Mad 4 Blog

Big Brother isn’t just watching you. He’s also trying to sell you something.

A 2009 survey conducted by the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley found that two-thirds of participants opposed the idea of targeted ads. And it’s no longer about you falling into a general category and being sent ads that are geared toward your group. Today, it’s about advertising that’s specifically chosen just for you — well, at least the portrait of you that your collective data and user patterns online indicate.

An article posted last week in the New York Times showed that people’s attitudes toward personalized ads don’t come from the ad content itself. It’s not the fact that people are seeing more that intelligently caters to their interests. The problem is how it makes them feel about the companies behind those ads — the ones that would spend thousands of dollars buying personal information about an audience in order to cater marketing to them. They don’t want to click on ads for or otherwise support companies who would stoop to that level in order to contact them and presume their interest. People largely oppose the idea of having their information used to define and target them — regardless if it makes their online experience more targeted to their interests.

The article focused on the fact that a whopping 86% of respondents in a study at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania oppose political messages coming to them based on such factors as their voter registration, party affiliation, location and everyday interests. In an election year, campaigns are more than ever relying on “microtargeting” to show ads for or against candidates are based on who these marketers think you’ll elect. And that’s entirely derived from your demographics and the data you input over time on the Web. But 64% of those surveyed said they would directly rebel against any candidate who stumped their votes by buying prepackaged information about them.

Some Internet privacy watchdog groups are clamoring for more visible opt-out clauses and greater regulations regarding how websites collect and share data. On the other hand, some people interviewed said that they didn’t mind the hyper-personalized ads, as long as the means of gathering and storing data was transparent and ethical.

So what do you think? Are we entering an era of tailoring our advertising too much?

Telling people how great your product is will only get you so far – even if you’re very convincing. One popular way to convince an audience that your services are superior is to use recommendations from previous customers. That way, objective people with experience using your brand can refer you to potential new clients and customers. But what’s even better than hearing if something’s good secondhand? Learning that it’s good by yourself – for free.

Many companies can build their fan base by sending out samples of their products and services. Simply making a try-before-you-buy offer shows confidence. It means that you know your investment in creating and distributing the free samples will pay for itself because people are sure to enjoy – and ultimately buy – what you’re offering. Here’s some examples of familiar free sample marketing:

• Food. We’re all familiar with those little samples given out at grocery stores that can make any shopping adventure just a bit more exciting. And let’s not forget the food court at the mall, where an alluring bite can get you to buy your meal from the stall you’re passing rather than the one next to it. What about wine tastings? Vineyards have made an entire pastime out of inviting potential customers to come try the seasonal wines before they purchase a corked bottle (or, who are we kidding, a crate of corked bottles). Sometimes you also get samples in the mail from snack companies who want you to taste first, buy later. Getting to open up a package of treats and try them out is so much more attractive than a coupon, isn’t it?

• Cars. Of course you want to test drive that new model before you lay out a few thousand bucks for that new car! Test driving doesn’t just go for motor vehicles, but it applies to all kinds of bikes, boats, tractors and carts, too. For the most part, this has become common policy for selling anything on wheels or with an engine. Just don’t expect to test-fly that jet without a pilot’s license – that’s not quite how it works when you buy a plane ticket, thankfully.

• Software. Remember when AOL used to send out all of those CDs with 15 or 30 hours of free trial membership? It certainly got a lot of people to try and trust this service they’d never seen before. Computer and mobile applications are a huge part of our society today, and it’s easy to create limited-access trial packages that allow prospective buyers to tinker around, create a profile and test out their need for your product before purchasing the complete product.

When giving out samples on a budget, it’s a great idea to target your ideal audience. Consider donating goods or distributing samples where industry professionals might gather. For example, if you make toys, sponsor a school or kid’s charity.

Look for more insights and ideas on this subject next week!

At Mad 4 Marketing, we’ve always been strong proponents of the 360-degree campaign. This means approaching your target audience from all angles to create a balanced, interwoven appeal. For example, you might want to have a strong website launching at the same time you put up local billboards and take out a well-placed radio ad. These diverse tactics all work together to strengthen brand recognition and drive your messages home. But the challenge isn’t necessarily choosing your marketing mediums or negotiating ad space. It’s about making these efforts communicate with a consistent voice in a way that gets your demographic to respond. So how do you bring together your various advertising campaigns with one solid message and successful calls to action?

In the example given, you’ve got a website, billboard and radio ad. The first option is interactive, while the last two appeal to the eyes and ears, respectively. And somehow, you’ve got to tie it all together to entice your prospective customers to reach out.

