March 27, 2008
Multimedia
No Comments
Happy with the results from your TV, radio and print advertising? Ever feel like you aren’t getting the bang for the buck you envisioned?
Maybe you should consider rethinking your media mix. The concept of an advertising media mix is straightforward: Since no one magazine, newspaper, Web site, or broadcast outlet is likely to zero in on your target customer, choosing a variety of media based upon their ability to reach your desired demographic is more effective.
At leading advertising agencies, building the right media mix has become a near science where days untold time is spent honing, polishing and refining media selections to create a mix with sufficient reach and frequency to deliver. Gaining a thorough understanding of their client’s product and universe of customers, analyzing ratings data and circulation statements, and weighing certain intangible benefits each media candidate brings to the table, are but a few of the steps necessary to build the right media mix.
While the process has proven itself to be highly effective over the years, changes in technology that give consumers greater freedom to control media consumption demand new solutions and a rethinking of what goes into an effective media mix. Armed with remotes and digital video recorders, TV viewers easily circumvent commercials. Newspaper and magazine readers are now just a click away from the same content on the Web sans the full- or fractional-page ad adjacent to the article they used to pore over on the printed page. In effect, technology is short circuiting the rather simple media equation that implicitly promised advertisers the attention of customers as they consumed the content their medium had to offer.
Consider the impact of digital video recorders and remotes on the effectiveness of television advertising. A Feb. 13 article in The New York Times reports that an estimated 7 percent of the 110.2 million TV households in the United States are equipped with digital video recorders (DVRs). If that weren’t enough to give pause to TV advertisers, the article reports that estimates hold “that 50 percent to 70 percent of viewers playing back shows zip through the commercials.” How many TV households will have DVRs next year and beyond?
The story isn’t any better in the print world. “The State of the News Media 2004″ from journalism.org puts it bluntly: “Newspaper circulation is in decline.” The report states that the percentage of people reading newspapers began a long decline in the 1940s, but was masked by a growing U.S. population. By 1990, “circulation began to decline in absolute numbers,” according to the report. Between 1990 and 2002, newspaper circulation dropped 1 percent per year, it says.
However, there is a bright spot on the horizon, especially for those who are willing to rethink what makes up the media mix. An emerging technology that brings together dynamic display and media control at the point of purchase may be just the ingredient advertisers need to reinvigorate their media mix. In fact, a recent article in Media Daily News quotes Leo Kivijarv, vice president-research at Stamford, CT-based PQ Media, who identifies this slice of the media pie as one of the smallest advertising niches, but among the faster growing.
It goes by different names. In the retail environment, it’s called In-Store Digital Media (ISDM). At hotels and resorts, it’s known as digital reader boards. In public venues, like a sports arena, it’s called digital signage. But regardless of what you call it, advertising to people when they’re away from home, -often at the point of sale- is where you may find the most bang for your advertising buck.
The Media Daily News article quotes the author of a new study on out-of-home advertising as saying that this approach to advertising is about to transition from a relatively obscure marketing niche to a widely used, mainstream advertising medium.
In the article, Stephen Diorio, author of the report, says out-of-home advertising is “at the tipping point. This is a market that is poised to explode.” Since 2002, the article says, 700 digital out-of-home networks have been launched, accounting for $1.2 billion in advertising this year.
What’s in your media plan? Maybe it’s time you rethink your media mix alternatives. This may be the moment to redirect a portion of your advertising budget away from declining media mainstays and into alternatives on the rise, like out-of-home advertising.
David Little is a digital signage authority with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to expand their marketing messages with alternative media. Visit http://www.keywesttechnology.com and find how you can expand your marketing horizons.
March 27, 2008
Multimedia
No Comments
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I decided to spend a day in the yard raking up the last of my fall leaves. Not wanting to lose my belt-clipped cell phone during the process, I removed it, placed it on the counter and did my best to corral the leaves that ultimately would fill 23 yard bags.
After completing my chore, I went to retrieve my phone, but instead of finding it on the counter where I had left it, I found it submerged in the dog’s water dish at my feet. It seems that the vibrating ring tone gave my cell phone just enough mobility to walk to the edge of the counter and take the plunge into the drink.
