Gary Dahl. Advertising for Dummies

Подождите немного. Документ загружается.

Radio stations are famous for devising promotions to create value-added ben-

efits for their advertisers and for selling sponsorships designed solely to get

more income from their advertisers. Some are good, and some are simply

awful. So what makes a good promotion, how do you know it’s good, and

should you participate? Should you do your own promotion, and will it actu-

ally bring customers through your door? I explore these questions and others

in this section while trying to steer you into well-conceived promotions and

events that stand a good chance of succeeding.

Radio: The promotions king

When you buy your radio advertising, you have two kinds of promotions that

you can tie in with your radio buy: Station promos and sales-drive promos. In

the following sections, I explain what these promos are and show you how to

use them to your business’s advantage.

Getting your goods out: Station promos

A station promotion is one invented by the station and is often produced on a

regular basis. The station then solicits advertisers to provide goods and ser-

vices to fold into the promotion.

For example, one of the radio stations in my area has a promotion called “The

Coffee Break.” This promotion is designed to encourage people to listen to

the station while they’re at work. Regular listeners are asked to fax to the

radio station their names, the names of their companies, the number of

employees, and so on. Then this information is put into a hopper and drawn

at random each day or week. The winning company gets a visit from mem-

bers of the station’s promotions department and members of the on-air staff,

who bring along gourmet coffee provided by a coffee shop that advertises on

the station, donuts or bagels provided by a bakery that advertises on the sta-

tion, flower arrangements contributed by a florist that advertises on the sta-

tion, and so forth. In return, each of the station advertisers who donate

goods to the coffee break (the coffee shop, the bakery, and the florist) get

multiple free mentions throughout their paid broadcast schedules.

If you’re an advertiser and have something radio stations need to produce a

station promotion, chances are they’ll come to you. In case they don’t, a good

time to get involved is when you buy your media schedule. Ask the sales rep

what promotions are available to you as value-added advertising (extra stuff,

generally free) to help boost your paid media buy. You can’t find a radio sta-

tion in the known universe that doesn’t produce a multitude of promotions

on a regular basis, and what you’re selling can probably fit nicely into at least

one of them. If you don’t have a food or beverage operation, not to worry.

The stations also need a variety of goods and services to use as prizes.

272

Part IV: Beyond the Basics: Creating Buzz and Using Publicity

25_045833 ch18.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 272

Getting the exclusive: Sales-driven promos

Sales-driven promotions are advertiser-specific — they’re invented for the

advertiser and are exclusive to that advertiser. Sales-driven promos are always

sold in conjunction with a media buy. A surprising number of large-budget

radio advertisers won’t even buy a station unless the station develops and

includes an exclusive promotion at no extra charge.

So how does a sales-driven promo work? Imagine that you own a kitchen store,

and you want to build a promotion around a celebrity chef doing demonstra-

tion cooking in your store. You can simply give this information to the station

sales rep, who conferences with his promotions department and comes back

with multiple ideas. Your rep may ask you to provide some merchandise for

prizes, make your store or business available on a certain day, contract for a

noncancelable media buy, and pay a modest talent fee to any on-air personali-

ties who may show up. The station may have on-air call-in contests in which

its listeners can win a cookbook autographed by your featured chef, or dinner

and wine for two at the chef’s restaurant. And for your store, it puts forward

everything from rolling-pin tossing to pancake races to pie-eating contests.

273

Chapter 18: Leveraging Your Advertising

Radio station remotes: They still work

Many station promotions are tied to

live

remotes,

which bring on-air personalities

(disc jockeys) to your location. In addition to

broadcasting their shows from the remote

location, the DJs bring along all kinds of logo-

emblazoned specialty items — t-shirts, bumper

stickers, coffee mugs, movie tickets — to give

away to the lucky people who show up for these

events.

These live-remote promotions are usually

offered to advertisers as part of their media buy.

They’re called

value-added,

and they’re usually

free. Because you’re going to have to do a lot

of advertising anyway to get people to your

location, why not throw a remote into the mix

and give listeners an added reason to visit

your store? The only additional out-of-pocket

expense is a modest talent fee for the on-air

personality, which makes these promos an

inexpensive way to stretch an ad budget and to

publicize a new location, new inventory, new

restaurant, the latest model cars, or anything

else you can think of. In addition to the 60-

second spots you buy, you also receive a multi-

tude of 10-second promotional announcements

inviting listeners to your store on such and such

a date where they can meet, live and in person,

that wacky morning guy.

