Codes key to clever campaigns

By Anita Brabham & Domonique Young

About a month ago we came across a presentation from PSFK on mobile tagging and were excited about its potential as a PR and marketing tool. Like so many other innovations, it slipped our mind until we heard a radio segment on the Australian Communication Exchange using the new technology to engage with deaf and hearing impaired people at museums.

For anyone who isn’t in the know, mobile tagging is a barcode, quick response code (QR code) or Microsoft tag that links to extra information about the tagged item via Smartphone technology. Everything from street signs to coffee cups can be coded. All you need to do is take a picture of the code with your phone to access extra information about the item or image. It’s a bit like a hyperlink that links the real world with the digital world.

To see this best at work (and ogle at the endless PR and marketing opportunities this app has), visit the National Sports Museum which transcribed museum audio talks tours into Auslan (Australian Sign Language) and consequently into mobile tags, or Auslan Smart, revolutionising the museum experience for the deaf and hearing impaired. Auslan Smart is the first of its kind in Australia.

In Spain, the postal authority Correos and mobile marketing company Macanudos joined forces to code postal stamps. Take a picture of the QR code with your phone and you were given destination info about Alhambra of the Granada region, or whatever landmark was on the stamp.

Another fine example was New York City Parks. They used mobile tagging at community events to celebrate Arbor Day and add another dimension to the works on display in Central Park. Magma Agency embedded old photographs, scenes from iconic films and music clips from Orchestras who’d played at the park in years past with mobile tags. Each work featured a small tree, which Magma dubbed ‘parknodes’ that housed the barcode. A digital map of the parknodes was plotted, a Facebook page set up and voila, a successful marketing campaign was born. If you’re interested, check out Magma’s video for more.

Like any effective PR and marketing strategy you need to give consumers a reason to take action and interact with you. While at first people might engage with this technology because it like sounds fun, truly effective strategists and marketers should understand their audience and deliver the info they would want.

The possibilities of mobile tagging are endless. Imagine magazines, print ads, tourist displays, books and music linked to extra juicy info or goss? Watch this space, because we think the technology will be used more and more in the future. Oh, and did we say it's currently free to create mobile tags (we don’t think this will last)? To start cracking codes on all your favourite products, simply visit your Smartphone app store and download a QR code reader application.

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Mobile codes create clever campaigns. http://bit.ly/ju3jTd #PR #apps

Solar campaigns win PR awards

Campaigns to encourage Alice Springs residents to sign up to solar power have been honoured with State Awards for Excellence by the Public Relations Institute of Australia presented in Darwin last night.

The campaigns for Alice Solar City were planned and implemented by Creative Territory.

“Alice Solar City is changing the way central Australian residents live and work by harnessing the power of the sun,” Creative Territory Managing Director Tracy Jones said.

“It’s a great initiative and we’re proud to have been part of its success.”

Tracy and Laurelle Halford won a Gold award for the overall Energy Champions campaign. Laurelle also won a Highly Commended award for 100 Days of Solar, a campaign to convince 100 Alice Springs residents to install hot water systems in 100 days.

“Alice Solar City was Creative Territory’s very first client when we started four-and-half years ago, so these awards are special to us,” Tracy said.

Tracy also congratulated other Northern Territory award winners, the Michels Warren Munday team for the campaign Support NT Caught on behalf of the NT Seafood Council and Eleanor Sheppard from the Department of Education and Training for Recruiting Quality Teachers to Deliver Quality Education.

All NT award winners go into the national Golden Target Awards to be announced in Darwin next week.

Why every retail and hospitality business needs to get on to Foursquare

By Tracy Jones

There’s a revolution going on in the social media world that will change the way retail and hospitality businesses interact with the public – Foursquare.

And anyone who thinks they can ignore this platform like all other social media networks should think again – your business is probably already on it.

Foursquare is essentially a tool that allows people to mark places on an electronic map and post comments about them. Using mobile phones, users can “check in” to these places and share their views with the world.

The places people tend to mark are shops, restaurants, cafes, hotels and entertainment and tourist venues.

What makes Foursquare different from other social networks is its ability to locate nearby places and tell you in full detail what other people think of them – good and bad.

Here’s how it works. If you stand in the middle of Smith Street Mall and log into Foursquare using your mobile phone, the application brings up a list of places nearby including cafes, apartments, hotels and bars.

Now click on the “Tips” and you’ll get a list of what people think about these places. Here are a couple of real examples (without the names of the venues):

• “The banana spring rolls are tremendous.”
• “Not a fan of the prices here.”
• “One of the best restaurants in Darwin.”
• “Try the rice noodle soup with crispy chicken … delish.”
• “Girl at the front desk is rude.”
• “Avoid this place like it’s on fire.”

