Lights, Camera & Action!

On the morning that the last Next Marketing e newsletter was distributed, I was preparing for a recording/video interview with Small Business Victoria (SBV). I was being filmed for a new vodcast series to be uploaded into the SBV website. So hair, makeup, lighting and microphone checks later the interview was caught on camera. It was a really great experience and I can’t wait to see how it comes together. I will let you know when it is available for viewing. Stay tuned.

Marketing Puzzle Event

Another sold out event! Thank you to all who attended the Marketing Puzzle event on Tuesday night and we are so pleased to receive such great feedback from all who attended.   Thank you to all our sponsors, Wines by Design, Kikko, Lod Promotions and a big thanks to Karen Ridge from Food and Wine Travel who served us delicious premium wines before and after the event. 

Check out pictures from the night here!

Next Marketing Puzzle event announced and already 50% sold out!
The next Marketing Puzzle event has been announced and confirmed for Tuesday, 26th May at 6.30pm again at Northcote Town Hall.  The topic is “PR – How to get more of it for your small business”. A guest panel of 3 speakers will be interviewed to share with the audience three different ways to get free PR for your business. We are really excited about this event.  Click here to register now.

Magazine Advertising Q&A

I was recently investigating some magazine advertising for one of my clients and naturally fell back on the skills that I learnt during my media buying days as a corporate Marketing Manager.  As part of my experience I was able to deal with where I got to work with Australia’s largest media buying agency which was a great learning experience. Given this background, I would like to do is share with you some of the questions that I and I would encourage you also to ask when considering buying advertising space for your own business.

Two key questions:

What is the circulation of the magazine?
Advertising rates, as a general rule, are based on circulation. The higher the circulatio, the higher the cost.  For example, when I bought space in Women’s Weekly magazine a few years ago, a single page ad cost approx $30,000. That was justified given the circulation at that time. A good way to see if you are paying a fair rate for your own magazine or print advertising, is to review the cost of the ad against how many people read the magazine. You will be surprised about how much this can vary across titles.

Are the circulation figures audited?
In Australia, each quarter, the Audit Bureau of Circulation publishes verified distribution data for various magazines and newspapers. In my opinion, any reputable magazine has audited figures. There are however, niche titles that do not participate in the program.  Therefore any circulation figures that are listed on rate cards etc... are known as ‘publishers claims’. If you are looking at advertising in such a magazine, it is up to your own judgment if you think the publishers figures are true and correct. I have in the past bought advertising space in magazines that don’t have audited figures, usually only if that particular magazine is known in its industry as being the leader. I felt some comfort in that. It is good to know either way.

If you have any questions about your own advertising I would be pleased to help out, please drop me a line.

Mystery Shopper Exposes Pizza Hut

In the Mystery Shopper column of B&T (a magazine for the Marketing and Advertising industries), the magazine Mystery caller placed an enquiry to the Pizza Hut customer service line regarding the new Pasta menu. You may have seen on TV, however, with Pizza Hut is reported to have spent $4 million dollars on this campaign. What became evident from the call was that the Pizza Hut customer service person was unable to answer some very basic questions about the new pasta range. I also visited the Pizza Hut website to see if that was any better, and was unable to find any information on the new Pasta range within a few clicks. Seems like alot of money to spend on a campaign not to have any information available to the general public. 

As a check for your own business

1. Make sure that your team is knowledgeable and fully briefed about your product offers, whether they are new or existing
2. Ensure your website is up to date