on this board, but the HHI is higher.
 
Shonuff

Shonuff

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Corndog_sl said:
Great thread and I'll be using all the info here hopefully within the next year.
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I don't have all the info in the world, I just spend a lot more time looking at this stuff than other people do. It's ironic, 70% of the calls that came in today are billboard related.

Anyway, stay the hell away from electronic and tri-vision boards if you can. You are paying the same rate as a stationary board, but are on less. Hell, in my market, you are paying about the same, but share with nine other advertisers. Kiss my ass, I'll pay $200 more a month for my own board. These digital boards are nothing but a big F.U. to the customers and Hitler would be proud. Ask the board companies why you are paying the same rate for 1/9 the frequency, and you'll get some B.S. answer about how you save money by not paying materials costs. I guess it would pay itself off I needed to change my board nine times a month you sons of bitches! Or they'll say that research shows that people pay more attention to changing boards. Ask them who funded that research and if the study was done independently.

I'm a bit pissy because some huge company decided they want to pay 3k a month for one of my boards for the next 18 months, so I'm getting kicked off of it. I just found that out this morning. That's the problem when you are in the highly desired parts of town with your boards. Apple or Ford or Coca Cola or some other corporation may decide they want your board and you are ass out.
 
opiate82

opiate82

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Should be an interesting thread. One issue is that various forms of advertising are going to net different results depending on the business. For example, I don't think social media would have any impact on Lyrical's business what-so-ever, but as a restaurant I have had (varying) successes with it.

On the billboard front, there aren't really billboards in my area at all. I can think of maybe 5 total and they are all casinos. There might even be a city ordinance against them. One thing we do have is a pole-sign with a reader-board on it. It is your typical white background with the 4" letters you put up. By far the most effective use of it has been with humor. If something funny is up there it sticks in peoples head. I have been toying with the idea of going to a digital sign so it stands out more and I can more easily change the message.

For a restaurant, the #1 no-brainer thing I recommend is those freeway signs that say "Food Next Exit." Cost for me is around $600 per year per sign I believe. Some cities/states you have to bid to get on the boards so the cost can be a lot higher though.
 
Shonuff

Shonuff

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opiate82_sl said:
On the billboard front, there aren't really billboards in my area at all. I can think of maybe 5 total and they are all casinos. There might even be a city ordinance against them.
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There definitely are ordinances in most towns/cities. So that artificially holds down supply, which causes a shortage, which boosts demand (and price). I'm surprised, but billboard is definitely picking up traction, now that I have more of them and they are tying into my yellow pages ads.
 
kegkilla

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ADVERTISING SPACE FOR SALE

PRICE: one +net

After payment is received, PM me what you wish to advertise in this post.
 
Shonuff

Shonuff

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I went with the $1,200 option on the area with all of the corporate offices. 3k a month was too much. I was able to negotiate 2k a month, being a smaller company but I'm going to give it three more months to see the results. Traffic is low, but the hits we've had have all been with people with expensive homes. It's not the best season to evaluate a new board. If we see a lift, I'll lock up the board at 2k a month on a long term contract no one can kick me off (and I get right of first refusal for the all of eternity).

I have three boards up in the more affluent areas, I want another one going South, and then 90% of the area's high income people will see me when they drive and go to work.

One of my competitors finally copied me and went with a billboard across the street from me. I was driving on Friday and about fell out of my seat when I saw it across from mine. It only took them three years to catch on
tongue.png
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Shonuff

Shonuff

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http://www.smalltownmarketing.com/ye...vertising.html


Small Town Marketing_sl said:
Types of Advertising:
How to Create A Strong Yellow Pages Ad

by Tom Egelhoff

The most popular way to find a service or business on a local level in the United States is by far the Yellow Pages. "Let your fingers do the walking", says it all. If you think you don't use the Yellow Pages that much, put it in the basement for a month and see how many times you reach for it. If you are in a service business: carpet cleaning, plumbing, carpentry or a contractor or electrician you'll get a lot of calls from the Yellow Pages.

For some unknown reason, the term Yellow Pages was never copyrighted by anyone, so you see it used by all sorts of local telephone directories. Here are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the Yellow Pages:


Strenghts Of The Yellow Pages

Buyers: By the time a person gets to the Yellow Pages, they are already sold, they are looking for the place to buy.

Credibility: Most fly-by-night companies don't go to the time and expense of a Yellow Pages ad. If a company has a Yellow Pages ad, there is a perception, that the company is probably honest and capable.

Classifications: If your business wears many hats, you can advertise under several headings. For example, a company that sells copy machines may also sell fax machines and would want to be under both listings and increase your customer base.

Free copy: Every person and business in your selling area that has a phone gets a free copy of your ad. Yellow Pages are used by 89.9% of all adults. It gives you total market coverage.

Twenty-four hours a day: It's ready to go and if you're a 24 hour business, customers are ready to buy.

Cost: The cost per thousand is relatively low compared to other media. (Remember to track cost per customer in your ad). Extends the reach of other media: "See our ad in the Yellow Pages under widgets."