My bet is that 90 per cent of the Darwin businesses listed on Foursquare now have no idea they are there, let alone what people are saying about them.

If you’re not convinced about the value of being on Foursquare yet, here are four good reasons you should reconsider:

1. Go viral: If one person checks in to your business, they share the news with 50 or more friends on Facebook and Twitter. If 10 people check in, that’s 500. You can do the maths…

2. Get honest customer feedback: If someone checks in and loves your steak burger, you’ll find out straight away, along with all their friends. Conversely, if someone hates your schnitzel, everyone will find out. But at least you can do something about it.

3. Offer special discounts to people nearby: You can check out Foursquare places that are close to you and see if they have any special offers for anyone who checks in. Curve Café at Darwin Waterfront offers a “buy a drink and get a drink for a friend” for every second check-in. Worth a visit.

4. Reward your loyal customers: Get a loyalty program without the expensive set-up costs. Offer a free meal for every 10th check-in to your business. It’s easier to keep existing customers than to find new ones.

Is your advertising dollar buying you new business?

Advertising can be one of the most expensive elements of marketing your business. It can be highly effective, but the return on your investment will vary widely depending on your business, product and audience targeted.

The Benefits

• It is highly visible and seen/ heard by a lot of people
• It reaches customers who don’t already know about you
• Imparts new information to those who do (such as special offers and discounts)
• If done well, can have high recall
• Places you into people’s consciousness, even if they don’t need your services right now.

The Pitfalls

• It can be expensive to make the ad and then run it (depending on the media chosen)
• It will not reach people who are not watching and listening to the place where your ad is.

Is advertising for my business?

Before you consider advertising, you need to have a thorough understanding of your target audience and what they watch, read and consume. Try asking some of your existing customers where they heard about you. Have they seen any of your latest advertising? What magazines do they read? What radio stations do they listen to and when? What other advertising have they noticed?

Which advertising works best?

There is no easy answer to this question. It really depends on where your customers are at. But some media is better at some things than others, as shown below. We've used examples of Northern Territory media to demonstrate.

Newspapers: Examples include the NT News, Darwin and Palmerston Sun, Centralian Advocate and regional weeklies such as the Katherine Times, Territory Regional Weekly and Eylandt Echo. Newspapers have a short shelf life but high circulation. Depending on the publication, they can be really cheap to advertise in. You pay more for Saturdays and Sundays, colour and specified pages. Be aware that public notices cost more per column centimeter than regular advertising and the ad size is smaller. At the same time, public notices offer highly qualified traffic – people looking in the cars section are actually looking for cars. Newspapers are best for imparting lots of information. Design and layout of your ad will be an additional cost of between $100-$500 depending on size and style.

Magazines: Examples include Darwin Life, Resident, Intensity, fishing magazines and Top End Arts. Magazines generally have a longer shelf life, which means your ad is seen for a long time. Most magazines are also directed as specific target audiences, so readers are better qualified. Some magazines also offer complimentary editorial if you buy advertising. Design and layout of your ad will be an additional cost of between $400-$1500 depending on size and style.

Radio: Examples include HOT 100, MIXFM, Territory FM, KIKFM, Larrakia Radio, 8HA and Sun FM. Each individual advertisement on radio is relatively cheap, so you run a lot of ads. Set a budget and ask the radio station to design a campaign for you. Production of your ad will be an additional cost of between $100-$1000 depending on style, voiceover, music and sound effects used.

Television: Examples include Channel Nine, Southern Cross, Imparja and Channel Ten Digital. Television advertising can be expensive, but ask your salesman to work to a Budget. Less watched shows can be much cheaper to advertise in, along with morning and daytime timeslots. Production costs vary wildly – from as little as a couple of hundreds of dollars to over $100,000. Most businesses can make a simple but effective advertisement for $1000-$3000. Beware of special approvals needed for TV advertising and allow plenty of time for production.

Online: Examples include news websites like www.ntnews.com.au, Facebook and Google AdWords. Online advertising is cheap to produce and run. With improvements in targeting, they can also bring you very qualified inquiries. First consider whether your audience is online.

12 Ways to Improve Your Profits

By Janelle Rees

Over the past few months at Creative Territory we’ve downed our blogging pens while we’ve been busy developing the Marketing Health Check – a 12 point checklist to help local businesses pinpoint simple and cost-effective ways to turn their marketing dollars into increased profits.  Here’s a sneak peak from Section One of the marketing health check:

TARGET AUDIENCE

Who is your target audience? Consider:

- Primary audience (most important)

- Secondary audience (not as important)

- Stakeholders (industry bodies, the media, Government, other local businesses)

Understanding your target audience is critical for ensuring your marketing activities reach people who are actually interested in the products and services you have to offer.