How do you ask a driver on the highway to respond? One thing you might want to do is eschew the typical contact information. It may feel counterintuitive not to list your phone number on your billboard, but is the driver really going to memorize those digits or stop to punch them into the phone? One thing you can do is tell the viewer to tune in to the local radio station when your ad is playing to get even more information. Since they’re already in their car on their way to a destination, those who view your billboard might either tune in immediately or at least recognize the brand and remember the ad when they’re listening to the radio commercial at a later time. You’ve already got them considering, remembering and reacting to your message.

The repetition of a radio message, perhaps along with a catchy jingle, means that this spot can potentially convey more information to your audience than the billboard. But instead of trying to cram every ounce of information into 30 seconds, you can choose to just focus on getting the listener to visit your website. Once there, they can find all of the rest of your information and contact you through a variety of formats (contact form, phone number, fax, e-mail, etc.). With the correct calls to action, it’s easy to get someone who willingly went to your website to follow supplied links and travel through pages of attractive, exciting information about your business. You might be able to ask them for their information to follow up or even complete a sale without leaving the page. It’s also easy for them to share links about your services with friends, or bookmark them for later.

By simplifying your calls to action and understanding how multimedia can interrelate, you can avoid harassing your audience or hitting them over the head with what you’re offering – but still build a strong presence for your brand through various channels and efforts that are in conversation with each other.

Sure, it is important to have well-worded and visually appealing ads with strong brand messages. And yes, it is also imperative that these ads reach as much of your target audience as possible for maximum and repeat exposure. But you can put the most wonderful ad in front of throngs of potential buyers and still fail with poor ad placement.

Ad placement can mean a myriad of things depending upon the format of marketing being discussed. For example, website ads should be built into the main framework, such as within a sidebar, so that they show all the time on all pages of the site, regardless of new content. And you’ll want them placed ‘above the fold’—which means that viewers can see them without scrolling down. However, ad placement in a newspaper could mean placing a small ad for your gym next to an article about vitamins, rather than a page-spanning ad next to an article about things that can be done at home to save money.

Sprint recently posted an extremely concise and clever ad on CBS.com. Viewers watching the network’s television shows are exposed to two consecutive 30-second spots on every commercial break. Sprint bought an ad proclaiming they the network helps you get exactly what you want, when you want it—and to prove it, the screen simply shows a click-through button that lets the viewer skip the rest of the ad. This instant gratification associated with the brand name is extremely smart, doing more to make a good impression and convey a clear message in one or two seconds than a full-minute ad might. The problem occurs when this ad comes first in the series of two ad spots. Rather than send the viewer straight back to their program, by clicking (following the CTA) the viewer is merely rewarded with…another commercial. Simply by swapping the placement of the two ads, Sprint’s advertising endeavors could have twice the power.

Similarly, the Associated Content website raised the hackles of its loyal readers when ads were placed mid-article, interrupting their reading flow. In this case, the ads became associated with interruption and frustration—so a viewer’s first impression and relationship with that brand was negative. But while more discreet advertising has its merits, tricky ads (such as invisible links on websites) also never win consumer favor.

Marketing experts must do more than place expensive media buys for amazing creative. They must have a hand in the ad’s placement from unit purchasing to proofing the final result. And of course you’ll want your marketing team to come to your defense against the venue if an ad is inappropriately handled in any context—and prevent future mishaps.

To ensure that you’re getting the best ad placement possible, you should not only confirm that intelligent human eyes or ears land on and approve your company’s ad in every context, but also seek ways to measure the success of various ad placements. While this is easy to do online, you may have to be more clever with other marketing formats. For more on this subject, visit last week’s blog about Tracking and Coding.

For a laugh, you may want to browse this list of Top 10 Unfortunate Ad Placements.

You may be surprised to hear the above statement, especially coming from us, but it is the simple truth. In good times and bad times, a large percentage of the marketing efforts you put out into the world won’t be as effective as you had planned. What makes marketing successful is the strength of your brand and the emotional connection of your unique message.

An important thing to keep in mind is that failure should not be seen as terminal. In the world of marketing, we tend to look at failures as part of a greater growth process. It’s important to understand what aspects of your marketing endeavors failed or succeeded and then analyze your results to discover why. Many marketing efforts are actually staggered, so that continual analysis/improvement is built directly into the process. Being able to adapt as you go is always a bonus, which is why we never recommend blowing your annual budget on any one tactic. Rather, you should seek cost-effective and well-rounded strategies that will allow you to explore multiple angles and make the greatest possible impact on your determined audience.

