Where Should You Spend Your Advertising Dollars?

by Ellen Fruchtman, President In 2017, something happened in the advertising world many predicted. More money was spent on Digital advertising than on Television advertising. To be factual (and according to media buying firm IPG Mediabrands), $209 billion dollars were spent worldwide in Digital versus $178 billion in TV. The predictions are by 2020, digital ads will make up 50% of all ad spending. It is already 41% of all ad spending! You can no longer deny its place in your own marketing budget and the importance of how it impacts the success of your business. Which always begs the question: What is the best place to put your advertising dollars? The answer for fine jewelry is actually both of these mediums. The largest retail web companies including Blue Nile, Wayfair, and yes, even Amazon, will place national television buys to support their brands. Because even in 2018, successful television advertising (the keyword is successful) not only reaches a mass audience, it creates awareness. Done well, it will also create desire. Locally, TV can still provide a big bang for your buck when it comes to reach and basic eyeballs on your ads. And locally, you need figure out the perfect balance between the two. These are not opposing forces. In fact, together they can produce some very effective campaigns. We know customers are double screening. They are typically on their phone or laptop while watching television. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are ignoring the commercial. In fact, it’s the perfect opportunity for you to give them a reason to visit you online. Many web companies will provide offers on their TV commercials “Visit us online now for 20% Off and Free Shipping” or they offer other special perks. The commercial I saw for Blue Nile during the Valentine season was simple branding. But, keep an eye out for how the web leaders are using television and take a page out of their playbook. The truth is, a prospect is searching you out in a number of ways. Here are the biggest two: A consumer will search for a specific product and service and go online for that search. Or, they are influenced by traditional media (the most influential being TV) and then search you out online. Even if it’s a personal recommendation, it’s likely you will be searched online. It’s one way or the other. How many of you actually have a strategy at all? Overall, local retailers are not giving digital enough attention or spending adequately in their budgets. Today, digital media is traditional media! We’ve increased spends exponentially for many of our clients. Many are spending at least 35% of their total budget on digital. Several years ago, a minimum spend on digital would go a long way. But, now the space is crowded. And, it’s not nearly as inexpensive as it once was to achieve what we call “share of voice” in that space. Like traditional broadcasting, if you don’t appear in front of that prospect enough, you’re simply not being effective with the dollars you are spending. It’s all so much more complicated. Hell, I remember the days when I was a young pup in this business and wondering why we needed a new network called Fox or why we needed a news channel called CNN. And, what I can predict is that media (digital and traditional) will not look at all what it looks like now in a few short years. Neither will this business. If it’s tough to keep up, realize you’re not alone. But, if you think it’s something you can manage alone, think again.