10 Tips for Advertisers

10 Tips for Advertisers

1. Great content is important

“Bad ads waddle like a porcupine and make lots of little points.

Good ads charge like a rhinoceros and make a single point powerfully.” Roy Williams.

Make sure your ads do not include too much information or distracting details drawing attention away from your core message. This is true regardless of your choice of media. For radio for instance,phone numbers are a waste of time, which is something you can’t afford to do with just 30 or 60 seconds of commercial time. 

Why? Because most people are listening to their radio in their cars or at work. In both cases, trying to remember or even write down a phone number is expecting way too much from the listener. People will always search for your business online. Mention your website instead or use: “Search for {your business name}”.

2. Repetition is imperative 

Want people to remember your ad act upon it? Your message has to be seen or heard several times by the same person for him/her to do so. Run several ads in the same radio or TV show, day parts, social media sites… to reach the same audience and if your budget is limited, run for a shorter period of time but condense your advertising schedule. Repetition is key!

3. Ad budgets 

If you are not a Fortune 500 company, or working with an advertising agency that places media for large, national brands, you probably have a limited advertising budget which you should allocate wisely. The most dangerous of these Fortune 500 concepts is the idea of a"media mix”.

The widespread belief about the value of a “media mix” has caused small business owners to sprinkle their ad budgets across several different media because they are worried they are going to “miss” someone. After all, “Not everyone listens to the radio.” “Not everyone watches the news.” “Not everyone looks at billboards.” Etc. Etc.

As an advertiser, you can’t afford to reach everyone. You’ve got to choose who to lose.

Would you rather reach 100% of the people and convince them 10% of the way, or reach 10% of the people and convince them 100% of the way? Repetition is effective. Repetition is effective.

4. Mass Media + Google

If you sell a product or a service that most people will need sooner-or-later and you suspect you’ve been sprinkling your ad budget, “a little bit here and a little bit there,” try spending 80% of your ad budget on a single mass media and the remaining 20% online. The choice of mass media is up to you, but it’s hard to go wrong with local radio or television. Google is the new phone book, so you must have an online presence. Properly used, mass media will make you the provider that people think of immediately and feel the best about, but the first thing those people are going to do when they need what you sell is go online to look for your phone number, or your store hours, or your street address, or at your online reviews.

You’ve got to show up when your customer is looking for you.

5. Niche products/services 

“But what if I sell a product or a service that only a tiny percent of the population will ever want or need?”

That’s when you bet your entire ad budget online. But make sure that your gross profit margin will allow you to spend 25% to 33% of total top-line sales on advertising, because when all the shouting is over, that is what you’re likely to spend.

6. Digital marketing 

Digital marketing makes sense for practically all businesses: targeted display, SEO/SEM, mobile app and social media advertising, etc. Why not reach your desired clients on all the digital platforms they use everyday? Most businesses can benefit from geotargeting specific neighborhoods, buildings or even addresses and delivering ads to people who match their targeting criteria in those areas. You can also use your email database to reach your desired clients on their TV or social media platforms. Our digital experts can recommend the best options for your business.

7. Connected TV advertising

Audience research shows that with more and more people cutting the cord, TV viewing is increasingly done via streaming services. OTT (over-the-top) and CTV (connected TV) advertising is getting more and more popular and is on a path to double in the next few years, as it combines the premium content environment and engagement of linear TV with the addressability of Direct Mail and Mobile. 

With more and more TV viewers subscribing to virtual services such as Hulu Live, Peacock, Sling, Discovery+, YouTube TV, Pluto, etc., investing in OTT/CTV is a strategic move, especially before your competition does it. OTT/CTV brings the engagement and brand safe environment most brands crave along with the consumer segmentation, audience targeting, ROI metrics and programmatic buying digital offers.

Reach a massive audience!

Connected TV Adoption

· 9 out of 10 TVs sold are connected

· 80% of US Households own a CTV

Connected TV Viewership

· 4 Billion hours streamed per week

80% of CTV viewers watch ad supported content

8. Mild surprise is the foundation of delight

In your ads,

A. if you say what your customers expected you to say, they will be bored.

B. if you make unsubstantiated claims, they will not believe you.

C. if you speak to anything other than a felt need, they will ignore you.

D. if you say something new, surprising and different, you will gain their attention.

E. if you give them reasons to like and trust and believe you, they will.

9. If you win the heart, the mind will follow

The intellectual mind will always create logic to justify what the emotional heart has already decided.

10. Repetition

Repetition is effective, repetition is effective, repetition is effective.