Calgary, Lethbridge, and Alberta: Newspapers, TV, and Radio Advertising can cost you your business.
Visit my Calgary Marketing and Lethbridge Advertising site for more.
This article was written in May of 2010. I am leaving it on my blog for objectivity but please refer to the article Bill Borger Calgary for my revised view on traditional media.
Lethbridge and Calgary TV, Radio, and Newspaper advertising won't die any time soon - because they still work... well, kind of work... some people say they work..., I don't know who those people are, but I'm sure a salesperson will tell me who those people are.. maybe.
[Before you continue, this post received a comment via Facebook. Here are the words of a business owner: “David the first year at —— pharmacy I spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on radio and newspaper ads that in my opinion did nothing for me to increase my business. I went with a free standing sign outside which only cost me $150.00 per month to rent and my business just went up and up with just a few draw cards. The local radio company came into my office several times trying to convince me that it [radio] is the way to go for long time [sic] [term] advertising but i have to say i saved a lot of money by just using that sign outside the store.”
—- OK, now for the post —
In early 2009, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer ended its 146 or so years as a paper-based publication. Its move to go on-line-only was driven by the dominance of the Internet. As new generations enter the target demographics of advertisers, those generations come in with something different from their previous cohorts – for them, the internet is the norm. Douglas Coupland coined the term Generation-X whose defining characteristic was in being the first generation born and fully integrated in to a technological world.
Now, people born post 1995 (though for many, post 2005), are fully integrated in the world of the Internet. I am a Gen-Xer but my first use of the Internet wasn’t until I was 22 or 23. So, businesses wishing to connect with those born after 1995 have new challenges awaiting them. Pepsi, though having a broad demographic, tends to targeted the youth. Because Pepsi is after the under 40 demographic, traditional media such as print, radio, and TV makes no sense at all.
In an excerpt from WARC, Frank Cooper III, chief consumer engagement officer for PepsiCo’s US beverage division stated, “We want to become a catalyst in the culture rather than act like a big brand announcing something.”
“[He] argued that changing preferences and habits mean many traditional methods of advertising now seem outdated.” (WARC MAy 31, 2010 http://www.warc.com/News/TopNews.asp?ID=26769&Origin=WARCNewsEmail)
You don't need a million members - the Internet (Facebook in this example) works if you have 300 people in your group or 3 million.
In a previous blog article I described advertising as something you do when you can’t talk to people on an individual basis. Further, advertising is akin to screaming. When you competitor screams, you have to scream louder – if advertising will work at all. Newspapers, Radio, and TV play the pimps / drug dealers in this role. They know what your competition is doing and they know the only way you will beat the competition is to spend more on advertising – to shout louder. Now don’t get me wrong, almost all forms of promotion have some element of advertising.
The difference in good and bad advertising is in how the promotion is carried out. If a reasonable person could translate the ad in to the business saying, “CAN I HAVE SOME MONEY NOW?” then it’s advertising. If the customer has to think hard about, “what’s in it for me?” then it’s advertising. Advertising in itself isn’t a bad thing, even “CAN I HAVE SOME MONEY NOW?” and “what’s in it for me?” can, at times, work. The real problem with Radio, Print, TV, are the sales people.
For Pepsi Co., “Social media [the internet] has been the primary marketing channel” (WARC). Pepsi knows how to market. They know, newspapers, TV, and radio, can’t get the job done in today’s market. In Lethbridge, Calgary, and the rest of Alberta, I guarantee you there is some advertising sales person selling their product to a customer that, in the end, will just be throwing their money in the garbage.
This is how a business should advertise:
- What is the goal (i.e. why do you think you need to advertise)?
- Who is the target demographic?
- Where is the target demographic? (the internet, newspaper, TV, radio, etc.)
- Design the advertising based on the WHERE – number 3.
Advertising salespeople generally don’t follow this process.
If the Internet is good enough for Pepsi, do you think it will be good enough for your business? The great thing about the internet is you can do what Pepsi does for close to the same cost as your current newspaper, radio, and TV budget. The Internet can put a business closer to parity marketing with the world’s brand giants than could any traditional advertising.
Call me if you would like to discuss alternatives to newspaper, tv, and radio:
In Calgary call, 403-991-8863 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 403-991-8863 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
In Lethbridge call, 403-393-8863 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 403-393-8863 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Thank you for reading,
David Howse
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The Calgary Marketing Blog 
Thanks for responding David.
