Tip of the Week

Business SMART:	How Do I Get More Frequency of My Message?
	By: Dennis A. Conforto Chairman & CEO of A-Z Media Group, Inc.

Last week we talked to manufacturers about how their business can reach more consumers. This week we will address how businesses can get more advertising frequency so that you can get more mind share and end up with more consumer market share! Frequency is defined as the number of times the individuals or households are exposed to an advertiser’s message within a given period - usually a month. So how does one increase the frequency of their message to the consumers for their scrapbooking business? This is an issue that faces both manufacturers and retailers in our industry. Frequency is a term you typically hear in regard to television advertising. Since most manufacturers and retailers in the scrapbooking industry do not advertise on TV, you might think that this term is irrelevant to your business. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Frequency can be applied to all types of media. As it turns out, once you have reached your targeted consumers you need to reach them frequently. Frequency becomes the driver of your business to help you reach your sales objectives. A real life example Let me share with you an example of message frequency from my childhood. I remember a gas station in Idaho called, “Stinker”. Their mascot, a skunk, also named “Stinker”. They had a billboard campaign that taught me at a young age how powerful frequency can be to your message. We would be driving on the highway in the middle of nowhere and there we’d find a billboard with little Stinker on it saying, “Good news! Restrooms 5 miles ahead.” A mile later, there would be one that says “4 miles ahead,” and one every mile thereafter. At one mile, the billboard said, “Your worries are just about over.” Until we saw these billboards, I literally had no need for the restrooms, but because their message was repeated so frequently, suddenly, I had a need. At 5,000 feet ahead, there was another sign, but nothing was in our view up the road. We sped by the 4,000 ft ahead sign with nothing in sight. Still nothing was in sight at 2,000 feet, or even at 1,000 feet. When the signs said 100 yards ahead we could see something on either side of the road. When we pulled up, there was a barrel on either side of the road facing each other, one with a sign on it that said, “Hers” and one that said, “His!” I remember all of us laughing so hard we had tears in our eyes as we all ran in different directions into the brush to do what we needed to do! The funny thing was that people were pulling over and running out into the bushes as well, everyone laughing even harder coming out of the brush than those who were running in. Had it been one sign it wouldn’t have been a big deal. But the constant hammering of the message not only had an impact on our mind but on our bodies needs as well. Frequency of message is what gets people moving and thinking. Frequency of your message is how you and your product or service becomes top of mind for your target market. Applying it to our industry How do you get more frequency in this industry if you are a manufacturer? First, look beyond the media products that can deliver your message only one time each month, such as paper magazines. Magazines are great for branding the message but are not great for frequency of message. For your message to be seen in a magazine, you should fight for positions next to content. After all, the consumer purchases the magazines for the articles, not for the advertisements! I have often wondered why any advertiser would want to be caught in the front few pages of a magazine where many times you find full page ad after full page ad - back to back. Everyone knows the readers just flip through that section in seconds to get to the content for which the magazine was purchased. World-branded manufacturers know the power of the electronic media like TV, radio and the internet. They want and need frequency of message because it is frequency that pushes you into the consumer’s minds. Your best bet Within the scrapbooking industry the best media vehicle for both reach and frequency is Scrapbooking.com Magazine. Why? The reasons are many: 1. The magazine’s content grows throughout the month, forcing the reader back to the magazine weekly. Just like a weekly TV show like 24 on FOX forces millions of viewers back each week to see what is going to happen next. 2. The editorial staff places the ads of the advertisers automatically next to the most relevant content in that issue of the magazine. Meaning the ad is placed next to the articles that the readers go to the magazine for. 3. Website studies have shown that it is much more effective to have the ads located in many places rather than in just one place. And Scrapbooking.com Magazine has created many places for an advertiser to be for both a successful branding campaign and a successful call to action. 4. Scrapbooking.com Magazine’s staff writes articles every month about all 15 major product categories. This means that your product category is pushed from a content standpoint every month. If, for example, you are a sticker manufacturer you want your ad to be next to content about stickers and other relevant areas, as well. This brings up another reason for manufacturers to really look more carefully at the branding model found within Scrapbooking.com Magazine. To review: More content, more often with better placement of more ads for less money is a winning combination that manufactures can no longer ignore. And that is what being business SMART is all about.