Wizard of Ads Partners

Media selection should be the last consideration when planning your advertising. 

Here's the truth you need to hear about the media or the delivery vehicle of your message. Every media 'works' to some degree, but every media fails when it delivers a message no one cares about.

Relevance is what determines whether an ad works or not. In other words it’s what you SAY that counts. How the message is delivered is completely secondary.

"Every business owner must decide for themselves what percentage of their profits to take out of their company and how much to re-invest in facilities, equipment, advertising and people. Sadly, due to the near-universal fear that "If it doesn't work, I've wasted my money," very few business people are willing to advertise as aggressively as they should. Consequently, unrestrained growth is available in most categories to those who can afford the dollars and stomach the risk." - Roy H. Williams 

Before you start spending your ad dollars, how much should you really invest? Thanks to Wizard Partner, Dave Young, you can run your numbers through the online calculator.

 

We can all beat our drums about increasing revenues. But the real measure is when you compare against all in the category.

Figures from the Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia.
As printed in B&T Today - Thursday 10th April 2008 

Total Ad Spend for 2007: $13,200 Million
It appears all media increased revenues, however some grabbed more share than others.
Here is a breakdown of the big ones in order of percentage increase.

1. Online: Up 34.5% to $1,350 Million
2. Subscription TV: Up 29.8% to $275.6 Million
3. Suburban Newspapers: Up 27.9% to $801 Million
4. Outdoor: Up 15.3% to $436 Million
5. Regional Daily Newspapers: Up 14.7% to $432 Million
6. Cinema: Up 8.8% to $93 Million
7. Free to Air TV: Up 8.3% to $3,500 Million
8. Radio: Up 6.4% to $984 Million
9. Metro & Daily Newspapers: Up 4.3% to $2,340 Million
10. Magazines: up 4.2% to $780 Million 

The top 5 in terms of actual dollars increase.
1. Online 
2. Free to Air TV
3. Suburban Newspapers
4. Metro & Daily Newspapers
5. Subscription TV

"If you have a really new and creative idea and people don't hate it, they weren't listening."
- *Mark Fox, Wizard Academy Adjunct Professor

Avoid disappointment make sure you do it right.

Radio can be successfully used for short-term or long-term campaigns.

But the only thing more frustrating than trying to use short-term techniques in a long-term campaign is trying to use long-term techniques in the short term. Do you understand the rules for when and how to use each?

A short-term Radio campaign must have a highly relevant offer. When planning a short-term Radio blitz, the first question you must ask yourself is, “Will people listening want what this ad is selling?” If the answer is “no,” then you must make a stronger offer.

Second, this highly relevant offer must have a definite time limit. Don’t expect the listener to “act now” when you have given them no reason to do so.

Third, your highly-relevant offer-with-a-time-limit must be given plenty of frequency. The mind of today’s listener is overcrowded. Few messages are acted upon when encountered only once. So how much frequency is enough frequency when you’re trying to make miracles happen quickly? “Just a little bit more.”

Click to read more ...

"Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off."
Colin Powell

Radio Ink CoverIn this week's Monday Morning Memo, Roy H. Williams looks at the changes to radio in the US, and it's latest competitors.

Here is an excerpt: "Sure, these new technologies, along with online attractions like youtube, myspace and facebook, and video game platforms like the Sony Playstation and the Nintendo Wii have added to the list of attention-gobbling gadgets that began with CDs, DVDs and cell phones back in the dark ages. In short, Americans have too many gadgets and too little time to play with them all.

The net result is that media is getting trickier to buy. But make no mistake, broadcast radio remains a powerful tool for local business. As soon as I find a better value, I'll let you know.

Keep in mind that
(1.) my consulting firm doesn't work by the hour and
(2.) I don't charge according to the size of the client's ad budget, and
(3.) my income is adjusted annually according to the growth of my client.

The moment any new media has the potential to be a more efficient use of my client's ad dollars, I'll be on it like a duck on a June bug. My future depends on it."

Have a read of the full memo.