Katie Bergerud

Many of the clients we partner with at Balihoo are challenged with marketing to their local audience with a relatively low marketing spend.  For them, the budget allocated is a significant investment and although it may seem low to the fast food giants and car dealerships, it represents a significant portion of their total expenses.  They are challenged with how to reach their audience on a one to one level, avoiding wasted reach and dollars. 

An effective tactic for B2B and B2C businesses alike is email marketing and this local marketing strategy is often times over-looked or under-utilized.  Email marketing is an inexpensive and effective (not to mention measurable medium) that offers one to one messaging to your current customer database that has already shown interest in your product or service.    According to JupiterResearch’s The and Portable Inbox (2008), 44% of email users said email inspired at least on online purchase and 41% said it prompted at least on offline purchase.   Email can be used for not only encouraging a purchase but for brand building efforts such as increasing loyalty to building out your database.  So the next time you reach for the phone to call you direct mail vendor or cable representative, consider email messaging as an extremely powerful addition to your local advertising mix. 

I had no idea how reliant we were on HGTV and The Food Network for our local media buying and local advertising plans.  The fact that they deliver awesome audiences that rival network television and the fact that they can be zoned down to a neighborhood makes them a staple in our world.  That was until recently when working on a plan in New York.  In case you haven’t heard Cablevision and Scripps Network have been disputing agreements over carriage fees in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.  Finally, resolution has been made and we can move forward with timely media planning efforts in the New York area.  Thank goodness the Barefoot Contessa and Devine Design are back.  

Is social media measurable? Dell has clearly proven that it is reporting earnings through their @delloutlet Twitter account of $4.5 million since June and a total of $6.5 million over the last couple years. Posting these results is an indicator to all brands that social media has secured its place as an effective, measurable, and cost efficient addition to any integrated marketing plan.