Advertising Archives - GUJRAT INDIA

Small Carrier Bags – A Strong Method of Advertising

Bags stand out as one of the most effective options for advertising. Small Carrier Bags too can be used very effectively to take a marketing message into the consumer world. Immaterial of the size of the bag, it yet offers high brand exposure and wide appeal. There are a variety of these bags which are manufactured for different purposes, and yet could be used for promotional purposes. Given below are a few types of these bags:

1) Small Brown Paper Bags:

These carrier bags feature sturdy tape handles and are extremely low-cost, yet practical in getting your brand name known in the market. You can either print on one side or both sides if you wish. Printing on both sides will cost slightly more.

2) Non Woven Small Gift Bag:

These Small Carrier Bags are non woven and feature handles. They are specifically produced for marketing purposes. The minimum order can take up to 5000 pieces which is ideal for a consumer company. This bag will look elegant with an imprint of your company logo. It is available in a variety of sizes, shapes and colours.

3) Small Paper Gift Bag:

This type of bag is more common during the festive seasons such as Christmas. It is made out of gloss or matte Art paper and brown or white Kraft paper. Sometimes they are made out of Ivory paper as well. The handle is made out of a variety of materials to suit the bag. It is an attractive bag which is manufactured on a variety of sizes with different inks and in a wide range of colours. Even though this bag is found only during season time, you yet can use it for promotional purposes.

4) Kraft Paper Small Gift Bag:

These are bright coloured Small Carrier Bags which are ideal to hold gifts. They are made out of recycled Art paper and features a hand length handle. You can imprint your company logo stylishly using the screen printing method. Its minimum order quantity is 5000 pieces, and they can be used for major events where large crowds gather.

Given above is just a few of the wide range of carrier bags that are found at online web stores. It is best that you visit these sites and select the most appropriate bag for your promotional campaign.

The web sites offer a personalised service, and the staff will assist you to select the right bag. Customising your Small Carrier Bags too could be done at these sites. If you have your own design you can upload it to the site, or the staff at these websites will help you design an elegant marketing message. Once your order is complete the products will be delivered to your office or home. Thus, with the development of technology this process is all so easy, when compared to a couple of decades ago.

With the use of this imprinted promotional product you can build brand awareness easily amongst your potential customers. Selecting a small and simple carrier bag or a much larger one, you will yet promote the same message, by doing your imprinting on both sides of the bag.

Brand Visibility Through Aerial Advertising

The pace at which advertising is developing, it would not take time to fill up the sky with ads. Every morning comes with a new hope and a new technique in which you can market your business. Strategies never fall short of innovation and ideas. Some times they are so hard hitting that it is bound to grab the attention of the target market. The advertising industry has an aura about it. It works in its own pace and has captured a huge audience in no time. The new one in line is the aerial ad concept. Flying billboards are bound to catch your attention. Anytime, anywhere. It is a brand new concept and can gain amazing affects for your business.

Most new companies have taken up the opportunity to bank on the new dimension of sky advertising. It is said that “sky is not the limit” and the ad world proves it so. Aerial advertising bring forth a whole new set of opportunities to create hype on products and services. The following are various ways by which you can enhance your brand image and reach out to millions through aerial banner advertising.

Ways you can establish your brand:

