Guest Column
Pam Maher
Is your print ad having the effect you want?
Five techniques for measuring your print advertisement’s effectiveness
Okay. Be honest. Do you glance at the ads in this publication? I do. Is that because I co-own an advertising agency? Maybe. But maybe it’s also because the ads I do glance at are the ones that are pretty well done. If you place print ads for your business, ask yourself if your ads are working for you. If you do advertise and your answer is “I don’t know if my ads in here are working,” then something is wrong. My guess is you’re not measuring the results. That’s probably the biggest pitfall companies make in executing any form of advertising. Here’s a “Top 5” list of suggestions for tracking a print ad’s effectiveness.
List Your Web Site Address
If you don’t regularly check your Web site statistics (meaning once a month or more), there’s no time like today to start. If you don’t have Web site statistics for your site, you might as well put down this magazine and go contact your Web firm or IT guy. You can create a unique Web site address for advertisements in a specific publication such as www.mycompany.com/special. Track how many hits you get using that unique domain address. You only publicize that unique domain in one publication so you can accurately track its effectiveness.
Place an Ad Prompt
You could place an ad prompt, basically a call to action that encourages the reader to do something such as stop in and ask to see our “new XYZ product line.” Then, keep track of how many requests you get for that product or service.
Underprice Well Known Product
If someone is advertising reams of copy paper at an unbelievably attractive price of five cents each, for example, you can track how many units were sold. The philosophy is that enough people will buy enough other items to make the promotion profitable. It’s a little more upscale of an offer than a down and dirty coupon and if you offer the product at cost, then it’s a break even promotion if nothing more. This offer should be available for a limited time only and perhaps include a “Limit one per customer” to create a sense of urgency.
Tell a Story
Find an item you sell that has a powerful story behind it, then, find a writer capable of telling that story compellingly in an ad. Again, the effectiveness of the ad can easily be tracked through sales of the item and/or a general increase in customer count.
Plant a Word-Flag in the Ad
A word-flag is an unexpected, memorable name, word or phrase that customers will voluntarily mention in their efforts to be friendly or to “connect” with you. For example, one radio spot for an Italian restaurant explained the unusual childhood of “Little Joey,” the owner-operate of the business. Joseph had never been called “Little Joey” in his life, but a few hours after the campaign had launched, new customers were asking, “Are you Little Joey?” It is possible to combine a few of these elements in your print ad. The first and second options will probably garner more response but the last three suggestions will result in a higher quality customer.
Pam Maher is vice president/director of sales & marketing for KMK Media Group, Inc., and chairman-elect of the Rockford Chamber board.
The views expressed are those of Maher’s and do not necessarily reflect those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.
