Brian Schmidt, Contributor

Schmidt

This article is not intended to comment on the effectiveness of the recent election campaigns. Rather, it is intended to highlight features in the overall strategy of the campaigns and how that can relate to what other advertiser should keep in mind when planning their own promotions.

Advertising specialists the world over recommend keeping messages simple and focused. A client can have the largest advertising and production budget and still wind up with an ineffective campaign because his or her message is too crowded.

The Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) campaign was very focused around a few simple messages, which allowed the campaign to get into the public consciousness quickly.

The People's National Party's (PNP) campaign started out vaguely and did not hit the mark. However, during the last two weeks, the advertising became more focused and cohesive and, I believe, became more effective.

'Advertising colic'

Local advertisers often try to cram too much information into their advertising. My name for this phenomenon is 'advertising colic'.

Remember, advertising is about getting to the top of mind - that is, the competition is not necessarily your competitor, but everything else that is competing for the potential customer's attention.

Lesson: Keep advertising messages simple and it will more likely work.

It is critical to have strong concepts in advertising that will capture people's imagination. Few do this better than political parties, which have a knack for creating engaging advertising. One ounce of concept is worth more than a truckload of budget.

Speaking of budget, advertisers bemoan how expensive it is to produce advertising material. But is this true?

Not really. Most of the political advertising was inexpensive to produce and they were effective.

Production quality

That being said, though, advertisers should never scrimp on the quality of what is being produced, and much of the quality does not come at an additional price. There is no excuse for poor copy (text), blurred images due to incompetence and distorted recordings, irrespective of price.

There is a worrying trend in the industry that anyone who can 'handle themselves' on a computer and/or a camera are graphic artists, cinematographers, photographers and musicians. We need to stop fooling ourselves; most of these people don't have a clue.

Work is being done on the cheap and it shows, dragging brands and standards down. Is that an acceptable consequence of looking for the lowest cost?

I would think a brand or company is too valuable for this sort of disregard. Clients who are not happy with a cost must feel free to negotiate. But remember, you cannot "get a Rolls Royce for a Lada price".

Lesson: Better production values will make your advertising better. Only work with people who are trained in and understand production and negotiate realistically for a better deal.

MEDIA CHOICE COUNTS

My investigation reveals that the bulk of advertising spent went to television, followed by radio and then newspapers. However, the greatest volume of advertising is likely to have been on radio. Interestingly, the JLP seems to have put a greater overall emphasis on radio than the PNP.

In simplistic terms, radio is so pervasive in Jamaica that an advertiser can reach large audiences relatively inexpensively to excite customers. Television is the 'sexy' medium with the very strong combination of sight and sound which can also excite audiences. Newspapers tend to be best for giving out more detailed information that readers refer to. But this is not necessarily so. Imagine opening a newspaper one day and seeing and ad for company X which says, 'Today only - 70 per cent off everything!'

Lesson: Get professional advice on what media or combination of media best suits your strategy and business or brand.

'Reach' in advertising terms refers to the number of people that are impacted by messages, while 'frequency' refers to how often audiences are impacted by messages. To get greater reach, place messages on as many media as possible. To get greater frequency, place more messages on fewer media. For this to be effective, usually it is best to select a 'hero' media which will carry the bulk of the advertising, with one or a few other supporting media.

Typically, election advertising is targeted at the mass of the population, which is why the JLP and PNP were on virtually all media. They both employed a reach and frequency strategy, that is, they both tried to get as many people as possible to see their messages as often as possible.

I was disappointed that neither party was as targeted with their messages as they could have been. Both parties should have developed ads specifically for the 18-25-year-old demographic and placed it on Zip 103 FM, for instance. Similarly, ads catering to different demographics should have been created and placed with media catering to the respective demographics. Instead, the same ads were by and large rotated on all media, which was a less effective use of placement.

Both parties, though, proved the value of concentrating advertising into a relatively short period of time instead of spreading it out. This is classic frequency strategy. Let's put it this way: does a tablespoon of syrup taste sweeter in an eight-ounce glass or in a swimming pool? Advertising impact is diluted when it is spread out too much.

The JLP proved that number two or less in a market needs to get going earlier and stronger to make up lost ground. The National Democratic Movement (NDM) and independents by contrast suffered from 'out of sight, out of mind'.

Lesson: Choose the media whose audience best matches your target audience and concentrate advertising in a shorter period for maximum impact. Advertising is an investment in your brand or product, not a cost. If you want to be noticed by prospective customers, the investment has to be made.

OFF-PRIME TIME IS GOOD

Election advertising went virtually around the clock. Political parties get it that different people listen at different times and they are all valuable. Think about it; tens of thousands of people listen to the radio at night and early morning and tens of thousands watch TV during lunchtime.

Remember the Rolls Royce and the Lada? If a business or organisation cannot afford to get decent frequency in prime time, why bother? A better investment strategy would be to place the message in off-prime with good frequency so long as the correct people are being targeted. Is it better to reach 300,000 people twice or 50,000 people 10 times? This is self-evident.

Build business and revenues by investing in off-prime and then venture with a stronger pocket to investing in prime time. Better yet, you should strongly consider a combination of off prime and prime for more frequency.

Lesson: Resist the lure of prime time if you cannot comfortably afford it and benefit fully from off-prime.

The point is that there are a number of things that need to be considered when promoting, and if they are not all done well, your chances of success are sketchy. Here is your advertising promotion checklist:

Know who you are targeting.

Advertising and promotion is an investment, not a cost.

Have a simple message which will cut through the clutter in the potential customers brain.

Have a strong concept to carry the message.

Do not compromise production values and standards.

Chose to work with the type of media and the specific media houses that cater to the people you are trying to reach

It is better to concentrate advertising in a short period than to stretch it out over time. Impact is everything.

Don't be afraid of off-prime where significant opportunities await.

Get professional advice from advertising agencies, placement agencies, researchers and media houses among others.

Lesson: There are no guarantees in life or advertising, but we can better prepare for a better outcome - non-negotiable!

Brian Schmidt is marketing manager of IRIE-FM.