Traditional Marketing Archives

7 reasons brands should use traditional media

Advertisers are consistently trying to decide where to spend ad dollars between traditional media and digital media campaigns. Despite the growing influence of digital media over the past 5 years, traditional media via TV and radio still holds significant value for Houston brands. Here are seven influential reasons why brands should continue to use traditional media for effective marketing and advertising.

Wider Audience Reach

Traditional media platforms such as television, radio, and newspapers continue to have a broad and diverse audience base. In the Houston market we are looking at audiences of thousands of people for most off-prime programing, and prime programing on television is frequently in the hundreds of thousands. By utilizing traditional media, brands can tap into these established channels and reach a wide range of demographics, including older audiences who may not be as digitally connected.

Captive Audience

Traditional media often captures the attention of a captive audience. 31% of American households own four TV sets or more, and roughly 65% of U.S. households still pay for TV services. *(1) The typical American views around three hours of TV every single day. The majority is live programming. For example, television viewers may be more likely to pay attention to commercials during their favorite shows, live news or sports programing, while radio listeners may tune in during their daily commutes.

Radio reaches 89% of US Adults per 2022 Neilsen and Scarborough data, which shows average adult listeners spending about 7 hours and 40 minutes listening a week. *(2) Brands can leverage these captive moments to deliver their messages effectively and engage consumers who are less likely to actively seek out digital content.

Credibility and Trust

Traditional media outlets have built a reputation for credibility and trust over many years, often featuring expert commentary, opinion pieces, and interviews with industry leaders. By participating in these platforms, brands can position themselves as thought leaders and gain authority in their respective fields. This association with established media outlets can help strengthen a brand’s reputation and increase its perceived expertise and trust with their target audience.

Brand Awareness and Recall

Traditional media, with its broad reach and repetitive nature, helps in building brand awareness and recall. Television for example, has the advantage of combining visual and audio elements, creating a lasting impact on viewers and listeners. This can be especially useful for brands seeking to create a strong and memorable presence in consumers’ minds.

Local Community Engagement

Traditional media outlets often have strong ties to local communities. By using local newspapers, radio stations, or sponsoring community events, brands can demonstrate their commitment to the community and build goodwill. This localized approach can create a sense of belonging and foster brand loyalty among consumers.

Targeted Local Advertising

Local newspapers, cable television, and billboards are effective for targeting specific geographic areas. For brands focusing on local or regional markets, traditional media offers a targeted approach to reach potential customers in specific locations. This can be particularly beneficial for businesses with limited budgets or those operating in niche markets.

Integration with Digital Marketing

Traditional media can complement and reinforce digital marketing efforts. By incorporating consistent messaging across various channels, including television, radio, out of home, print, and online platforms, brands can create a cohesive and integrated marketing strategy. This synergy helps maximize the impact of campaigns and enhance overall brand recognition and increase the effectiveness of the campaigns.

While digital media continues to grow rapidly, traditional media still offers unique advantages that can effectively complement a brand’s marketing strategy. The key lies in striking the right balance and leveraging the strengths of each medium to achieve the desired outcomes. By strategically incorporating traditional media alongside digital marketing tactics, brands can maximize their visibility, build strong connections with Houston residents, and ultimately achieve their marketing objectives in this diverse and dynamic Houston market.

At Brand Ranch Media, we have helped our clients scale their businesses to become industry leaders. We have the experience and foresight to help you reach your business goals. Give us a call at 713-309-6380 or use our contact form to start the conversation today!

*(1) source – Credit Donkey

*(2) source – Strategic Media Inc.

Marketing During a Recession - Brand Ranch Media

Businesses and consumers have been eyeing several slumping economic indicators throughout 2022. Navigating persistently growing inflation, higher interest rates, and a declining stock market has been difficult for many. As marketers, we are faced with inquisitions from business owners who are seeking advice on how they should approach marketing during a recession, especially when the volume of leads decreases and/or revenue decreases. In this situation, we investigate many different factors which help us determine and address the most likely causes of these decreases. Internal factors, such as an ineffective marketing message, are typically simple to resolve. External factors, such as a looming recession, can be a bit tricky.