There are three different audiences to consider:

Your primary audience: This is your most important audience. These customers are your bread and butter, the types of people you do business with every day.

These are the people you need to make sure your marketing is reaching.

Your secondary audience: This audience is not as important as your primary audience. These are people who might not personally be interested in your products or services, but might mention them to a friend, discuss your business in a social setting or influence other people to use your business.

Your stakeholders: These are the groups or individuals who are not necessarily customers, but who are affected by your business or who have an effect on your business. This includes groups such as the body corporate in your office building, your landlord, your local council, residents who live in the vicinity of your business and more.

Why is your target audience important?

If you don’t understand who your target audience is your marketing efforts cannot be guaranteed to reach them. On the other hand, if you have a clear understanding of who you want to reach the best way to reach them will quickly become obvious.

For example, it if you are a provider of after-school care services you would not want to advertise on television during the day. Why? Because your target audience, working parents, are at work and not at home watching television.

A more effective marketing activity might be to place an advertisement in the school newsletter. Your target audience is parents of students in the location you provide after-school care. An effective way to reach those specific parents is through their child’s school.

How do I know who my target audience is?

When you are identifying your target audience, think about gender, age, geographic location, income level, preferred leisure activities, their profession, their media activities (do they read magazine? Watch particular TV programs? Are there certain times of the day they listen to the radio?) and anything else you know about them.

It can be helpful to think of a specific individual who has all the characteristics of someone in your target audience.

Did you find this helpful or know someone who would? To access the complete Marketing Health Check including a worksheet to help you identify the characteristics of your target audience contact us today. We’ll arrange a time to meet with you to go through the health check in detail and provide advice specific to your business.

Creative Territory

think outside the circle

T: 08 8941 9169

E: darwin@creativeterritory.com

Author’s corrections – how can you slash your agency bill?

By Tracy Jones

One of the most hated terms in the marketing and public relations world is “author’s corrections”. We hate charging for them, our clients hate paying for them and our designers hate doing them.

Having got that off my chest, I’ll admit that they’re an inevitable and necessary part of our business. But there are ways to make them far less painful for everyone involved.

What are author’s corrections?

Author’s corrections are changes made to the instructions, the scope of the project, the text or the photos you have supplied after work has commenced.

Examples:

Your agency writes a radio script. You request changes. They make the changes and you sign off on the script. This will not incur author’s corrections. However, if you continue to change the script, you may be charged additional costs. If you change the script after your agency has produced the commercial, the costs will obviously be much higher.

Your agency designs a poster. You like the design but want the logo and heading bigger. The agency makes the changes and sends it back to you. At this stage you have not been charged author’s corrections. You approve the second design, but then ask the agency to replace two of the images and change the words in the heading. This may incur author’s corrections because you have made changes to the original instructions.

Why do they cost so much?

It seems simple on the surface to change one or two words. Unfortunately, in many cases this can be a time consuming process. For example:

• If you change the words in a 30 second radio commercial script, you might make the commercial longer than the original 30 seconds. We will need to test the new script to see if it fits in the timeframe and may need to edit other sections of the commercial to reduce the length.

• Graphic design files are very large. That’s what makes them such high quality once they are printed. These large files take time to load and also to save changes. By the time a designer locates the file (which is often stored off the server on a disk because of its size), loads the file, works on the changes, saves it and creates a low resolution copy for you to view, it can take up to 30 minutes to make a minor change. That’s why we ask you to send through all author’s corrections in one go if possible.

• If you add new words to a brochure that has already been laid out, you can push words onto a new line and make the document longer than it was previously. This can bump photos out of place and make columns spill over onto new pages. Once we’ve added the new words we need to check the document to make sure that hasn’t happened. If it has happened, we need to take the time to fix it.

How can I reduce the costs?

• Make sure your text, headings and image choices are approved before you send it to your agency.

• For projects that require design, filming or audio, organise approvals before your agency proceeds to the production stage. It is much easier to change a word in a text document than to reshoot a TV commercial.

• If your agency is working in a text document, consider updating the document yourself rather than marking it up and sending it to the agency. That way you won’t be paying for the agency to make the changes.

• When you receive a draft make sure everyone provides their changes at the same time. Send all the changes through to your agency at the same time. It costs more for the agency to change five words on five separate occasions than to change all five at the same time.

• If your agency sends through something that you are not 100% happy with, tell them what you like about it and what you don’t like about it. This will make it easier for them to get it right.

Most importantly, if you are worried about author’s corrections talk to your agency about it. Any good agency will be happy to provide advice on how to keep costs down.

