Archive for July, 2010

Newspaper Advertising on the Rebound

Friday, July 30th, 2010

Newspaper advertising is looking up. Gannett Co., publisher of USA Today and about 100 other newspapers, has announced its second quarter ad revenue is slowing in its decline. While the company also has television and Internet holdings, the steady downward slope in newspaper advertising has taken its toll on the corporate giant over the past three years.

In that same time span, The New York Times has also reported newspaper ad revenue decline. It reported an increase in overall revenue this quarter, thanks to the rise in digital marketing. The newspaper advertising revenue is still down, like Gannett’s, but the diversity of offerings is helping to offset losses.

Many newspapers are bolstering their readership by offering special deals to online subscribers and those who also receive the newspaper at home. The higher the readership, the more likely a newspaper ad is to be seen. This is good news for the local advertiser.

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Google Releases Local Advertising Tags

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Google has released a new local advertising feature for local businesses with Google Map results or Google Place Pages called Tags. The tags appear as a small yellow conversation box underneath the URL of a listing that is highlighted with blue font. Although this feature is not free and allegedly will not improve organic search rankings, it does draw the searcher’s eye directly to the tagged listing.

Once a local business has created a Google page or Google Maps listing and verified it by mail, it can now emphasize important information right under the search result. For example, if a business wants potential customers to know about a special coupon, time-sensitive promotion, website, menu, photos, or the need for reservations, any of those blurbs can be added below the initial result. The tags are customizable, meaning they can be changed at any time to promote different deals or report recent news.

The flat monthly fee for a tag is $25. Google clearly indicates which listings are sponsored and which are free, much like regular organic searching, but unlike other paid ads, the listings are still integrated within one list of businesses in the middle of the page, rather than being positioned on the top or right side of the result page.

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Miami Herald Ad Campaign in the Right Place at the Right Time

Friday, July 9th, 2010

In a society that has fully embraced the Internet, it has clearly become the time to get on board or get left behind. Using Internet advertising as part of a local advertising campaign has become an important part of any marketing campaign for businesses that want to survive in a struggling economy.

Even newspapers are getting into the act. The Miami Herald is running an Internet ad campaign to attract subscribers to its local print newspaper delivery. One of the ads offering a 50% discount showed up just before the 4th of July at the bottom of its online newspaper. The news story above the ad was about the cities of Hialeah and Miami Lakes celebrating their birthdays along with the nation. Visitors tuning in to the Miami Lakes local news section on the Internet newspaper may have been surprised to see the half price ad to click through for a discount. The ads also appear in other places throughout the website.

While statistics show that the newspaper has seen its share of highs and lows of online traffic over the past several months, it will likely pick up some interest for fans of basketball star LeBron James. The popular two-time MVP has declared his intentions to play for the Miami Heat of the NBA. It has caused a media circus and flurry of activity on many web sites. The Herald’s local advertising campaign is already conveniently in place to capture the attention of anyone looking for the Miami perspective on the matter. This is one local marketing move that could give the newspaper a spike in traffic not only for its print subscribers, but for search engine positioning as well.

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Colorado Bank Targets Local TV Audience

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Residents of Lakewood, Colo. and the surrounding area are the target audience for eFirstBank’s recent ad campaign. The television spots are promoting savings accounts at the bank and highlights its online features. The local marketing campaign is targeting a variety of adult audiences with three different spots. One focuses on middle-aged to older consumers with the idea that a savings account at eFirstBank is better than a get-rich-quick scheme. With other local TV ads, they are highlighting mobile alerts that will let you know about trouble before it happens and a shorter time on hold with round-the-clock customer service.

The bank is attempting to reach a variety of demographics through its commercials. They are running the local TV advertising spots during popular sporting events, such as Wimbledon, the soccer World Cup and baseball’s World Series. This is likely to catch the eye of upper income potential clientele. FirstBank is also targeting a slightly younger, more technologically savvy bunch during such shows as “Parenthood” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”

The bank has branches in Arizona, California and Colorado. This is not the first local marketing campaign they have run with the help of TDA Advertising & Design in nearby Boulder, but it is definitely garnering attention. The TV spots are running from now through the fall, with emphasis on the dynamic 30- and 60-second commercials prompting people to switch to eFirstBank.com.

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