Aerial billboards: Sounds surprising but yes, it is possible. It is time we can have aerial billboards up in the sky. It is an eye catcher, an efficient tool to grab immediate attention and awe. There are various aerial advertising companies that offer customized aerial billboards. They make it as per your specifications and then fly the billboard over the target market. This is done with the help of airplanes that tow the banner. This is a reasonable way you can come out as a unique business among various competitors. Your thoughts, ideas and company profile reflect in the way you brand yourself. Aerial advertising, for sure, can add extra zing to that image. Be it a beach, any cruise ship, a sports stadium, parades, lake shores, golf course, state fairs, rush hour traffic, so on and so forth. The medium does not depend on people tuning in to the radio or TV channel before they get a glimpse of your banner. It just there, before their eyes to see.
Letter banners: Advertise your business through an aerial text banner. Aerial banner advertising is the perfect way to build a brand recall. Your banners, towed by an airplane, kissing skyscrapers, what better way can you bring forth your style of presentation? It is not annoying, just awesome. It is the mode of ad that can leave the spectator, wide-eyed and spellbound for sometime. That is exactly what you want to do. Write in your messages which can carry the punch line for your business and a small description that creates higher impact.
Logo Boards: This is another name for brand awareness. Want progressive business, go for logo boards. The aerial advertising services are larger than the previous counterpart. This flies your company logo in full color. Hit your target with awe an awesome portfolio displayed up in the air. It demonstrates your innovative ideas and definitely the quality of work. Display graphics or pictures, whichever goes best with your business and you can change the trailing text message from flight to flight.

Advertising As A Tool Of Communication

Advertising is a form of mass communication with the public. It is usually one sided i.e. from the company to the buyer/potential user of the product. It is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade the potential customers to purchase or consume more of a particular brand of product/services. As rightly defined by Bovee, “Advertising is the non-personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media.”

Advertising an important tool of communication is use to promote commercial goods and services, it can also be used to inform, educate and motivate the public about non-commercial issues such as AIDS, Don’t drink and drive, Polio, Save water, electricity, animals and trees etc. “Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest – it is much too powerful tool to use solely for commercial purposes.” – Attributed to Howard Gossage by David Ogilvy.

Advertising is most effective with products that can be differentiated from similar products based on consumer accepted quality difference. Tom Egelhoff has classified advertising in 6 types, i.e. for company image, name brands, advertising service instead of a product, business-to-business advertising, co-op advertising and public service advertising. Television, Radio, Cinema, Magazine, Journal, Newspaper, Video Game, Internet, Billboard, Transit Cards, Sandwich Board, Skywriting are the different mediums used to deliver the message. The companies choose the method according to the cost, budget, target audiences and their response. However, word of mouth advertising/ personal recommendations is an unpaid form of advertising which can provide good exposure at minimum cost.

Various new forms of advertising are growing rapidly. One of them is Social Networking Advertising. It’s an online advertising with a focus on social networking sites and use of the internet/ World Wide Web in order to deliver marketing messages and attract customers. The other is E-Mail advertising; E-Mail Marketing is often known as “opt-in-email advertising” to distinguish it from spam. “I believe ‘credibility’ is one of the biggest issues yet to be addressed by Internet advertisers. Everyone has their eye on ‘privacy’ as a critical concern, but credibility will be far more enabling or disabling to website profitability. A company can have a web presence and, unless the brand name is familiar, consumers have no way of knowing whether it’s a big company, a small company, an honest company, or a single scoundrel. I may be worried about my personal data being disclosed in violation of my privacy, but I’m far more concerned about whether or not the person or company with whom I’m dealing is reputable. Can I believe their claims? Will I have a recourse if something is wrong with the merchandise? Credibility no longer is strictly a brick-and-morter issue. I can’t judge someone by their place of business, when I conduct that business on the Internet. I can’t grasp a hand and look into their eyes to judge their veracity. Credibility is a huge issue.” – Jef Richard.

For a message to be effective keep it short, simple, crisp and easy to absorb. It is essential to translate the products/services offer into meaningful customer benefit by advertising and to build awareness and generate response. REMEMBER: – THE AIDA MODEL -ATTENTION, INTEREST, DESIRE AND ACTION.

In the modern scenario, most of the companies outsource their advertising activities to an advertising/ad agency which is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising and sometimes also performs other forms of promotion like public relations, publicity and sales promotion for its client. Departments of the advertising agency includes: – The Creative Department (who creates an actual advertisement), Account Service (who is responsible for co-ordinating the creative team, the client, media and the production staff), Creative Service Production (here the employees are the people who have contacts with the suppliers of various creative media), Other department and Personnel. (like public relations). As said by David Ogilvy once that the relationship between a manufacturer and his advertising agency is almost as intimate as the relationship between a patient and his doctor. Make sure that you can life happily with your prospective client before you accept his account.

