Masonry Magazine April 1977 Page. 19
Match the Right Media to Your Ad Message
Ever watch a great chef at work? It looks so easy. He measures and blends ingredients quickly, mixing and stirring and always winding up with a perfect dish.
Cooking up a successful advertising campaign requires a similar skill at blending "ingredients." You need a proper media mix: a combination of media to bring your sales message to the right prospects at minimum cost and maximum effectiveness.
All the ingredients newspapers, radio, TV, Yellow Pages, and so on for your media mix are within reach. And each medium will provide facts and figures on its audience not only the number of people reached, but often their age, sex, income, education, hobbies, and occupations.
But before you spend a dime on advertising, take a look at the ability of each to serve your promotional needs and the way it will shape the content and presentation of your advertising mesage:
The "Now" Media
Is your sales message "newsy"? Do you want to promote a new service or product? Announce a new location? Or advertise a special service? One of the "now" media with its broad local audience may prove basic to your media mix.
Take newspapers. They reach a broad cross-section of the local community. They allow you to illustrate your message and give some detail about your business. Moreover, your choice of position within a newspaper can help determine who will read your ad. The sports page, for example, is apt to attract a larger number of male readers. Women can often be reached with an ad on the society pages or in the family living section.
You can base the size of your newspaper ad on the amount of information you must convey and its importance within your overall media mix. But remember: You won't necessarily increase the effectiveness of your ad by doubling its size - or decrease its effectiveness by using a smaller ad.
Radio has one particular advantage: sound. It is also relatively inexpensive. It's especially effective for selling low and moderately priced consumer goods. And it has a relatively constant audience. Usually, the station's format tells you who will hear your radio commercial. A top "40" station dedicated to the latest in rock 'n roll will probably reach a younger audience than the station offering a mix of talk shows and news.
Keep your radio message brief, precise, and to-the-point. Don't try to give complicated details or descriptions.
Of course, television gives you sound, motion, and even color. It's a great medium for demonstrating your product or service with drama and impact. But it can be expensive, especially during "primetime," those popular evening viewing hours. You may get more for your money if you place your commercials during cheaper morning, afternoon, and late night TV time. Station representatives can tell you how large the overall audience for your advertising will be during any of these time periods. In fact, many TV (and radio) stations can tell tell you their average audience size for each 15 minutes of broadcast time!
The Long-Term Message
The "now" media exist for a very brief time. There's a new edition of the newspaper tomorrow, a new day of TV or radio programming. So you may want to reinforce your media mix with advertising of longer duration.
Like the Yellow Pages. It remains in homes and offices for an entire year. Here, your ad should give basic information about your business its location, specialties, product line, etc. that will remain valid for the life of the directory.
Aim for a strong Yellow Pages ad, one that leaps from the page and distinguishes you from the competition. Be precise, but give all the facts about your business that prospects shopping through the directory will want to know.
Then, there's outdoor and transit advertising. Their greatest advantage is cost: except for large, expensive billboards, the cost of outdoor posters and bus or subway "car cards" is relatively low. Although they are only seen in passing, outdoor and transit advertising are useful to "remind" prospects or to support other media. They are especially effective for seasonal offers and for simple, image-building campaigns that you want to use over several months.
Choose your locations with care. Both posters and car cards should be located in your neighborhood or along the most heavily traveled routes.
The Specialized Audience
Do you want to reach a specific list of past or potential customers? Do you want to appeal to other businessmen like yourself?
You'll need an advertising outlet reaching a specialized audience. Direct mail will allow you to choose on an actual name-by-name basis each and every person who will receive your ad. And it's well-suited to giving all the details.
Trade magazines deliver a different audience. If you want to reach other businessmen in your field, these are a good choice for your media mix. To help you choose the right magazine with the right audience, most trade magazines provide an analysis of the circulation make-up of their readers.
A variety of media, a wide range of uses. You can combine the strengths of different media to strengthen your overall advertising program. Try to advertise timely, newsy opportunities in the "now" media. Add in direct mail or trade magazines to reach a specialized audience. And back them all up with a year 'round reference such as the Yellow Pages.
Like a good chef, you'll find that, with the proper blend of media ingredients, your advertising recipe can result in a feast of new business!