What is a Recession?

The historical definition of a recession is when the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) declines in growth for two consecutive quarters. In the first two quarters of 2022, real GDP growth in the US was in the negative. There are other financial indicators that signal a recession including an inverted yield curve on government bonds, a rising unemployment rate, and declines in the stock market. After a quick search (yield curve, unemployment rate, and stock market) you will find that as of Q3 in 2022, the figures all indicate that the economy is in recession. However, a recession does not necessarily have to mean doom and gloom for all!

The Good and the Bad

Some businesses actually thrive during recessions and are sometimes called, “recession-proof”. Examples of these types of businesses include grocery stores, healthcare providers, discount stores, auto repair, home maintenance stores, and accountants/financial services professionals. Any business that provides goods or services that fall under the category of mandatory or non-discretionary expenses will tend to fare well during recessions. Businesses that provide goods and services considered discretionary are at greater risk as consumers are forced to delay their plans of making larger purchases or spending their income on things such as dining out, vacation travel, and entertainment.

Marketing During a Recession

In the event of a recession, many companies cut spending on special projects, technology such as electronics and software purchases, shipping, and unfortunately, workers. In addition, marketing budgets are typically cut or altered in some way. Part of our job as a marketing firm is to advise our partners on how to best allocate their marketing spend. During the COVID-induced economic recession in 2020, our overall client sales grew 26% (2020 vs 2019 sales) for all industries. For our clients in the home services industry, we saw sales growth of 300% over the previous year!

So, what do we recommend when marketing during a recession?

Create a Plan

The most important thing you can do when marketing during a recession is to already have a plan in place long before a recession hits. All businesses should create a contingency plan for external economic events that may impact the company’s bottom line. Without a plan, you could be left scrambling for a solution causing additional stress and potentially missing opportunities.

Know Your Top Performing Channels

Marketing attribution can help you distinguish your top performing marketing channels from your lower performing channels. Understanding which marketing tactics are contributing the most to sales and conversions is crucial because it can help identify where you are able to cut spending as well as how much you should cut. Cut back on underperforming channels and either shift budget to the better performing channels or keep the savings.

A caveat to temporarily cutting marketing budgets is that it can be difficult to recover market share once the economy improves. This gives your competitors an opportunity to swoop in and take what you left behind. We rarely advise a business to completely cut out a channel and we don’t suggest going “all in” on one channel. The goal is to continue to hit all the touchpoints with the right message throughout the different stages in the marketing funnel.

Personalization and Brand Trust

Customers in today’s marketing landscape want a more personalized marketing experience. The ability to understand your customer and relate to them and their needs is how you can stand out against your competitors. In addition, businesses and brands need to connect with their customers and provide them with relevant messaging. During a recession, the messaging should try to invoke feelings of sentiment and also show empathy. A “hard sell” approach is going to give off the vibe that the company doesn’t have the customer’s needs in their best interests. Brands will come across as out of touch and can lose consumer trust. The best approach is to try and think like your typical customer and craft your messaging based on that mindset.

Stay the Course

Overall, the best plan of action for marketing during a recession is to stay the course, don’t make any drastic changes, and understand that recessions eventually end. Assess if your business is recession-proof and if you can afford to keep all your marketing efforts alive. You will find benefit from going above and beyond your customer’s expectations. Providing quality customer service should already be a standard for your business and won’t cost you anything extra. Lastly, remember that most everyone is feeling financial stress. Figuring how you can help ease the stress of your customers will send a positive message and strengthen those relationships long after the recession is over.

At Brand Ranch Media, we have helped our clients navigate through both busy and slow seasons as well as stronger and weaker economies. We have the experience and foresight to help you reach your business goals. Give us a call at 713-309-6380 or use our contact form to start the conversation today!