Don’t just blog it – think about it.

I recently read a blog that suggested PR agencies were not practicing what they preach because only a quarter of them had blogs.

As a PR agency with a blog, you might expect me to agree with this line of thinking. But I don’t.

Blogging is just ONE strategy that a PR agency – or anyone else for that matter – may use to communicate with its target audience. Others include Yellow Pages, advertising, networking, media, newsletters, e-newsletters, website … shall I go on with my list?

My own agency has a blog but we don’t use Yellow Pages or hard copy newsletters. I know of other agencies that do use newsletters and advertising but not blogs. We each choose the right tools for our product and our audience.

Similarly, we strongly recommend that some of our clients use Facebook but not others. We recommend TV advertising for some campaigns but not others.

Not every tool is appropriate in every circumstance and blogging is no different. So how do you choose?

I always start with the same questions:

· What do you want to achieve?
· What are your key messages?
· Who do you need to talk to?
· What will push their buttons?

Don’t waste your money on activities that won’t achieve your goals. Put your time and energy into ones that will.

It's time to fight the spin.

By Tracy Jones

There’s nothing like a bit of “spin” to excite the media and the Opposition.

But is the Government’s investment in public relations really throwing money down the drain as today’s Northern Territory News suggests?

The News revealed $9 million of taxpayer money was being spent in marketing and communication units across Government.

When the uninformed call marketing and communications professionals “Spin Doctors” and question our value to society, we need to remind them of the difference these disciplines make to everyday lives.

Imagine where we would be if no-one ever “spun” the horror of AIDS?

I remember when AIDS first came to light in the eighties and the panic and uncertainty that took hold as people began to realise there was a new and vicious disease emerging in the world.

While the medical community fought the disease with research and pills, another weapon was unleashed - public relations.

The "Grim Reaper" advertising was highly controversial. People were shocked by the rawness of the message. But it did work. It made us sit up and think. And take notice. And act.

Yes, AIDS remains a terrible disease and - like most diseases that take hold - seems to be taking the worst toll in developing communities without access to the medical assistance, the drugs and (dare I say) the public relations channels of more affluent countries. PR did make a difference - a big difference - to the impact of AIDS in our community.

Every single day the Government sends us messages about issues we need to know about.

Just this week we’ve been informed about the availability of dozens of jobs, free dietary advice for healthy living, free business events, how to save energy, a car park closure, how to become a foster parent, joining the Youth Round Table, volunteering to help out at the museum and ways to get into home ownership if I am on a low income. And that’s just in the NT News.

That doesn’t count the websites, newsletters, meetings, mailouts and direct contact undertaken by Government every day.

Government has a duty to inform its citizens about these issues. It has a responsibility to undertake social marketing in the areas of community health and welfare, road safety and substance abuse. It’s hardly surprising that the Department of Health and Families is the biggest spender in this regard – I’d be affronted if they were not.

Marketing and public relations play an important part in our community. These activities raise money for important medical research, convince us to donate blood, warn us about the risks of travelling to certain countries, show us why we should report suspected child abuse and help us make choices that will change our lives.

One of the key roles that often comes under attack is that of the press secretary. But let’s not undervalue the role of the press secretary in helping Ministers and Opposition members contribute to public debate. And seriously …. I’d love to see how newsrooms would get their stories without the work of the much-maligned media minder.

There’s no doubt there are some questionable pieces of “marketing” that make us wonder about the appropriateness of Government spending our money on them. Rather than tarring all PR and marketing activity with the same well-spun brush, it would be far better to question the value of individual activities.

Measure to prove your worth

By Tracy Jones

What's the difference between a PR practitioner and a PR professional? It's all in the numbers.

A practitioner delivers tactics and counts their success in terms of outputs. How many media releases did I issue? How many words did I write?

A professional delivers strategy and measures their success in terms of outcomes. What difference did this make? What behaviours have been changed?

Understanding our objectives and measuring our achievements is key to delivering value as PR professionals. So why do so many of us not do it?

Money, tools, time and desire are all cited as reasons. We can't afford it. We don't need to know. It's too late. We don't have the tools.

None of these excuses are valid. We do have the tools, they don't cost a fortune and you can start using them today.

Being a professional rather than just a practitioner should be the goal of all of us in public relations. So start measuring your performance and prove your worth.

As published in the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) National Newsletter September 2009.
Tracy is national president of the PRIA.

Sponsorship: Edge out the competition

Part 2 – Perfecting your proposal

Posted by Janelle Rees

Last month we developed your answer to ‘what’s in it for my business?’ – so how can you turn that answer into an impressive sponsorship proposal?

