Miss Me?.....

I was too busy this week to write a marketing tip for yesterday.

Chances are you didn't notice. In the same way, customers won't be concerned if you stopped advertising tomorrow; prospects won't call you to complain because they missed your ads. But eventually, if you advertise too infrequently, you'll see your sales plummet.

Doubt it? You have two options: try it or take an expert's word for it.

I don't recommend you stop advertising to see how it affects your sales health anymore than I suggest you stop eating and drinking to see how it affects your physical health.

So let's look at an expert: Jack Scissors from Northwestern University. I have Dr. Scissors' "Advertising Media Planning" on my bookshelf -- it was my college text years ago. He's still one of the media planning leaders today. He says ad continuity is the most cost-effective way to impacts sales. Here's how he defines continuity: "A method of scheduling advertising so that audiences have an opportunity to see ads at regular intervals. There are many patterns that could be used, from advertising once each day to once a month"

The flip side, in my words, is: infrequent ads result in infrequent sales. Breaking continuity breaks the branding messages effectiveness.

You may have heard me give this analogy before. Think of advertising as a boiling pot: It takes time for the pot to boil. Once boiling, it you turn off the heat it may continue to boil for a few seconds -- and it will come to a boil again if you light the flame quickly. But if you let it cool off too much, it will take a long time to bring back to a boil again. You need to keep a fire under your prospects to keep that pot boiling, too.

How long does it take advertising to warm-up or cool-off if you stop advertising? I wish there was a magic number. It depends on your product, your market, your competition and the media you choose.

But rather than guess, I suggest you keep the pot boiling.


- Phil Sasso