Thus, I would conclude by the famous words of Bruce Barton (1955), “Advertising is of the very essence of democracy. An election goes on every minute of the business day across the counters of hundreds of thousands of stores and shops where the customers state their preferences and determine which manufacturer and which product shall be the leader today, and which shall lead tomorrow.”

Advertising In Magazines – The Advantages Of Using This Print Media

It is estimated that there are around 160,000 magazines published around the world in as many as 29 languages. Even though a large proportion of these magazines are not exactly setting the world on fire in generating revenue terms, I think it is fair to say that there is still a substantial market for this traditional form of media advertising.

For the advertiser, one of the great advantages of having such a huge selection of magazines to choose from is the fact that they are able to target a specific audience, who may have a particular interest in their product or service. Although magazines have a comparatively small coverage compared to national newspapers, it is the positive advantage of reaching a specific audience that turns a lot of people on to magazines.

One of the other advantages to Magazine Advertising is the fact that you can request that your advert is placed in a certain position or even within a feature article. This will enhance the overall corporate and commercial effectiveness of your offerings, as well as adding a positive and highly relevant message to potential buyers. Of course, if you don’t mind where your advertisement appears, it will probably be placed in a general run of paper position. This means that your ad could be placed anywhere, but will probably cost less than if it was placed in a prime position. However, always try to get a ROP price for a special position whenever you can, as most publishers will be happy to negotiate.

The decision to pursue Magazine Advertising should certainly not be made without doing some in-depth Media Planning and comparing the associated costs with the benefits. However, when you find the right vehicle and your objective is to signify quality or elegance for your product, Magazine Advertising is the perfect format.

As with other media types, it is always very wise to build a friendly and consistent level of communication with magazines. Always send in well-written PR and product news and make a point of going to see your favourite feature and news editors at an exhibition or product launch. It may also pay to take them to lunch every now and then to show your appreciation. The reason for mentioning this is that writers always remember the nice people when they have a space or another company has let them down. If a magazine decides to feature your product or write about it, this translates into free advertising, although it is in the form of legitimate editorial content.

Remember that advertising in magazines has always been about getting a message to a specific target audience in a controlled way and ideally over a long period of time. Magazines do this so well, as they mainly reach a very loyal and relevant readership. However, as new media advertising formats seem to have much better tracking and monitoring technology in place, it does deter people from using magazines as a lead-generation tool.

There is no doubt that the introduction of online pay per click advertising has brought on a new wave of advertisers – most of which don’t have to spend a fortune to get people to their websites. Compared to print media, there is probably no better way to get clicks and potential enquiries. It is this ‘cost against enquiry’ element that has moved a lot of people away from the historic ‘brand awareness’ qualities of magazine advertising and into the more controlled and justifiable environment of Internet Advertising.

One thing is for sure though – magazines create a very credible environment and they help to build a high quality message for your products and services. This could explain why magazines are such a great promotional vehicle when they work alongside online media. On one hand you have a message that turns into clicks and on the other you have quality branding that adds value to your products.

It is also difficult to match the creative appeal and design opportunities that Magazine Advertising can bring. Outdoor advertising also does this job well, but this media tends to be displayed in a much busier environment of the high street or roadside location – certainly not on a comfy armchair in your sun lounge.

It is this ‘media without an obvious motive’ selling point that cements the appeal of magazines to a whole host of advertisers.

If you can find a magazine, which reaches your target audience perfectly, then you’ll do a lot worse than to use this media to shout about your brand and the quality aspect of what it can do for your potential customers. After all, a picture does paint a thousand words.

Online Radio and Advertising

The popularity that the Internet radio enjoys today is not just limited to teenagers, as even the elderly also enjoy listening to it. The Internet has been widely instrumental in connecting the world in more than one way. It allows people to communicate, shop online, learn many different subjects online and do many more things.

