Despite the shift to streaming services like Spotify and Netflix and a large portion of the population spending a lot of time on Social Media, a still equally large portion of the population still engages with traditional forms of entertainment on a daily basis. When we say traditional, we refer to Displays, Radio, and broadcast TV AKA legacy media.   

Regardless of where you choose to spend your advertising dollars, you need to be on Google, as this has become this time era’s Yellow Pages.  Even if you advertise on Radio, TV, or displays, which aims at getting into the subconscious of your client, your hope is that when they finally pick a home service company, and they open up Google to make a general search, your company comes to mind. When they do make this search you also better hope your company appears on page 1 and your advertising has subconsciously influenced them to recognize your company’s name on Google and finally click on you.

That is quite the feat, but, with enough advertising it is possible. That means a company needs to be a known quantity on Google. Consider first spending your marketing dollars on getting onto Google or eye-catching branding. Focus on getting 5-Star Reviews, getting Google Guaranteed, or working on your  SEO & Ad Words before you start exploring radio and TV as advertising options. Think of it this way, if you are not on Google and they hear or see your ad, and when they go to look and look you up, and you are not there, what was the point of the radio ad? Instead, they will find in their search results a competitor regardless of their search for your website.

To further illustrate this, search for your company and see how many other competitors come up alongside your website. 

Ask yourself these two questions:

1. How confident are you that clients in your region are aware of your home services?
2. Have you leveraged all other marketing strategies before you considered TV or Radio?
3. Have you started with the more affordable options like print display Ads?

Displays

Busses and their stops, benches, billboards, or any other fixed-place displays work well in cities that have busy intersections and roadways. When people are trapped in traffic, they have time to take in the sights, this is where your colorful, clear, and concise advertisement is sitting and waiting. 

This advertisement should have your company logo, your name, and no more than 5 words on it. 

Create the ad so it only takes a second for the looker to adsorb it because soon they will have to speed off as the light changes from red to green. Too many times we see advertisements that clutter the space with too much information. Keep it simple, “City’s Best Window Cleaners!”

There is a reason every food joint claims to have, “The Best Pizza in Town.” It is a simple but effective advertising campaign that is immediately recognizable. And, just maybe, you will take the place up on their challenge and see if they do in fact have the town’s best slice. 

Pick a neighborhood you want to increase sales in and run your fixed display ads there. 

Anywhere on the bus is a good location, but the backside of the bus might just be the best place for your ad if you have the choice. On the side of the bus ads, are also great because they move around the city, so you can expect to get quite a few people to see your company on any given day. However, it is hard to track the success of these ads because you will never be able to tell how many people saw or read them. 

Radio 

Radio is local so you know your customers will hear your ads, so it is effective when trying to reach smaller communities surrounding a larger city. Try to run the radio spot for at least 90 days because the number of times a person hears it in a day increases the chance your company’s name seats itself in your listener’s mind. That is why radio ads often used jingles, which have fallen out of favor, but companies like McDonald’s still use one today because it helps the mind recall the brand. 

Typically, radio marketing is used to sell products or create general brand recognition. Make sure radio ads are linked to an ongoing promotion, a company slogan, or a limited-time offer. 

When considering the radio station, the price point will be vastly different, we recommend sports or talk radio stations because people tend to change the station far less during commercial breaks. While popular music stations come with a higher price tag. Make sure the price is right according to your company’s budget and that the ad is getting played to enough listeners because of the range can be massive, with 2500 vs 28,000 active listeners. 

As for making the radio ad itself, radio stations will often assist you with this task. But you need to be ready with what you want to say to promote. They will spice it up and make it broadcast-ready for you, and you could even star in the radio ad yourself! 

TV 

We can only recommend TV ads if you have a local station that serves the major city you operate in. Furthermore, you will need to pay all the costs associated with making the TV commercial and then also pay the cost to air the ad. Reach out to your local TV station for pricing, they should also be able to recommend who in town can help you film a TV commercial. 

To end, the marketing methods discussed here are harder to measure in terms of their effectiveness. While digital marketing has data to back it up, there is simply no way to know how many people saw your bus ad. This is where the term marketing mix is often used, and it suggests the best way to market is to use all the methods, instead of just focusing on one alone.