The beauty of a live remote is that you, the

advertiser, don’t have to do anything to make it

happen (other than make some merchandise

available as giveaways). The station does all the

work. Your broadcast commercials will, of

course, talk about what you’re trying to sell

during the promotion, but the 10-second

announcements that the station throws into the

pot drive the traffic to your store on the

appointed day and time. And employees of the

station’s promotions department are there to

make sure everything runs smoothly.

25_045833 ch18.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 273

In addition to your paid media schedule, you get a large number of on-air

mentions (10- or 15-second announcements specific to your promotion) for a

couple weeks leading up to the event, and, hopefully, a bunch of traffic to

your business at the appointed date and time. Your problem is to sift through

all their suggestions to find the ones you can live with. Radio station promo-

tions directors really get into this stuff — they’re your best source for ideas.

Not every station promotion brings in hundreds of new customers, so don’t

set your expectations too high. One of my clients seems satisfied if a promo-

tion brings out a few dozen new faces. Remember: The promotion needs to

be relevant and interesting to the station’s listeners. In other words, don’t do

a promotion for an antique furniture store on a station with a teenage audi-

ence. If a promotion fails miserably, you may tend to blame the station, not

the fact that what you’re selling isn’t compatible with its listener’s tastes —

but there’s more to it than that. If a promotion fails, you may want to recon-

sider your media buy on that particular station, because if its listeners won’t

even come out to your location for free stuff, how can you expect them to

respond positively to the selling message in your 60-second spots?

274

Part IV: Beyond the Basics: Creating Buzz and Using Publicity

A promotion so successful, it saved the business

I was once given a make-or-break advertising

budget by an underperforming local micro-

brewery and restaurant whose owners had

decided to take one more shot at success

before closing their doors forever. Accepting

the challenge was both daunting and invigorat-

ing. The target market was young adults, and

the brewery/restaurant had been wasting a lot

of advertising dollars in newspapers, an adver-

tising vehicle not famously efficient in reaching

yuppies. I chose to spend every last dime of

their budget on an all-or-nothing radio blitz,

selecting stations that had good ratings in the

adults 18 to 34 demographic.

One radio station came back to me with a “Beer

and Burger” lunchtime promotion. The idea was

that customers could come in on a certain day

and have a great lunch (a giant cheeseburger,

fries, and a brewsky) for just five bucks. The

promotion was, of course, tied to a station live

remote, which would feature its “morning man”

and his sidekick — two guys who were very

well known in the market — broadcasting live

from the brewpub. The promo would also fea-

ture the ubiquitous station specialty advertising

items for the people who came and a drawing

for a $500 bar and restaurant credit. The cost of

the advertising schedule covered everything.

The big day came, the doors opened at 11:00

a.m., and we had to step quickly back to avoid

getting trampled. It was a restaurant owner’s

dream come true. Hundreds of station listeners

stampeded through the door until it was stand-

ing room only and a two-hour wait for $5 worth

of burgers and beer. The promotion had every-

thing going for it — discounted food, free prizes,

cheap beer, a famous disc jockey, and a great

place in which to eat and drink. The restaurant

was “discovered” by hundreds of new cus-

tomers (many of whom stayed all that day to sip

more beers and became long-time regular cus-

tomers), was able to remain open, eventually

prospered, and, when it was back on its feet,

fired me because it no longer needed my ser-

vices! Go figure.

25_045833 ch18.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 274

Other promotional opportunities

Radio station promotions aren’t the only way you can go. You can come up

with your own unique promotion as well. Many other media forms lend them-

selves to successful promos. Here are just a few promotional ideas:

 In-store counter displays: You can have your customers register to win

a contest by having a drawing. Or set up a buy-one-get-one-free offer.

 Direct mail: Send your customers coupons as a way to get them into

your store. Or mail them a card that they return to register to win a con-

test. Send out open-house invitations to get them into the store. (See

Chapter 10 for more on direct mail.)

 Newspaper: As part of your newspaper ad, you can provide coupons as

promotions to get people into your store. You can tell readers to present

the ad for half off their purchase or offer coloring contests for kids,

which is sure to get their parents into your store.

 Printed flyers: You can have flyers printed, and then place them on

parked cars, telling people to bring the flyer in for a discount or adver-

tising a one-day-only sale or a parking-lot sale. Chapter 10 gives you

details on how to do this effectively.

 Statement stuffers: When you send out your monthly statement to your

customers, you can put an ad in with the statement, offering loyal cus-

tomer discounts, coupons, or buy-two-get-one-free offers.

