By Michael B. Perini, ABC
It would be great if “earned media” — free placement of your story by the media would always be available. Unfortunately, with the pace of news and decisions by editors on what is news business owners and nonprofit directors are left with a loss on how to get their story told. 
Another way is paid advertising. What is the role of paid advertising? The easy answer is that advertising helps sell a product or service. More from THE MEDIACENTER · 1500 Harbor Blvd. 2nd Floor · Weehawken NJ 07086 · Tel 866 MC ASK US · Fax 201 348 1761 “Beyond that, however, advertising has several key benefits in terms of reinforcing a company’s marketing efforts, providing information to customers and the marketplace, and creating and enhancing your company’s identity and image.
If a prospect asks the question, “Why should I advertise?” here are some compelling reasons:
Marketing
Advertising enables you to hold onto existing customers. Many enterprises thrive on repeat and referral business, and existing customers are the key to both. When existing customers don’t hear from you or about you, they tend to forget you. Advertising enables you to reach new customers. Your market changes constantly. New families move into the area. Also, people’s circumstances change, which means differences in lifestyle and buying habits. They have new wants and needs every day. Advertising keeps you in step with the changes in your market. Advertising gives you an advantage over competitors who have stopped advertising. A troubled economy can be a superb advantage to a marketing-minded entrepreneur. It gives you a chance to attract some of their customers. Advertising generates customer traffic. Continuous customer traffic means sales increases and an expanded customer base. The more people who come into your business, the greater the possibilities of making sales and forming new customer relationships. Advertising gives you a long-term advantage over competitors who cut back or cancel their advertising. Companies that maintain their advertising experience much greater sales increases than those who don’t.
Information
Advertising reaches your customers regardless of their reading, listening and viewing habits. Advertising builds awareness. Awareness builds familiarity and trust. Each ad appearance builds on prior brand recognition. Advertising creates long-term memory. People forget, and they forget fast. They are bombarded with messages, an estimated 2,700 a day. The more impressions you make, the longer people will remember your ad and your company. Advertising helps customers decide. Many people postpone buying decisions, often going from store to store comparing prices, quality and service. Advertising must reach them steadily throughout the buying process because your name must be fresh in their minds whey they’re ready to buy. Advertising keeps your business top of mind. People won’t know you’re there unless you get the word out. Continual advertising builds awareness and trust in your company.
Identity/Image
Advertising strengthens your identity. When you quit advertising, you shortchange your reputation, reliability and the confidence people have in your company. Advertising keeps a healthy and positive image of your company. It corrects misleading gossip and counteracts overstated bad news. Advertising maintains morale. Your own morale is improved when you see your marketing at work, especially when you see that it does work. Cutting back on advertising can lead to the impression that your business is in trouble. Positive advertising carries the knowledge that your business is healthy. Advertising improves your business’ image. It tells your customers and competitors that your doors are open and ready for business.”
Yes, we can design and recommend placement of your ad!