Strategic Uses of Alternative Media

Just the Essentials

Robyn Blakemen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781317459316
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Human Resource Management
• Index: Business

Designed for students and practitioners in the fields of organizational behavior and human resource training and development, this book examines improving organizational communication. Terrence Gargiulo shows how the use of storytelling is the key to effective communication and learning.

Part I

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Understanding Alternative Choices

1

Alternative Media Is Changing the Way Businesses Reach Their Target

Source: Created by Chelsa Bowen, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Figure 1.1 Sample Ad: Band-Aid

Defining Alternative, New, or Emerging Media

Alternative media, new media, and emerging media are all terms used to describe a diverse array of media vehicles that are often used to support more traditional vehicles such as print (newspaper and magazine), broadcast (radio and television), and even out-of-home and direct marketing.

The term alternative media describes a vehicle(s) that cannot be labeled as traditional; new media, on the other hand, implies the vehicle(s) have never been used before, and emerging media suggests the vehicle(s) is standing out and away from the pack. So which is the most accurate description in the field of advertising? The correct response depends on the proposed media vehicle, how it will be used, and the element of personal preference. Arguably, there are very few—if any—new media vehicles that advertisers have not already thought of or utilized at one time or another. It could be further argued that the Internet and mobile marketing, for example, are new, but both fall more into the emerging category than new media. The least debatable moniker encompasses new, unknown, and emerging vehicles under the all-purpose heading of “alternative media.”

PQ Media, the industry-leading media tracker, defines alternative media as “media buying strategies that attempt to bypass the clutter of traditional advertising and marketing in an effort to reach target audiences, primarily through new media such as the Internet, but also by using alternative means through traditional media such as product placement in broadcast television.”

No matter what you call it, these very creative promotions and ads look for a highly visible venue that will reach the target and combine it with a creative, tantalizing, and possibly shocking message that is both memorable and viral. Nontraditional surfaces can surprise and reach the target wherever they are, often when they least expect it.

A media vehicle is considered alternative if it has a large, small, round, flat, stationary or moving, edible or nonedible surface that will hold a message and ensure the targeted consumer will come in contact with it. Often placed in unusual or unconventional places, these highly targeted, creative, and sometimes interactive vehicles are excellent at delivering both a meaningful and memorable ad more effectively than traditional media vehicles. And, unlike most other vehicles, they cannot be clicked out of, turned off, zapped, or deleted.

Opting for Alternative Media

Advertisers employ alternative media when traditional vehicles are unsuccessful at reaching the target. The diversity of these vehicles assures the message will reach the target wherever they are and whether they consciously choose to receive the message or not. Like traditional advertising, alternative media is constantly evolving and experimenting with new ways to reach potential consumers with a message that will attract and hold their attention.

To do this effectively, alternative media substitutes the traditional mass message sent to a mass audience with a personalized message sent to a specific niche of targeted individuals. This strategy makes it one of the best ways to advertise a brand, attract attention, increase traffic to a website, and gain equity creatively within a brand category. More and more advertisers are looking at alternative media as a viable way of reaching their targeted audience because of the following trends: (1) the target is becoming more fractured; (2) traditional media is not reaching the target; (3) it takes more to get and hold the target’s attention; and (4) advertisers are looking more at behavior than reach and frequency.

Products and services employing alternative media most often include general retail, clothing, music, books, children’s products, home and garden, financial services, office materials, health and fitness, and charitable organizations, to name just a few.

Typically, the choice of advertising vehicle depends largely on where it is used in the purchase process. For example, traditional advertising is especially good for attracting and launching new products and soliciting new customers. Alternative media vehicles, on the other hand, are great for conducting research and developing and maintaining a positive customer relationship. Campaigns that employ a mixture of both traditional and nontraditional media vehicles are more successful at developing a lasting relationship with the target while building both brand awareness and brand image.

Most alternative media vehicles have little to say but are extremely effective at: (1) directing offline consumers to a website; (2) encouraging online sales; (3) encouraging additional inquiries; (4) successfully reaching the elusive and highly coveted 18- to 34-year-old target group; and (5) tracking online and offline return on investment (ROI), or whether the marketer or client made more than was spent on advertising.

Spending on these new media vehicles has a short history, but available data show growth each year since the economic downtown that began in December of 2007. They are a great choice for businesses looking to interact with their target and create buzz at the same time. Smaller advertisers find the niche markets and narrow reach of alternative media especially attractive; larger or more urban-based businesses find it a great way to reach a multicultural audience in busy areas.

Because interactivity is an important component in grabbing attention and creating memorable encounters, messages must speak to the target in diverse ways—both visual and verbal. Some are thought provoking, others funny, and still others shocking, but all of them work to invoke curiosity and generate excitement with their highly creative approaches.