When you’re trying to decide which kind of promotional materials to use,

think about items of which you’ve been on the receiving end. Have you ever

received a promotional piece that not only caught your attention, but com-

pelled you to respond? What was it about that piece that cut through all the

advertising clutter and struck a nerve? Was it the design, the offer, an impos-

sible-to-ignore deal, a clever attachment, or a promise of something free?

Chances are, if something works well in grabbing your attention, it can grab

your customers’ attention as well. Promotional ideas are limited only by your

own imagination. I’m sure you can come up with some great ones.

Participating in Sponsored Events

Sponsored events — events that are devised and produced with commercial-

ism and financial gain foremost in mind — are available in many forms. A few

examples of sponsored events include the following:

 Tech fairs: Recruiting fairs at which high-tech companies hope to meet

future employees.

 Home-improvement fairs: Here, homeowners can find the very latest

decorating ideas for their houses.

275

Chapter 18: Leveraging Your Advertising

25_045833 ch18.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 275

 Campus fairs: Colleges and universities use these fairs to show off their

erudite wares to prospective students.

 Trade shows: A trade show is usually an annual event for a particular

industry to show off new products to its customers. An infinite variety of

trade shows are just waiting for your business’s participation.

 And many more: You can find a plethora of chili cook-offs, jazz festivals,

bluegrass festivals, arts and crafts fairs — you name it, it’s out there.

The types of events you participate in are plentiful, but your involvement is

what counts. You can participate in a sponsored event in two ways:

 Sponsor an event. You have a myriad of ways to sponsor an event —

from contributing financially to an established event in your area to

organizing an event on your own (and many in between). Sponsoring an

event is a great way for you to get your business’s name mentioned in

various ad mediums and to boost your business’s reputation.

If you’re interested in being involved in an event at this level (and

because I can’t cover all the splendid details in one tiny section of this

book), I suggest that you check out Meeting & Event Planning For

Dummies by Susan Friedmann (Wiley).

 Set up a booth. You can pay for and provide staff for an on-site booth at

the event and hope that all the expense and work involved result in

some added exposure and new business.

While both of these options are worth considering, I focus on the second —

setting up a booth — because you can transfer the information you find in

the following sections to any type of event. So keep reading to determine

whether this advertising method is right for your business and how you can

pull it off.

Determining whether you

can staff the event

Whether you can participate may come down to logistics — do you have

(and can you spare) the manpower? Ask yourself the following questions

before committing yourself or your staff to an event:

 Can you take time away from your business to staff your own booth, par-

ticularly if the event runs multiple days?

 Do you have trustworthy employees who can represent you at the event

if you can’t be there yourself?

 Do you have access to and help from enough employees to staff the

booth?

276

Part IV: Beyond the Basics: Creating Buzz and Using Publicity

25_045833 ch18.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 276

If your answer to all these questions is no, you probably know that setting up

a booth isn’t the right option, at least right now.

You may also want to consider whether you can get volunteers (family mem-

bers, employees who are willing to work without pay) or hire temps so you

can have a presence at the event. While hiring extra help does cost you more

initially, it can pay off if your business gets the exposure it needs.

Calculating the costs: A valuable

investment?

When you participate in a trade show or street fair event, you pay for exhibitor

space, and this varies widely depending on the venue, the duration of the

event, and the city it’s in. This booth (probably ten feet square) is made up of

a metal frame holding flimsy cloth panels on three sides to create the illusion

of privacy. You get nothing else for your money — no tables, chairs, banners,

signs, display backgrounds, nothing. So on the day before the show opens,

you have to arrange for all these important items to be delivered to the loca-

tion and set them up yourself, or you can bring your own from home, but

that’s a pain in the neck.

The event sponsors can steer you to their prearranged source for the furni-

ture and accoutrements you need. Don’t be leery of asking for guidance.

You may also want a sign company to create a display banner and other sig-

nage for your space. And what about your giveaways? (You have to have some

tchotchkes at these things.) All these extras cost you extra dough. So, before

plunking down your hard-earned money for a booth, consider all the costs.

Deciding which events are worthwhile

When deciding whether to participate in a sponsored event, you need to ask

yourself: “What’s in it for me? Will I really get added exposure to qualified

customers?” Be objective. Do a bunch of people looking for a bowl of free

chili and a paper cup of beer fit the demographic profiles of your customers?

If not, then regardless of the number of people the event promoters guaran-

tee will attend, you want to avoid the Red Hot Chili Cook-Off.