Here are a few tips to get you started:

1) Planning: Decide how much sponsorship you need to raise, both cash and in-kind. Then you can break the total into sponsorship packages of different amounts – meaning more businesses will be able to get involved. From there, decide who in your team is going to do what, and by when – and get started. Break the job into manageable tasks first and all of a sudden it won’t seem so hard.

2) Overall presentation: Make your proposal look professional but not gaudy. Businesses are trusting you with their brand – show them you care about yours. Triple check for spelling mistakes and formatting errors. Get someone else to look over it for typos. Remember not to go overboard with the glitz and glamour – you are asking for money, and an over-the-top proposal can signal that you’ve wasted resources where it wasn’t required.

Not so good on the computer? Find the best person on your committee for formatting the final document. Or see if you can approach a friend for a favour, or pay your high-school aged child a token amount to help you out.

3) Content: Clearly and systematically outline:

a. What the opportunity is for their business
b. What you want from them
c. Why you want it
d. What they’ll get in return
e. Who they should contact

Keep the content simple and neatly laid out. For business people time is a luxury – the quicker they can glean the information they need from your presentation the better.

4) Research: Before you head out and start door-knocking at local businesses, do your research. Decide who you want to target. Think about which businesses are likely to have clients who match your target audience – where are some synergies? Then find out who’s the best person in the business to contact. The quickest way to get turned down is to cold-call the receptionist – their job is to get between you and the people who make the decisions. Make sure you know who the decision makers are, and work hard to get through to them directly.

Before you turn up for the meeting, establish which one of your packages you think the business can afford, and consider only offering them one or two sponsorship options. If they are spoiled with choices they’ll generally choose the cheaper option.

Most importantly, keep in mind you only have one chance for a first impression. By doing your research, putting together packages that truly offer value for local business and presenting them with a clear and professional presentation you’ll ensure your first impression develops into a beneficial and long-lasting business relationship.

* * *

Oh, and as marketing guru Seth Goodin says on his blog, don’t forget about your existing sponsors. Each year is an opportunity to consolidate your existing sponsor relationships. Make sure they get first choice at new opportunities. Keep in regular contact with them throughout your planning. Ask for their feedback when developing new packages. Nothing will turn them from sponsors to ex-sponsors quicker than seeing the new kid on the block getting a better deal than they are.

Sponsorship: Edge out the competition

Part 1 – What’s in it for me?

Posted by Janelle Rees

Present any business with a sponsorship proposal and their first thought will be ‘what’s in it for my business?’ By having your answer ready you can get an edge over your competition to attract those valuable sponsorship dollars.

So what benefits are businesses looking for? Simple - exposure, experiences and reach.

Exposure: This includes things like signage at your event, advertising in your program, logos on uniforms, acknowledgement in speeches, exposure on your website, chances to advertise on your big screen or through your broadcast system, naming rights and anything else that allows your sponsors to display their brand at your event. Just remember to give the big opportunities to the big sponsors and price your packages accordingly.

Experiences: Provide your sponsors with experiences that money can’t buy. This can include access to networking opportunities, tickets to VIP events, one-on-ones with celebrity guests and corporate entertainment packages. Is parking limited at your event? Create a VIP car park. Is your event premier viewing or screening? Open 30 minutes earlier for sponsors. Identify the unique features of your event and package them for the exclusive benefit of your sponsors.

Reach: This one is easy. When you’re presenting your sponsorship packages to business, make sure you tell them who they’ll be reaching. How many people? Is there a gender or age bias? Are they locals or visitors? Will their business get exposure before and after the event, adding to their potential reach? By matching their target audience with your target audience you’ll show them you’re serious about reaching their customers.

Whether times are tough or not in many cases shouldn’t matter – if you can present clear benefits in return for their business investment, your proposal will win attention from the people making the budget decisions.

Next month: Perfecting your proposal

10 New Year's Resolutions not to break

1. I will update my corporate profile. A good company profile is essential to selling your services to new clients and to attach to tenders. Make a point to update yours this year to save you time later.

2. I will finally do that media training. Don't wait for a crisis before you learn the basics of dealing with the media.

3. I will do my forward plan for the year before the end of March. Actually, I'd be happy if you managed to get it done before September.

4. I will update my website and remove profiles of the staff who left three years ago. Most of us are guilty of letting our websites get out of date. One of the ways to avoid this is to remove information that dates easily.

5. I will learn how to use Facebook, Bebo, Tagged, YouTube or LinkedIn. If not, make sure your children show you one of them.

6. I will schedule at least five networking functions with my peers and colleagues. It's easy to lose touch with peers and colleagues in the heat of doing business. Put them in your diary like every other important task.