It is not too long ago that people were dependent on the local radio for news and other information. Thankfully, those days are over now, and the Internet has facilitated an instant communication that we never imagined earlier.

It was during the mid 90s that the Internet radio started growing, and it had a phenomenal growth, as small and big commercial radio stations started appearing worldwide. It is difficult to ignore today’s radio as a powerful medium for advertising, since the Internet connects millions of people worldwide. Many businesses having realized its potential are already exploiting this novel medium for advertising their product and services.

An ever-increasing number of companies are introducing new channels, giving to their listeners an opportunity to convey their feelings with these radio stations playing music through varied programs, as per the interest of listeners. Now, one can enjoy listening to the latest and even the unreleased albums of their favorite singers from any corner of the world, as long as it has the facility of the net. You can also find the details concerning any particular singer or the writer of the song.

Those people who love sports can listen to live commentary of any ongoing cricket or football match. It is quite usual for radio stations to employ online radio jockeys, who easily connect with the audience while allowing the listeners to convey their opinion or post their comments on the Internet.

Advantages of Internet radio advertising for business owners

It enables you to target your audience for advertising the services and products you may be offering.

You can get a variety of radio stations to choose from, offering various formats, from oldies to rock, and from talks to news, as required by your business.

Advertising through radio is far more economical than advertising through TV, and radio ads are easier and quicker to fabricate. Your audience need not wait for the forthcoming issues, as in case of magazine ads.

You can get a wider reach, irrespective of your geographical location, as long as your audience has an Internet connection.

Limitations of the Internet radio advertising

Anybody can simply modify your ad and use the same for their purpose. Since these ads are of very short duration, you need to condense your ad without sacrificing its content.

Radio ads may have noises appearing in the background, prompting you to run your ad more frequently to make it effective for your prospective clients.

As most businesses are interested to advertise during morning and / or evening hours, you may be required to pay more for advertising your business during those hours.

Newsletter Titles & Advertising Headlines Selling Words & Phrases to Sell Almost Everyone Anything

Advertising headlines and newsletter titles use headlines screaming key selling phrases and incentive words to spur attention and highlight attention. The stimulating headlines and selling titles induce a driving force to read on. The ultimate goal of the advertising is to sell almost everyone worth selling anything you have of benefit to buy.

The real king of prospecting methods is where the buyer sees your ad and calls you. This key mode is called hot sales prospecting. You are the one called by the prospect. This is exact opposite of cold calling. With cold calls, you make calls that try to interest or pressure the recipient of your call to talk further with you. Hot sales prospecting is dependent on using selling word and incentive phrases to knock the pupils out of prospects eyes. The headlines and titles, along with sub-titles are crucial to display encouragement to reinforce the product or sell the service you are offering.

The mode of advertising could be in business publications, newsletters, newspaper, emails, promotional news, direct mail, or ads placed with social media groups. If you can portray honesty, integrity, trust, and develop an impulse to purchase then you become a true direct sales person. You have to walk the walk and talk the right talk, or clients will not easily be convinced.

Key selling phrases and incentive words are available in the lists below. It is up to your talents to insert them into your enticing advertising headlines and stimulating newsletter titles so prospective clients virtually grab the phone to call you.

The first sell list of headline and motivating phrases include: faster than lightening, feel like superman, fascinating, fast turnaround, follow your dreams, for experts only, feeling goose bumps, financial abundance, fire your boss, first brace yourself, final piece of the puzzle, fair and balanced, few and far between, feel independent, financial IQ, fills the gaps, forecast the future, formula for success, fortune to be made, first time offered, fly out of the nest, and focus on the prize.

Additional stimulating headline phrases and killer key selling words include: free solutions, four star, free newsletter, fraction of the price, giant sized, freedom to earn more, getting smoked?, fresh start, full featured, futuristic, genuine, frees up cash, fulfill your cravings, gutsy, flexible choices, foot stomping, grunt work, full of vim and vigor, fully classified secrets, goldmine, and funded with security.