Yellow Page Weakness

Naked to the world: I turn to your Yellow Pages ad and there you are - with ALL your competitors. There is a chance I might call a company with a bigger ad, or one that says they provide the specific service I need.

Long lead time: You need to have your ad ready almost six months before the new phone book comes out.

No Updates: Change of address, phone, new services, discontinued services? Sorry, no updates until the new phone book comes out.

No Coupons: I was working with a video company in San Diego at the beginning of the video store boom in the early 1980's. We made the major mistake of putting a two-for-one movie rental coupon, with no expiration date, in our Yellow Pages ad good at any of the 15 stores we had at that time. This was during the early days when the average rental price was $5.00 per night. People got coupons out of phone booths, offices, no phone book in the city was safe. For almost 18 month we gave away thousands of dollars in free movie rentals. It was a very painful lesson. Before you start to feel too sorry for us, we did go on to build 42 stores in San Diego and eventually sold the chain to Blockbuster Video for $12.5 million.


How To Do Your Own Ad The Right Way

One of the most important points in all my books and articles are trying to finds ways to save money on advertising. This is not one of those places.

When you contact your Yellow Pages Rep, they are going to tell you that the design of the ad will be included in the price of the ad. This may vary from one area to the next, but it's generally true. "What's the problem?" "I'm saving money on graphic design charges, aren't I?" Yes, you are but...

Here's the problem. All your advertising pieces should have a recurring "theme" or family resemblance. Same colors in the logo, same typefaces in the brochure as in the newspaper ads and flyers. When you create an image for your business, that image should be expressed accurately in "all" your advertising materials. Your Yellow Pages ad should be one of your most viewed forms of advertising. Any deviation from your theme might confuse your customers. Ads designed by the Yellow Page designers tend to look alike. Check your own copy. Look at your competitors. Don't you notice a certain sameness?

So, do it right, and have the same people who designed your business cards, brochures and other materials, create your Yellow Pages ad. Save money by having your designer create pieces of ads, in a variety of sizes, that can be assembled as needed for any ad at no additional cost. If you are the designer then you end up saving on your own services.

Part two: If you are the designer, make sure you lay the ad out with the important things first. This is a media where people go mainly to use the phone. Your Yellow Pages ad is designed to do one thing--get people to call you on the phone. So what are the most important components to put in the ad? Start by making a list of what absolutely, positively has to be in your ad. Don't create a great message that leaves no room for the phone, logo, address or other essentials. Remember, we want a call or a visit from our customer. Use the ad to create curiosity, don't ask the ad to close the sale for you.

Use these rules for all of your advertising and watch your sales improve.


Yellow Pages And The Internet

One of the biggest mistakes I see is business owners just adding their web site to their Yellow Pages ad. Here are two things I suggest: One, make your web site bigger than the phone number. Why? You need to get them out of the Yellow Pages and away from all your competitors right next to you. Two, Put something in your ad that encourages them to go to your site. I would use something like "see our site for special offers" or discount coupons. If they are ready to call you they can still find the number in the ad. If not, then send them to the web page where you have more space to sell them.


The Final Word On The Yellow Pages

I think the consensus here is clear. If you can afford to be in the Yellow Pages, do it. When I first opened my marketing business in 1985, the profit from my first call paid for my Yellow Pages ad for the year.

However, I placed a larger ad in a regional Yellow Pages and never received a single call from that ad. I'm not saying don't advertise in regional books, but you may want to ask similar businesses how their ads are doing. When in doubt, do what I did...Test an ad and find out. If it works next time buy a larger ad. Two good Yellow Pages resources to help you design and buy ads that work are: "Advertising In The Yellow Pages" by W.F. Wagner, and "Getting The Most From Your Yellow Pages Advertising" by Barry Maher.
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The article is pretty spot on. I've found that yellow pages isn't dead yet. It still produces more income directly (although I'm doing so much advertising that people see my business on a billboard, see our trucks, hear us on the radio and then go to yellow pages, so it's hard to track).

I can attribute 35% of my sales to yellow pages. Like the article said, when people hit the yellow pages, they ready to buy, so these are qualified customers. It's important to have a large enough ad to get people's attention. I recently expanded into a town that we hadn't been in before with AT&T. I decided I could trust that people read the book, so I bought an ad that was tied for #1 position. $300 a month sounds like a lot, but it's brought a great ROI. We did $2,500 in work off of that ad just this past Saturday. The book's been out a month and it's paid itself off for the entire year.You have to have large enough ads to get people's attention, if you don't have a display ad to rival the big boys in size and quality, you'll never be a big boy.
 
C

Corndog

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Anyone have experience with a sign waver? Usually I see either real estate or Mattress outlet places using this. Basically a guy standing on a busy corner directing traffic to you. I'm about 1/2 mile off a big street/intersection. If they followed a guy pointing them in the direction they'd run into me. I'm wondering what the typical rate of pay is for a sign waver and wondering why I don't see people just use laborers who are standing outside infront of home depot etc?
 
