Staying
relevant
with your marketing in a changing media world
N
ot long ago, you and I might have read a daily newspaper, watched one of three network television stations or tuned into the half dozen or so AM and FM radio stations in your hometown. Today, with nearly 6 billion people having access to the internet, cable and satellite TV and mobile devices, we are posting on Twitter, viewing an Instagram feed, finding friends on Facebook, shopping on Amazon, listening to satellite radio and being exposed to new digital delivery systems every day. Audiences no longer stick to a single medium, device or channel. Instead they migrate, following their interest for content across a variety of platforms. Add to that the fact that the average human’s attention span is barely eight seconds, the message to advertisers is clear: get the immediate attention of consumers or run the risk of being ignored and no longer relevant. So how does an advertiser hold the attention of someone who switches between smartphones, tablets, TV and laptops up to 21 times per day and is exposed to up to 5,000 advertising messages daily? First, you have to know what kind of customers you want to attract and design your ads to speak to them. Surveys suggest that 85 percent of consumers say personalization plays a role in their decisions. Ads that are “for people like me” are more effective because they address the consumer directly and what they care about. Even though it dates back to the days of “Mad Men,” the term Unique Selling Proposition is still pertinent today. It’s what differentiates you from your competitors. Find it and focus your marketing and advertising around it. Also, know how your customer consumes information. Is it television, radio, newspaper, Facebook? They are all good but don’t limit your efforts to just one. Diversify. No one single ad can accomplish everything and no single medium can deliver every customer to your door.
12 | BUSINESS CONNECTIONS
Steve Lombardi
STEVE LOMBARDI Steve combines his energy and inherent love for the marketing industry with a commitment to quality and accountability. He has a degree in journalism, but jokes that his diploma from McDonald’s Hamburger U’s Marketing Division has probably served the agency better. Before joining Gary Suggs in the advertising agency business, Steve worked for the Hanford Sentinel, KSBY-TV in San Luis Obispo and KEYT-TV in Santa Barbara. In the early 80’s Suggs & Lombardi started Senior Magazine, a publication targeting the growing senior population on the Central Coast. Finally, establish a marketing strategy; one that encompasses all aspects of branding including name, slogan, sign, logo and direction. It’s very much like a Mission Statement because it helps define your company’s goals and culture. Perhaps most importantly, remember that your advertising should do two things — engage and persuade. To engage you must relate to the consumer. To persuade, you have to show how you can make their lives better.
SUMMER 2017 | 13