Very few small business owners have a formal training in advertising and marketing. They open a new business and then just “wing it.” More often than not, the results are disappointing. At Hint Advertising, we’re in action to help you do more a profitable and effective business. We don’t just sell advertising, we innovate it, improvise it and mould it with a combined perspective of ours and our client’s. We initiate and take control of marketing campaigns designed to help you grow your company to the best level. With that in mind, listed below are answers to some Frequently Asked Questions about advertising.

Working with an outside agency provides a number of advantages:

• Access to solid marketing experience and background
• An “outsider’s” perspective.
• An extensive network of industry contacts – i.e. for production of ad materials, buying media, etc.
• Freeing up your time to focus on your business.
• No Media Bias - Best Media offering related to product
• Competitive Price

The answer depends on how long you plan to be in business. Marketing experts say “never start an advertising campaign with the intention of ever stopping.” Successful advertising campaigns are consistent and ongoing.

The unintended consequence of advertising only when having a sale is that it trains shoppers to shop with you only when a sale is in progress. Also “sale” means that you’re selling merchandise at a lower markup, you’re making less money on each sale. You should be encouraging customers to shop with you at all times, not just when having a sale.

It varies from industries to industries, but the general rule of thumb is to spend 2-5% of your gross income. If you’re grossing Rs. 50 CR and want to increase it to Rs. 75 CR, you must spend like you’re already grossing Rs. 75 CR.

This too varies from industry to industry. We’re somewhat partial towards Radio advertising for the simple fact that Radio uses the power of the human voice to motivate and persuade potential customers to do business with you. And Radio can spread the word faster, more effectively and more economically than any other media.

Whether advertising on Radio or in other media, effective ads all have the same thing in common - a good offer and a call to action. However, many ads are poorly written and poorly implemented. Ask us for information on how to make your advertising more effective.

Working with an outside agency provides a number of advantages:

• Access to solid marketing experience and background
• An “outsider’s” perspective.
• An extensive network of industry contacts – i.e. for production of ad materials, buying media, etc.
• Freeing up your time to focus on your business.
• No Media Bias - Best Media offering related to product
• Competitive Price

There are some other thoughts being, that the company is too small or can handle planning and campaigns on there own so on and so forth.

There are some other thoughts being, that the company is too small or can handle planning and campaigns on there own so on and so forth.

Well, Just because a business is small does not mean it cannot afford an ad agency. There’s a huge misconception that ad agencies are too expensive for small companies. And this misconception is not far from being true. Ad agencies charge for their expertise and for providing unbiased options for optimum ROI (Return On Investment). When compared to the planning, media buying and discussing media options, the price paid to agencies seems little.

Creativity

Probably the main reason people will quote for using an agency; it is also the main reason people change agencies. Of course there is no reason you can't employ your own creative in-house, but in my experience the very best Creative's want to work in an agency environment where they can spark ideas of each other, work on many diverse accounts and on cutting edge campaigns.

Agencies also have a critical mass when it comes to Creative's, between them they have a mix of skills that might be needed, everything from designing and building a Social Media campaign through to a simple new logo design or business card. In general they are also less bogged down with the day-to-day constraints of working in a corporate environment, they are allowed creative freedom. Farmed salmon tastes fine until you experience its wild cousin.

Experience & Insight

No business or organisation works in a vacuum, an ad agency is uniquely placed to use their experience in your industry or market and to recycle and reuse effective campaigns from different sectors. They can bring their knowledge of practice, what your competitors are up to, even their failures provide valuable lessons.

Speed & Flexibility

Most businesses are cyclical, throughout the trading year, and products and services have a natural life-cycle. As a result the demands placed on the marketing resource will vary over time. Using an agency will enable an organisation to respond quickly to those changing demands without carrying excess overheads during lean times.

Save Money

A good ad agency will save your money, or more accurately they'll get you more bang for your buck. How? Firstly by helping you avoid costly mistakes - there is nothing new in advertising, the media may have changed but chances are it has been done before. And when you been around as long as we have, we probably did it.

