Best car commercials....ever

A refreshing (and hilarious) change from the typical yelling, buildings exploding, giant purple gorilla price and item car dealership ads:

If Radio and Internet could get married...they would.

Source: Radio Works

“Radio and online combine push and pull to reach out and engage consumers and fulfil brand interactions”

“At any given time, 20% of web users are also listening to the radio”
Source: RAB, Using Radio with Online

Radio Works with Online

Radio and Online have long been thought of as complimentary to each other and highly compatible. A recent study (Using Radio with Online) conducted on behalf of the RAB and the IAB has looked into this thinking and suggested that…


• Online provides access to ‘My World’ while Radio provides access to ‘My Wider World’

• In a one week period, 48% of people will have listened to the radio while being online


• At any given time, 20% of web users are listening to the radio


• Listening to the radio makes an online session longer as people are more relaxed


• Radio can push listeners to the pull of the internet


• Radio can provide a trusted voice to encourage people to broaden their repertoire of sites


• 57% of those who listen to the radio while online say that they have ‘checked out things on the internet after just hearing about them’


• Hearing a brand on the radio can increase the likely hood of brand specific search by three times

Read article here:
http://www.radioworks.co.uk/insight/reports/RadioWorks_with_Online.pdf

Asheville business owners: Would you like a free advertising consultation? Murphy will come and learn about your needs, your advertising objectives and then design a customized campaign specifically for your business. Complete the form below and she will contact you within 24 hours.

How to Stand Out Above the Clutter

7 quick tips to get NOTICED

Well, aside from spray painting the back of your head...

How about this...

Pick ONE medium (or two complimentary mediums) and stay there. You will get noticed far more for your consistency than for jumping around.

If all your competitors are advertising in print-do the opposite-advertise on the radio.

Don't disappear during the off-season. Be a constant, reassuring presence for your potential customers all year long (Wait! Where'd he go?! I could swear he was JUST here!) That's what everyone else does. You're different, remember?

Do NOT advertise SALE, SALE, SALE. Make your sales something people look forward to. Keep them to a once, MAX twice, annual event.

Make all of your ads "teasers" and then give an option for more information on your website, at a class or in a newsletter. EX: Do you know how many calories yoga burns in one class? Find out at http://www.ashevilleyoga.com/

Get downright WACKY in your advertising. Don’t be afraid to be memorable

Do not talk about yourself in the ad or about how you've been in business one-hundred and eleventy-one years. Again. That's what everyone else does. Or thinks they should do. Simply talk about what your business can do for the customer. Sorry, with all sweetness and sugar, you're just not that fascinating. But, what you can do for me? Is.

Ok, then. What are you waiting for? Get out of here! Go get noticed!

Return on Your Advertising Investment

What does a return on a consistent advertising investment look like?

First things first: Unless you are handing out $100 bills or having a legitimate (meaning you don't advertise one every week) sale, no advertising medium is going to bring masses of people in your door at once. Only 5% of any population (or media consumption) group is in the market for what you have to sell at any given time.

Over time, however, that adds up to dollars to your bottom line. And here's what it looks like:

If you added 5% of Asheville radio station 98.1 the River ‘s listener base to your customer base over a year (as the result of a frequent, consistent advertising campaign):

1 out of every 10 people in Asheville listen to 98.1 the River
8,500 listeners
5% is 425 listeners in the market for what you have to sell

What 425 new customers over a year means to your business:

Book Store/Coffee Shop Café/ Bar:
$60 per customer over a year
(6 visits at $10 per visit)
$25,500 in added revenue
50% annual profit: $12,250

Massage/Salon/Spa
$150 per customer over a year
(2 visits per year at $75 per visit)
$63,750 in added revenue
50% annual profit: $31,875

What would 425 new customers in a year LOOK like?
About 1.2 new customers per day-not really a noticeable mass coming in the door but VERY noticeable to your bottom line

Now what if EACH of those 1.2 people told a friend about you??

ROI squared.

Choosing the Right (?) Media

Every advertising medium has its’ pros and cons.

No ONE advertising medium reaches everyone-but every medium has an audience (potential customers for your business)

What works is HOW you use the medium you choose.

Pick a medium you can AFFORD to be consistent with, that showcases your business & helps you rise above the clutter.

