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OLD SCHOOL. T R A D I T I O N A L M E D I A A N D T I M E - T E S T E D B E ST P R A C T I C E S ST I L L P L A Y A N I M P O R T A N T R O L E I N T O D A Y ’ S M A R K E TI N G P L A N S . BY IRA L. GLESER.
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OLD SCHOOL TRADITIONALMEDIAANDTIME-TESTED BESTPRACTICESSTILLPLAYANIMPORTANT ROLEINTODAY’SMARKETINGPLANS. BYIRAL.GLESER Overthelastfewyears,businesspeopleandmarket-ershavebecomeenamoredwithsocialanddigitalmedia.Theyarethebrightshinyobjectseveryonewantstopos-sessandbetterunderstandandeffectivelyincorporateintotheir marketing plans.Let’sfaceit,thenumberof options canbeoverwhelming. Backintheday—asusold-schoolersliketosay—media planningwaseasy.Youworkedwithyourmarketing team andadagencyondevelopingyourmessaging,youpurchasedyourprint or broadcastmedia(orboth) and you measured THEPHRASE“OLD SCHOOL”hasbeenturningupevery-wherelately,frommovietitlestosonglyricstofashionhead-lines.We’vehearditusedasanoun,averbandanadjective. Butasitrelatestomediaplanning,whileitseemsthatallthe“cool”marketersarefocusingonsocialanddigitalmedia,traditionalmedia—print,broadcast,outdoor,directmail,signage,publicrelations—stillhasanimportantroletoplayindrivingtrafficandsalesforyourstores.Saidanotherway: Oldschooltraditionalmediaisstillverycool,andthekeysto successfulmediaplanningwillnevergooutofstyle. 48nacsonline.comDECEMBER2013
IS STILL COOL ofdevices andmanytimesmakingpurchasingdecisionsontheflyinrealtime. Wehavealsoevolvedfromone-waymessagedeliverytoaworldwhereconsumersseektoexpressthemselves — throughtweets,postsonFacebookorvideosonYou-Tube,reviewsonYelp,orphotosonPinterestorInsta-gram.Brandsnolongercontrolthediscussion;companiesneedtofindthoughtfulwaystoactivelyparticipateintheconversationstakingplaceeachday.Theendgameisto increase theamount oftrustand goodwillconsumers feel DECEMBER2013NACSMagazine49 successbasedonreach,frequencyandcashregisterrings. Storytellingwasbasicallyone-dimensionalandbrandsweredrivingthedialog. THERULESHAVECHANGED TheInternetandsocialanddigitalmediahavechangedtherulesofengagingwithconsumers.It’snotenoughtosimplypushout messages toinfluenceconsumerpurchasing deci-sionsandwheretheywillshop.It’sanewrealitywherecon-sumersareconsumingmediaontheirterms, onamultitude
››Community:Everythingyoudoasalocalbusinessresonatesinyourcommunity.Findwaystoshowpublicsupportforlocalcharitiesaswellasworkingwithyourlocalrotarycluborotherorganizationsmade upofbusinesspeoplelikeyou. Turnbrandloversintobrandambassadors. Takingcareofyourbestcustomersnever goes outofstyle.Arethey beinggreeted bynamewhen theyenteryourstores?Aretheymadetofeelwelcome?Yourmostfrequentcustomersareob-viousfansandcanalsospreadpositivemessagesaboutyourbusiness.Studieshaveshownacorrelationbetweenanin-creaseinpositivewordofmouthrecom-mendationsandsalesgrowthforbusi- nesses.Whatareyoudoingtoengageyourbrandloversandtransformthemintovocaladvocatesforyourbusiness? Measurewhat’sworkingandwhat’snot. Therehasbeenanexponentialincreasein the abilitytomeasure the effective-nessofyourmedia,thankstothein-creasedpresenceandusageofsocialanddigitalplatforms.Lookforways tooptimizeyourspendonwhat’smov- ingtheneedlebasedonthegoalsyouestablishedupfrontforyourcampaign.Oldschoolisdefinitelystillcool.Andsomethingelsethatwillnever