ADVERTISING TIPS



[pic]

PLAY GOLF AMERICA NEWS BUREAU

ADVERTISING TIPS

Advertising can be an incredibly effective tool to drive consumers to your Play Golf America programs. At the same time, it can be expensive and, if not properly planned, a significant drain on your resources.

In this section of the Play Golf America News Bureau, you’ll find tips on:

Advertising Options

•Print

•Television

•Radio

Choosing the Medium

•Budgeting

•Set Goals

•Know Your Customer

•Narrow the Field

Placing Your Ad

•Review Materials

•Test Your Options

•Bartering

•Co-Op

Creating an Ad

•Develop Your Message

•Tailor to the Medium

•Ask for Help

Advertising Options

Print

Print media can include newspapers, local golf publications and magazines. In general, print media offer a good place to promote events, programs and pricing. You can also target your message by media outlet (business programs in business journals, family programs in family magazines, etc.) and even by the section within a newspaper (couples programs in the lifestyle section, pricing ads in the sports section, etc.).

Television

Television advertising offers innovative choices today. You can utilize local network advertising to reach a broad demographic or you can focus your efforts through cable television advertising. Through cable, you can target by specific network and, in some cases, by zip code. Television ads are generally expensive to produce and cannot be changed easily. Therefore, television is usually a better place to promote the “branding” of your facility…not specific programs.

Radio

Like print, radio offers you the opportunity to choose outlets that reach your targeted audiences (sports talk stations, easy listening, general talk radio, etc.). Radio is a great medium for call-to-action advertising (i.e. call now to reserve your tee time). These ads can be easily changed and offer you the opportunity to revise your message based on your needs and programs. Also, with radio, you have cost-effective options in addition to the traditional 30- and 60-second spots such as sponsoring traffic reports and news.

Choosing the Medium

Budgeting

Before choosing your medium, you need to determine your budget. As a rule of thumb, most organizations have traditionally used the following formulas to determine advertising budgets:

Up to 8% of Annual Gross Revenues – This is the standard for organizations that are new and/or launching significant programs.

2%-3% of Annual Gross Revenues - Once you have built equity in the market for your facility, you can generally go into a maintenance mode at 2% to 3% of gross revenues.

Back to top

Set Goals

Before purchasing an ad, you need to determine what you want to achieve through your advertising. Are you simply trying to raise awareness of your facility? Are you promoting specific programs? Are you trying to draw in a different type of customer than you have now? Use questions like this to set your goals and focus your efforts.

Know Your Customer

It is important to know who your current customers are: age group, sex, income level, and the amount of golf they play annually (at your facility and elsewhere). If you are trying to attract more of these same types of golfers, you can use this demographic information to choose the media outlets for advertising. Conversely, if you are trying to attract a different type of customer to your facility, you can make sure your advertising does not appeal to this same audience.

Narrow the Field

Between print, television and radio, you most likely have more options than budget so you’ve got to narrow the field. Once you’ve set your goals and understand the audience you are trying to reach, you can then choose the medium(s) that match them. Remember:

Print – good place to promote events, programs and pricing

Television – good place to promote overall “branding” of your facility

Radio – good place to promote call to action

Advertising costs vary from market to market and even from medium to medium. If at all possible, you should find someone locally who can help you make the best decisions. You may be able to find a small marketing agency or a freelance individual who is willing to trade out for this service.

Placing Your Ad

Review Materials

Once you’ve narrowed the field for your advertising medium(s), it’s time to research your options. Contact the targeted media outlets and request a media kit. This will include demographic information for the outlet as well as the cost for the advertising time or space. You can then cross-reference this against the demographic you are targeting as well as your budget.

Test Your Options

Rather than committing your entire budget at the outset of your advertising campaign, be sure to test your options. As you test, you will find out what advertising messages and outlets work and which do not work. Once you determine what is most effective, then you can commit further resources.

Bartering

Golf can be a powerful tool with the media. If you have the capacity to offer golf or use of your facility in exchange for space, you can keep your out-of-pocket expenses to a minimum. It’s common practice to offer the following in exchange for advertising: rounds of golf, food and beverage and meeting space.

Co-Op

You may want to consider co-opping (or sharing) advertising resources with other facilities in your area. By splitting advertising, you are able to keep the costs down while increasing the amount of advertising you are able to afford. This is also a good way to jointly promote initiatives like Play Golf America that grow the game for everyone.

Creating an Ad

Develop Your Message

Once you’ve made an investment in buying ad time/space, it’s critical that your ad meet your objectives. You must decide what you want this ad to accomplish and craft your message around this.

Tailor to the Medium

Each advertising medium offers a unique opportunity to effectively reach your target audience. Your ad must, therefore, be tailored to the medium:

Print – Must catch the eye. Enough copy to get your message across but no more.

Television – Has to be visual. Show action.

Radio – What’s the call to action?

Ask for Help

The cost of purchasing an ad is an expensive line item in your budget so it’s imperative that you be as effective as possible. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. You can find local professional help (i.e. small advertising firm, freelance designer, etc.) or many advertising outlets will help you develop your ad for a minimal fee.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download