Page 162 - Duct Tape Marketing

146 Part III: Creating and Placing Ads

ߜ Long lead time: Directories require ad commitments far in advance of
publication, and ad materials remain in the marketplace for at least a
year with no ability to pull out or make alterations.

ߜ Competing ads are grouped together: Directories make it easy for
prospects to comparison shop, forcing advertisers to compete via ad
size, use of color, and strength of marketing claim.

Outdoor and transit advertising

Outdoor advertising is a love-it-or-hate-it reality that includes roadside bill-
boards, bench signage, transit vehicle ads, and other means of putting ad
messages into the great outdoors.

Advantages of outdoor advertising include the following:

ߜ Unavoidable and repetitious: Passersby can’t change channels when
they see your sign. You have a captive audience that tends to travel the
same route daily, allowing you to drill your message in via repetition or
frequency.

ߜ Geographically pinpointed: You know in advance exactly where your
sign will sit, so you can make your message directional (for instance,
“Take Next Exit”).

Here are the drawbacks of outdoor advertising:

ߜ A moving market: Unless the sign is at a stoplight or railroad crossing,
people will read it at 35 miles per hour or more. Keep messages to seven
words that can be grasped in a couple seconds. With transit signs, you
have more time, but also a greater need to either entertain or inform.

ߜ A diverse market: Many viewers may not be potential customers.

ߜ Presentation difficult to control: Your ad is susceptible to vandalism,
weather, and dirt, and the environment may not suit your brand image.

ߜ Expense of high-traffic locations: Ads posted in locations where masses
of people will see them cost more than ads placed on side roads and
back alleys.

ߜ Long lead time: Boards need to be reserved early, and most companies
require multi-month commitments, making outdoor advertising a poor
choice for short-term, time-sensitive announcements.

Radio

Radio advertising offers these advantages:

ߜ Rate flexibility: You can bargain, barter, and ask for bonus spots.
An unsold radio ad slot represents foregone revenue that can’t be
recaptured — like an unoccupied hotel room — so radio sales reps
are usually willing to wheel and deal.