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"Koeppel Direct's media buying expertise has played an integral role in making my company successful. Koeppel generated so much business for our company, occasionally we have to limit their media buys, in order to handle all of the new business." | |
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MEDIA BUYING DIRECT RESPONSE TELEVISION (DRTV) ARTICLE ...... |
Million Dollar Mistakes: 10 Advertising Blunders to Avoid
Published: 11/05 - Buisness Journal |
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For any company, $1 million is a lot to lose. Depending on the size of your company, so
is $1,000. Companies with $100 million in revenue may spend as much as $10 million on advertising, so they
need to spend it wisely. This is especially important for marketing-driven companies, since advertising can
be the biggest expenditure after salaries and benefits, as much as 5% -10% of their overall
budget.
Even if yours isn't a $100 million company, you don't want to waste your hard-earned advertising dollars
because you don't know how to reach your target prospects most efficiently. Nor do you want to put out
the wrong message because you've failed to craft an ad that most appeals to potential
customers.
When you watch out for these ten common advertising gaffes, you'll get the most marketing bang for
your buck.
Mistake #1: Not understanding your target audience. When determining an advertising plan, consider everyone
who might purchase the product, beyond the obvious consumers. Some products and services have broader
target audiences than others. A product for kids, for example, might focus on parents and grandparents,
as well as children; they all have an influence on the purchase decision.
When you've decided who you're targeting, consider how: what will best motivate a consumer to respond to
your ads? Research services like Nielsen for television and Arbitron for radio ads can often help you
unearth this type of information. Arbitron's information will be more valuable to you than what
individual stations will offer, since station information is designed to sell you on advertising
with them. Competitive Media Reports can also allow you to see where your competitors are advertising
to enable you to make better decisions. A seasoned media buyer can help ypou analyze this information
so that you develop the most efficient media plan.
Mistake #2: Delivering the wrong message. You can usually best appeal to your target market by clearly
stating the benefits of the product and making sure those benefits are relevant to that target audience's
needs or "hot buttons"-both pleasurable and painful. Certain types of ads, such as for weight loss, hair
restoration, and skin care products, demand "Before" and "After" shots to give the product credibility,
show results, and deliver a positive message about the company's belief in its product and what it can
do for the consumer.
Mistake #3: Not running ads often enough. You'll generally need three exposures to build awareness and
motivate someone to respond to an ad. By spreading your advertising over too many different types of
media, your intended audience might not get those three exposures, and they won't take the action you
want them to.
Based on your budget, focus on the highest-performing media for your type of product; this will allow
your target audience to see the ad enough times to build awareness. Research services like MRI research
can help you with this. They survey 26,000 consumers every year. You give them information, and they
give you a goldmine of research tailored to your needs, such as the television networks and shows your
target audience watches with the highest frequency. Again an experienced media buyer can help you
navigate through the relevant research information.
Mistake #4: Utilizing the wrong media to reach your target prospects. Seniors, for example, still don't
use the Internet as much as younger people do. So if you have a senior product, focusing your marketing
efforts on the Internet might not be a good idea. Similarly, if you're trying to reach a smaller, niche
audience, TV or radio might not be the best fit, since they reach a broader, mass audience. Consider a
specialty print publication like a trade journal or a local interest publication to more effectively
reach potential customers. Work with and expert media buyer to pinpoint the right media to research
your target audience.
Mistake #5: Choosing award-winning over results-getting. Creative people in some ad agencies can be
more concerned about an ad's concept or look than they are with whether it will actually sell a
product or service. If an agency says they've won many awards, it doesn't necessarily mean their
advertising is going to make you rich or successful. Be careful of designers, writers, or a whole
creative team who try to sell you on advertising that doesn't feel right to you. Follow your
instincts. An ad can be cool or "artsy," look beautiful or be hilarious, but if it doesn't generate
results, it's of no benefit to you.
Mistake #6: Not focusing on the consumer's needs. It should go without saying that an ad must convince
consumers that the product or service will meet their needs, but some companies still try to dictate
what they feel their ads need to communicate. Often, because they are too close to the product or
service, companies make the ad "all about us" and not, as it should be, "all about our
audience."
If you feel too involved in the production of the ad, you can take the ad to a focus group to learn
whether the ad touches on consumers' needs. Even when you know who might buy your product, you may not
know how to get them to buy it. Outsiders' opinions can be invaluable, especially those of experts who
understand how to communicate more effectively with that consumer.
Mistake #7: Not developing a complete advertising campaign. One ad probably won't thoroughly inform your
prospects of all the benefits your product or service offers. A single ad may work for awhile but then
stops being effective as the consumer stops paying attention. To counter this burn-out, you may need to
develop a campaign to communicate all key selling points and a complete message about your product's
benefits. Also, another ad or a series can help you capture certain people whose attention you weren't
able to get with a single ad. Usually a campaign consists of several ads over the course of the year to
appeal to people through different creative strategies.
Mistake #8: Not understanding the seasonality of various products and services. When you're developing
an advertising campaign, you need to consider the peak times of year for your product or services.
Products or services that change consumers' lives or images will benefit from advertising in the
first quarter of the year, as people make (and try to keep) New Year's resolutions.
TV viewing itself is seasonal. In the first quarter, when the weather is bad, people watch more TV and
response to advertisements tends to be better, whereas in the second quarter, when the weather is
better, people watch less TV. In April, we all have to pay taxes, so in spite of advertising
campaigns, people generally spend less money on consumer goods. Even products that sell well all year
long may do better at some times than others, so you should cut back a little when it's slower and
beef up advertising during peak times.
Mistake #9: Not incorporating your website into your advertising program. An increasingly large
percentage of consumers are going to company websites to make their purchasing decisions, so you
must have a strong website and include its address in all your advertising materials. Don't assume
anymore that you need a salesperson to close the deal. One advertiser who had a website for a
high-end product hesitated to promote the site for a year, thinking their telemarketing program,
with an operator who could actively sell and close, was superior. But when they finally agreed to
advertise the site, sales increased 15% virtually overnight!
Mistake #10: Copying a competitor's advertising approach. Strive to be original, and it will pay
off. By copying a competitor's ad, you may just be building further awareness for your competitor,
rather than establishing awareness for your brand. You need to be innovative in your advertising
approach to differentiate your business from theirs if you want to gain the advantage for your brand
in the marketplace. The AFLAC duck and the GEICO gecko are examples of ways companies in the
usually unexciting insurance industry were able to gain top of mind awareness with the effective
use of humor. If another insurance company were to use a goose or lizard in their ads, consumers
would still likely think of the original duck and gecko.
Make A Million Bucks, Not a Million Mistakes
Lots of careful research, planning, and hard work go into developing successful advertising in any
medium. Your ads must be smart, creative, and well-placed to reach your desired market and make
them want what you sell. By avoiding these ten common advertising errors, though, you can use your
ad dollars more effectively, get more response to your ads, and rake in greater revenue.
Peter Koeppel is president of Koeppel Direct, a leading multi-channel direct response media buying agency.
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