We are increasingly becoming aware of how the advertisers are talking to us. It comes to a point where our mind naturally filters out what is unnecessary and irrelevant.This makes the advertiser’s role more challenging in effectively engaging the audience.

GETTING INTIMATE WITH THE AUDIENCE

They call it ‘Brand Wars’ and out there on the battlefield, advertisers are fighting but not against one another. The battle is for the appropriate positioning within the consumers’ minds. It is said that the easiest way of getting into a person’s mind is to be the first. Second place does not go very far in terms of being remembered in the brand wars. However, the reality is such that we now live in a world where we are presented with far greater choices for products and services, than ever before. Whilst, we have greater information at our disposal to digest, we at the same time are becoming very time-poor wanting almost on-demand information.

Despite the doom and gloom of product or service overload out there, there’s still hope. The key is to get intimate with the audience. People may buy products or services but what they are really purchasing is a sense of feeling. Lets take the purchase of a car for an example. People buy a Toyota for reliability; a BMW to convey achievement; a Volvo because safety is the priority. Drill further down, people purchase a 2 door coupe because they want to feel sexy; a 4WD because they have a sense of adventure (in some cases!); a roadster for those who crave adrenaline; an MPV because going out as a family is important. Imagine you’ve just gotten a promotion or landed a big sale. You’ve been working hard all your life and you now want to reward yourself by getting a brand new car. You want to get something which screams out “Watch out world, here I come!” Now at the top of your mind, you think of either a Mercedes-Benz or a BMW. A Porsche is slightly out of your price range for now. At the moment a Beemer’s looking real nice as you feel you’ve achieved a huge milestone and you’re still feeling young. You also want to rekindle the ‘sheer driving pleasure’. Right at this point, the relentless effort of BMW positioning those feelings of a ‘sheer driving pleasure’ into your mind, has paid off. Naturally, as you are considering a major purchase decision, the instinct is to consult the opinions of your peers those whom you have a close relationship with, and those people who you can trust. Now it seems that in your family, Uncle James and Cousin Joyce each drive a Merc. They applaud your decision of purchase but somehow in their opinion are biased towards the Merc. You test drive each of their cars, whilst they explain all the features – something which you had never seemed to take notice of before. Then it also occurred to you that two more family members, your cousins twice removed, also drove Mercs. Right at this point, the Mercedes-Benz brand has gotten indirectly intimate with you communicating on a personal level. The above scenario illustrates the various levels of communication on a personal level. The audience was comfortable with the message and the delivery method because the communication had taken place at the right time, and targeted at the right audience, and through the right medium.

BELOW THE LINE EFFECTIVENESS

Above The Line (ATL) often refers to mass market communications. It has always been seen as sexy and glamorous. Clients see it as having their brand viewed by the world. Agencies see it as securing a big account with a huge budget. Advertising creatives see it as a chance to exhibit their artistic skills. It’s like the Hollywood Blockbuster of advertising. However for the majority of small to medium sized businesses,Below The Line (BTL) is the preferred choice. As the name suggests, BTL targets more specifically at the individual audiences. The focus is on talking one on one, not on to many. It’s on relationship building. It’s about communicating directly with the audience. Ultimately it’s based on getting intimate with the audience.This is not a comparison on whether ATL or BTL is better.
It’s simply about using the most effective medium choices to achieve the intended objectives. Big named brands that often advertise ATL also deploy BTL in specifically targeting their most profitable audience group. Often ATL is used to communicate awareness, such as new product launch. We know it’s impossible to talk specifically to everybody, so that’s where BTL comes into play. It often acts as a follow up, addressed more personally to the individual audience, with a call to action. Engaging and then getting the audience is one thing. Maintaining the long-term relationship is another. Based on the 80/20 rule, the most profitable clients are the long-term ones. For ongoing customer-relationship management, the best form of communication is once again BTL. Effectiveness is about meeting the objectives and getting the maximum return on investment. It also needs to be measurable to determine where exactly the return on investment is coming from. One of the key features of BTL is the ability to track and measure individually, the results of each communication piece sent out. From a budget perspective,
BTL also commands a smaller budget, almost a fraction of an ATL budget. One reason being is a large share of the ATL dollars goes to media, with television at the highest end of the scale. Businesses that are results-oriented are more comfortable with BTL as it’s more cost-effective, accountable and the campaign is measurable to determine the return on investment. ADVANTAGE DATA

In the world we live in, technology has become almost an extension of our lives. Everything we do involves technology, be it mobile phones, email or the internet. In fact for most of the much younger generation it’s already tacit knowledge. As we know, one of the biggest and most valuable assets a business can have is customer data. Now through technology, we are also able to obtain real-time data. Not only we are able to profile who our customers are, what, when and how they buy but also what they go through to make the purchase decision. This real-time data is obtained through tracking and measuring results almost immediately upon launching the campaign or communication piece. Results are more accurate and the entire campaign can be more accountable to determine what works and what doesn’t. Taking a step further, this can be used to maintain the long-term customer relationship as it’s possible to second guess what they want. In doing so, businesses can be one step ahead of their audience, meeting their needs straight on thus ensuring they will be well looked after.

INTEGRATION

To recap, the client’s objectives are to engage, acquire, build and maintain profitable, long-term relationships with their customers. The strategy to do so is to get intimate with the audience initially, then to establish trust and sow the seeds for the relationship.
Trying to get the key message across through one communication channel alone is just as effective as lighting a match in the wind. It may be noticeable but certainly won’t last for long. Imagine trying to win your audience over. The idea is to have the one key proposition communicated via a combination of channels each having its own effectiveness relevant to the audience’s circumstances.
Communication is the vehicle in which your idea or strategy is delivered. As mentioned earlier, consumers are bombarded with advertisement messages constantly so your message has to break through the clutter, to create that small window of opportunity for them to sample your brand experience which eventually leads to the sale.

EVERYDAY CHALLENGES

Advertising communications is not a science, it’s a craft. It’s highly subjective – positively perceived by those with a favourable attitude and vice versa by those with not.
Consumers are everyday building a defensive wall fuelled by scepticism made by advertising claims. The everyday challenge for businesses is to find ways of making them feel more comfortable in knowing what to expect from their products or services. Once this hurdle is overcome, everything’s smooth sailing. Once a consumer is locked in to your brand of product or service, it eliminates the search for options. Thus your brand has built a relationship with your audience. The closer they remain, the longer the relationship stays.