Medium Done Well

by Harry Hoover

Published on this site: September 15th, 2006 - See more articles from this month

You've determined that you are ready for an advertising program. The message is ready, the audience is selected. Now, which medium will deliver the best results?

Well, a multi-media approach that surrounds your prospect is highly effective for rapidly building awareness. But you may not be able to afford a full-blown campaign like that.

Let's examine the various media along with their pros and cons to give you a better sense of what may work for you.

• Out-of-home Advertising - This includes everything from billboards to transit signage and even posters. Provides the greatest reach for the dollar but you only get about eight words of copy and a photo. Good for targeting a geographically defined audience. Beyond that, I think billboards are best for directional messages. Another drawback: it is hard to pinpoint the effectiveness of out-of-home media.
  
  
• Newspapers - One of the best ways to reach people ready to buy now, and to convey complicated messages. However, if not in the market for your particular product or service, the reader is unlikely to see your ad. And newspapers are experiencing rapidly declining circulation.
  
  
• Magazines - I love magazines for their ability to surgically target audiences. They also provide high impact thanks to the use of color and quality of reproduction. Not much waste here. But you need frequency and large ads for best results. This can be expensive.
  
  
• Radio - As an old radio news guy, I also love this medium. It is great when used correctly, which is seldom. It is cost-effective, provides highly flexible targeting both regionally and demographically. Production costs are low, which is great since ads wear out in a hurry on radio and you need to retool often. Not a great medium for complicated messages.
  
  
• Broadcast TV - Prestigious, but you pay for it. Fairly high production costs and media costs and clutter are the negatives associated with broadcast television. Builds awareness rapidly and offers impactful message delivery.
  
  
• Cable TV - Offers many of the benefits of broadcast at a lower price for the media, and possibly for production. Ads locally produced by your cable provider may look amateurish. Allows you to target your audience geographically.
  
  
• Direct Marketing - For targeting purposes, there is nothing better than direct marketing, either using email or snail mail. The postal variety, done right, is highly effective and often very expensive.

Harry Hoover - is managing principal of Hoover ink PR. He has 30 years of experience in crafting and delivering bottom line messages that ensure success for serious businesses like Bank of Commerce, Brent Dees Financial Planning, Focus Four, Levolor, New World Mortgage, North Carolina Tourism, TeamHeidi, Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems, VELUX, and Verbatim.