When you use hot sales prospecting, target your advertising at people matched for your product. In many lines of sales when your selling headlines results in prospect calls it really pays off big. Commonly sales run a minimum of 70%. You can play small time and cold call all day long hoping for a hit. Big hitters still strike out, but they aim for home run selling. Become inspired to spend less time prospecting and more time following up on prospect phone calls and new referrals.

Classic Print Media Advertising – Will it Survive?

Print Media Advertising is not something new. There are two main products of print media advertising. One is publishing advertisements in newspaper and the other is publishing advertisements in magazines.

Newspapers come in many varieties. Some being small and only read in a few small cities, while others being published and read nationally. Trade news sheets and newspapers are also included in print media advertising.

If you are thinking about putting your advertisement in a daily paper, there are a few things that should be considered such as size, circulation and price.

Print media advertising rates and charges differ significantly. Daily papers have marketing price cards that are open and accessible on the internet. An advertisement in The Washington Post can range up to $100,000. The Wall Street Journal will range around $164, 00. The L.A Times will range about $70,000 and in Milwaukee it will range $15,000. All these rates are for a full page advertisement.

The benefit of the print advertising is that it is actually read at work or when possible people are trying to unwind and have some time off. We know that online sources have actually played a big role in reducing the amounts of ads published in newspaper and magazines. All the bulky newspapers that once were hard to read because of so many pages full of ads are now getting lighter and lighter. A lot of small papers no longer exist now and the ones that are left are working hard to survive in this aggressive market.

What internet is doing so different that is taking all the business from these magazines and newspapers? It could be the type of decision made by IDG. The decision is not just selling advertisements for whatever it has, but to benefit from the media’s various functions and began selling advertisements for some other new media properties.

Print media advertising is something that needs to be understood by the new business owners who want to be successful in their business. Whatever medium you use for your print media advertisement, whether it is through newspapers, magazines or internet, make sure you do your research.

Newspaper Advertising Costs – 8 Factors To Consider

Calculating and comparing newspaper advertising costs can quickly get complicated. Once you’ve tracked down a newspaper advertising rates card, you’re then faced with the delightful challenge of making sense of it all. There’s no “one size fits all” to make our lives easy. Instead, newspaper advertising costs depend on a number of factors, some of which you might find surprising. To answer the question, “How much does it cost?”, the answer would be: “It all depends.”

8 factors that affect newspaper advertising costs (within the one publication) are:

type of ad
size
day of the week
section or lift-out
page position within a section
left hand side VS right hand side
colour VS black and white
annual spend/expenditure commitment

In this article, I’ll discuss the 8 factors that determine newspaper advertising costs in Australia. I’ll also provide an example of how much it would cost to place a display ad in The Courier Mail (a Queensland newspaper). As you’ll see, newspaper advertising costs can quickly add up. If you’re on a tight budget, as many of us are these days, knowing what most affects the cost, allows you to cut back where you can.

#1 Type of Ad – Display VS Classifieds VS Inserts

The first factor that decides the cost of a newspaper advertisement, is the type of ad. Most Australian newspapers offer a number of different types. Display advertisements appear throughout a newspaper, and may use colours, illustrations, photographs, or fancy lettering to attract the reader’s attention. These provide a great deal of creative control over the content of the ad, without being limited to just text. They also aren’t grouped according to classification, unlike classified ads. Display advertisements are typically charged at a rate per single column centimetre. In other words, the height in centimetres and width in columns determines the cost of the advertising space. On the other hand, classified ads are typically charged based on ‘lineage’ or per line.

Another form of advertising offered by most major newspapers are ‘inserts’ – separate advertisements that are placed inside the newspaper, and can have more than one page. Inserts are usually charged at a rate of per 1000 per number of pages. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to limit our discussion to display advertisements.

#2 Size Matters

The second factor that contributes to the cost of newspaper advertising, is size. As mentioned above, display advertisements costs are calculated based on their height in centimetres, and width in columns. Most newspapers have their own standard sized advertising spaces, which your ad needs to fit into. Some newspapers offer non-standard sized spaces, such as a ‘U’ shaped ad around the edges of an open paper, but be prepared to pay a higher price for irregular sizes and shapes.

