Discussion
Read the Traditional Communications Channels and answer the following questions:
- What's best mode of transportation, a bike, a horse, or a car? Well the answer depends on your needs. A bike is great for exercise and running small errands around town, horses are great for wandering the countryside on a sunny afternoon, while cars are certainly your best bet for a cross country vacation. Traditional media works much in the same way. There's no single best way. Rather, there are several potential best ways depending on your budget, marketing goals, and target audience.
Here are 10 tips to help guide your traditional media decisions. Number one, how do your customers like to be reached? Not sure? Just try asking them. You'll be surprised at how many are happy to tell you. As former Ford CMO Jim Farley once said, customers are spending as much time with the mobile smartphone or online as they are watching TV now.So our advertising dollars have to flow to where the people are. Number two.
Match your message to the media. A one size fits all messaging approach is risky in any era,but especially so since the rise of social media. Whether you're designing ads for TV, radio, or print, make sure you're playing to the inherent strengths of the format. For example, the power of TV is sight, sound, and motion. Radio brings the theater of your mind into play.Number three. Be creative. Big ad buy during the Super Bowl, won't amount to much if your commercial fizzles on arrival.
To help ensure you have a winner on your hands, revisit your brand value proposition. Focus on what makes your brand unique, and above all, be authentic. Number four, test, test, and test. In an era of crowdsourcing, testing your marketing message isn't a matter of how, but a matter of how much. Mix things up as much as you can, and feel free to use social media channels to test your ideas, concepts, logos, visuals, layouts, and messages.
Number five. Attention spans are fleeting. The average person is exposed to hundreds of marketing messages every day. We decide quickly to engage those messages, or to ignore them. Your goal, is to be engaging, but don't be intrusive. Number six. Don't be taxing. Paid media, is becoming a tax that many consumers don't want to pay. Remember, it's better to leave audiences wanting more, than to overstay your welcome.
Number seven. Paid media complements owned media. While your paid media should be strong enough to stand on its own, it should also invite customers to learn more at owned media sources such as your website, blogs, or social channels. Number eight. Make an emotional connection. Whatever the media choice, your audience needs to connect with your message, to strike the right emotional note, tell a story, and focus on what makes your brand unique Number nine.
Know your options. We live in what some call, the tradigital world. Remember that your traditional ads don't exist in a vacuum, and work to balance your message across channels.And number ten. Know your audience. The marketer's goal in an IMC world hasn't changed.You still need to know who you're selling to. This is why it's so important to have the strong brand value proposition, and develop actionable target personas. Finally, remember that the role of traditional marketing will continue to evolve as new technologies, and new touch points emerge.
To stay ahead of your competition, use qualitative and quantitative analysis to test the effectiveness of your messaging, as well as the media consumption habits of your audience.Through effecting brand choreography, you'll strike a more effective balance between traditional and new media channels.
Question One
Tell us about your company or product/service. What is your positioning statement? How do you distinguish your product or company from your competitors? How will you communicate the message of your positioning statement to your targeted consumer? Describe your ad and promotion.
Question Two
Develop a brief integrated marketing communications plan using traditional communications channels for your hypothetical business.
Question Three
How would you vary your ad for different media platforms? How would you vary the schedule to air it for maximum coverage with minimal expense?
The response should include a reference list. Double-space, using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, one-inch margins, and APA style of writing and citations.