Tag Archives: branding

What Digital Experts Don’t Tell You

Do you have an advertiser who is infatuated with their digital ‘expert’ or agency?

We suggest you ask your client to ask their digital consultant or advisor, “What is the most common word internet searchers use to find your business?”

If they’re honest, the answer won’t be a key word or other SEO tactic. They’ll have to admit that the most common word used for consumers to find them through search is their name or their business name.

You can bet that until they were asked, they did not tell your advertisers about the role of branding & creating pre-search name awareness in driving more online traffic.

There is no substitute for name recognition when consumers search for a business online. And there is no disputing the intrusive power of broadcast advertising in creating top of mind awareness and name recognition.

That’s not to say there is no value to some of the online tactics implemented to capture more leads. But if the advertiser’s marketing has been effective, nothing will trump name recognition.

Our local TOMA (Top-of-Mind Awareness) Surveys consistently validate the power of broadcast advertising to create top of mind awareness and drive more online traffic, leads, and sales.

In his Monday Morning Memo, Roy Williams wrote, “I’ve long suggested that radio stations fund a TOMA study every two years. Few things are as valuable in the eyes of advertisers as these revealing market snapshots.”

         Click here to arrange an online meeting to discuss how conducting a TOMA study in your market will increase your local revenues.

Sales and Coupons

This morning I saw a trade article headline that read ‘Sales and Coupons Most Influential in Driving Consumers to Shop.’

I’m fed up with number crunchers and the pursuit of instant gratification. And frankly, I’m also fed up with amateur radio reps taking the easy route of cutting rates and selling short-term packages.

Radio’s strength is in building brands. And radio’s future lies in our ability to sell the power of Top-of-Mind awareness and branding.

Let’s dig deeper into the ‘Sales and Coupons’ headline.

The author of that article referenced a consumer survey where respondents said they were driven by sales and coupons….price cutting.

Can you imagine a survey where participants would say ‘I don’t care about discounts, I want to pay as much as I possibly can.”  Roy Williams has made a successful career out of learning why people do the things they do.

Roy asserts that often we don’t really know why we do the things we do.

We’ll often default to the price motive, without understanding the role branding played in our purchase decisions.

If Coca-Cola offered a 10% off coupon while an unheard of ‘A.B.C. Cola’ offered the same 10% off, which do you think would receive the most coupon redemptions?

One of the early pioneers in retail branding, Morris Saffer said, “It doesn’t take a genius to increase your sales. Simply cut your prices in half and you’ll line customers up around the block. The genius” said Saffer, ” is in increasing sales at a profit.”

Do your salespeople know how to sell the power of branding with radio in the marketing funnel to create top of mind awareness and in creating a brand preference for your advertisers?

         Click here to arrange an online meeting to discuss how the SoundADvice radio e-marketing system and TOMA research can educate your salespeople and your clients, about the power of radio advertising in the Electronic Media Marketing Funnel.

Leveraging Your Biggest Assets

You have probably seen various event producers, from bridal fairs to home shows, make a good living in your market.

And you’ve seen your clients spend extraordinary budgets to participate in local trade shows, fairs and events that give them the opportunity to go face to face with new prospects. There is no question that event and/or experiential marketing works.

But you have huge assets that traditional event producers can only wish they had;

1.)  You have several sales people in the market. Most event producers cannot afford the numbers of ‘feet on the street’ that you have to attract sponsors and participants.

2.)  You have local contacts and relationships. Most event producers only see their sponsors once or twice a year as they try to sell and manage the event. You have relationships and credibility that makes it easier for you to sell event participants and sponsorships.

3.)  You have an audience…on-air and online. All event producers have to buy media to promote their event. In fact, promotion is usually their biggest expense. The ‘promotion budget’ for your event is yours to place as you see fit.

4.)  You understand your local clients’ branding and marketing objectives and how to dovetail those goals with an event. Most event producers are simply selling space and traffic, with no view towards making their event an integral part of the advertiser’s over-all marketing plans.

5.)  You have a 24/7 website that can have a sponsored theme page to give your event sponsors 52-week exposure.

Most of the traditional event opportunities are probably already scheduled annually in your market.

But you have the opportunity to create a unique proprietary event that fits your audience demographics, and becomes an annual profitable tradition for you. Events from ‘Toys for Big Boys’ to ‘Healthy Living Shows’ can attract countless sponsor categories over and above the obvious natural sponsors.

Generic sponsors from banks to insurance companies, and from car dealers to real estate agents can benefit from the traffic you generate for your themed event.

At ENS Media Inc, we have a motto; “Extraordinary revenues require extraordinary effort and extraordinary creativity.” If you want to generate extraordinary revenues in 2017 and beyond, consider creating your own annual event. Facilitating a successful event in your market will also validate the traffic your stations are capable of producing.