New York, New York – With less than 60 shopping days left before Christmas, businesses need to start thinking about how to plan for holiday advertising.
“There’s hardly a meeting I go to where the first words out of everybody’s mouth isn’t ‘we’re cutting back,’” says William G. Nye, Director of Sales for No Boundaries Media (http://www.noboundariesmedia.com). With that in mind, businesses are concerned about getting the same if not more advertising but on a smaller budget. Aware of this growing trend, Bill Nye has developed 5 important keys for getting the most from your holiday advertising.
1. Plan Early – Especially in this economy, the media are anxious to be sure they make revenue. Early planners are often able to negotiate lower net rates. The time to start talking to the media outlets is now.
2. Consider New Marketing Ideas – The ad industry has changed dramatically in the last 12 months. Doing what you did last year may not be cost effective or even effective at all, so be creative and consider new forms of marketing. For instance, direct mail is nearly a thing of the past, but 60% of online social network marketers are utilizing banner ads, which can be used on virtually any kind of website.* If you haven’t taken the plunge into social network marketing, you may want to think about this: 100,000,000 people sign onto Facebook every day.** How many of those Facebook users are your customers?
3. Qualify Your Media’s Delivery – Many, if not all newspapers, magazines and coupon shoppers have taken big hits in subscribers and readership base. Be sure you are getting the audience you actually paid for and not last year’s audience, which may have shrunk considerably. Radio and television are no exception – both forms of media have experienced a measureable change in their audiences. Be sure you are buying media based on its current delivery.
4. Don’t Be Shy About Asking for Discounts – However, be wary of those media properties offering you big discounts. It’s a careful balance between getting what you paid for and what you paid for being worth it. Since nearly everyone is cutting back from last year’s spending, media properties are used to and expecting tougher negotiations this year. Press hard and you may just be pleasantly surprised. Conversely, when presented with a discount, given all the audience shifting, be wary of that discount because it may not actually reflect the magnitude of the audience movement.
5. Be Sure That Your Ad Dollars Are in Places Where Consumers are Already Looking – For example, the left wall of Yankee Stadium is a great place for advertising because every time A-Rod hits an A-bomb to left field, the entire stadium looks at that wall. On the flip side, you probably don’t want to advertise on the back of a supermarket receipt because that isn’t where people typically look for coupons or deals. In this market, it’s time to go with what is known to work. Advertising is a science, so what works is both known and quantifiable. Stick with the proven winners (both new and old).
No Boundaries Media is a full-service agency serving clients in the greater New York metropolitan area. Their team of marketing, advertising and communications experts have decades of experience in creating winning campaigns in both the online and traditional worlds. No Boundaries’ services include everything from “traditional”
For more information about this press release contact:
Diana Lipps
No Boundaries Media
1-800-905-9141, ext. 100
dlipps@noboundariesmedia.com
* Social Network Marketing: Present and Future Trends, Direct Marketing Association, Jan. 2009, page 17.
** http://thefuturebuzz.com/
