There are many marketing companies in Plymouth as well as advertising agencies and branding specialists. You can imagine how hard each of these businesses strives to promote its clients in the city and beyond. However, are they missing out on some important opportunities?
Dave Simpson, who is our Account Manager at Cornerstone Vision, works with several ad agencies and marketing companies in Plymouth providing effective B2B and B2C advertising options. These come in tandem with the ability to reach 92,000 homes across the city via brochure and leaflet drops.
In this post. Dave shares helpful insights he has gleaned from working in publishing in the South West for several years.
- Target the right audience;
- Ignore print at your peril;
- Free publications remove all barriers;
- Now’s not a time to reduce budgets;
- Highlight any CSR projects;
- Try community radio
My advice to marketing companies in Plymouth
1. Target the right audience
Choosing the right target market is pretty basic, right, but do you know the niche options available to accomplish this in the South West? At Cornerstone Vision we publish the Plymouth Chronicle which is the perfect B2C marketing opportunity. It enables local and national companies to reach consumers across the city. On the other hand, we can assist B2B advertising campaigns through our close connection with the Devon and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce and its Chamber Profile Magazine.
Getting these audiences right is vital to your success in reaching Plymouth effectively. Our Plymouth leaflet distribution service complements our B2C option, giving marketing companies in Plymouth and nationwide direct access to 92,000 homes across the city, for door drops of brochures, catalogues, leaflets and flyers etc. Furthermore, we are able to fine-tune your target area to one of the city’s four main areas right down to a golden mile. Such precision can be game-changing.
2. Ignore print at your peril
I recently read a Forbes article that claims there has been a renaissance in print advertising. This didn’t surprise me as we see this trend at Cornerstone Vision. In the article, Larry Light maintains that: “in a world of instant messaging, texts, Twitter tweets, ebooks, podcasts, mini books, video and digital everything” – brands are taking to print ads or using fully worded communications in a medium that is supposedly redundant.
There may be many reasons why this is happening. I think is because the digital landscape is so prolific that print has become a refreshing change. This makes it attractive. There is only so much time we can spend in front of our screens before we need to take a break, but we may still want to engage with content. Print gives us that ability. It seems things have flipped around.
Print is also seen to be more authentic. I was talking to one of our clients, Vospers Plymouth, about this. Their marketing manager, Darren Bennett remarked about the lack of accountability on social media. We also discussed ‘dwell time’ for example how quickly social media posts are passed over compared to printed copy and the reasons why print still works.
As Larry Light concludes in his Forbes article, “Brand trust cannot be reduced to simplistic, sunny slogans. Carefully worded and crafted full-page print ads may be a media turning point that will last.”
3. Free publications remove all barriers
There are no barriers to people picking up a free newspaper like the Plymouth Chronicle, which is filled with interesting articles, events, useful local advertising and helpful ads. We see this all the time from ongoing feedback from clients. Interestingly enough we also find that the demographic of readers we serve is very broad and that an increasing number of younger people are engaging with our content.
This includes 20 and 30-year-olds giving us feedback about the articles they like to read. We also see how dwell time on the pages is longer than anticipated. Perhaps this is because newspapers can be seen as novel, or something different to readers brought up in the Digital Age.
4. Now’s not a time to reduce budgets
I would encourage marketing companies in Plymouth to impress this upon their clients. As I said in a recent interview, “It’s no secret that some businesses look to make savings on their marketing spend when difficult times come, but many find that this is exactly the time to be consistent and even step up their advertising to increase their market share.”
In this interview, I also reveal the five important reasons companies shouldn’t cut their marketing budgets. Advertising should never be regarded as a ‘non-essential cost’. Should your clients find things difficult, it’s probably within their best interests to increase their local exposure rather than disengage from the community they serve.
5. Highlight any CSR projects
Business networking groups are quick to point out the importance of corporate social responsibility in all a company does, not as a public relations or marketing excercise but because they genuinely care. I’d encourage marketing companies in Plymouth to suggest to their clients that they need to consider having a CSR policy listed on their websites and provide regular updates on any CSR projects they are involved in. This strengthens brand value by fostering goodwill in a unique way.
6. Try community radio
Ok, I admit my bias here! In addition to my work at Cornerstone helping marketing companies in Plymouth and Devon get the best deals on their print advertising, I also manage the local community radio station, Cross Rhythms Plymouth. This broadcasts a daily ‘Community Matters’ slot which highlights local organisations that are doing good stuff in Plymouth.
As you may be aware, it is said that “radio can boost online brand browsing by 52%. Plus listeners are on average 38% more aware of companies that have been advertised on radio and 12% are more likely to consider them when buying.” Source: Radio Centre.
I realise these figures are for commercial radio and there are many good radio advertising options in Plymouth. I suggest Cross Rhythms Plymouth as this ties in well with point five, giving opportunities to tell the good news stories your clients are generating through CSR.
Please contact us if you have any questions about finding the most effective marketing companies in Plymouth or any of these six points.
Dave Simpson
Dave Simpson is our Account Manager at Cornerstone Vision advising our clients on the best advertising and communications options for their business. This could be anything from leaflet design and distribution across Plymouth to an advert in our B to C publication, The Plymouth Chronicle or B to B magazine, Chamber Profile.
