by admin | Feb 2, 2012 | Blog
You Need Original Ideas & More Creative Execution but more importantly you need to SHARE!
- 12 Half Page Print Ads are more effective than 6 Full Page Ads
- One Colour, called spot colour can be used instead of Full Colour to decrease the cost without effecting effectiveness if the design is used creatively to compensate for this.
- Use 30 Second Radio Ad v 60 Second Radio Ad
- Decrease the Direct Mail List Size and follow them up with Telemarketing or
- Share the cost of Direct Marketing – Printing, Mailing and Distribution with a complimentary Product / Service.
- You can share the cost of traditional advertising like print by coming up with a creative advertisement that promotes 2 complimentary products in one advertisement and generates synergy between the products to the benefits of both.
- The same concept can also be taken online by sharing Pay Per Click bid costs and the costs of the Landing Pages.
Start thinking and sharing.
by admin | Feb 2, 2012 | Blog, Promotion
The “birth of a brand” is achieved with publicity, not advertising. A new brand must be capable of generating favorable publicity in the media or it will not have a chance in the marketplace. It’s a window into your brand identity.
PR automatically generates greater credibility through “unbiased editorial” rather than a “paid” message.
The ultimate cost effective guerrilla marketing tool, PR can give ‘David’ brand positioning advantages over the larger and better-funded Goliath!
Successful and correctly implemented Public Relations campaign can deliver:
- Greater visibility and exposure than traditional / paid advertising
- Greater frequency levels than traditional / paid advertising
at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising.
by admin | Feb 1, 2012 | Blog
The “birth of a brand” is achieved with publicity, not advertising. A new brand must be capable of generating favorable publicity in the media or it will not have a chance in the marketplace.
PR automatically generates greater credibility through “unbiased editorial” rather than a “paid” message.
The ultimate cost effective guerrilla marketing tool, PR can give a ‘David’ advantages over the larger and better-funded Goliath!
Successful and correctly implemented Public Relations campaign can deliver:
- Greater visibility and exposure than traditional / paid advertising
- Greater frequency levels than traditional / paid advertising
at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising.
by admin | Jan 31, 2012 | Blog
As discussed previously, reaching your prospects and customers with your message is today the single greatest ‘cost of doing business’.
If you are a small business, selling to other businesses (B2B) or a professional services firm and even when selling directly to your customers and clients (B2C), then here are our top 11 ways of getting your message to them most cost effectively.
In my past life, when working as a media planner buyer for one of the largest advertising agencies in the country, I quickly realized that when it comes to a media budget – there is never enough money! And I am talking about big national and international brands, with tens of millions of dollars who had to quickly make choices about media channels, geographical markets, length and intensity of their campaigns.
Yet the sad truth is that most small businesses do not plan their promotional budgets with anywhere the same level of professionalism. Even more importantly, the smaller your budget the more creative you have to be with your communication as you don’t have the luxury of being able to drum in your message through the sheer weight of your media budget. And you have to be more vigilant with capturing and analyzing data to understand what works and what doesn’t.
You will notice that Social Media, the most talked about development in the marketing arena and consumer lifestyle is ‘missing in action’ as a separate point in this list. The reason is simple. Social Media Marketing is so important and so pervasive in attracting customers, that aspects of what is now deemed social media marketing should be present in each of the 11 points below!
1. REFERRALS
- Existing customers
- Influencers (who are not customers)
This of course implies that you have both a strategy and an offer / incentive to get these 2 audiences to refer business to you.
The media you use to get the message and offer to them may be made up of one or combination of the following:
- Face to Face Conversation (Personal Sales)
- LinkedIn
- Facebook
- Twitter
- YouTube
- Email
- Telephone
- Direct Mail
- Promotional Products
2. NETWORKING
- Physical – Dedicated Networking Groups, Industry Associations, Expos, etc
- Virtual (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc)
3. YOUR ONLINE ASSETS (Website, Blog, YouTube Channel, Twitter, Facebook, etc)
4. SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING
- Paid Search / Pay Per Click
- Search Engine Optimization
6. PR – ONLINE
7. PR – TRADITIONAL
8. DIRECT MAIL & TELEMARKETING
9. NEWSPRINT
- Trade Press
- Local Paper
- Niche Magazines
10. POINT OF SALE & PACKAGING
- If you are a retailer or supplier then getting this right is paramount
- Window displays and merchandising in general are still under utilized by most SME’s
11. OUTDOOR
Strategically placed traditional out of home and ambient media can be very effective. Consider the following for inspiration:
- Large Traditional Super site Billboards on Freeways purchased at distress rates
- Gyms, Medical Rooms, Lifts, Cafes, Restrooms, etc anywhere where there is a ‘captive audience’
- Business Signage (outside and inside your premises)
- Make sure the medium ‘drives the message’. This means craft your message creatively to address the medium it is in. E.g.: If you have a sticker on the mirrors of all the local hairdressers advertising your Personal Training Services Business then you should be connecting the message and offer to the mirror, or to the experience of getting a haircut, e.g.: “Do you like what you see? Get your Free Fitness Assessment at XYZ Personal Training and get on the road to looking and feeling good – inside and out”
by admin | Jan 31, 2012 | Blog, Strategy
To reach your customers and prospects with your message most cost effectively and improve your Cost Per Lead, you will need the best marketing tool; a plan. Your Marketing Action Plan should include the following:
- Align each target audience with the Appropriate Offer and hence Communication Objective
- Plan each of the target market communications throughout the calendar year.
- Prepare a realistic marketing activity schedule based on the your budget.
- Specify the parties responsible for execution of each initiative.
- Record all of the necessary chronological steps to implement the communication strategies.
The Marketing Activity Schedule usually consists of an excel spreadsheet that outlines each activity, when it occurs and how much it costs to implement. Here is a hypothetical example of what one may look like with costs being omitted.
On the Marketing Activity Schedule you can also mark any important events on your marketing calendar, like trade shows, or product launches, etc.
The one page overview will provide all staff in the company with a great overview of all marketing activities, costs and timings. Together with the Marketing Action Plan, everyone will be on the same page in terms of objectives and responsibilities.
by admin | Jan 30, 2012 | Blog
To reach your customers and prospects with your message most cost effectively and improve your Cost Per Lead you will need a plan. Your Marketing Action Plan should include the following:
- Align each target audience with the Appropriate Offer and hence Communication Objective
- Plan each of the target market communications throughout the calendar year.
- Prepare a realistic marketing activity schedule based on the your budget.
- Specify the parties responsible for execution of each initiative.
- Record all of the necessary chronological steps to implement the communication strategies.
The Marketing Activity Schedule usually consists of an excel spreadsheet that outlines each activity, when it occurs and how much it costs to implement. Here is a hypothetical example of what one may look like with costs being omitted.
On the Marketing Activity Schedule you can also mark any important events on your marketing calendar, like trade shows, or product launches, etc.
The one page overview will provide all staff in the company with a great overview of all marketing activities, costs and timings. Together with the Marketing Action Plan, everyone will be on the same page in terms of objectives and responsibilities.
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