But what if you’re in the large appliance business and the big Home Improve-

ment and Remodeling Expo is coming to town? I’d say, jump on it. Pay for the

booth, haul your sample refrigerators and ranges to the convention center,

and get it on. Choosing to participate in an event is all a matter of relevance.

277

Chapter 18: Leveraging Your Advertising

25_045833 ch18.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 277

Finding sponsored events that

work for your business

So how do you find out about these industry events? Because you own a

business, you should be on the mailing lists of the Chamber of Commerce,

the local convention center, arenas, stadiums, or any other source of informa-

tion as to what events are coming to your town. If you aren’t being kept up to

date on upcoming events and shows either by mail or through your manufac-

turer’s reps, then find a way to do so. You can’t participate if you don’t know

what’s happening, and by the time you read about an event in a newspaper

ad or hear about it on the radio, it’s probably too late to get space.

If all you want is the booth space to demonstrate your wares, go directly to

the event promoter. If you want to pre-announce that you’ll be there and you

can afford the added expense, or you were going to buy advertising anyway,

buy the station’s package deal. Pre-show advertising is an important consid-

eration and is well worth the extra money.

For example, you’re the owner of a plant nursery and want to participate in

the gigantic, bombastic Annual Flower and Garden Show coming to an arena

near you. The event promoters are more than happy to sell you booth space

for, say, $1,500 for the three-day show. But what you’re getting from the pro-

moters is the booth to exhibit your stuff in — that’s it. Believe it or not, you

can also buy the same booth from your local radio station for $5,000. What

you receive from the radio station is the booth, dozens of 10- to 15-second

on-air mentions, a run-of-station spot package (a group of commercials sched-

uled throughout the day and night at the sole discretion of the station), and a

link to the station’s Web site.

You can use the 60-second spots to tell listeners what you’re selling and why

they should visit your booth. The promotional announcements that mention

your store name for two or three weeks leading up to the show aren’t going

to hurt you a bit. And linking your Web site to theirs just may generate a few

extra hits. The station has made an arrangement to sell sponsorships (and

additional exhibitor space) in exchange for a large media buy from the pro-

moters of the event. Out of your $5,000 package deal, the station still has to

pay the promoters the $1,500 for your booth, but it keeps the additional

advertising revenue for itself.

Dishing out a little extra money to your local radio station for pre-advertising

an event can pay you back in droves. Let your customers (and potential cus-

tomers) know where you’re going to be, when you’ll be there, and why they

should visit your booth.

278

Part IV: Beyond the Basics: Creating Buzz and Using Publicity

25_045833 ch18.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 278

Part V

The Part of Tens

26_045833 pt05.qxp 11/22/06 3:48 PM Page 279

In this part . . .

t is a tradition in all For Dummies books to include the

Part of Tens. You may not choose to read every page

of this book, but I strongly urge you to read through the

following two chapters. Here you find tips for writing effec-

tively for all media. I also help you decide whether your

business could use the services of an advertising agency.

Plenty of valuable advice in just a few short pages –– you

can’t find more bang for your buck anywhere.

26_045833 pt05.qxp 11/22/06 3:48 PM Page 280

Chapter 19

Ten Secrets for Writing

Memorable Advertising

In This Chapter

 Making your creative hook work for you

 Keeping your message simple, clear, and effective

 Bearing in mind your budget

hen you’re creating ads, your primary goal is to come up with some-

thing that sticks in the minds of your target audience. In this chapter,

I offer up ten great tips for doing exactly that.

Ignoring the Rules of Grammar

Advertising legend David Ogilvy admitted that he didn’t know the rules of

grammar. In spite of this revelation, he was, unquestionably, one of the great-

est advertising copywriters ever to have strolled down Madison Avenue. He

said, “If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something,

it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every

day, the language in which they think. I try to write in the vernacular.” This is

wonderful advice from the master — advice that I’ve always tried to remem-

ber when writing ads for my clients, and advice that can work equally well for

you when you crank up your own creative machine and begin to write ads for

yourself.

You can ignore the rules of grammar at times — even write incomplete

sentences — and do whatever it takes to create a hard-hitting sales message.

In radio, you have only 60 seconds; in TV, you have just 30 — and, increas-

ingly, even less time! And in print or outdoor ads, you want your message

to be quickly understood and acted on. Those requirements don’t always

lend themselves to correct sentence structure. In short: Write the way

people think.

27_045833 ch19.qxp 11/22/06 3:47 PM Page 281