7. I will subscribe to at least three newsletters, blogs, forums or publications that will help me learn more about my industry. Don't lose touch with the latest trends and news in your own industry.

8. I will check the news every day. Know what's going on in the world around you. If you can't catch the TV news, read a paper, listen to the radio or get your news online.

9. I will keep an eye on my competitors. After all, they might be doing something good that you can do better!

10. I will try at least one new marketing idea that I haven't been game to try before. Go out on a limb. Take a chance. Get creative. You might be surprised at your success.

Making the most of the classified ad

The classified ad is the staple of newspaper advertising departments.

From a consumer point of view, the humble classie does the sorting for us, allowing us to find exactly what we are looking for in a predictable place.

I love classies for a lot of reasons. But I do want to urge advertisers to use them for what they are good at.

First the pros…..

- Classies reach a very targeted audience: We’re constantly telling our clients to target their messages and classies do exactly that. When I am selling a car, my ad is going right in the place where people who want to buy a car are looking.

- Classies are accessible to everyone: You don’t have to be a big advertiser to place a classie. A small classie can cost as little as $20 or $30.

- Classies are sorted by subject: You don’t need to wade through every page of the paper to find what you are looking for. You simply flip to the Whitegoods section and there are all the secondhand fridges in one convenient place.

- Classies can be very clever: I’ve seen some brilliant marketing campaigns built around the classie. By using a series of small, cheap classies, you can leverage frequency to build a whole campaign at a very reasonable price.

Now the cons ….

-Classies cost more per centimetre: The classified advertising rate can be $2 or $3 higher than the standard display advertising rate.

- Classie centimetres are smaller than a display centimetre: A standard tabloid news page is seven columns wide while a classified page is eight columns wide. The page isn’t bigger – the ads are just skinnier.

- Classies don’t attract volume discounts: Big (and even medium-size) advertisers get discounts off casual rates on their display advertising. These discounts generally do not apply to classies (but ask anyway, as you never know what deal you can do).

- Classies don’t always have the same flexibility as display: You need to stick to fairly standard sizes with a classie. For example, you can’t have a three-column classie in most sections – only two or four (or more). Still, ask for special shapes because your rep may be willing to go out on a limb.

- Classies don’t account for passerby traffic: Just because you’re not looking to buy a new TV doesn’t mean I can’t tempt you with an ad cleverly placed in the sports section. Not everyone who will be tempted to buy a product will be looking for it in the classies.

All in all, use classies for what they are good for and use display advertising when it shines.

And don’t be afraid to talk to your marketing consultant, media buyer or newspaper rep about doing special deals and making special sizes.

Newspapers have come a long way over the past few years and you’ll be surprised at the range of advertising options available.

News Limited has developed a website specifically looking at the creative use of advertising space that is packed full of case studies, celever ideas and challenges to the traditional use of print media. You can visit the site at http://www.newsspace.com.au/

If you are in the Territory, get in touch with the NT News or Centralian Advocate and ask to see the publication Think Outside the Rectangle for a fastastic range of ideas.

New ways to reach your NT audience

Posted by Janelle Rees

I’ll let you in on a little secret – up to one third of the NT’s potential free-to-air audience isn’t being reached by the traditional channels.

The introduction of Channel 10 in May 2008 and the upcoming introduction of regional advertising footprints by SBS will permanently change the face of Territory television advertising.

So what does that mean for your business?

To borrow a few clichés, by jiggling your advertising budget around even just slightly, you can borrow from Peter to pay Paul and reap some of the following benefits:

- Get ahead of the crowd. No everyone is doing it. This is your opportunity to get out in front and expand your reach beyond your competitors.

- ‘Brands look bigger in a small space’, says the SBS marketing tagline. SBS has the shortest ad breaks on commercial TV, giving viewers less time to get bored of ads and tune out. Channel Ten is growing its client base, but those ad breaks with vision of the Territory and annoying music everyone talks about are a sign they’ve got plenty of ad space available for you.

- Talk to someone new. Channel 10 primarily targets a younger audience than their competitors. SBS reaches more tertiary educated professionals and managers than all the other channels. Start a conversation with a more targeted audience – they’ve probably been waiting for you to get in touch.

- Spend less to get more coverage. At the moment, the cost entry points for SBS and Channel 10 are lower than their competitors and it is potentially easier to get sought-after placements during primetime.

While Channel 10 is only available in Darwin, SBS will be offering two advertising footprints: Darwin; and SA+NT, covering the remainder of the Northern Territory. Almost half of Territorians live outside Darwin and Palmerston, so the SA+NT footprint might be handy for reaching your consumers in some of those out-of-the-way places.