Replacing the phone involved a sales procedure I’m sure all marketers would like to mimic, but very few can. It involved me setting an appointment with a sales consultant, who actually understood the various cell phones being offered and the service plans that were available- a 45-minute visit with the sales consultant and me walking out the door not only with a new phone and higher-priced service plan, but also an entirely new commitment to a broadband wireless Internet service via the mobile phone network.
Compare my experience to another high-tech consumer shopping experience that will be repeated over and over this holiday season: shoppers seeking an HDTV from Santa. Many walk into an electronics store after seeing an ad in the newspaper or a commercial on television convinced that they want the high-def viewing experience but fuzzy on the details. They engage in a conversation with a sales associate who may be selling HDTVs one day, computer peripherals the next and maybe even a kitchen range the next. Customers ask questions, sales associates do their best to answer, but things get murky -so much so that as many as 30 percent of HDTV owners don’t sign up to receive an HD signal via cable or satellite, according to a recent article in USA Today.
Oh how the Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Samsung and other HDTV manufacturers must pine to create a sales experience involving their products like the one I had buying my new cell phone!
Consider this: In 2006, total spending on advertising in the United States will exceed $150 billion, according to an article from Metrics 2.0. Yet once an ad runs in a newspaper or magazine or a commercial is played back on television, the amount of control a marketer can exert on messaging, consumer education, and influencing a purchasing decision dissipates rapidly. How many marketers get a little queasy thinking about the money they’ve spent on an ad that motivates a consumer to go to a store to buy their product, only to have those shoppers redirected by a sales associate into buying a competitor’s product? Compare that to my friendly sales associate who educated and influenced my cell phone purchase in an environment that the cellular service provider controlled.
While it’s not practical for all the HDTV manufacturers -or those of other products- to offer their products in their own stores where they control the sales process as thoroughly as my cell phone salesman, it is important that marketers begin to see retail stores as a communications medium, according to a recent MediaPost.com article.
In “In-Store Media Significant Influence on Purchase Decisions,” author Jack Loechner quotes Joe Pilotta, vice president of research for BIGresearch, as saying that “the store is a medium of communications” and “media has relevance and influence on a purchase decision.”
That’s where digital signage can stand in for a knowledgeable sales consultant like the one I encountered. Digital signage can carry through the marketing message transmitted in newsprint or on TV to the point of purchase, relieving to a large degree, the nausea that strikes marketers who wonder what happens when they’re ads are no longer present to influence events.The Bigresearch study quoted in the article found that in-store TV influenced or greatly influenced 10 percent of adults 18 years old and up in making purchasing decisions. The tie between in-store TV and digital signage is obvious. What might not be as obvious is that digital signage can play a strategic role for marketers and retailers when it comes to shelf coupons and special displays, which influenced or greatly influenced shoppers 39.5 percent and 35.5 percent of shoppers, respectively. Digital signage plays in this space -particularly in terms of shelf coupons- when set up with the right software and hardware to do double duty as an interactive kiosk.
What’s needed to pull off this carry though in marketing messages to the store floor is deep sixing old attitudes and concepts about marketing and planning ways to use digital signage strategically to re-enforce and expand upon the print and broadcast ads that currently command the biggest share of the marketing budget. Doing so may soon mean the difference between success and failure.
David Little is a digital signage authority with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to expand their marketing messages with alternative media. Visit http://www.keywesttechnology.com and find how you can expand your marketing horizons. For further insight, download my free white paper Why Digital Signage Works.
March 27, 2008
Multimedia
No Comments
It’s no secret digital signage to this point has been a child amid grown-up media outlets. But a couple of signs have emerged that indicate this new medium may be reaching -if not maturity- at least adolescence.
While its boosters have long proselytized the medium as a powerful complement to other in-store promotional techniques and messaging, dynamic signage in the retail environment has remained “well poised,” “an emerging voice,” and other euphemisms for not mainstream.
That’s easy to understand, based on the timing of its arrival on the communications scene. A recent Self Service article reporting on the “Building Your Digital Signage Business” conference in Chicago last month, quotes CAP Ventures analyst Norman McLeod as saying that reasons beyond the control of the digital sign industry have held back its growth.