Let’s look at the standard sizes available in The Courier Mail, as an example.

“Small Page Strip”, 6cm high by 7 columns wide, the minimum casual cost per day (based on a Mon-Fri Casual rate of $AU58.51) is $AU2457.42.
“Medium Page Strip”, 8cm high by 7 columns wide, the minimum casual cost per day is $AU3276.56.
“Quarter Page Strip”, 10cm high by 7 columns wide, the minimum casual cost per day is $AU4095.70.
“Horizontal Half Page”, 20cm high by 7 columns wide, the minimum casual cost per day is $AU8191.40.
“Full Page”, 38 cm high by 7 columns wide, the minimum casual cost per day is $AU15563.66.
“Vertical Half Page”, 38cm high by 4 columns wide, the minimum casual cost per day is $AU8893.52.
“Vertical Third Page”, 38cm high by 3 columns wide, the minimum casual cost per day is $AU6670.14.
“Vertical Quarter Page”, 38cm high by 2 columns wide, the minimum casual cost per day is $AU4446.76.
“Portrait Half Page”, 28cm high by 5 columns wide, the minimum casual cost per day is $AU8191.40.
“Portrait Third Page”, 20cm high by 4 columns wide, the minimum casual cost per day is $AU4680.80.
“Portrait Quarter Page”, 20cm high by 3 columns wide, the minimum casual cost per day is $AU3510.60.

Here you can see that the cost of a standard size display ad can range from at least $2457.42 per day for a small page strip, and up to at least $15563.66 per day for a full page advertisement. That’s an awful lot of money to invest in a single page, that will only be published on one day. Most of us simply don’t have that kind of cash to throw around, so you’d really need to know what you were doing. This example demonstrates how much the size of a display advertisement affects the price.

#3 Day of the Week

The third factor that contributes to the cost of a newspaper advertisement is the day of the week on which the advertisement is published. Typically, newspaper circulation is greatest on the weekends, and so the advertising rates for major Australian newspapers are adjusted accordingly. In our example of The Courier Mail, the rates are cheaper on a weekday, more expensive on a Saturday, and most expensive on a Sunday. For the most basic display ads, Saturday ads are 25% dearer than Monday – Friday ads, and Sunday ads are almost 90% dearer than Monday – Friday ads.

This pattern may vary though, depending on the circulation of a particular publication. For instance, The Age is most expensive on a Saturday. To illustrate how much of a difference it makes – a small page strip ad in The Courier Mail on a weekday would be at least $2457.42, and the exact same ad run on a Sunday would be at least $4637.64.

#4 Different Sections or Lift-Outs

Most newspapers are divided into different sections and many have lift-outs – and this is the fourth factor that determines newspaper advertising costs. Different sections attract different readers and different volumes of readers, and so the advertising rates are adjusted to reflect this. For example, an advertisement placed in the CareerOne (Employment) lift-out in The Courier Mail, costs 2% more than the general section. The rates for CareerOne, also vary depending on the day of the week, as mentioned above. Some examples of other sections that may have different rates include: Adult Services, Funeral Notices, Real Estate, and Business.

#5 Page Position Within a Section

The next factor that can significantly affect the price of a newspaper ad, is the page number on which the ad appears, within a certain section. The most expensive part of the paper is typically the front section, which might include the first 10 or so pages, and is referred to as the “early general news” or EGN for short. In our example of The Courier Mail, page 2 in the EGN section attracts a 60% loading. Similarly, the first 11 pages have at least a 50% markup. This type of loading is common practice across Australian news publications. Now let’s say we wanted to place a small page strip ad in The Courier Mail on a weekday, on page 3 in EGN, the cost would be at least $4054.74.

The first few pages and back pages of other key sections of the paper, such as Business, also attract a higher loading. For The Courier Mail, the very back page attracts a 65% markup. You can see how the page position of an advertisement can have a substantial influence on the price.