Tmac

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Corndog_sl said:
Anyone have experience with a sign waver? Usually I see either real estate or Mattress outlet places using this. Basically a guy standing on a busy corner directing traffic to you. I'm about 1/2 mile off a big street/intersection. If they followed a guy pointing them in the direction they'd run into me. I'm wondering what the typical rate of pay is for a sign waver and wondering why I don't see people just use laborers who are standing outside infront of home depot etc?
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You would probably have to provide proper clothing for day laborers. Besides that, however, I thinking someone waving a hug fish-shaped sign on a street corner for your store would be awesome!
 
opiate82

opiate82

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Corndog_sl said:
Anyone have experience with a sign waver? Usually I see either real estate or Mattress outlet places using this. Basically a guy standing on a busy corner directing traffic to you. I'm about 1/2 mile off a big street/intersection. If they followed a guy pointing them in the direction they'd run into me. I'm wondering what the typical rate of pay is for a sign waver and wondering why I don't see people just use laborers who are standing outside infront of home depot etc?
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Short answer, they work on the surface. Typically these guys are paid minimum wage but from the numbers I have seen (from my industry) they bring in enough business to justify their cost. Also the "high energy" goofy type guys tend to be more effective. More of a job for the class clown from the local high school than the laborers hanging out around the Home Depot.

With that said, I personally don't use shaker-sign guys. I serve more of a higher quality pizza and shaker-signs guys seems more like a cheap pizza move. While I might drum up some additional lunch business by using one, I worry that having a shaker-sign guy out there will degrade the quality image of my brand, and the long term damage would outweigh the short term sales boost.
 
Shonuff

Shonuff

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opiate82_sl said:
With that said, I personally don't use shaker-sign guys. I serve more of a higher quality pizza and shaker-signs guys seems more like a cheap pizza move. While I might drum up some additional lunch business by using one, I worry that having a shaker-sign guy out there will degrade the quality image of my brand, and the long term damage would outweigh the short term sales boost.
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That being said, there would be nothing tacky about having a sign on a grand opening.
 
Tmac

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Lyrical_sl said:
That being said, there would be nothing tacky about having a sign on a grand opening.
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Honestly, the only thing tacky about most sign-swingers is that "Cash 4 Gold" is stamped on it. If a well-dressed person was swinging around an exotic fish on the side of the road with, "Corndog's Exotic Fish", on it, I wouldn't find that the least bit off-putting.

The sign would have to be fish-shaped, of course, and have cool colors...
 
opiate82

opiate82

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For a fish store, if it were me, I would consider using a shaker-sign for special events (such as the grand opening) but wouldn't make it a permanent part of my advertising plan. It works well in pizza for drumming up business because people get in their cars and drive to get food every single day, sometimes multiple times a day. You have the opportunity to influence the purchasing decision to steer them to your business. I just don't imagine people are getting in their cars with the intention to purchase fish all that often.

I personally need to generate $3 in sales for every $1 spent in advertising to break even. That means for just a daily 4 hour shift for a shaker sign guy I would need to generate $925 in additional sales per week just to break even.
 
C

checkyeah_sl

shitlord
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Lyrical are you trying to attract business customers or residential? If it's residential then door to door marketing is the best.. a single card stock 8x12 with large letters that says Landscaping, with a general quote, and your phone number laid on the ground in front of their house.. not in the door. This way they see it as they are walking and get the entire message in one glance.

If it's commercial marketing, then you need someone who can mine or deliver you lists of property owners who you can then snail mail, email, or call.

Billboard marketing tends to be the most effective if you service all types of customers and can pinpoint the best locations. It's not all about traffic, it's about putting the sign in front of the right people at the right moment.

Obviously I advocate online marketing in terms of attracting customers who are ready to become your customer, but if we are talking in terms of display then door to door is the most effective
 
Shonuff

Shonuff

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checkyeah_sl said:
Lyrical are you trying to attract business customers or residential? If it's residential then door to door marketing is the best.. a single card stock 8x12 with large letters that says Landscaping, with a general quote, and your phone number laid on the ground in front of their house.. not in the door. This way they see it as they are walking and get the entire message in one glance.

If it's commercial marketing, then you need someone who can mine or deliver you lists of property owners who you can then snail mail, email, or call.

Billboard marketing tends to be the most effective if you service all types of customers and can pinpoint the best locations. It's not all about traffic, it's about putting the sign in front of the right people at the right moment.

Obviously I advocate online marketing in terms of attracting customers who are ready to become your customer, but if we are talking in terms of display then door to door is the most effective
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Pretty much anyone making middle class and up income is my target. So my billboards are all in the parts of town where they live, work and shop. For commercial jobs, we tend to rely on word of mouth and me doing personal networking. All of the major companies call us, we are the only ones that can do the large jobs in a timely manner. I don't think there is a major job in the area done where we aren't called to bid. Of the 100 or so companies in my industry, only three of them carry full insurance, and the bigger companies require it. So that automatically filters out 97% of the competition on commercial jobs (which tend to be municipalities and construction companies), leaving just us and two other companies that will even be allowed to bid. A few years back, we bid a huge state job and found out at the end that we were the only ones that even met all of the state's requirements. I ended up charging them 15% less on a job that we could have named our price.
 
C

checkyeah_sl

shitlord
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If you are that big what's your potential for expansion? I mean at this point it seems like your focused on maintaining what you already have
 
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