Evaluating an advertising offer
From the moment you opened the doors of your tourism business you were most likely inundated with offers to advertise. There is an old business adage: “Only half my advertising works; the trouble is I don’t know which half it is”.
Most businesses find that they spend large amounts of money before they can determine what really works for them. This is especially so if the business has not developed a strategically thought-through marketing plan .
You should also consider an Advertising Plan as part of your overall marketing strategy for the year. It doesn’t need to be complicated, but should answer five key questions:
- Which target market will provide the best return on investment ?
- Which is the best way to reach those people ?
- What are the key media those people tend to use ?
- What image do I wish to communicate to potential clients ?
- What are the key selling message/s to convey ?
Even experienced tourism operators find it difficult to evaluate an offer to advertise. If not prepared with the right questions to ask, an operator can be easily worn down by a tenacious advertising salesperson and often find themselves signing up for something just to rid themselves of the person. Use these simple questions to help you evaluate the worth of an advertising offer:
Who does it target – geographically and demographically?
- What proof do they have that it does ?
What numbers do they print – how can they prove it ?
How is it distributed - shotgun or targeted ?
What is the publication’s life ?
- Will it be around tomorrow’s vegies peelings or in doctor’s surgeries for years to come ?
What is the estimated readership ?
- How many people on average will read each publication ? (ie the pass-on value)
Are you paying for readers that you don’t need ?
- Evaluate the ‘cost per thousand’ needed to reach your ‘target’ market, not the publication’s overall readership
- A small, well targeted publication could be much more valuable to you
- Ask the publishers for demographic and psycho-graphic details of their readers