Advertising budgets are tight at the best of times. It can be very difficult to persuade those who hold the purse strings of the necessity of a comprehensive advertising strategy, especially when they deem the costs to be unreasonable. There are ways to ensure that you get the most of your budget without seeing your advertising costs shoot through the roof. All you need are a clear head, a trustworthy team and some helpful tips such as the ones below.
One of the first things you want to make sure of is where to find your audience. You don't want to spend tonnes of money on elaborate campaigns only to find out that you're advertising in the wrong place. Placement mistakes include using the wrong medium entirely (publishing pamphlets or newsletters in a largely illiterate community), choosing the wrong format (advertising in national magazines rather than on local radio), and advertising in the wrong section or at the wrong time.
The solution for the latter is relatively simple: move your ad from the lifestyle section to gadgets; take it out of the classifieds and move it into sport; remove it from the late night radio show to the morning drive; or give primetime TV a miss and opt for slots around daytime talk shows. The other mistakes are a little more costly and may take a great deal of time and effort to resolve. For instance, you may need to design a whole new radio campaign and scrap the expensive magazine ads.
This is why it's worthwhile spending money on market research, or hiring an agency that already has the relevant research at hand, so that you don't end up with advertising campaigns that cost the Earth and deliver nothing.
It's very important that you reserve some of your adverting budget for emergencies and unforeseen costs. A lot of companies (and even a lot of ad agencies) are of the opinion that the budget needs to be properly thrashed out at the beginning of the financial year and all spending allocated accordingly. Often this means that all available funds are immediately tied up in various campaigns and strategies that will run throughout the year. This is fine, provided that there is a contingency fund for emergencies.
An emergency could be anything from a sudden product recall to a serious error in judgment that results in an offensive ad. To minimise the damage you'll need to be able to pump money into public apologies, public assurances, and other placatory messages. You'll also need to come up with a new ad that makes up for the previous disaster. You can't do this if you've already tied up your annual budget.
We write about magazine advertising costs for the leading resource for media, marketing and advertising professionals in South Africa, SARAD.
One of the first things you want to make sure of is where to find your audience. You don't want to spend tonnes of money on elaborate campaigns only to find out that you're advertising in the wrong place. Placement mistakes include using the wrong medium entirely (publishing pamphlets or newsletters in a largely illiterate community), choosing the wrong format (advertising in national magazines rather than on local radio), and advertising in the wrong section or at the wrong time.
The solution for the latter is relatively simple: move your ad from the lifestyle section to gadgets; take it out of the classifieds and move it into sport; remove it from the late night radio show to the morning drive; or give primetime TV a miss and opt for slots around daytime talk shows. The other mistakes are a little more costly and may take a great deal of time and effort to resolve. For instance, you may need to design a whole new radio campaign and scrap the expensive magazine ads.
This is why it's worthwhile spending money on market research, or hiring an agency that already has the relevant research at hand, so that you don't end up with advertising campaigns that cost the Earth and deliver nothing.
It's very important that you reserve some of your adverting budget for emergencies and unforeseen costs. A lot of companies (and even a lot of ad agencies) are of the opinion that the budget needs to be properly thrashed out at the beginning of the financial year and all spending allocated accordingly. Often this means that all available funds are immediately tied up in various campaigns and strategies that will run throughout the year. This is fine, provided that there is a contingency fund for emergencies.
An emergency could be anything from a sudden product recall to a serious error in judgment that results in an offensive ad. To minimise the damage you'll need to be able to pump money into public apologies, public assurances, and other placatory messages. You'll also need to come up with a new ad that makes up for the previous disaster. You can't do this if you've already tied up your annual budget.
We write about magazine advertising costs for the leading resource for media, marketing and advertising professionals in South Africa, SARAD.