US
Marketers pull the pop-top on summertime ad campaigns. Thanks
to its mobility, radio has long been the soundtrack to summer, attracting advertisers seeking
on-the-go consumers. Despite all the new media options, for many marketers that
remains just as true today as it has been in the past. Budweiser and Bud Light
have traditionally been big summertime radio users and this year the flagship
brand will wrap itself in the flag with a patriotic-themed campaign to help
raise money for military families. Regional advertisers are taking a similar
tactic. Blue Bell Creameries is using radio to help promote its Red, White and
Blue Bell ice cream. And then there’s the Mexican fast food restaurant chain
Qboda, which says it’ll be on radio this summer hyping its seasonal menu items
like the Mango Mojo Burrito and the Mango Mojo Salad. CFO Jerry Rebel told
investors this month that Qboda flies under the radar as it puts “a lot” of its
marketing dollars into radio and outdoor — and there have been “some increases”
in those budgets as the restaurant chain has launched new products. Something a
bit healthier will be the focus of radio ads by Jamba Juice. Starting next week
it will race to market an expanded line of fresh-squeezed juices to 500 stores
— six months ahead of schedule. Jamba says to reach customers this summer it’ll
rely on radio and social media. The National Association of Convenience Stores is forecasting
sales to jump 8% to 10% this summer, returning to pre-recession levels as
Americans cooped up all winter hit the highway. The trade group says consumers
in the Midwest are most likely to spend more money this summer. And Americans
are expected to average more than two summer vacation trips of at least two
nights away from home, with the bulk of the travel occurring by car. With that
as a backdrop, some travel-related advertisers are hitting the radio airwaves,
like the upscale Coral Gables, FL resort The Biltmore. It is buying time on
English- and Spanish-language stations in Florida as part of its first ad
campaign in a decade. Also planning radio spending are state tourism offices in
New York, Michigan, and northern Ohio’s Lake Erie Shores & Islands
campaign, among others, with cities such as Milwaukee, New York City, and
Roanoke, VA also launching their own radio ad blitzes.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Monday, May 5, 2014
Season Advertising - Gets a late start
Like spring
flowers, seasonal advertising is arriving later this year. How warm does it need to be in your
market for someone to buy a pair of shorts? Or crave a Frappuccino at
Starbucks? The answer varies in different parts of the country, and for a wide
portion of the country a harsh winter led to a cool spring. The result is not
unlike what’s going on with flowers in many gardens: spring advertising is
tracking later than a year ago. “It varies, depending on what part of country
you live in, but it does seem like we’re looking at a four-to-six week delay in
some places,” says John Acello, a radio veteran who is now a vice president at
Planalytics, a firm that works with marketers on fine-tuning their
weather-related advertising strategies. “We help companies manage the weather
and use it to their advantage when they can,” he explains. But there’s been a
shortage of management necessary during the past year. While half the country
learned what a polar vortex is, the other half has seen record wintertime
drought. “For the last year it seems like the weather is the news no matter
where you go and it’s really having an impact on the economy in a lot of
profound ways,” Acello says. Radio managers in several markets say they haven’t
so far seen the sort of spring-time blossoming in certain ad categories the
industry has grown accustomed to. Media Monitors data shows ad volume from
springtime advertisers like Scott’s and Allegra lags last year.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Digital ads hit-or-miss target - By Product Category
Digital ads
hit-or-miss target, depending on product category: comScore. “Half the money I spend on advertising
is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” That famous line by
department store owner John Wanamaker may need an update in the digital age. An analysis of several product
categories shows an average two-thirds (66%) of digital advertising misses its
target. Some ad categories are more likely than others to miss their
target. Only 42% of retail
ads reach the intended target and just 41% of consumer product ads reach hit
the bulls eye. It’s 50-50
for auto ads, comScore finds. “Achieving 100% in-target delivery isn’t
necessarily realistic and it isn’t always feasible,” comScore senior director
of product marketing and ad effectiveness Andrea Vollman said last week during
a webinar. “As the target
narrows, the likelihood of hitting that target also becomes smaller.” ComScore
analysis found that when an advertiser had a broad target, like adults 18+, the
ads hit the target 88% of the time. But when it’s narrowed down to a 35-44 demo, just 42% of ads reach the
target. Yet advertisers still pour billions of dollars into website
advertising. The biggest display advertiser during the first quarter was
AT&T, which comScore says had 21.2 billon impressions on desktops. Intuit’s
TurboTax was also a big spender, ranking fourth with a total of 8.8 billion
impressions. Three of the top 10 were automakers: No. 5 Nissan, No. 9 Fiat and
No. 10 Toyota. “These advertisers in the auto space understand that their
customers are increasingly turning to the internet during the buying process to
research their options, compare across manufacturers and compare different
pricing,” Vollman said. Other big spenders included Microsoft, Verizon, Amazon,
and SoftBank.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)