The article, by Bryan Harris, quotes McLeod as saying the 2000 bust of dot com companies sucked venture capital from the market. Then, “we saw the biggest decrease in advertising since they started tracking it,” he’s quoted in the article as saying, in 2002. Only in 2005, did the market fully rebound.
However, with that rebound have come a couple of signs that in-store and out-of-store dynamic signs may be hitting its stride. In Britain, the Screen Association has published the first-ever directory of UK-based digital signage networks that accept advertising from third parties, according to a report from Clickpress.com. The directory, “The Screen UK Advertising Networks Directory,” provides a full index of 62 such networks with details about the networks and contacts at each.
Publication of the directory indicates that diffuse digital signage networks -at least in the UK- may be congealing into a definable market that advertisers, advertising agencies and marketing professionals can quantify, measure and ultimately specify in their media plans. That’s a big step for in-store digital media on its path to reaching maturity.
In the United States, a similar development indicates dynamic signage may be entering adolescence. Clear Channel Outdoor, one of the leaders in the outdoor advertising market, announced last month that it was expanding its digital signage network with several new installations in Tampa, FL, and Milwaukee, WI.
Reporting on the move for MediaPost.com, author Erik Sass quotes company CEO of Clear Channel Outdoors Paul Meyer as saying the move will help Clear Channel attain its 2006 goal of deploying digital signage in four to six markets.
As with conventional billboards, the LED signs, which measure 14ft by 48ft, will be positioned near heavily traveled roads. However, use of digital sign technology will allow Clear Channel to “day part” advertising to better meet the advertising needs of its clients and potentially charge a premium.
As with news of the UK directory of digital signage networks, the latest announcement from Clear Channel demonstrates the congealing of the digital signage market into a medium advertisers can easily grasp. One can imagine national brand television advertisers supplementing their brand and product commercials on such giant electronic billboards. That opportunity will only grow as Clear Channel Outdoors and others build their inventory of outdoor digital signs across America.
What appears to be happening in the digital display market are the first signs of an amalgamation of individual signs and networks into something that more resembles a definable medium than a scattershot straying of public venues and retail shops with unrelated networks and signs.
Market researchers frequently set about measuring the strength of the digital signage market in terms of forecasts, such as researcher iSuppli’s recent projection of a $12 billion dollar value by 2010, its true health may better be predicted with the formation of viable advertising markets that exploit these sorts of digital signage networks.
While no one would argue that these networks trumpet the arrival of a fully mature medium, such developments indicate digital signage is reaching adolescence.
David Little is a digital signage authority with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to expand their marketing messages with alternative media. Visit http://www.keywesttechnology.com and find how you can expand your marketing horizons. For further insight, download my free white paper Why Digital Signage Works.
March 27, 2008
Multimedia
No Comments
Last week, another sign that dynamic digital signage is entering media adolescence emerged with the announcement that global information and media company VNU and the In-Store Marketing Institute will jointly launch a new service to help marketers better understand how to reach and influence consumers while they shop.
A key component of the effort is the measurement of the audience for a new array of in-store marketing vehicles, including digital signage, television and radio, shelf talkers and other point-of-purchase displays.
Offered by a new VNU business unit called Nielsen In-Store (part of NielsenConnect), the service aims to give marketers and retailers alike a way to quantify in-store audiences and measure the impact of their in-store marketing efforts. The service also will deliver a means for marketers to assess the value of their in-store marketing strategies when compared to other media and marketing approaches, said VNU chairman and CEO David Calhoun.
VNU’s partnership with the In-Store Marketing Institute will allow the newly created business unit to leverage work the institute is spearheading known as P.R.I.S.M., or Pioneering Research for an In-Store Metric. An important aim of the P.R.I.S.M. research is developing statistical tools to deliver audience metrics “to the category or area of the store, by retail format, and by day of the week,” according to the In-Store Marketing Institute.
Just as the recent announcement from the Screen Association of the first-ever U.K. digital signage directory reflects a maturing of dynamic signage from a technology into a legitimate media made up of identifiable networks, the announcement of Nielsen In-Store and the P.R.I.S.M. research demonstrate another aspect of its coming of age as a media, namely definable audience metrics.
