Advertising Information

Advertising In The Local Press


There are three main reasons why I would hesitate when deciding to advertise in the local press:

? Everyone else is doing it

? Nobody buys a paper for the adverts

? The odds are it won't work

Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean it's a good thing, or more importantly - that it actually works! However it seems the natural thing to do - you need to raise your profile, make the local community aware of your company, so you why not advertise in the local paper? Well, because?

Nobody buys a paper for the adverts. In fact, do most people buy a local paper these days? As many local papers are free, their only income is through selling advertising space. In fact if you look at the inside cover of a newspaper you'll see the staff on it. More often than not the 'sales team' will out number the reporters 3 to 1. The local paper is not 'a local' way for the community to keep up to date with local events, it's a 100 page selling tool.

Very often when approached by the advertising telesales team, they'll quote all sorts of readership figures. 'Well actually the Acme Recorder is distributed to over 50,000 homes and offices'. A very impressive statistic. However, of those 50,000 'readers' how many will actually want an accountant at that specific time their browsing through the paper? How many of them will actually see your advert amongst all the others? How many will actually read your advert, and then REACT to it?

The next time someone gives you these figures, follow it up with this next question:

"What's the response rate to an advert?"

They won't be able to tell you. Why? Because this is not important to them. But it's VITAL for you. The chances are they'll either admit they don't know, or they'll quote a local builder who has a great response (but you're NOT a builder) or they will come back with something like, "Well people keep advertising with us so I guess it must be working?"

People keep advertising for exactly the opposite reason. It's not working, so by keep advertising they'll figure that eventually someone will respond. Wrong. If the advert didn't work the first time, it won't work the second time and it certainly won't work the third time!

The odds are if you still do decide to advertise that the advert itself won't work. Remember above all else adverts, direct mail etc, should get a reaction from the reader NOW. However most adverts are poorly designed, and that's okay. You're a coach, trainer, consultant, professional service business owner?That's what you do, what you're good at, designing adverts for maximum impact is probably something you haven't worked on before.

Other problems you'll face. Where will the advert be placed? If it's on the left hand page, studies have shown that it will be noticed a lot less than if it's placed on the right hand page. Similarly where on the right hand page will it be placed? Again studies have shown that placing the advert on the bottom right hand corner will increase its notice ability more than anywhere else on the page.

These are just a few of the factors you should consider when advertising in the local press. Readership levels are not a measure of response rate, it's the ability to convert them into paying clients that counts!

Andrew Ludlam is a client attraction expert, and Director of Maverick Marketing Solutions. If you're deadly serious about maximising the potential of your business, then I urge you to visit http://www.maverickmarketingltd.com and sign up for the monthly 'Maverick Marketing Solutions Newsletter'... where you'll also receive the FREE white paper "Six Magnetic Ways To Attract More Clients To Your Business In The Next 90 Days..!" (Value $37)

Warning! This could be the last business marketing website you ever need to see...


MORE RESOURCES:

USA TODAY

Doritos' cat murdering Great Dane wins Super Bowl ad contest
Fox News
Despite all the big-money, celebrity-filled ads shown during Super Bowl Sunday, it was Doritos that came out top of the advertisers with one man and his very bad dog. The chips and dip maker was the most effective brand to advertise during the Super ...
Super Bowl ads battle for top spotChristian Science Monitor
Advertisers' big day: Who caught your eye?Minneapolis Star Tribune
Super Bowl commercials replayChicago Sun-Times
New York Times -CBS News
all 1,179 news articles »


Syracuse.com

SU advertising students talk about the best, worst Super Bowl ads
Syracuse.com
We asked advertising students at the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University to digest those pricey ads. Nine students in the Advertising 421 Advanced Portfolio Class agreed to help us out. The class is taught by Kevin B.
EA Worldwide: Super Bowl commercials set advertising trends for year aheadJournalism.co.uk (press release)
UK CG-leaders Framestore and Blitz Games Studios behind game-changing Coca ...Gamasutra

all 74 news articles »


Georgia Supreme Court Throws Out Law Banning Assisted Suicide Advertising
Bloomberg
A Georgia (STOGA1) law barring the advertisement of services related to assisted suicide is an unconstitutional violation of free-speech rights, the state's supreme court ruled. The statute didn't outlaw assisted suicide in Georgia, where there is no ...

and more »


The Atlantic Wire

Facebook Due to Show Advertisements on Mobile Devices by March
DigitalJournal.com
One of the key factors to come out of Facebook's risk analysis pre-IPO is the social network's inability to advertise on mobile devices. This may change in March before its initial public offering. People using mobile devices to access their Facebook ...
Facebook's Mobility ChallengeNew York Times
Facebook's Fixing Its Mobile Advertising ProblemThe Atlantic Wire
Facebook advertising to go mobileVertical Leap News (press release)
Financial Post -paidContent.org
all 68 news articles »


IBNLive.com

Is Facebook advertising right for your small business?
MiamiHerald.com
Advertising choices: There are two ways to advertise on Facebook. You can pay each time a person clicks on your ad — this is known as pay-per-click advertising. Another option you have is to pay each time someone sees your ad regardless of whether ...
As Facebook grows, it courts advertisersTimes of India
RPT-As Facebook grows up, it courts Madison AvenueReuters

all 42 news articles »


Award-winning advertising and marketing firm thriving in Licking County
The Newark Advocate
Julie and her husband, John, started StrohCreative after years of working in the marketing and advertising industry. / Zach Gray/The Advocate "Aces of Trades" is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs -- whether they're unusual jobs, ...

and more »


Tic Tac debuts Shake It Up campaign
Drug Store News
The campaign features interactive advertising — including TV spots and a three-tiered billboard (that touts an augmented reality experience) in New York's Times Square — and mobile experiences, including the brand's new Tic Tac Viewr application, ...
Tic Tac® Mints Launches Interactive Advertising Components of Shake It Up ...PR Newswire (press release)

all 7 news articles »


MLive.com

Skechers dog race commercial the Super Bowl's best, MSU advertising faculty says
MLive.com
MSU advertising faculty members chose it as the Super Bowl's best commercial. EAST LANSING -- Skechers' commercial featuring a pug dog winning a race wearing the company's shoes was rated the best ad of this year's Super Bowl by the faculty of Michigan ...
MSU professors evaluate Super Bowl commercials for 15th yearMSU State News
MSU professors rate Skechers top Super Bowl commercialMSU News
Dogs in race shoes finish 1st in MSU profs' picksLansing State Journal
WLNS
all 15 news articles »


Woof in Advertising: One last look at the dog, and non-dog, ads of Super Bowl 2012
ohmidog!
I base this report mostly on advertisements shown during the first half of last night's Super Bowl — for I began to tire during Madonna's BRIDGESTONE halftime show. In the first half of the game, I kept track of ads, and according to my tally — and ...
Milwaukee ad exec: Dogs proved most effective in Super Bowl advertisingToday's TMJ4

all 3 news articles »


TapIt!™ Releases Proprietary Mobile Advertising Platform
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
Global mobile advertising company, TapIt!™ releases proprietary mobile ad platform that includes real time bidding, in-depth targeting and auto optimization capabilities. Global mobile advertising company, TapIt!™, releases proprietary RTB enabled ...

and more »

Google News

home | site map
© 2006