#6 Left Hand Side VS Right Hand Side

The next factor is also related to position of the ad, but relates to which side of an open newspaper the ad appears in. You might be surprised to know that, in some publications, an ad that appears on the right hand side of an open paper, will cost more than one that appears on the left hand side. This is to do with the way readers actually read a newspaper, and where their attention is focused. This factor may also be tied to the page position of an ad, and which section it appears in. For example, in The Courier Mail, for ads on pages 12 to 21, a right-hand side ad costs 5% more than a left-hand side ad.

#7 Colour VS Black and White

Another factor that substantially affects the price of a newspaper advertisement, is whether the ad features colour, and how many colours. Colour ads are more expensive than monochrome or black and white ads. Some newspapers may distinguish between multi-colour advertisements and those that only feature one added colour (called “spot colour”). For example, The Courier Mail charges 30% more for multi-colour display ads, and 20% more for ‘spot’ colour display ads. Remember, that this is combined with any positional loading.

So let’s say we wanted our small page strip ad in full colour in The Courier Mail on a weekday, on page 3, that would be calculated as: $2457.42 + 30% colour loading = $3194.65 + 65% positional loading for page 3 = $5271.17

You can see here how the cost of our ad has more than doubled after we’ve factored in the colour, and position of the ad.

#8 Annual Spend/Expenditure Commitment

Now here’s a factor that also affects the price of your newspaper ad, but this time it’s a decrease, with a catch, of course. If you have the budget, and are prepared to commit to spending a certain amount annually, usually by entering into a 12 month contract, then you may be entitled to a discount. However, the discount depends on how much you’re prepared to spend. For example, to qualify for a 4% discount on The Courier Mail’s advertising rates, you need to spend at least $38500 per year. If you’re a small business owner, chances are you’re not working with this kind of budget, so bye-bye discount.

Just in case you’re curious, businesses that annually spend at least $2.3 million with the Courier Mail, receive a 13% discount. In my opinion, this form of discounting simply highlights how biased mainstream advertising is towards big business. Where’s the discount for all the struggling small businesses? But that’s another story.

Summary:

To sum up, those 8 factors again, and how they’ll affect the cost of your ad:

type of ad – display VS classifieds VS inserts – rates based on different measurement units
size – pay more for bigger ads
day of the week – weekends are more expensive
section or lift-out – early general news (EGN) is more expensive
page position within a section – front pages and back pages cost more
left hand side VS right hand side – RHS is dearer
colour VS black and white – pay more for full colour
annual spend/expenditure commitment – get a discount if you spend up big

Now that you know what affects the price of a newspaper advertisement, you’re better prepared to decide where and how you want to spend your advertising dollar. If newspaper advertising seems beyond your budget, then it might be worth considering more cost-effective alternatives, such as online advertising.

A Proven Method to Cut Advertising and Marketing Costs and Increase Sales Revenue

When it comes to advertising your business, you have an unlimited number of choices: newspapers, yellow pages, online, in magazines, through direct mail, on television, on the radio, etc. As the marketing director for a national company, I receive countless advertising solicitations each week. Like you, I want the best return on my investment. I want to reach my target audience, for the lowest price possible, and be rewarded with a significant increase in my sales revenue. Here is, by far, the most cost effective way to accomplish this goal: an LED sign.

Now, you might be thinking that a sign is a big investment. Aren’t we in a recession? Why should you make a big investment during a recession? The answer is simple. The US Small Business Administration has done the research for you. They report:

“Businesses who added an outdoor LED sign enjoyed typical sales increases of 15% – 150%. Not only does an LED Display produce a great return on investment, it costs very little compared to other types of advertising. With an LED sign, the average cost to achieve 1000 impressions (CPT) on consumers as they pass your business is less than 10% of the cost to reach them using any other marketing medium, including TV, radio or newspaper.” That’s right. They are saying that if you begin using an LED sign to advertise your business, you can reduce your advertising costs to less than 10% of what you are paying for traditional mediums, and increase your sales by 15% to 150%! Does this sound too good to be true?