And now something for those who are impressed by statistics – or who need help selling it to senior management. Across regional Australia*, SBS’s regional audience share is around 5 to 6 per cent, depending on which survey period you are reviewing. Channel 10 enjoys an audience share of 15 per cent. That’s a total of 20-ish per cent out of a total 64 per cent of people watching commercial, free-to-air TV on any given night. Or to put it another way – a third of your potential viewing audience.

So should you do next? Think about integrating SBS and Channel 10 into the advertising mix for your next campaign. Expand your current campaign to include these channels. The sooner you get onboard, the sooner you will be able to start enjoying the results.

*Regional Australia: Australian viewing audiences outside the five capitals, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Want more information?

Free TV Australia:
http://www.thinktv.com.au/

ABS NT population statistics:
www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/851BBD844853978CCA2574EF001387AA?opendocument

The Power of Positive Speech

Some friends of mine have just returned from a magnificent round-the-world trip and spent some time regaling me with their holiday stories.

They finished the conversation with this classic: “It was one of those holidays when everything that could go right did go right.”

Hang on – did I hear that correctly? Everything that could go RIGHT?

In PR, we’re always telling our clients how important it is to develop messages that are positive, not negative. “Keep the focus on you,” we tell them.

This story illustrates that point very clearly. Imagine if the story my friends told me was about everything that went WRONG? What would it leave me feeling at the end?

“Typical airlines … I’ve had just that experience with them before … can’t be trusted … who’d go to that country anyway … for the amount you pay you’d think the hotel could at least be clean …. “. And so on, and so on. My focus would be on all the companies and people who had made this holiday a bad one.

Negative messages can divert our attention from the main game. Instead of focusing on the key points I am trying to get across, by being negative I risk leading my audience down another path.

So what happened when my friends told me everything that went RIGHT? What did I feel?

“Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving couple …. good on them …. what a great holiday …” And so on.

Whether you are talking up a product or fending off a developing issue, positive language can be very positive in getting people on side. It builds confidence with the listener and keeps them focused on you and your message.

Think about this scenario: You are the chairman of a company that has had a food product tampered with. You’re facing a media conference. Which of the following messages is going to do the most good for both you and your customers:

a. We can’t believe anyone would do such a terrible thing.
b. We’re going to find this criminal and make him pay.
c. We will stop at nothing to make our food safe for customers.

Think positive, talk positive. It’s the key to clear communication.

Building brand strength in a stormy climate

Posted by Janelle Rees

It’s the build-up in the Territory and while the air conditioning market might be booming, other sectors aren’t weathering the changing economic climate quite so well.

During an economic downturn one of the first budgets to get cut is often marketing and communications.

As communications professionals we play an important role in demonstrating to senior management the advantages of maintaining the communications spend during stormy financial times.

It’s important to convince management that in many cases an economic downturn can be an opportunity to build brand strength. While your competitors are cutting back, you can be investing in your brand positioning and building long-term shareholder value. When the economy picks up (as it inevitably will), you will be in a strong position to capitalise while your competitors are busy playing catch-up.

Additionally, one of the many factors influencing the weakening economy is consumer confidence. As AMI Chairman Roger James points out, consumer confidence is in many cases as much about perception as reality – and that’s where there is an opportunity for marketing and communications professionals to rise to the challenge and influence public perception.

So how do we effectively communicate that we can’t afford to stop communicating?

Research: Know what your competitors are doing, and how they are doing it. Know your target audience. How have they been affected to date by the economic downturn? Have a general understanding of your organisation’s financial position. Can they feasibly afford to maintain the marketing spend?

Evaluate: Senior management is responsible to shareholders, and shareholders are often most interested in the bottom line. You need to be able to demonstrate how effective your communications activities are to maintaining and growing the profitability of the organisation.

Diversify your communications activities: Are there more effective ways you can reach your target audience? Are there cheaper ways you can reach your target audience? Do you already make the most of cost-effective communications in areas such as public relations and social media? Is there an opportunity to borrow a small amount from your TV spend to pilot a social media campaign or extend your public relations activities? Or do you have the internal skills to pilot a social media campaign for next to nothing?

As communications professionals we need to be able to demonstrate our ability to adapt to changing market conditions while still playing a role that demonstrably benefits our organisation’s reputation and bottom line.

The Brand Approach to Marketing

Owning a space in the consumer’s mind

Every shop, company, product, person, location and government has an “image”. A favourable image allows you to attract new markets or sell at a higher price. An unfavourable image makes you unpopular, making it difficult to attract business or sales. A brand strategy is a tool that allows you to manage your image in a way that contributes positively to your reputation and therefore your business.