When times are good and cash is plentiful organisations grow their marketing functions, bring services in-house to save money and improve control but when times are hard and businesses are struggling one of the first thing they do is dump anything that is non-core and they 'stick to the knitting’, in other words, they revert to what they do best. An established agency will have a trusted network of suppliers so clients shouldn't have to worry about quality and timescales on projects. They may also have access to considerable savings through bulk buying and media discounts only available to 'recognised agencies'.

Innovation

I've saved the best until last. One of the most important roles for an agency is Innovation. Not just technical innovation such as new media, but new and unique ways of doing things. Many organisations are risk averse, the bigger and more established the more averse they tend to be. Advertising agencies have a crucial role with this kind of client to get them to think outside the box, to do something new and different, to innovate.

If you have never used an advertising agency or you had a bad experience I hope this has given you food for thought.

Radio is both an extremely wide-ranging as well as very up-close means for advertising your product or service. You can get exposure while people are at home, at work, and on the road. And over 90% of people listen to radio at some point during their weeks — so it’s usually the most cost-effective form of mass media that you can buy!

You can use radio ads to:

• Make people aware of your business offerings
• Drive traffic to your location to Promote an Event like a Sale or Exihibition
• Generate Queries or New Sales Leads
• Something New Happening in your Product / Service Line
• Or anything else that helps your business

Target Listener is very Important. Different content is made to appeals to different audiences. So before you buy, ask yourself, who is my Target Listener? Or, who are my best customers? Or best...Ask us to Just find the channels that appeal specifically to those potential customers, and place ads on them.

94.3 Radio One for example, as an English Channel and targeted at 23+ age group...Executive Class you may say. So, if your product is made for same listeners, place your ad on the same.

Thumb Rule is that it takes about two or three months to evaluate whether something is working. For good advertising campaign, duration and consistency is very important. You may invest low but if you must continue to advertise for longer durations. This ensures that your investment does not go waste.

As a rule, you should be advertising for at least 15 time a day. That is an ad every hour. In some cases you may also go beyond this to create instant buzz and gain recognition. But, you shouldn’t run the same ad every 30 minutes: people will get bored with it. You can have a few different ads for the same product running at the same time. To reinforce each other, however, they should sound somewhat alike: same lead-in, same tagline. And they still shouldn’t run all together in one hour. Spread them out during day...give them breather.

We would like to think so. Music is on the background while people are working or may be relaxing. No doubts ads are an unwelcomed. On a talk radio however, you are engaged with the content and you aren’t as likely to tune out of ads, which are also mostly words. So, listeners mostly listen to ads and reactions can be measured by their response to ads if some contact no. or details are given along with the ad content.

You can't sell ten items in 10, 20 or 30 seconds. So, it is advisable to advertise one or may be two products per ad to ensure listener remembrance.

Never confuse listeners with list of USPs and Prices. Use one or a two only. This way listener will remember what you said and may respond in a positive manner if need be.

If the phone no. is not required, do not use it. Brand or product should be enough with best USP.

Radio Advertising is Audio Media...you need to invest reasonable time and money on air for people to remember you. Expect good results only when good investment is done.

Repetition / Frequency is one of the biggest requirement to persuade a listener. One or Two spots a day cannot do it.

Content, Sound Effects and Sound Signature are very effective tools in an ad. They leave long lasting impression.

Choose Channel which your target audience like to listen...not what you like to listen.

The best advertising is regular, that is 24/7. The brand is build over the period of time. Expect lasting results once you do it.

Try reaching may just 10-15% of potential customer through right media choice that to reach 100% through wrong media.

It totally depends upon requirements of the story or we should say content.

A big agency may ask for tens of lacs for the same commercial for which a small agency may be offering a cost 60-70% less.

But, it is content and presentation which matters.

To start with you may opt for Graphic Ad which costs much less than ads with real shooting.

Yes...if the product is Expensive...if it is not then it may not help you. Rather an expensive ad commercial for a low priced product may leave an impression of being it expensive.

If you go by the cost per 10 seconds...it is cost effective than many FM Radio Channels in Delhi NCR.

