THE BRIEF
Your client is a big motoring manufacturer wanting to introduce an entry-level vehicle to South Africans aged between 18 and 25. The campaign will run over three months with a budget of R1-million.
This is how Richard Lord, media strategist at The MediaShop, would have marketed it.
“A launch budget of R1-million over three months is challenging but not unrealistic. It creates a unique opportunity to do things differently, which by default creates stand-out in an otherwise cluttered market place.
To start, let’s examine the target market. The age criterion of 18-25 suggests a student market or first time employee. According to AMPS 2006, the average household income of 18-25 year olds with a matric education is R6,050 p.m. putting them primarily in LSM 7+. We are therefore talking to young, fairly affluent people. Following on from this we could define a secondary audience of parents. However, the budget of R1-million is not enough to target both markets properly and I would therefore focus on the primary audience only.
Next we need to establish some media objectives against which to plan. We are living in an age where consumers are constantly bombarded by messages and are therefore becoming more sophisticated by filtering out messages that are not relevant. The days where a 3+ frequency was required are gone – people are either in the market for something or they are not. If they’re not, telling them five times will have little effect. Consumers need to hear a message once and if the product meets their needs, appeals to them and is the right price they will include it in their repertoire. So reach is a far more important objective than frequency. The bottom line is sales and simply put the more people who know about a product, the greater the take up will be. The logic is simple – convert one percent of 40 percent or one percent of 80 percent.
We also know that this market are very marketing savvy and do not easily form relationships with brands. So in addition to the reach objective, we want a campaign that is impactful, involving and encourages interaction.
But before considering what media to use, let’s dismiss those which are not suitable. Given the budget, TV is the obvious one – despite its excellent reach and audio / visual impact, the cost is prohibitive. Secondly magazines – they are increasingly cluttered making stand out difficult and it takes much longer to maximise reach than in other media. Lastly, Outdoor – it is too expensive, represents too much wastage and there is not enough space to say much.
So what do we propose? We are launching a new vehicle, so a visual element is desirable but we also want maximum reach. Radio, which is consumed on the move, is ideal for pinning down our notoriously hard to reach audience. Support this with cinema for visual impact and online for interactivity and we now have all the elements for a successful and different campaign.
Radio offers cost-effective reach and young adults have an affinity with the medium. It is perfect for positioning as it is a trend-setter that creates popular culture through new music. Our market are early adopters of new technology like cell phones and MP3 players, and as such I would propose an on-air campaign that positions and creates awareness but that also directs people to the station’s website where they will be encouraged to download video podcasts (played via iPods, 3G phones and PSP’s) that provide more detailed information. This then turns a non-visual, but high reaching medium into a visual and interactive one.
Cinema provides visual impact and a captive audience. The advertising is a part of the experience and we therefore have people’s implicit permission to talk to them. I would do this through a combination of on-screen ads for positioning and awareness, coupled with an in-foyer promotion, where the vehicle is present thus giving people a hands on experience.
Finally, the web by its very nature is a high involvement medium that requires interaction. It is the perfect environment for a new car launch. It not only provides the visual element but it allows for unlimited creativity, so virtual tours where people can customise their “dream” vehicle by choosing colours and interior features and styling is not only feasible but very easy to do. The web can also encourage people to give their details and request a test drive, which is a great means of generating a data base. Proposed activity would consist of a combination of banners, buttons and skyscrapers directing people to the website, but also a whole host of real media options such as eye-catchers and expanding banners. Sponsorships of relevant environments are also recommended, allowing the message to become part of the editorial environment which combats overt ad avoidance.
All of these elements combined are not only measurable, but also allow for a high reaching, visually impactful and interactive campaign.”
Any media agency interested in participating in this feature should send its contact details to [email protected]. Also, don’t forget to send us your letters. We would love to hear your thoughts on this latest feature in the magazine. – ed.