One of the most exciting aspects of alternative media is its ability to captivate the public’s imagination with its visual/verbal voice. As marketers become more aware of the new media’s effectiveness, they are adopting it more often in order to attract consumer attention. There are hundreds if not thousands of forms of alternative media that can be incorporated into any event or program or placed on any shaped surface. Here is a list of options:

• 3-D Catalogs

• 3-D Out-of-Home (Extreme Out-of-Home)

• ATM Machine Advertising

• Advergaming

• Aerial Advertising

• Airport Advertising

• Augmented Reality

• Automated Shelf and Aisle Advertising

• Banners

• Bathroom Advertising

• Bilingual Street Teams

• Blogs

• Body Billboards

• Branded Vinyl Stickers (Postering)

• Bubble Clouds

• Buses (Inside and Out)

• Bus Shelters

• Bus/Train/Subway Terminals

• Bus Wraps

• Business Card Backs

• Buzz Advertising

• CDs

• Card Deck Mailings (Poly Packs)

• Catalog Bind-Ins/Blow-Ins

• Chairs/Benches

• Chopstick Advertising

• Cinema Advertising

• Coffee Cup Sleeves

• Consumer Generated Advertising (Social Media)

• Co-op Mailings

• Coupons

• DVR Advertising

• Digital Out-of-Home

• Direct Marketing/Relationship Marketing

* Direct Mail

• Doggie Bag Advertising

• Door-to-Door Advertising

• Downloadable Videos

• Drive-In Advertising

• E-direct marketing

• E-zines

• E-mail

• Endorsements

• Escalator Handrail and Steps

• Event Graffiti Performances (Wallscapes)

• Event Sponsorships

• Exercise Equipment

• Faxes

• Flyers (Traditional/Suction Cups)

• Free Standing Inserts (FSI)

• Fruits and Vegetables

• Gaming

• Gas Pump Top Advertising

• Gas Pump Nozzles

• Grocery Cart Advertising

• Guerrilla Marketing

• Hand Stamp Advertising

• Home Video Advertising

• Influencer Marketing

• Inserts

• Interactive TV

• iPods

• Issue Advertising

• Live Mobile Billboards

• Manhole Covers

• Milk Cartons

• Mobile Advertising

• Mobile Billboards

• Mobile Video

• Mobile Video Cubes

• Movie Promotions

• Moving Walkways

• Newsletters

• On-Cart Advertising

*Grocery

*Golf

• Online Classifieds

• Online Video Advertising

• Out-of-Home

• Package Inserts (PIP)

• Parking Garage Advertising (Entrance/Exit Gates)

• Parking Garage Ticket Backs

• Parking Meters

• Payroll/Credit Card Stuffers

• Pedicabs (Pedal-Powered Taxis)

• Podcasts

• Point of Purchase Displays (POP)

• Police Cars

• Pop-Up Brand Experiences

• Postering Campaigns

*Splash Campaigns

*Blanket Campaigns

• Product Placement

• Projection Advertising

• RSS (Web-Feed Format)

• Ride Alongs

• Rip-Away Posters

• Search Advertising

• Sampling Programs (Product/Brand Sampling)

*Event-Based Sampling

*Flash Mob Brand Sampling

*Guerrilla Street Team Sampling

*Fill Concept Brand Sampling

*Point of Use Product Sampling

*Nightlife Product Sampling

*Covert Product Sampling

*In-Venue Brand Sampling

*Van Product Sampling

*Intercept Brand Sampling

• Satellite Radio

• Scaffolding

• Search Engine Advertising

• Shopping Bags

• Snappable Ads

• Sports Marketing

• Statement Stuffers

• Street Art (Sidewalks and Streets)

• Stickers

• Supermarket Shelf Advertising

• Supermarket Shelf Talkers

• Sweepstakes/Contests

• Take-a-ways

• Taxi Cabs (Inside/Outside)

• Telemarketing

• Texting

• Ticket Jackets (Airline, Rail, Bus)

• Tissue Packs

• Toilet Seats

• Toilet Stalls

• Tradeshows

• Trucks

• Vacant Storefront Windows

• Valet Parking Tickets/Parking Permits

• Vehicle Wraps

• Videogame/Online Gaming

• Video Projection

• Vinyl Stickers

• Viral Marketing

• Wall Murals

• Webisodes

• Websites

• Wild Posting

*Rip-Away Wild Postings

*Snipe Media Wild Postings

*Sidewalk Chalkings

*Sidewalk Decals

*Static-Cling Wild Postings

*Urban Street Pole Postings

*Reverse Graffiti and Clean Graffiti

*Creative Outdoor Poster Billboards

• Word-of-Mouth Marketing

• Workout Equipment

As a support vehicle, alternative media is highly effective at building brand awareness, launching a new product, reinforcing an existing brand image, or reminding the target about a mature or reinvented brand. Its flexibility and variety make it a great choice for local, national, or internationally advertised products, services, and charities. How it is incorporated into a campaign depends largely on the target, the creativity of the vehicle(s) employed, and the quality of the message.

The use of alternative media is on the rise because it is hard for consumers to avoid it. Traditional media vehicles can no longer reach a fractionalized target audience effectively; alternative media brings the message directly to the target and gets them to talk about it. The goal is to create interest thorough interaction with the product or service, thereby encouraging feedback. It...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Part I. Understanding Alternative Choices
• Part II. Media Use: How Media Speaks to and Reaches the Target Differently
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author