Tag Archives: media buying

Buying Advertising

It’s a circus out there!

Leave a comment

If you’re a business owner faced with buying advertising on a regular basis, you know the dilemma. “Where do I begin?”

Whether you’re exploring a new market, attempting to rejuvenate a faithful market or simply trying to out maneuver a competitor, that question is a constant when buying media.

“When eating an elephant take one bite at a time.”
— General Creighton W. Abrams

Complicating the question is the increasing number of new ways to advertise. In fact, there probably has never been a time in human history where advertising options are so plentiful. The internet and its platforms, social media channels, smartphone apps and all the legacy media have an audience and market. For the buyer, it’s a circus out there!

How does a buyer tame those advertising lions?

Start with what you know, and then expand. If you’re comfortable with newspaper advertising for example, maintain what you’re doing. Then, pair your effort with something you’d like to try. Let’s say you want to try Facebook. Set a deadline for results, maybe two or three months, and then compare your newspaper/Facebook effort with just the newspaper alone.

If the combo is unsuccessful for you, pick something else. If the newspaper/Facebook effort showed results, then try to leverage Facebook to promote your business more.

General Creighton W. Abrams once said, “When eating an elephant take one bite at a time.”

Don’t feel that you have to jump at every opportunity when buying media. The spin in the advertising marketplace is intense. It is better to go slow, build on what works and measure your media choices.

Marketing

BlueRally Marketing

Leave a comment

In today’s environment, maintaining a good advertising and marketing plan is a challenging endeavor. Aggressive competitors, shifting technology and limited budgets stand in the way of many efforts to build a business brand, win new customers and gain market share.

BlueRally Marketing was founded on the belief that a marketing effort based on quality content and a well planned strategy will yield consistent results. New apps, new markets and new spin all have their place as tools. They are not plans by themselves, nor are they the only way to reach a target demographic. Building a good marketing plan still takes elbows on the table.

“Honesty enhances marketing efforts.” — William Wiebking

As an advertising media buyer for over 14 years, I understand the pitfalls businesses face in this new age of big data and data tracking. There is a lot of opportunity out there, but not everything works for every business, goal or objective. Are you struggling to make Facebook work for your business? Do you wonder how you can tap Google’s power? Do you think radio, TV and print media are dead?

With a budget in the high six figures, I’ve explored a number of advertising and media properties. I’ve seen my share. They include quite a few were lazy dogs, with no game to hunt; Properties that produce if you know how to message the audience; A few steady producers; And, a few extraordinary gems.

Experience matters, and it can stretch your advertising funds to cover your bases, and meet your objectives.

Working with good business clients with sound, realistic goals is very rewarding. Keeping the business relationship honest and straightforward is how BlueRally works best with its clients. We minimize the spin.

Honesty enhances marketing efforts. It is very valuable in marketing. Clients and vendors who are honest in their marketing efforts together can effectively cut through the clutter and deliver a good performance in pursuit of a goal. Funds can be appropriated intelligently.

Have you thought about your marketing efforts? Are you ready to move forward?