by Mitch Drew
In 2010 Marketing Directors are having a challenge on how to spend their advertising budget to get the best results. There has never been such a dramatic shift in how people consume content, when they consume it and what it takes to reach modern day consumers.
When looking at your advertising budget and deciding what to do, you might want to consider the follow:
1.
Advertising is not fool proof and never has been. Remember, if advertising was an exact science and you could enter the marketing waters with a 100% chance of success, there would not be any need for you. Business would run on auto-pilot and not need owners/entrepreneurs or decision makers. Advertising is NOT an exact science so don’t look for the definitive answer…look for solutions that make sense for you and your brand.
2.
Everything works. This is one of the most important things to remember. Just because there are new ways to advertise and promote your brand does not mean that many of the traditional ways of advertising aren’t going to work anymore. In fact, keeping a percentage of your traditional disciplines could be just what you need to help shore-up your new plans and leverage new programs. Traditional TV can help drive web. In-store and print can support online and social media programs. Remember, most of the shifts in marketing have been technology driven but customers are still looking for the same things they always have. They want information about goods and services that will add value to their lives.
3.
Implement an online strategy now. You may not have the resources or time to implement the ultimate online or social media strategy, so just start with a few basics. Set up a blog and link it to your site. Create a Facebook and Twitter page and appoint someone in your organization to get the ball rolling on your online strategy. Once you start it is a lot easier to modify and ‘tweak’ your ‘tweets’.
4.
Buy the high profile sponsorship you’ve always wanted. We are definitely coming out of a crazy business climate in 2009 and there are many media/sponsorship and advertising opportunities available that may have been financially out of reach before. Look at buying higher profile TV programs and meet with the reps from the number one radio station in your market. Maybe this is the year that you buy a NASCAR sponsorship (or partial sponsorship) or run some commercials in Monday Night Football or Hockey Night in Canada. You will be surprised at what is available and for how little dollars.
5.
Man up your creative. Make sure you have current creative like TV spots, radio scripts, print ads and of course web banners in flash and .jpg formats. Make sure your web site is current and looks good. Almost all of the customers that inquire about your brand will visit your web site first. Having current creative will make sure you are ready for any opportunity that comes your way. Opportunity that can acted upon quickly can often deliver the best results.
6.
Change the way you buy advertising. In the past, you planned and implemented a strategy over a number of quarters and implementation might have taken months. In order to capitalize on the opportunities of modern day advertising, you need to be able to make decisions quickly and respond to opportunities. Never before have we seen early adapters getting the jump on opportunities and once you have a creative package available, start responding to new idea, concepts and advertising opportunities. Be open to buying last minute and remnant space and make sure you have a network of supplier who know you are open to this. Think about the success of Google's 'bid based' pricing model were advertisers place ads and set a price they are willing to pay for a 'click'. Opportunities come up at the last minute and if you can move on them, you will benefit. Shift your thinking.
7.
Don’t be afraid to engage in 2010. You might not have the largest budget and you may need to be careful with every dollar spent but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t engage in advertising activity. Take a percentage of your budget and place it in longer term and safer traditional areas. Take another percentage and spread it out into new areas like Social Media and use your remaining budget for new and last minute opportunities.
The advertiser who takes risks and follows this advice in 2010 could end up well ahead of their competition.
Mitch Drew is a successful advertising practitioner who lives in Vancouver, Canada. He is an active blogger and social media expert.Email: mitchdrewmedia@gmail.com
twitter.com/mitchdrew
facebook.com/mitch.drew
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