With audience metrics, in-store marketers can develop a sense of confidence about the reach of in-store media in general and digital signage in particular. Out of that confidence will emerge media buys that fit the traditional mold of media decision making. In other words, marketers can justify the purchase of in-store media in the same way they justify buying radio,
television and print: based on audience size and demographics, not simply advertising rates and a wish. An article on the In-Store Marketing Institute Web site put it this way:
“Adoption of the P.R.I.S.M. model by the industry would deliver a common language for retailers, manufacturers and media buyers to assess the value of retail as a marketing channel and compare its effectiveness to other media such as TV, radio and print. It also would give marketers a metric through which to evaluate the store as a vehicle for generating brand awareness and trial, putting the store on a level playing field with other forms of mass media.”
In announcing the launch of Nielsen In-Store, global managing director George Wishart said the business unit will offer those in the ad, media and retail communities “a new currency standard that can increase the efficiency of the media buying and selling process.”
That currency -quantifiable audience metrics- is precisely what’s needed for retail digital signage to advance to the next level and take its place among mainstream ad-supported media. If Nielsen In-Store can deliver on its promise, digital signage as a medium will catapult from the media backwater reserved for funding from discretionary ad and marketing budgets into a position as a legitimate contender for top-tier advertising dollars. Immediately, it will shed the stigma that shrouds any media that come to the table without audited circulation statements or independently measured audience ratings. With
quantifiable metrics, digital signage networks can stake their claim to being a bona fide media choice and one that marketers can safely choose to carry their out-of-store advertising message past the store doors into specific departments and ultimately to the cash register.
David Little is a digital signage authority with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to expand their marketing messages with alternative media. Visit http://www.keywesttechnology.com and find how you can expand your marketing horizons. For further insight, download my free white paper Why Digital Signage Works.
March 27, 2008
Multimedia
No Comments
Sometimes you can learn a lesson from a big brother, and that seems to be the case when you consider large billboards -commonly referred to as outdoor advertising, or OA for short- and their smaller plasma and LCD siblings in the retail environment.
Consider the case of an advertising forecast for 2007 from Watchfire Digital Outdoors. Makers of outdoor digital signage that’s every bit as large as a conventional billboard, Watchfire Digital Outdoors does for outdoor advertising much of what conventional plasma and LCD digital signs do indoors.
The Danville, IL, company earlier this month published a 10-point forecast for digital outdoor billboard advertising, many of which apply equally well to the indoor digital signage market in retail settings.
Forecasted points that could just as easily been have been made about retail digital signage and advertising include:
* The availability and use of more sophisticated selling strategies;
* Networks of digital billboards rivaling other media for ad revenue;
* Solidifying of revenue models.
With regard to more sophisticated selling strategies, Watchfire Digital Outdoors makes the point that new approaches, including “exclusive category sponsorships, unlimited copy changes and automated database-driven updates” will be used as incentives or upsells to entice advertiser to use digital outdoor signs in 2007. The same is true of retail digital signage networks. As that medium coalesces, retailers will find the same opportunities can be employed to attract and win advertisers. Like their bigger brothers, digital signage networks can be changed in an instant and offered on an exclusive basis to an identified category of advertisers.
Another commonality is in the emergence of digital signage as a rival to existing media, especially radio and television. As I’ve written about in the past, retail digital signage networks are congealing into a quantifiable, measurable, sellable medium that will offer advertisers more than a wish. These networks will deliver concrete demographics and audience numbers.
Just as Watchfire Digital Outdoors forecasts digital outdoor signage networks coming into their own as a competitive medium, indoor retail digital signage networks will offer advertisers a targeted demographic as an alternative to traditional media -one that reaches consumers closer to the cash register.
Watchfire Digital Outdoors also forecasts that revenue models will solidify as outdoor advertising companies get comfortable with offering “board sharing, day-parting, exclusive sponsorships, short-run premiums” and other incentives. Again, retail digital signage networks also are seizing on these types of new product offerings to create an entirely new medium. Tracking retail signage messages to match the demographics of shoppers as they change throughout the day and offering “short-run premiums” are also integral components of retail digital signage that will be exploited to drive ad sales.
Sometimes it’s nice to have a big brother. Finding retail digital signage networks share some vital commonalities with large
LED-based outdoor digital signs that are poised to explode onto the advertising scene should give marketing executives, advertisers and retailers something to smile about as we enter the New Year.
