March 7, 2009. blog by Larry Tate

Think of advertising as a portfolio of investments. Now think about the diversity of your investments. Your one shot isn’t your literal investment into a single advertisement but your one advertising budget. Take a look at the myriad of advertising options available to the businesses that advertise and the consumers they target. It’s enough to inflict a dose of attention deficit disorder on everyone involved. Our economy isn’t going to rebound overnight, but if you don’t know where and when to begin advertising, you may wake up to a “going out of business sale” ad, leaving you with a “why didn’t I…” hangover.

There’s a time and place for all types of advertising and now is the time to decide where to place your advertising to get the most out of this crummy economy; and more importantly, assist in accelerating out of the dark tunnel when a recession ends. Decide whether your unique selling proposition (USP) is suited for a recession, or if it’s a liability. Not all USPs are bullet-proof. However, there is a “B” side to each USP that needs the occasional air-time, and this is probably the time to outline your plan “B” advertising strategy.

The good news with this economy is that most businesses are willing to negotiate in order to ease the pain of their customers; advertising mediums included. A rate card is just that. It isn’t anything more than a “manufacturer's suggested retail price” and you should ask for the best price. If you have a traditional advertising budget that is your benchmark spend of 100%, try negotiating as much as you can to drive that number into a savings that now gives you X% over your benchmark. Next, take a look at your portfolio of advertising investments and determine which ones are giving you the best return on investment. By calculating your spend, discount and return, you’ll have identified your dollar cost average per ad vehicle and quickly identify which advertising investment is giving you the best return on investment and which is giving you the worst. It’s a pure study in “process of elimination”.

There should be a focus on your portfolio of advertising investments now. If not, you’ll be mired in a fuzzy haze and you’ll not only miss out on some great investments now, but you’ll be overpaying for your future investments.

Tell me what you think. What is your Unique Selling Proposition’s “B” side and how are the advertising investments you make today helping with a better tomorrow?

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