Catch the customers you want with an effective advertising plan

There’s an old adage in advertising — spend your money where your strength is. This advice should be the backbone of any good advertising plan, especially for small businesses with small marketing budgets. One of the best ways to make this advice and your budget work for you is through a strategic print and radio advertising plan.

 

Strength in numbers

“Existing customers are definitely the strength of any business,” says John Hawkins, CEO and president of Delaware-based advertising agency Aloysius Butler & Clark (AB&C). “If your budget is small, I would recommend spending 60 to 75 percent of it on keeping your current customers.” Sometimes referred to as reinforcement advertising, marketing to your current customer base keeps your name fresh in their minds, and reminds customers that just because the sale or transaction is complete, the relationship isn’t. Take advantage of sales, exhibit openings, holidays, new merchandise, new artists and other in-store promotions to reach these customers.

The remainder of the budget should be used for acquiring new customers. For galleries, an opportunity for utilizing this portion of the budget is when a new exhibition opens or new merchandise is purchased from an artist who appeals to a different audience. For artists, the same situations present an opportunity to target a new audience.

Another obvious time to target a new market is if you change locations. In this instance, Hawkins advises against suddenly dropping off the radar screen and appearing somewhere else. Make a smooth transition by advertising your upcoming move to the new market. Let customers from your current market know that you can take orders via the phone or online, if applicable. Once relocated, your marketing efforts should be primarily to get new customers and gain name recognition, but not at the cost of losing your old customers. There are always some that will remain loyal, and as you determine who these people are, use a small portion of your budget to maintain their loyalty.

Placement and frequency

According to Paul Mosenson, AB&C’s media director, ad frequency and placement are key to building awareness and recognition with your target audience. Typically, larger print ads, or smaller ones that are colorful with compelling copy, will get better placement; usually the first third of the magazine, on the right side. In addition, consider running your ad at least three or four times for optimum exposure. You’ll not only have a better chance of penetrating your market, you’ll get more for your money — nearly all publications discount the price of an ad if it runs more than once.

In the world of radio, frequency and placement are just as important. If you want to target an older audience more likely to purchase from an artist or gallery, buying radio spots to run on a rotation during drive times (7 a.m.-9 a.m.; 3 p.m.-6 p.m.) will be the most effective. If targeting a younger crowd, consider buying time on an FM station during the evening hours.

Repetition of your radio spot will also maximize its potential to reach your target. Many radio stations discount the cost of a spot if you purchase an on-air package or multiple spots. On-air packages are put together by the station to solicit certain clients. The benefit of purchasing a package is that the station has done some of the homework for you, and you may get an even larger discount. The package is designed for clients based on the station’s success of promoting other similar clients. In other words, if the station has several retail clients who have had success by running spots during the drive times and sponsoring on-air segments, such as the news or weather, the station will put together a package that includes these elements at a discounted price. However, if you put in some time and do a little research, it isn't difficult to determine when your audience is listening. Look at your own listening habits; as a consumer, you know when you can be reached by an on-air spot. You can also ask your current customers what publications they read and what radio stations are their favorites. Having this information will help you make more intelligent and cost-effective marketing choices.

Maximizing exposure

To maximize exposure and reach different market segments, Mosenson recommends using a combination of print and radio advertising. Keep in mind that, in general, a print audience is older, more upscale and educated, and radio listeners tend to be age- and gender-specific and more mobile. Since there is obvious overlapping of both audiences,print and radio ads should have a consistent look or sound in order to be the most effective.

Design and production costs

If you’re creating a print ad from scratch, you may want to enlist the help of an advertising agency or graphic design artist. This route may be costly to you at first, but a professionally designed ad can be recycled and used repeatedly with minor changes made each time you need to advertise. Hawkins estimates that an agency-designed ad will cost between $1,500 and $3,000, which includes design, production and copywriting costs. If a logo and copy are supplied by the artist or gallery, the price will go down.