David Little is a digital signage authority with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to expand their marketing messages with alternative media. Visit http://www.keywesttechnology.com and find how you can expand your marketing horizons. For further insight, download my free white paper Why Digital Signage Works.
March 26, 2008
Multimedia
No Comments
There is much more to advertising than simply taking out an ad. If you stop and think for a minute as to what the purpose of an advertisement is - you will see many more skills are required. The aim of an advertisement is to bring to existing or potential clients, information on your product/service, with the outcome being a sale.
It is therefore important that you think of advertisements in both of these scenarios.
* Information
* Sales
So, when thinking of how to advertise, you must consider both. If the information does not provide exciting, dynamic, caring strategies, then sales will probably not occur.
I believe one of the most under utilised methods of increasing sales is via alliance partners -you must find a way to reach out to a potential alliance partner and put together a proposal that can benefit both of you and both your sets of customers! Joint or shared advertisements can work really well and is one way you can work together (though not the only way - consider a shared stand at a Trade Fair or promoting to each other’s customer list etc.)
Many people think that a website is not necessary for them as they do not want to sell online (e.g. they may have a retail outlet) - but you must remember, one of the main purposes of a website, is to use it to market an existing business - the website does not have to be the business itself. Think of it like a telephone directory advertisement - only you will have total control (if you don’t - change and get a website where you do); and it should not cost you an arm and a leg. You can get a lot more information on your website than in an advertisement and can change that information at will and when necessary. It can become a very dynamic marketing/advertising tool.
I so often hear business operators lamenting:
“I did not get anything out of that (book, seminar, conference etc).”
But on closer inspection it is more likely that they did not put anything into it. They need to think outside the square - they need to take an idea (preferably more than one) and think about how they could implement the concept or ideas expressed by others and ‘tweak’ them to fit their business. Action is what is important; inaction leads to mediocrity - and you do not want a mediocre business! Advertising is action - but it also needs the action of monitoring to ensure that you are getting the best out of your efforts.
Another thing you should learn to do - is to make use of words that ’sizzle’ and to use those words to create the right atmosphere in which a sale can be made. Too often we want to rely on our product to make the sale - whereas the energy of the word is a much more powerful tool (both spoken and written). Don’t be scared to use extravagant words - HUGE is better than Big; AWESOME reads better than Wonderful; JUMP OUT gives more meaning than Notice; - brainstorm with others to get the right word that is both DYNAMIC (energetic, vibrant, forceful) and EXCITING (thrilling; exhilarating) and watch your sales increase!
Barbara Gabogrecan is a renowned artist, author and entrepreneur, winning many awards. You can access the FREE e-book “Amazing Advertising Tips” on http://tinyurl.com/f4sdk
March 26, 2008
Multimedia
No Comments
Lining Internet pages throughout the World Wide Web are the trademark banner advertisements. Its ability to lure visitors with its content and strategic design can either make or break a business.Its quintessential element is clear: to pave the way for businesses to promote themselves. With a solid banner ad, many advantages could come to play: high clickthroughs, brand awareness, increased sales, and more. It only makes sense to design your banner ad to its highest potential. With the following strategies, you will be attracting swarms of Internet traffic to your site in no time.
Clickthrough rates are highly helped by the use of power words that encourage visitors to take action. Prompts such as “Click here”, “free newsletter”, or “pay a visit” can create a sense of urgency within the visitor to click on your banner. Another bona fide tip is to analyze banner ads that’ve caught your attention. Ever notice how Orbitz’ banner ads contain mini games for users to play with before following through to the main page? This is a perfect example of an interactive banner. Interactive banners have buttons and icons throughout that simulate action when clicking.Attracting quality attention to your banner advertisement comes with using a powerful color scheme as well. Complimentary colors, a consistent emphasis throughout, and the bolding and highlighting of important keywords like “click here” or “limited offer” can add a spark to your ads design. Don’t forget to have 7 words or less. Too much text is grounds for clutter and will be ignored.
Remember, make sure the file size of your banner is small! Web browsers on the Internet can navigate at outrageous speeds, not even allowing time for webpages to laod fully. If the page in which your banner is in takes more than 10 seconds to load, the chances of having your banner seen is pretty low. Nobody will click a banner they can’t see.