Good marketers know that success or failure can be measured in many different ways. For example, even if your conversions aren’t hitting the marks that you expected when you began your marketing campaign doesn’t mean that you haven’t connected with your audience. Every time you engage with prospective clients, you’re building up a bigger presence and allowing them to familiarize with your business and services. Naturally, we always want these impressions to convert to sales. However, the ultimate success of some marketing techniques may not be measurable in nickels and dimes; but by introducing your brand and opening a line of communication, you’re still accomplishing invaluable marketing connections.

As always, consistent and comprehensive marketing campaigns that approach niche audiences from multiple angles over time are the most surefire way to guarantee marketing results. At Mad 4 Marketing, we offer strategic insight that will allow you to enhance brand awareness and connect deeply with your audience through targeted messaging. To address every agenda–from rebranding your company to engaging in social media or even building a complete 360° campaign–we’ve got the talent and experience to help you achieve impactful, successful marketing.

When you are planning to present your company and wares at a trade show, convention, workshop or career fair, the road leading up to the big day is typically fraught with preparation, orders, projects and last-minute arrangements. You get ready for your big appearance for weeks, making sure that everything is in order and clocking long hours. Everyone has horror stories about the night before a big event, when they suddenly realize that they can’t find their booth reservation slip or forgot to order more business cards. But there are ways to eliminate some of the hassle and make the most of your event so that all of your hard work leads to successful results.

Here are some tips that will ensure your exhibition runs smoothly to help make the experience as relaxing and rewarding as possible:

•    Determine a target audience. From design to materials to pitches, one way to rally before a trade show is to determine who you’re trying to approach. Simply making an impact isn’t enough; with a diverse array of attendants, you’ll want to be sure you interact with and impress the correct people. With this goal in mind, it will be easier to streamline your objectives and organize your preparation.
•    Keep a tight budget. Throwing a lot of money at your booth set-up or handouts isn’t the way to achieve success. By keeping a strict, low budget and only investing in what will intrigue and inform your target audience, you’ll walk away with greater return on investment.
•    Train one cohesive team. The same team who will attend your event and staff your exhibition should be on-board throughout preparation. Keeping everyone on the same page and allowing them to participate from the ground up ensures their knowledgeable performance on game day, and also builds team strength.
•    Prepare sound bites. Have you worked on your elevator speech in awhile? Now is the perfect time to train your team how to explain your business in one minute or less. The ability to create a big impact with limited time is key to succeeding on a convention floor. Unenthused or unprepared answers can undo all of the effort you’ve put into preparing for your exhibition.
•    Don’t count heads. Your purpose at an exhibit isn’t just to collect or pass out business cards; you should focus on building relationships rather than speaking quickly to as many people as possible. Although your efforts may be less measurable at the end of the day, you’ll see greater results over time by creating bonds with individuals than by prioritizing the length of your sign-up sheet.
•    Use your time wisely. From the moment you hit the floor, be prepared to work. No matter how many trips to the coffee machine it takes, your team needs to be attentive and energetic throughout the day. From set-up to break-down, trade show dates can feel like the longest days of your work year. But that’s just more reason to juice every moment for what it’s worth. If you’re not going to go for the glory, what’s the point of signing up at all?

The target audience is what drives the marketing campaign into prosperity or destruction.  They can either shell out the cash for a drug prescription, or throw it out an open window because of faulty marketing.  The main question the consumer asks is “So, what do I get out of this?” Well that’s elementary my dear marketer.

Examples or stories, like patient testimonials, scream credibility to the consumer. Using the experience of an actual customer in your message shows that other people have experienced your company’s services and have positive feedback, therefore enhancing the organization’s credibility.  Focus on the benefits of what the organization provides and not their features.  In other words reveal what the customer will receive not what you offer.

Healthcare providers who have a longstanding career in healthcare communicate longevity in their heritage.  This tells potential patients that they can rely on them for the long haul.  Healthcare has a plethora of long words, with infinite syllables, and meanings.  Be concise and clear to harbor a large audience.  Create messages around the lifestyle of your audience.  If your hospital is a multi hospital system, explain it in a way that includes your audience like ‘here in metropolitan Chicago.” This encompasses them in the big picture.  Your hospital’s mission and values are important.  Highlight what employees are doing to implement hospital-wide goals.  So what’s in it for the audience? Whatever they desire.