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Thursday, March 16, 2006

Where should I advertise?

The age old question is where is the best place to advertise? Let’s think about this in modern terms. By all standards Billboards, Radio and T.V. have been around for a very long time. In relative terms the internet is new. This may be the most important article you read on advertising so we suggest reading it all.

TV is good but what do you do when a commercial comes on? You change the channel or use your fast forward if you have some kind of digital video recording device. If you decide to purchase TV commercials try to get what the industry calls Book Ends. These are the first 10 to 15 seconds coming and going between the show and the commercial break time. You’ll optimize your exposure since most people see a few seconds as their favorite program goes to commercial and is always flipping back to see if their show has returned from the break.

Radio is good but what do you do when commercials come on? You change the channel again. Hum a few bars of “let’s go surfin’ now, surfin USA” from the Beach Boys. The best radio ads are the quick ones during Traffic, Weather and News breaks. Most people stay tuned for those features. Of course, as satellite radio takes over there will be less of this.

Billboards are good. They range in price from hundreds to many thousands per month. All of this is based on the amount of travelers that see them. Of all the billboards you see how many do you really remember? Until you get home, to work or wherever you are going you’ve completely forgotten about what you saw. When you drive the same road every day you also develop Billboard Blindness. You don’t even see them anymore. They are good for getting a new company name out there initially but they are not very cost effective.

Magazines, Newspapers and other print media is good. There is a certain group of people you will reach in print advertising. However, the numbers are significantly dwindling. This is mainly due to the internet. With most articles and news online who uses print any more? I’m sure there are some but I don’t know anyone that reads the newspapers that is under 60.

Yellow Pages is Not a good place to advertise. There are two main reasons. First, they are extremely expensive and you’re locked in for a year. Second, who uses the Yellow Pages anymore? The only time I use them is when there is no computer available.

Internet advertising is the hottest thing going. There are many reasons. First your text link or banner ad can be clicked on to take people to your business website. Instead of 60 seconds of air time or a small square in print you get many pages of information across to your potential customer. If your banner ad is developed correctly you get the same branding effect that you do from billboards, print and TV ads with the extra value of the website link. With a website link people can get more company information and your contact information. Try getting your phone number on a billboard, TV or Radio ad to stick in someone’s head. It just isn’t going to happen.

Also see What kinds of internet advertising area available