It’s a common marketing misstep to be blinded by your personal views and experiences when planning your marketing campaigns. Business owners and managers often assume that the masses share their habits, and this can lead to poor marketing decisions.
When first meeting with new clients or speaking with people at business events, it’s common to hear people emphatically state things about marketing trends that they believe to be the truth, but actually are false assumptions. For example, it’s not uncommon to hear statements such as:
•”No one reads newspapers anymore; they get all of their information online.”
•”Direct mail is a thing of the past; I just throw out anything I receive.”
•”Nobody listens to the radio anymore; they all have iPods or satellite radio.”
All of these statements are, of course, false. Yes, they reflect real trends in media and some people’s views. But they’re nonetheless mistaken or overstated assumptions.
The print editions of newspapers are still a very effective vehicle to reach consumers. New technologies are revolutionizing the news business, but many people still get much of their information from a daily newspaper. In fact, a daily newspaper usually provides the single largest audience in many media markets. Take this return-on-investment test: Add up the cost to run a print ad in each of the weekly newspapers in your market, and compare that to an ad the same size in a daily newspaper. You’ll likely find that the daily newspaper gives you more readers, for a cheaper price.
Far from being dead, direct mail remains one of the best ways to reach strategically targeted audiences, whether it’s business-to-business communications or trying to reach consumers. While you can get lots of advertising impressions with other forms of media, direct mail can micro-target to exactly the demographic segments you’re looking for. Well-designed mailings can provide compelling messages and offers about your company — delivered to the right recipients.
And yes, people do have iPods and satellite radios, but you can still reach the masses with broadcast radio. Marketing is about getting the word out, and broadcast radio still reaches large audiences and will continue to do so for many years to come. Many experts also consider radio to be more compelling and interactive than other media forms.
It is important for marketers to set aside their personal views and use unbiased research to make their decisions. The media that are often dismissed still remain the best bang for the buck for most marketing programs.
Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a leading Hudson Valley advertising and public relations agency. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 294-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at www.advertisingandpr.com.
