| Advertising Advertising
enables you to promote a specific message to a wide audience
- but unlike PR it's not free!. It can be an extremely expensive
promotional tool which is notoriously difficult to evaluate.
Hence the frequent
comment: 'I think half of my advertising is a waste of time -
I just don't know which half'.
Here we take a brief look at how to set
objectives, select
appropriate media for you and evaluate the success of what
you've done.
Advertising is good for creating and building 'awareness' but
this is not necessarily the same as building sales. There are
few organisations who can't benefit in some way from an advertising
campaign, but to avoid wasted effort and expense, it must be
even more carefully planned than any other promotional activity.
Setting objectives
You will probably have one of two main general objectives for
advertising, sometimes a combination of both:
a) to develop a new market, and create awareness (and potentially
sales) among customers who have never tried your product;
b) to encourage previous customers to use your product or service
again, or to try another aspect of it.
The nature of any advertising campaign will be largely determined
by the objectives set and budgets available. Before placing advertising
you need to take into consideration:
• the
role advertising will play in your overall marketing plan;
• the characteristics of target markets;
• the type of response you are likely to achieve from target
markets.
Advertising usually has either tactical or strategic objectives.
Strategic advertising is concerned with creating an awareness
of markets, and of products, of developing an organisation's
identity and image. Strategic advertising takes a more long term
view.
Tactical advertising is aimed at specific market segments and
persuading them to go to a particular place or buy a certain
service, sometimes at a particular time. Tactical advertising
takes a more short to medium term view.
Selection of media
However much you plan your advertising in advance, there will
always be occasions when an advertising sales person telephones
you with a 'special offer'. Some of these might be genuine. Most
are not. You should do your best to resist - there will always
be another opportunity and your advertising will be much more
effective if it is pro-active and planned rather than reliant
on those last minute special offers, especially if they are for
new publications which no-one has heard of and which disappear
almost instantly.
The selection of appropriate media is usually based on three
criteria.
1. Cost
of space in the print media and time on radio, TV and
cinema screen. Cost is obviously very important and is expressed
in terms of cost per thousand contacts (CPT). Whilst being a
useful yardstick it only provides an estimate of potential readers
or people who may see an advertisement. Usually the larger the
circulation the lower is the cost per thousand. The CPT figure
will also enable you to compare advertising costs with other
forms of promotion, such as direct mail.
2. Suitability - if graphics, colour or movement are required
the medium must be suitable.
3. Appropriateness - the chosen medium must be appropriate
for the product or service being promoted and clearly targeted.
Before booking any space or time, telephone the advertising
departments of the media you are interested in and ask for a
copy of their media pack. This outlines the various advertising
opportunities, costs, and profile of readers, viewers or listeners,
as well as giving technical data for the publication or programme.
For most organisations their budgetary restrictions will limit
their choice to advertising in publications rather than on television
or radio. Television has been proven as an excellent and very
persuasive medium but is expensive. Not only is the cost of time
slots costly but also the production of good advertisements.
If you have a sufficient budget for television advertising you
should use an advertising agency to help you buy the time as
well as produce an effective advertisement.
Radio advertising is cheaper than television and can be useful
for events and tourism products which are easy to buy such as
well-known attractions. Radio advertising is less effective for
products and services which need detailed explanations.
The
choice of publications in which to advertise is vast. In addition
to local and national press, there are also special
interest magazines and tourist board guides. If you run any special
interest holidays or even have a product which could be adapted
for special interest holidays, these magazines are very useful.
When
you have obtained media packs and information about relevant
publications, use
the following criteria to draw up a short list:
Profile of readership
Do the readers correspond to your target markets? The readership
profile should detail readers in terms of age and socio-economic
profile, as well as giving further details about hobbies and
interests, and any research about holiday-taking habits. Tourism
products are a major source of revenue for many publications
so they will usually have more detailed information available
if you ask for it.
Readership
Most publications will give their circulation and readership
figures. The readership figures are more interesting because
these show the actual number of people who will see and read
the publication, not just buy it. For some publications there
will be a big difference between the circulation and readership
figures. Some of the more upmarket monthly magazines have relatively
low circulation figures but a long shelf life and high readership
figures - particularly when they are the types of publication
you see in doctors' and dentists' surgeries!
When considering readership figures, look also at the distribution
method for the publication. Is it one which people really demand,
by buying it at a newsagents or requesting it from a tourist
information centre? Or one which arrives un-requested through
the letterbox?
Publication
date
You will need to plan ahead and choose publications whose copy
dates you can meet. Even more important are publication dates.
If most people plan and book their holiday with you in November,
there is little point advertising in a publication which appears
in May, unless it is tactical advertising and you are looking
for top-up business.
The media pack will probably include details of forthcoming
features which might be relevant to you. Sometimes it is a good
idea to advertise within a relevant feature but remember that
competitors will probably be doing the same. It can be useful
to stand alone and make a bigger impact at another time, if the
timing is right for you.
Advertising rates
The deciding factor will inevitably be whether or not you can
afford to advertise in your chosen publications and if it is
cost-effective. Set your budget in advance and stick to it. You
might decide to place your advertising through an agency which
shouldn't actually cost you anything because they will take a
commission from the publications, and may already have special
rates.
When
placing advertisements always ask if there's any chance of
editorial
coverage and the name of the person you should contact.
Evaluating advertising campaigns
You will never find out which half of your advertising budget
was a good investment unless you monitor it. Keep a record of
the media in which you advertised, when and the cost. Make sure
that all staff are aware of the need to monitor advertising expenditure
and ask them to make a point of asking people who book with you
where they heard about you, and to make a note of this.
You can also monitor which publications work for you by using
different types of advertisement, such as specific packages or
codes when people are asked to complete tear-off vouchers for
further information.
Monitoring advertising campaigns is more difficult for destinations
and attractions where people simply turn up. Where-ever possible
you should conduct brief visitor surveys (using students on work
placements is a easy way of doing this) questioning representative
groups or people at different times of the year.
You will be able to increase the effectiveness of any advertising
if it is carefully thought through and planned in advance. Advertising
should also be integrated into the marketing
plan so activities
can be dovetailed. You will raise more awareness of your product
if advertising coincides with a PR and direct
mail campaign.
Susan Briggs
See also - our overview of advertising on outdoor media |