What is the difference between a product and a brand?
• A product is something made in a factory. A brand is something bought by consumers.
• A product can be copied by a competitor. A brand is unique.
• A product is an object. A brand has a personality that can own a space in the consumer’s mind.

What is the difference between a product or service brand and a corporate brand?
In basic terms, a corporate brand is about people, whereas a product brand is about attributes. The fast pace of technological change makes it harder and harder to achieve sustainable competitive advantage on the basis of functional product brand attributes, as competitors can easily replicate areas of added value. This is where the company itself may be a powerful source of vital competitive advantage.

Reputation, culture and personality are key discriminators and the corporate brand provides the source of such values.

Corporate brand is a mix of the visible (shopfront, logo, uniforms, etc.), the perceived (external perception of your advertising, promotions and communication), the experience (external interaction with employees), the heritage and culture, and the product brands.

Stephen King puts it succinctly: “…increasingly the company [corporate] brand itself will act as the main discriminator. That is, consumers’ choice will depend less on an evaluation of the functional benefits to them of a product or service, more on an assessment of the people behind it – their skills, attitudes, integrity, behaviour, style, responsiveness, greenism, language: the whole company culture, in fact.” (King S. ‘Tomorrow’s Research’. Admap, September 1991.)

Customer Segmentation: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? These questions are asked to help breakdown a market into identifiable segments, each of which may have its own special product requirements and each of which is likely to exhibit various habits affecting its exposure to your communication. Other factors likely to vary between each segment are price, performance, design, service, usage, benefits and personality.

Brand Positioning: What do the customers need? What is the company capable of? What are the competitors offering? Mapping helps determine key purchase motivators for specific customer segments. It helps you understand where the brand is now (versus the competition) and where it could be in the future. Brand positioning relates brand benefits to customer needs and defines the brand’s competitive advantage in relation to the competition.

Competitive Advantage: This is NOT about quality or value: all products have a ‘quality’ and as soon as someone purchases a product it has a ‘value’. It’s about the ability to meet customer requirements in a superior manner to competitors. The combination of attributes (added value) given to a brand must reflect customer requirements and set the brand apart from the competition.

The Creative Territory Approach: Giving your “brand” a personality
The best brands make an emotional connection with the audience.

Think about Cadbury Chocolate, named by a recent Readers Digest poll as Australia’s most trusted brand. Cadbury doesn’t try to sell you chocolate. It doesn’t even try to sell you a feature or benefit of chocolate. It sells you a whole experience. Let’s face it, wouldn’t it be nice if the world really WAS Cadburys?

The best brands have a distinct personality that the consumer can touch and feel. They don’t sell a “thing” but impart a special value that is desired by the audience.

At Creative Territory we treat your brand like a personality to help you uncover the other personalities that matter to your brand – the personalities of your audience, of your company/ product/ service, of your competitors and of the brand itself.

Desk Research: We start by having a long, hard look at you and your brand. Is it new or has it been around for a while? Does it stand for anything? Does it have a personality? Does the promise match the delivery? Who are its competitors? Who else is in its family (or should be)? This first task is generally undertaken through desk research and helps us gain a picture of what your brand is now.

New Primary Research: If required, we commission new primary research. This may include interviews with existing customers and potential new ones, suppliers, people who have stopped being customers. Telephone surveys can also be undertaken if required.

Brand Attributes: The next stage is to ask you and as many others as possible to use a tool we have developed to help gather together all the attributes of your brand. We start by giving you a list of 100 or so words which you need to rate according to how closely they are (or should be) associated with your brand. It’s important that you don’t think too hard about your answers – we truly are trying to get a “gut dump”. It should take each participant less than 2 minutes to complete this task. We then collate all the answers ready for the next stage.

Workshop: With the homework complete we move on to a three-hour workshop with your team. During this workshop we will examine the results of your gut dump, find out more about your competitors, learn about the personalities of your target audiences and develop a common understanding of the personality of your brand. We usually undertake this workshop with your most senior management team as well as the person responsible for marketing in your organisation.

Workshop Outcomes: Following the workshop, Creative Territory will work with our design partner Sprout to develop strategic recommendations on your brand as well as some examples of the creative direction. Within 2-3 weeks of the workshop, we will be ready to present these findings back to your senior management team.

Development of a Marketing Strategy: The next stage is the development of a complete marketing strategy to take your brand and business forward. This will include the identification of strategies, tactics and tools that bring the brand to life for your new clients including media, advertising, web and new media strategies, point of sale strategies and direct marketing. Detailed costings for suggested strategies would be undertaken at this stage.

Creative Execution: With the strategy set, we are also able to provide a full agency creative service through our partnership with Sprout Creative.