You give me lots to talk about…I find your comments confusing and contradict what you’re preaching.
1) your first argument is basically quality over quantity. So why dismiss the 100 people that have read your post? That’s still 100 people and if as you say those people are all quality people because they’re surfing online to find this info then you shouldn’t be counting the number of people who have read it but rather finding out the names of those people to engage them in conversation…much like this one.
2) Like you, I can say anything I want with my own research. Why are you asking for people to pay for yours? I won’t pay for it so I’m not able to critically review your methodology, results or analysis. I’m not surprised at all that radio listeners jump from station to station in Lethbridge…they do that everywhere. My point isn’t whether or not people jump from one radio station to the next it’s that people listen to radio…and in a place like Lethbridge, there arent that many station for people to listen to so a business can effectively distribute a message over time using very few stations.
3) I agree, business exists to make a profit. But they do that by serving needs and they stay in business (and therefore make more profit) if they serve their customers well. I’ve got no intention of analyzing any companies financial statement so I’m afraid I’ve missed your point there (or you missed mine). What I will say is that in it’s purest form, marketing is just communication. I see my job as a communication specialist who is able to help businesses connect their brand & message to a very large audience of potential customers. I have to ask questions first to find out what the business goals are and build a campaign that aligns with those goals. I don’t think the majority of my clients should cut theiir budgets in 1/2. But I do think they should reallocate their marketing budget to make sure it impacts existing and potential customers on platforms that they use. For example, cut back on low usage media ie. newsprint & yellow pages and reallocate those dollars to building their digital assets which may include training an existing staff memeber to take on a new role as chief marketing technologist.
Business does deserve better. I still don’t get your point.
Hi Marc,
(1) Let me clarify – my comment about 100 people was a tip of the hat to you. You are one of three people to comment on what I had written. I was thanking you for participating. For the other 97, there are about 20 of whom I personally spoke with and became my clients. I’m not saying this single article gave me the opportunity to work with 20 new clients but that this particular article, the other articles on this website and my other websites were a part of the package to connect me with Alberta business people.
Also note that nothing closes a deal better than a hand shake or a contract. Social media will never compare to a handshake but radio v. social media, everyone knows who I would pick 9 times out of 10.
(2) Did you download the research sample? The methodology is described in it. I’m asking people to pay for it because it will save a business owner with, for example, a $50,000 advertising budget about $10,000. Business owners are very happy to have such a resource. I sell the research for the same reason one business should sell anything, to create a happy client.
FYI, Lethbridge is on the planet Earth so it has satellite radio. Calgary has less than 0.000001% more radio stations than Lethbridge.
(3) “What I will say is that in it’s[sic] purest form, marketing is just communication.” That is plain wrong. Statements about marketing being only about communication are dangerous and probably come from people who do not want to accept the responsibility of a client’s bottom line. Marketing, to name a few, is about moving a product or service between a producer and a consumer (the market). Marketing involves all of the processes between (and sometime including) production and consumption. The message within that delivery, the communication, is just one part of marketing. There is a reason why about 70% of CFOs (chief financial officer) have little respect for CMOs (chief marketing officer), the CMOs don’t understand the full marketing process – another reason CMO turnover is 2-5 years.
The point is, sales people and “communication specialists” who masquerade are “marketers” are bad for business.
Hey David,
I have to disagree with your position.
The real problem with advertising on traditional platforms isn’t the sales people. I think the real problem lies in the measurement tools businesses use to measure their marketing efforts. Most businesses rely on POS surveys like “how did you hear about us” or bottom line sales.
While those are important bits of information to have, they are lagging indicators of the consumer’s purchase journey (look up Consumer Decision Journey). These lagging indicators don’t accurately reflect all the steps that consumers go through to make a purchasing decision and undervalues the impact traditional media has on that process.
Enter the internet. Before buying a product, the majority of consumers can and do research products & services online. These digital assets are the measurable touch points (database programs, online review sites, Social Media Chatter, Youtube views etc) that any business can build and monitor. A marketer should include these metrics in their measurement tool kit and look at the impact that their message from traditional media has on these touch points.