A guide to media pros and cons is below:

PRINT

20+ print publications in Asheville

Citizen Times, Mountain Xpress, Asheville Independent, WNC Magazine, Verve, WNC Woman, Sophie Magazine, WNC Parent, Laurel, Rapid River, Blue Banner, Topix, Western Carolina Business Journal, Weaverville Tribune, Asheville Disclaimer, Out in Asheville, Blue Ridge Outdoors, Asheville Magazine, IWANNA

PROS

Print targets the NOW buyer

Can target your demographic by interests

A good quality color, high res print ad can make your business look sleek

CONS

Passive media/non-intrusive

Difficult to stand out above the clutter

Can’t guarantee your ad placement (can easily be placed next to your competitor)

Poor at reaching consumers before their need arises

Print equals waste: environmentally UN-conscious

BILLBOARDS

PROS

BIG visibility-highest reach medium

Simple, creative messages work (no more than 8 words)

Great for directional advertising (TURN HERE)

CONS

Message loses its impact quickly (After 1-2 impressions, billboards become scenery)

Expensive to change the message

Short message requirement works best for already well-branded businesses

DIRECT MAIL

PROS

Highly targeted

You see a measurable return on good offers

CONS

High cost per contact for small ROI

You are often paying to go in the garbage

Junk mail has negative associations

TV

PROS

High reach medium

Great medium if you are pulling business from a wide geographic area

Combination of audio and visual

CONS

Paying to reach people out of your market (Ask youself: how far do people drive to get to my business?)

Expensive to produce

Expensive to reach adequate frequency

Local tv ads can look “corny” and unprofessional. Plain and simple: Bad tv ads will make your business look bad

INTERNET

PROS

Easy to target your demo

Works well for active NOW buyers

Yellow pages are equivalent to the dinosaurs. Google is where it’s at.

CONS

Passive media (easy to get lost in cyber-space)

Not a great stand alone media. Needs another media vehicle to drive site traffic

Expensive to build/maintain a high quality, professional website

RADIO

PROS

Inexpensive production costs

Local radio ads can sound as good as national ads

Best vehicle for cost efficient frequency

Active medium-intrusive-can reach customers before they decide to buy

Echoic retention implants your business name in the listeners mind (How did you learn your ABC’s?)

Is EARTH friendly

Works well with other mediums “See our ad in….””Visit our website at…”

CONS

Can not showcase visual images

Can not be tightly targeted geographically

Frequency required for maximum results

WORD OF MOUTH

Word of mouth is not advertising. Advertising is word of mouth (on steroids).

The 10 Biggest Advertising Mistakes

1. The desire for instant gratification

Advertising is like exercise. It takes time and commitment to work. You have to keep going to the gym every day, even during the off-season, to show off your impressive results in the summer.

2. Switching from one media to the other

See Mistake #1. You can’t try a “little anything” and get big results

3. Trying to reach more people than the budget will allow

Are you convincing 100% of the population only 10% of the way? Are you okay that the 400,000 people in the Asheville Metropolitan area “kind of” know about your business?

HOW ABOUT this? What if 10% of the population (the amount of population available to you with consistent advertising in any major media) cared about and believed in your business 100%? (40,000 homes where you were a household name)

4. Not being consistent

See Mistakes #1, 2 and 3

Are you going to trust the friend who only comes around once in a while (like when he needs money) or the friend who calls and checks on you 3-4 times a day? Advertising is building a relationship with your potential customers. Don’t just come around when you have a sale (need money).

5. Not being frequent

We’re all busy. Frequent reminders help your customers remember you. Tap. Tap. Hello? I’m here. Don’t forget about me. I can help you.

6. Unfocused marketing

A little here, a little there. Something will work. You just know it. Different slogans. Different image. New catch phrase. A little direct mail. A little radio. A little cable. Ooh! Grocery shopping cart ads are on sale. Does your advertising have A.D.D?

7. Buying MASS media-just because it’s a MASS media

How much money is your Asheville business spending to advertise in
South Carolina? Virginia? What percentage of your customers realistically drive more than 50 miles to get to you?

8. Not taking potential customers over the marketing bridge

Unawareness Awareness Comprehension Conviction Action

This takes time. Consider each one 1,000 sit ups.

9. Not delivering an emotionally anchoring message

It’s not about YOU. It’s about what you can do for the CUSTOMER. Tie your message into what is important to the customer-speak to the meat in the heart of the dog.

10. Not working with an advertising expert

You know your business inside and out. Your advertising rep should know theirs and how to make it work for YOURS. Your ad rep should do full a full diagnostic. You wouldn't let a surgeon work on you without an exam! Your business is no less important.