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TV is the best. Also the biggest investment. You can buy late night cable very cheap if you are a good negotiator. Check with a media buying service. They often have unsold inventory they are eager to get sold and will give you a heck of a deal if you buy in bulk and sign a long term contract.
Magazine are great also. The best thing is they last forever. For example, some of the Hustler Magazine's from phone sex ads I ran in the 90's are still being sold in the 3 packs. You really get your money's worth. Also more than one person will read a magazine. The down side is the magazines all fudge their circulation numbers. Whatever they tell you its usually about 1/3rd of that. TV networks bullshit the audience numbers also by the way.
The key to magazines is location. I've always bought inside covers either front or back. These always get seen. Another strategy I've done is to place 1/12th page ads on nearly every page. So it'd be impossible for a reader not to see one of my ads, and see one he would respond to. Another strategy is doing visually conflicting ads. If everything else is in color, try a black and white ad. You'll stand out great on the page. If black and white ads surround you go with a color ad.
The key to successful print advertising is catching the reader's eye. You do that by making an ad that visually makes them look longer or mismatchs the surrounding ad styles. You have to stand out like a mofo. I'm talking the more funky the better. You want them to study your ad and think wtf is this.
WTF ads always made the best ROI. Even on TV, the WTF ads did the best numbers.
I've done radio with mixed results. Radio stations also bullshit their audience size. Radio can be very inexpensive, but the key is getting the good time slots.
Movie theater ads work very well. I haven't done those, but a friend of mine sells those ads for Movieco and his clients do great and he has fortune 500 clients so you know its good.
Postcards are very powerful. I used those in my healthcare business a couple years ago when we were recruiting nurses. Again, they have to really stand out so they don't look like junk mail.
I've done match covers also. Those aren't as good now, because fewer people smoke and few bars and clubs distribute them as much.
The best advertising is still word of mouth. That means creating a product or service that people like and will be eager to tell their friends about. Nothing else comes close to the power of this.
Feel free to contact me if you need any advice. I've bought a ton of advertising over all the years and know just about all the tricks of the trade and the pitfalls.
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