Two things will begin to happen. First, is that a business can start to measure their ‘funnel’ rather than just their bottom line sales. Secondly, a business will be able to evaluate their lead conversion rate. If a business can do this, they’ll find that there’s a lot internal changes they can make to better serve their customers and thereby improve their sales.
So how “should” a business build a marketing plan?
Your 4 steps to describe how a business should advertise is very good, but not novel. I work for the Rogers Radio group in Calgary and speaking on behalf of the business partners that I work with, we’ve been using those same steps for years.
Choosing an advertising platform for any business “should” be quite easy. Based on the most robust study I’ve read on media usage (CMUST Study), Canadians spend the overwhelming majority of their time with 3 types of media…TV, Radio & Internet. In fact, Calgary ranks among the highest Canadian cities for internet usage at about 90%. Since the majority of people use these 3 mediums to access content, it makes sense to me that most businesses “should” focus the majority of their marketing resources to these 3 platforms. However, this isn’t always true and in my experience, it has little to do with the sales reps involved.
I’m not a pimp. I don’t want my clients to scream. I would like my clients to listen to their customers and use radio (the medium that I sell) to initiate one on one conversations with a large number of prospects that in turn, can be converted into sales.
As a marketing consultant, I understand that businesses have a multitude of options to advertise. I also understand that the internet and social media have given marketers a unique opportunity to create connections with customers on a very individual and personal level. So are you suggesting that since a marketer can now connect with their customer on an individual, one on one level, that they aren’t marketing? That they aren’t doing their job? In my opinion, this is exactly what a marketers job is.
In fact, you are advertising yourself with this blog. You’re positioning yourself as an expert in your field. But unless I’ve got my volume down, I noticed you’re not screaming. Consider me your competitor. I’m not screaming either but we’re both contributing to a general knowledge of what advertising and marketing is all about.
marcbinkleymarketing.wordpress.com
Account Manager
Office: 403.686.9715 Cell: 403.608.2465
Fax: 403.240.4126
marc.binkley@calgaryradio.rogers.com
2723 – 37th Ave NE • Calgary, AB T1Y 5R8
http://www.jackfm.ca • http://www.lite96.ca • http://www.mountainfm.ca
Hi Marc,
Considering about 100 or so people have read the article you commented on, I really appreciate your thorough reply. Here are some the problems that I have with the selling of advertising:
(1)
As you say,
–“Choosing an advertising platform for any business “should” be quite easy. … Canadians spend the overwhelming majority of their time with 3 types of media…TV, Radio & Internet. … Since the majority of people use these 3 mediums to access content, it makes sense to me that most businesses “should” focus the majority of their marketing resources to these 3 platforms. “–
TV, Radio, and Internet are three very different advertising mediums. As for the cited research, I use my own, here is an example of the Lethbridge Market Research .that I use in the Lethbridge market. Radio is an incredibly passive medium. The amount of station changing is high as people tend listen to several radio stations in a short time frame. Also, radio is what people listen to when they are soing something else.
With respect to “Canadians spend the overwhelming majority of their time with 3 types of media…TV, Radio & Internet” time does not equal quality. It doesn’t matter if, for example, in a 16 hour day, 3 hours go to tv, 6 hours go to radio, and 3 hours go to the Internet. If those three internet hours are the only three hours where a potential customer is fully engaged then those are the best 3 hours of the day. I suspect that eight of the 9 tv/radio hours that same person is focused on something else – or nothing at all.
(2) Businesses only exist to make a profit. I’m not sure how many advertising sales people sit down with a business owner and their accountant to do a marketing-based financial review. Most advertising sales people (if not all) don’t know how to analyse financial statements.
If a marketer can come in with a “bag full of ideas” while, at the same time, watch how those ideas (both creative and managerial) impact the company’s bottom line, then the “advertising sales person” who can only sell either a radio ad or a website ad, is a detriment to the business. The advertising sales person would rather sell first and ask questions later. That’s the problem. An advertising sales person can’t make money by telling a business to cut its marketing budget in half and reallocate that money to staff training, an inventory change, etc.
Businesses deserve better.
Met with my dentist today. He spends $2,000 a MONTH on yellowpage ads. I spent 2 hours teaching him the wonders of PPC advertising and he is hooked, cancelling his yellowpage advertising. Eventually everyone will catch on, eventually.