Sonic Restaurants across the United States have been installing LED signs. A Sonic Managing Partner reports, “Since my LED sign was installed, my night time business has increased about 20%.”

It isn’t just big businesses that are reaping the rewards. Pastor Fred Garmon of Harvest Temple Church of God purchased an LED sign for his church. He was “paying between $250-400 per month in newspaper ads. With our sign, we do not even use the newspaper anymore…which saves us money…” Churches see an increase in visitors when using LED signs, just as businesses see an increase in customers.

If a proven method of slashing you marketing costs and increasing your sales revenue has not caused you to leave this article to search out an LED supplier and get your own LED sign ordered, there are other benefits.

With an LED sign, you own the media and you control the content. With traditional advertising, you have to pay each time you run an ad. If you have a change or a new product to promote, you have to wait for the next issue to come out. With an LED Display, you are in control. You can change the message as often as you like. You don’t have to wait to advertise your special offers and there is no cost involved.
The US Small Business Administration reports that approximately 85% of a company’s customers live or work within 5 miles of the business location. These are the people who are passing by each day. An LED sign allows you to reach 100% of these potential customers. Moving messages capture people’s attention. In fact, LED signs often become community landmarks. The owner of Dairy Queen in Nocona, Texas says that “I cannot go anywhere in town that someone does not stop me and make a positive comment about my sign.” The bottom line: Everyone who drives by will notice your messages advertising and promoting your business.
LED signs provide immediate results. LED sign owners report that the signs have an immediate and significant impact on their sales. Warren Croft, Owner of Croft Lumber Company in Sayre, PA, purchased an LED sign for his business. The sign was featured in the local Sayre Times newspaper and when interviewed, Mr. Croft told this story: “Five minutes after the sign went up, a customer came in looking for an items we had advertised on the sign. He didn’t know we sold it. He drove by on his way home, saw it on the sign, turned around and came in and bought it.”

There may be a recession going on out there. It may also be a good time to invest in your business. Many LED suppliers offer easy lease options. Buyers experience the immediate benefits of LED sign ownership and the essentially pays for itself.

Does Satellite Radio Advertising Work?

You are a business owner or person in charge of getting the word out about a product or service. The landscape on which you can paint your message is vast with many hills, bridges and pitfalls. It is the pitfalls you are looking out for.

Chances are you want to know if the medium of satellite radio advertising is an effective choice for your business. Lets take a look at what the medium offers and see if what you are advertising would be a good fit for it.

Satellite radio is a unique medium. It reaches millions of people each and every week, has hundreds of stations divided amongst countless topics, and is a “subscription” based service, which makes many of its subscribers financially pre-qualified to buy what you are selling.

If your product or service can go out to any place in the country, then this can be a great medium for you. If your business is trying to bring people into a single store front location, this may not be a great means to promote your message, as the radio commercials on satellite radio reach the entire nation. There is no way to “segment” where your commercial airs. Its all or nothing.

That being said, it is one of the most affordable ways to advertise on a national level, with commercials on some of the stations starting at around $50 each time they air. While satellite radio advertising will not reach the amount of viewers of say a prime time show on a major TV network. It still reaches millions of people each week, which is nothing to put your note up at.

Another way that satellite radio advertising can be effective, is placing your commercial on its highly targeted programming.

Have a product for pets? There are shows for that.

Want to reach cigar lovers? There are shows for that.

Looking to reach new moms? There are shows for that.

Want to communicate with CEOs? There are shows for that too.

Selling a new “toy” for kids or adults? There are shows for both of those too.

The list goes on and on. Chances are there is a show that is targeted at the specific audience you want to reach. This makes it one of the most affordable and targeted national advertising options around.

Is satellite radio advertising for everyone? No. But for a majority of people that I talk with on a daily basis, there is usually an option on the medium to strongly consider when planning an advertising campaign.