A recent edition of Ad Age focused on the changing world of advertising on network and cable TV. The annual spending on TV is in excess of $64 billion, but the world is changing in a positive way with “extreme targeting.” Advertisers can buy into demographics tightly monitored by race, color, creed, age, gender, wealth, education, and many more factors. No doubt you have recognized said targeting to you on your favorite channels. To my knowledge, MTV and CNN have few viewers in common. MSNBC is the choice of the liberal population and Fox News that of conservatives; Sean Hannity, conservative, Rachel Maddow, liberal. Media buyers can strike incredibly tight demographics with pinpoint accuracy. I have seen condoms on SPIKE and Viagra on CNN. I have seen beer, wine on Esquire and vitamins for seniors on nightly news.
Long before TV was able to laser target, we (ad specialties, promotional products) were. It was then, and is now, a major competitive advantage we bring to the table. It is a point you cannot stress enough trying to influence a buyer in placing revenue with you. When investing in our medium, buyers are not only able to laser target, but they are able to extend the shelf life of their message much longer than a fleeting commercial batched around endless car dealers and HVAC locals.
A promotional product = a media ad + goodwill x the number of years it is used. Our products are branding and do not leave up to chance that the creative and costly work put into TV advertising will have appeal. We know that a hot product, such as a Fidget, will have immediate appeal to the target demo. We know that a functional, tactile product has impact.
The targeting begins with product selection, the right product for the right target. But, distribution of the promotional product is a more crucial factor.
My favorite example of targeted branding is the mortuary. Okay, have your laughs, deceased people do not need promotional products nor targeting, but the mortuary does. Apart from pre-arrangements, few families have a mortuary in their speed dial or contact list. I hope there is no magnet on the fridge touting a funeral parlor’s name. It is a business that works by referral. A major source of referrals is the local religious community. The clergy is there for the family at time of need. Funeral parlors make their name and mission familiar to the clergy all year long. For over 100 years, a wall calendar has been a favorite way to keep the name and phone number of a funeral parlor in front of a Minister. That is a “laser targeting.” Not a penny wasted. No unwanted or unneeded exposure. No fleeting message, but rather a 24-7-365 campaign. So, the key here is the product, but it is also who, where and how the product is used and distributed. I speak for calendars, again, when most of us can recall the day/date single sheet calendars hanging in the dry cleaners. I can state with confidence that they are all provided by the banks. It is third party exposure.
In recent months, we introduced a door hanger for real estate brokers that is so much more targeted and interactive than a local newspaper or shopping cart. It identifies home owners with even a slight interest in selling a home.
Your promotional product portfolio is filled with a medium through which a media campaign can by laser targeted.
Let me clear that statement up, by going to the dictionary:
Media (noun): the main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing, and the Internet), regarded collectively:
Medium (noun): the intervening substance through which impressions are conveyed to the senses or a force acts on objects at a distance:
I probably b
rought to your attention something you already knew but have you brought that to the attention of your clients and prospects? Have you stated this advantage on your website? Have you printed it? Have you spoken it at every opportunity? This is part of the “Why Buy From Me” pyramid. It falls into the very top two reasons. If laser pointers were still popular, I’d use them as a self-promotion.