Need programs to help you get started? Instead of paying a professional designer to create your ad, you can make them for free at sites like addesigner.com, bannermakerpro.com, and a free trial at swttext.com. After making your masterpiece using the above techniques, join link exchange programs and distribute your banner to attract your target market. Expertly designed banner advertisements mean nothing with link swaps and link trade directories being used. Try http://magiklinktrader.com or link-city.com and exchange links with 1000’s of people to boost that traffic. However, keep in mind that you must target your niche audience for the best chances of success.
Ryan Smith is the owner of http://www.mustviewads.com and Hot Web Ring, which offers high quality traffic for free! Find out more at http://www.hotwebring.com
March 26, 2008
Multimedia
No Comments
Any small or big business, must keep advertising from becoming too costly so you can closely monitor all your target markets to get maximum impression made for your business or organization. Not so obvious a point.
Many small business owners find it difficult to engage in home business marketing, because it appears to be so expensive. However, there are many ideas that you can use to increase your visibility. Many are good. Interestingly, some are not so good but you can make them so if they let you find your desired leads and customers by testing.
Here are some ideas that can be very useful in home business marketing:
Begin a frequent buyer club.
Reward your loyal customers for patronizing your stores. That way, they will give their business to you, and even like you and no one else. It might be helpful for you to track the purchase information of your customers, and once they have reached a certain threshold, by buying your products or helping you sell them, give them a gift certificate or a rebate.
Also, you can consider giving them future discounts, or simply a free gift. These ideas can be varied almost endlessly, so get creative and experiment with what works best for you. Test, a great word in internet marketing.
Use your phone time wisely.
There are many ways to use your phone time for advertising purposes. The best is to call and thank them in person or leave a message of thank you on their message machine after they make a purchase. Hardly anyone does this and it is very powerful.
Again, you simply have to be a little creative. For example, when you put your customers on hold, instead of playing some music, remind them of some of the upcoming events concerning your company. For, example, invite them to a sale. Also, ask if there is any problem, at all, with your relationship with them and your company that they would like you to solve. Solve a customer problem and you will keep a customer forever.
Give away business cards.
This is pretty important, so you really should have me earn my keep and tell you this. A reminder always helps. Especially so when someone is scrambling for help when they need a service like yours to help them fill their needs at a critical time.
Business cards are one of the most inexpensive ways you can advertise, so to neglect their use would be wasting a great opportunity. As much as possible, the card should have an attractive design, and it must include all information relevant to your business.
Give your business cards to just about everyone that you meet. You never know when your little gift will earn you money. Have a tiny discount for ordering any purchase from you on your card. This will give your card guts.
Cards, with pretty pictures, designs and services can be bought extremely cheap with excellent quality on the internet. Put in keyword, business cards, and shop for the best prices.
When anyone ever asks you anything, take out one of your cards and write their needed info on it, and give it to them and you will have a hard working 24 hour, 7 day ad out there for you forever.
Utilize email signatures.
Whenever you mail a potential customer, furnish him or her with your complete business information. This helps you to form associations in your prospects mind. You want them to remember the business when they think of your name, and vice versa. Tinker with this medium frequently to update and improve it.
Website promotion.
Aside from the usual methods of getting listed in online directories and optimizing for the search engines, you should seriously consider other, less prestigious methods. For example, try to include your URL on just about every surface available, on your business cards, the uniforms of employees and you, and on all promotion items such as key chains, coffee mugs, and tee shirts.
Make your url extremely brief and pertinent to your website business. You want people to be reminded of your site everywhere they turn and to be able to remember it easily.
Many website promotion tools out there are very good. The trick is to shop and shop and always be shopping for better ones. The last few years have brought on fierce competition for better and better web site advertisers and promoters.
Never be satisfied. Always be looking for cheaper and better with higher quality services ad places and promoters. They are there and are getting better.
Home business marketing is not as difficult as it may first seem. As long as you have a good supply of creativity, you should be able to generate enough ideas to promote your business. The ideas enumerated here should get you started, but make sure you think up your own variations!
Remember to always keep testing for better ad and promotion places and never be satisfied with a few because they are always getting better. Competition is great which is good for you and your time and money budget.
James M. Lowe writes original articles about home business opportunities.