If your budget is too restrictive to use an agency to create the entire ad, you can hire one to design only your logo, or just write copy for an ad that you ultimately lay out. A good, industry-standard software program like Quark XPress, which retails for about $800, will allow you to lay out your own ads and other print materials. Be sure to check with publications for their specific ad requirements before designing your own. Another option is to have the magazine in which you’re advertising design your ad. You can hire them to do it from scratch, or supply the publication with components, such as a logo and copy, and they will lay it out for you. Most magazines will give you a price quote for this service once they know the extent of the work necessary.

To write and record a radio spot using professional talent, an agency will charge between $1,000 and $2,500. Again, if you are starting from nothing, you may want an agency to help you develop a sound and effective copy that can be reused. Or you can use the copywriting and on-air talent services of a radio station. This will cost less than using an advertising agency, but may result in a radio spot that sounds like many others running on the station. If you feel confident, you can write and record your own spot, paying only for the studio time. Individual stations can give quotes for using their sound studios.

Space for rent

Once you have determined when to advertise and how often — based on your business’s unique needs — and your ad/radio spot is complete, you’ll have to purchase the print space or radio time. You can opt to have a media buyer at an agency do all of the purchasing for you, but they will charge a 15 percent commission for ads placed with each different publication or station. However, they will negotiate costs for you and get you the best deal available. If your budget prohibits the use of an agency for media placement, consider paying for a one-time consultation with a media buyer; they make recommendations based on your advertising needs and can teach you some valuable tricks of the trade. Expect to pay between $100 and $200 or more for this service.

Before you consider rates, Mosenson suggests finding out about the makeup of the medium’s audience to determine if it is a good fit for your advertising goals. Most of the demographic and psychographic information about the audience will be on the rate card; if not, be sure to ask the sales director for it before you purchase space. Look for annual household income, level of education and anything else that may help determine what type of consumer reads the publication or listens to the station. For example, the average reader of The New York Times has a household income of $80,000 and a college education; is this the person you want to reach?

When advertising in newspapers, there is a wide range of rates, based primarily on circulation. For example, an ad in the Arts and Entertainment section of The New York Times will cost around $500 an inch, versus $80 an inch for a smaller, local newspaper. The rate can change drastically depending on which section of the newspaper you choose, and how often the ad appears.

Advertising in a magazine can be a better alternative because it allows you to target a specific audience and get the most reach for your money. Expect to pay anywhere from $250 for an eighth-of-a-page ad, to over $2,000 for a full-page ad in a trade publication. Again, frequency of the ad will reduce the cost; a full-page, four-color ad running one or two times in The Crafts Report will cost $1,840 each time, or $1,625 if it runs three to five times. The same size ad running in Philadelphia Magazine, a regional publication with a circulation of 455,000, will cost $15,940 each time if it runs one to five times, and $15,480 for six to 11 times. On the other end of the scale, a full-page, four-color ad running in Real Simple, a national lifestyle magazine with a circulation of over 700,000, will cost $45,000 if it runs one or two times, or $43,200 if it runs three to five times.

With radio, the key is to be short and sweet. Most radio stations price their spots depending on length — 15 seconds, 30 seconds or 60 seconds are standard — and placement. As mentioned before, the morning and evening drive times are the most expensive because they have maximum reach. But late evening and mid-day times may also be effective depending on the station’s format. Plan to spend anywhere from $50 to $300 or more per spot, depending on the size, format and location of the station.

Another alternative is sponsoring a regular segment on the station, such as a news, weather or traffic report. The name of your business will be announced before the report, and a short spot will run after it. This is a great alternative to stand-alone spots and can usually be bought as a package.

For More Information Aloysius Butler & Clark 819 Washington St. Wilmington, DE 19801 (302) 655-1552 www.a-b-c.com

Consult with the experts

If you feel overwhelmed about creating an advertising plan and aren’t sure where to start, consider paying for a consultation with an agency. This can cost anywhere from $100 to $500 depending on whether you are charged by the hour, or a flat fee. Write down all of your advertising goals, determine your marketing budget and let a professional guide you through the process of coming up with the best plan for your time and money. “The way to cut costs without sacrificing the effect of your advertising plan is to do your homework,” says Hawkins, “and make sure every single dollar is working as hard as it can.”