Captivating audience

Imagine booking a holiday, searching for flights online and being presented with two options. Both are to the desired destination, at similar times from a local airport, and both are priced the same. One is operated by British Airways, the other by Reese Airlines. The chances are, unless you have had a very negative experience with BA, you would choose their flight. Why? Simply because you have heard of them.

There are various ways to market a business and, to ensure maximum effectiveness, you should always analyse your situation and plan your marketing activity carefully in a way that achieves your objectives.

Large brokers such as Marsh, Aon and Willis actively target local audiences through local mediums. But local brokers have the edge as they know what is going on in their locality in terms of events and available media such as radio, in print and meeting prospective clients at regional exhibitions.

Activities that can help achieve marketing objectives include advertising and sponsorship. However, it must be emphasised that neither of these should be done in isolation as marketing should be an ongoing and integrated exercise incorporating a wide range of activities.

Advertising is an expensive business. Costs start to mount from the moment creative experts are employed to devise the advertisement and book the media space. It is imperative that the right people see the advert at the right time to maximise its marketing and financial effectiveness.

However, if a media channel is chosen that is aimed at the target market and a few simple rules are followed, then there is no reason why you should not get positive results from advertising in conjunction with other activities.

Local press

Advertising in the regional and local press is a formidable medium for targeting local audiences. Local press scores highly in terms of relevance and its coverage of real issues.

There are a whole range of publications that reach your local market.

Weekly, daily, paid-for and free newspapers provide a variety of ways to advertise, from small classified to display advertisements and advertorial features. In addition, flyers can be arranged to be inserted into newspapers and magazines for distribution.

The key to local press is determining if it is actually read by the target market. The chances are it will be if local individuals or businesses are targeted. Most people will read a local newspaper.

Research carried out by NOP in association with the Newspaper Society in December 2003, shows that 69% of all UK business people read a regional newspaper and they believe it to be the most trustworthy form of media.

There are hundreds of trade, technical and professional magazines read by individuals and businesses that need insurance. The insurance trade press is another useful medium for broker advertising to increase awareness not only among insurance buyers, but also product providers and potential investors.

Before agreeing to any form of advertising, you should obtain a media pack from the publication to check who reads it and the costs of all the options.

Local radio

Like the regional press, radio is a trusted medium but is under-used by businesses. Expense is the main deterrent for local advertisers using the radio, however, there are some good advantages of radio advertising.

Advertisers are in control of the time their audience hears the message and radio is played in all sorts of locations - cars, kitchens, offices, bathrooms - and often while people are involved in another activity. For example, listening to the radio while driving or working at a desk.

Internet

These days the internet tends to be the first port of call for information on companies, products and services. By means of this medium, you can get your message across using e-mail, your own website or by placing banner advertisements on other websites.

There are always a wide range of sponsorship opportunities available and these can be an effective way to promote brand awareness. It can also generate goodwill among the local community if a company sponsors something such as sport, the arts, charities, local festivals or school events.

Certain sponsorship deals can also provide corporate hospitality opportunities to entertain clients, so you should try to select something relevant and appealing to the particular business or target market.

Your message needs to grab the attention of the reader/listener, be of interest to them, create a desire within them for your offering and provide a simple method of action. And all this needs to be achieved as quickly as possible - so your message must be simple, clear, relevant and strong.

The key to anything described here or indeed any marketing activity is planning, knowing the objectives and identifying the market.

If you know your target market well, whether this is new or existing clients, potential employees or the general public, then you should know what they are reading, listening to, watching and what events they attend.

Remember, you could have the best advertisement in the world but, if the wrong people are seeing or hearing it, then it is wasted.

- Jenny Hinds, Director, Font Marketing.

TOP ADVERTISING TIPS

- Always negotiate on price - an important element of media buying.

- Identify your objectives - what are you looking to achieve?

- Ensure your headline is great and your main copy is interesting.

- Tell your reader what to do next.

- Measure the results of your campaign. A good measure is, if the additional business you achieve as a result of the campaign does not exceed the cost, it has not worked.

- Do not simply advertise because your competitors are - there is no guarantee it is working for them.

- Choose your position carefully - right-hand page positions generate a better response than left-hand page positions.

- Booking one-off advertisements is not an effective advertising strategy - ongoing strategic campaigns should be planned and booked far in advance.

- Remember that return on investment is almost always more important than basic costs. The cheapest advertising space is not necessarily the best.