Offline Advertising

The question is way too general. Are you selling to a general audience or to a niche? Is it just local? National? International?

Are you trying to build a list, or are you trying to make sales directly from your ad?

The knowledgeable members here can help you, and answer your questions...but you need to be more specific.

Different types of advertising work better for different products/methods of distribution/market size and specificity of who your market is.

Please let us know what you are selling, and to whom.

WOW! This thread has certainly grown wings since the last time I was here... And from some worthy marketers to boot. Awesome!

Now, to answer your question, Jacob...

I don't want to plow a field that's already been seeded; So I'll just reiterate what some of the knowledgeable people here have already stated...

The most important thing, other than what your selling, is your target audience.

Seriously... A half assed message to the right audience, at the right time, is worth twice as much as a beautifully crafted message, to an audience that doesn't give a crap about what you're selling.

Perhaps you've heard the old saying "build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door?" Well, I'm here to tell you... "if you live in a land where there are no mice... NOBODY is going to be knocking on your door!" (but I digress)


Back to your question..


Offline - Direct mail has always been the most effective for me. Followed by advertorial style space ads.


Now, as far as billboards, street signs, benches, etc.


I consider that type of advertising as mostly "brand recognition" advertising.

I generally work with small to medium size businesses that don't have millions of dollars in their advertising budget. So personally, I'm not a big fan of most brand recognition campaigns. In other words... Advertising dollars need to be held accountable for their performance.

Now, If it fits into your budget (and it doesn't cost too much) then sure, why not. Saturating a community can make a business more recognizable in the local market.

And of course, you can turn those mediums into "direct response" by simply including a specific phone number to call, URL to visit, or tracking coupon/code, etc.


But here's where I have some slight issues with some of those mediums...


Billboards - Think about it... How many billboards do you actually pay attention to while driving down the road? (other than as a distracting curiosity, while driving)

Some of them might eventually implant some familiarity with us, if we see them often enough, but most will be forgotten before we even reach our destination.

Short story to emphasize my point on billboards...

I took my family to "Times Square" in NY, a while back. They have electronic billboards there, that cost in the tens of thousands of dollars, per month, for the real estate.

All the bright lights, and flashing signs, were really quite the spectacle to see. (And granted, many thousands of eyes might be exposed to your message every day.)

But here's the thing... The next day, I couldn't remember a single company that was advertising on any of those billboards. And I'm the kind of guy who actually pays attention to those types of things. (On a side note: To this day, I still remember some of the awesome street performers. And the incredible burger I ate at the 1950's diner, with the singing wait staff)


Benches - It depends on where you're at, and who you're trying to reach.

A positive note could be... the brand recognition within a local community. (Again, if it's not too expensive... then why not)

A negative example would be... If you advertise on benches in, say... Portland Oregon. Your brand would quickly become associated with all the homeless people that are continuously sleeping on your advertisement. (Now, if you're advertising for a charity that feeds homeless people, then that could be a great strategy)


Signs - Again... It depends.

For businesses like exterior house painters or landscapers, a sign on the front lawn of the home you're working on is a great idea.

Then you could follow it up with some local canvasing (i.e. knocking on doors with the pitch... "Hi , we're working at your neighbors house down the street. We'd love for you to come by and take a look. And since we're in the neighborhood we'd like to offer you a special deal on ...")

At a Gym... If you're selling natural health supplements, or athletic equipment (for example) then some signage could work.

Or, if I'm hungry and see a sign that say's "the best food in town" it might entice me to stop in, and grab a bite.


Now I need to be clear here, Jacob... Everything I just said is nothing more than generalizations.

I'm only putting it out here to (hopefully) get your mind turning, and get you to start thinking of even more specific questions. Because, better questions often lead to better answers.

Other than that... Some of the others here have already put it into perspective...

There really is no "one-size-fits-all" when it comes to advertising. It really depends on what you're selling, and whom you're selling it to?

So, as far as your new platform goes... If you're going to offer advertising / marketing advice to business owners, you'll serve your visitors well by being sure to let them know, " not every method will work the same for every business."

It sounds obvious to you and me, but you might be surprised to discover how many business owners don't really understand the concept of - the right message, to the right target, at the right time.

All the best,
SAR

Hi Gordon,

I understand what you're saying and seriously do appreciate the feedback. The way that you say it makes a lot of sense, but I also think that some of it comes from the lack of awareness of offline advertising opportunities out there OTHER THAN print, radio and TV.

Yes, there are many opportunities that are way way too expensive for the local Papa Luigi's Pizza Palace. I understand that and couldn't agree with you more. But, alternatively, there are many very inexpensive opportunities in almost every local market, that simply are not known are made aware to the local businesses (such as the pizza palace or the local pub or local dry cleaner).

As an example, and please do not take this wrong as me saying this this would provide ROI for EVERY local business - there is a company called Zoom Media which works with health clubs around the country (more than 2,500) providing advertising opportunities inside the clubs. There is a variety of different opportunities that they offer, and they are relatively inexpensive (Especially compared to any billboard).

This is just one example of many opportunities that if local business owners were aware of, it COULD potentially be a good fit for them. Next time you are at your local gym (if it's a chain and if you go to a gym ), look on the walls and listen to the music and pay attention to whether or not there are any advertisements. Those are sometimes very good opportunities for local businesses, and we want to help to make those opportunities more present and more transparent to local businesses in just about every market.

I'd love to hear your opinion on the above. I'm not trying to say it in a rude way or anything. I honestly would appreciate your feedback, because I believe my point is taking a different angle on the market than what most people are used to.

Thank you,
Jacob

There is no one right way. But there are thousands of wrong ways. Any book on direct response advertising would show you the differences.
And ads that pull in buyers have factors in common with each other.
And what one person thinks is a winning ad is meaningless unless they have tested hundreds of ads, tracked results, and have studied what makes a winning ad.

Of course, of course, of course. You can pick a media (or section of media) that will never reach the likely buyers. I was speaking in general.

I had a client that I created an ad for. I told her that if she ran the ad as is, in her local newspaper that she would generate an immediate multiple of her cost.

She called a week later telling me that she had no response at all. I told her that was impossible and asked her several questions.

Yup, same ad, no changes, in the newspaper...main section....I was at a loss.

And then she let it slip that she placed the ad in a newspaper for a town 50 miles away, not her local paper. I asked her why she did that. She told me that the newspaper 50 miles away offered a better deal.

For this thread I was assuming that the ads were for the general public. For example, I'd never advertise in the newspaper if the target audience was 20 year old students.

And I'd never advertise a bar on a Christian radio station....but in a local magazine for singles? Sure.

Yup, I do know Steve Sipress. In fact, I spoke at his Chicago marketing meeting about advertising.

I stand corrected. Steve is an incredibly sharp marketer.