You need to work out how to reach your target audience. Local papers and free magazines could provide the right audience for a small business operating in a specific catchment area. Business-to-business firms can use industry publications and events to advertise to specific groups. Always negotiate, rates are rarely set in stone.
Your message needs to convey a clear message with a call to action. Your strategy should be based around promoting a single, solid benefit so you must know what motivates your target audience to buy.
The look and feel of your advertising should be in line with your brand values. A cheap-looking advertisement can damage your reputation.
Newspaper and Magazines (Press)
Media planning is a science, not an art. You need to look beyond the top-line circulation figures and study the data in depth. The BRAD directory is an excellent source of data on publications.Get the media packs of all the publications you are considering. Check out the quality and relevance of the editorial content in those titles. See where your competitors are advertising. Ask your customers which publications they read regularly.
Now look at the data. Newspaper and magazine circulation figures are not the same as readership figures. Free papers, for instance, are widely distributed, but are frequently discarded unread. Meanwhile, copies of well-respected paid-for publications can be read by more than one person.
Evaluating which press to choose…
- Tonal bias
does the article have a positive, neutral or negative slant - Tone of the media
an analysis tool that accurately reflects the mood of the press - Target publication tracking
is there coverage in the target publications - Core message tracking
what publications are picking up on your core message - Press release tracking
how much of your press release has been published verbatim - Sector analysis
measuring your industry sector’s media coverage as a whole - Competitor analysis
what are your competitors up to
Quantitative media evaluation
- ACE value £s (Advertising Cost Equivalent)
measuring the success of your campaign in advertising £s - PR value £s
measuring the impact of your campaign in PR £s – 2.5 times more valuable than advertising - Impressions / impacts
the number of times a marketing message is seen x the number of people who see it - Column centimetre data
how many column centimetres your editorial piece cover - Demographics
what sort of people would have seen your PR coverage - Keyword tracking
how many times your company name, product name or core message appears
Media breakdown
what publications your message appears in
Trade and Local Directories
Advertising in directories still works for small businesses because some people turn to directories when they need to find a company — using paper copies and online services. As a reference source, telephone directories like Yellow Pages, Thomson Local and the BT Phone Book provide the contact details for businesses in a clear, well-organised way. Line listings are free and your firm can stand out from the crowd by paying for an advertisement.
If you do business in a special trade or sector, it is essential to make sure you’re listed in the relevant trade or business directories. Business directories have a long shelf life and the people who consult them are predisposed to buy goods and services in your sector. Your potential customers use these directories as industry bibles, and they are often the first place they will look for new suppliers.
Like any directory, you will be listed alongside your competitors, so it pays to advertise to ensure you communicate what is special about your business.
Some trade directories may offer companies who are already paying for advertising the opportunity to contribute an ‘advertorial’ piece about their business. This is free advertising, and gives you the opportunity to say in detail what makes your business competitive. It is worth asking about advertorial space when you place an ad, and can often be a good bargaining tool when negotiating your ad fees.