But, mostly it depends on channels popularity and viewership. Every Channel have their own Target Group so, depending upon TG we have to see what is best.

Yes, that's certainly where more of them are, but Prime Time is when viewer is at home. They will not call you then. And next morning they will forget about the same. So, it make sense to advertise in all time bands as it reaches to all viewers in low cost. Please note that Prime Time Advertising is very expensive.

Use Real People

And...we are not talking about just using Celebrities...

May be you can use your Customer or may be Model with right image sited for product. This would assure better connect with potential customers.

Sometime, models with a next door kind of image work better than a known face.

Good Visuals

Give you commercial a good deep thought. There is a difference between what you WANT to Show and what really is NEEDED.

Use limited but essential USPs and highlight with best possible graphic or model representation. Be Simple and state the message Clearly.

Point is, that, audience should understand the message even if the TV is on Low Volume.

Right Script

Content is KING...

Make sure the script is Short, Crisp and Clear. Some catchy words or phrases may be used to grab potential customer's attention.

Choose Channel and Time Band Wisely

While making a good ad commercial is important...it is equally important to choose right channel and time band to advertise on.

You may find a channel offering low rates but if your Target Audience is not available there...what is the point of advertising on that channel.

Same goes with Time Band...if the channel is good but you choose to advertise on a time band not offering content to suit your potential customer...the whole purpose of advertising is defeated.

Right Frequency

Though fixing budget for an ad campaign is important, you must ensure that good ad frequency is maintained to gain optimum results.

While saying that, be careful, though higher frequency of ad is better, going overboard isn't.

Hire Experts

It is widely seen that advertisers mostly try to force their ideas. While it is important to know what you need, taking help of an expert...an advertising agency in this context will only increase the chances of designing good campaign which will convey right message, on right medium at right time.

Sometimes paying little extra, saves lots of investment...

Be Consistent

Make your brand identity same...across media. Using same faces, colors, styles in all commercial will help audience identify your company and product better.

Yes. Outdoor is arguably the oldest form of advertising around and, far from diminishing; it’s been enjoying significant growth. This is, in part, because of the challenges of fragmentation and the resultant reduced reach that many of the other media are experiencing. In contrast, Outdoors audiences are growing as the number of people driving and commuting times continue to increase

Yes. Four week campaign blocks are a standard segment of time that is generally considered to be an effective minimum campaign length for Outdoor advertising but we recognize that there are specific situations in which 4 weeks is not appropriate and we can adjust accordingly. However, as our systems are all set up for 4 weeks, you may incur a premium or surcharge when going with a shorter campaign length - this is to cover the costs that we incur because of working outside of standard practice. You may also need additional weight (more panels) to achieve the same "breakthrough" within your campaign if you reduce the length of campaign.

There's no easy answer to this one, basically keep in mind that Outdoor has a limited supply of inventory and so it works on a first come first serve basis. We can't create new space for you if we're sold out - once it's gone, it's gone. Naturally, we have some high demand periods in which we're more likely to be sold out. If you're intending to advertise during high demand period try to call us early. However, the realities of business today have been shorter and shorter lead times and we've adjusted accordingly.

While we are generally working 2-3 months ahead, we have managed to post clients within a week when space allowed. If you're thinking of advertising - call us; we'll do our best to fit you in.

It depends. For some clients, one key location is enough but for most we recommend more than 5 or 10. It depends on the objective of campaign and what you wish to achieve.

Four weeks is our standard minimum campaign length but we have had highly effective 2-week campaigns for special events/promotions. Typically, these have been at higher weight levels to compensate for the reduced length of time. We wouldn't recommend a campaign any shorter than two weeks. As far as a maximum limit goes, there is no limit. Although in all seriousness, do keep in mind that if you're posting for an extended length of campaign, you should be freshening your creative regularly.

Yes, we do. We're very proud of our Creative Department, which includes graphic designers and artists with lots of experience and knowledge of what works in Outdoor. We can create ads for you or work with your creative group to provide consultations about creative issues specific to Outdoor. We provide creative development and consultation at no additional charge but of coursewith a sufficient media contract commitment.