goout ofstyle?Awell-developedmarketingandmediaplanthatdrivestrafficandsalestoyourstores,createsloyalcustomers, andestablishesauniquepersonalityfor Planaroundyourconsumersandtheirbehaviors. Millennialsoperate, thinkandconsume mediadifferentlythanBoomers.Momsdroppingbyyourstoreafterschoolto pickupsnacksforthekidsthinkdif- ferentlythanthegeneralcontractorwhostopsbyinthemorningfor coffee. Forexample,billboardadvertisingormorningdrive-timeradio mightpro-moteavalue-pricedcoffee offeringandgrab-and-gobreakfastitemstoappealtogeneralcontractors,whileoutdoorsig- nageatthepumpmightpromoteanewbeveragetoappealtomomsfillingupbeforetakingthekidstosoccerpractice. Broadlydefineyourmarket. Theconsumershouldbethefocalpointofmediaplanningefforts,butotherimportantconstituentscanposi- tivelyinfluenceyourbrand bysup-portingkeymessages. ››Storeemployeesarethefaceofyourbrandtoyourcustomerseachandevery day.Whatareyoudoingto en-courageyour associates tobethe besttheycanbeandtoempowerthemasbrandambassadors? ››Stakeholders—notjustyourbankerandyourinvestors,but alsofriends, familymembersandcolleagues.Don’tforgettokeeptheminformedofwhat’sgoingonwithyourbusinessandanynewsyouarecommunicating. Seektheircounselandenlisttheirsupportto“getthewordout.” ››Localmedia:Inadditiontohavingapositiverelationshipwiththecom-paniesyoupurchasemediafrom—thelocalnewspaperorradioorTVstation —seektoproactivelyestablish arela-tionshipwithlocalnewsmediathatcoverlocalbusinesses.Investingeven asmallamountofresourcesandener-gyinnurturingthesecontent-drivenrelationshipscanpayhugedividends for yourbusiness. forabrandandabusiness,whichwilltranslateintopositiverecommenda-tionsandfinancialtransactions. Therelationshipbetweencon-sumers,brandsandretailersismorerobustthaneverandc-storeretail-ershavetheopportunitytogenerateawareness,considerationandinterestforwhattheyofferconsumerseveryday:convenience.Andthat’swheretraditional mediacontinuestoplayanimportantrole. A healthymediamixthatemploys traditionalaswellassocialanddigitalmediacanbeapowerfulwaytogrowbusinessandcreatevocalbrandadvo-cates.The key is tofindtherightme-diamixthatalignstoyourmarketingobjectivesandfitsyourunique brand, company,customerandbudget. Surveysofretailersandevaluationsofmediapurchasingtrendsbybusi-nessesshowthattraditionalmediacontinuesto bethefoundationofa successful media plan (withsocialand digitalmedia),asbusinessesseektocomplementtheirmessagingstrategiesbyusingnewmediachannelstoeffec-tivelyengagewithcustomers—itisnotaneither/orproposition. NEVEROUTOFSTYLE Makeyourmediaworkharderforyourbrand and yourbusinessbyremindingyourselfofthesetriedandtrue,“oldschool”keystosuccess: 1.Alwaysbeginwithaclearcommunicationsstrategyandgoals. Thinkofyourmediaplan asanorches-tra.Everycomponentofyourmediaplanislikeaninstrumentandyourmessagesneedtobeinharmony,withaconsistenttone,lookandfeelthatdefinesyourbrand andyourbusiness.“What”youwanttocommunicateshoulddrive“how”and“where”youwillcommunicate. 50nacsonline.comDECEMBER2013 yourbrandandbusiness. IraL.GleserispresidentofAtlanta-based AmplifyMarketingCommunications(www.amplifymc.com),a firmthathelps brandsandorganizationsconnectmoreef-fectivelywithclients,customers,prospectsandstakeholders.Hecanbe reached atira@amplifymc.com.