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Getting Ready For Holiday Marketing!!! Chaz Taylor Telecommmunications Ad Pros Discuss Their National Audit of Back to School Electronic Advertising in National Newspapers

Posted on November 02, 2009

Abstract:Telecom is one of the top funders of USA newspapers as far as paid advertising goes. Traditional media still has its place of being a comfortable place to spot ads when your shopping pleasure begins with ad pictures, in your face pricing strategies and carnival colored presentation-usually. Folks tend to like the price comparison made easy with a quickskim of ad insert flyers that can be found in the same places each week. So time shoppers and budget/coupon pals still hunt through the 'center of the paper' to spot their finds in minutes and determine their weeks menu.

Electronics have as much space allocated as toilet tissue, aspirin and tennis shoes in this kind of ad landscape. All in all the difference comes down to designing a page that resembles the competitors enough but with an easier to find design emphazing price at first glance.

Most of the same folks who adore crossword puzzles also shop the 'paper malls.' And newspapers should glean the most brillant common sense lesson here. Sunday papers are filled with what folks most want to see in a paper and about all they have an appetite for. The ad stuffing/stuffers are as essential as the editorials, society and sports sections. Get it?? Got it??? Wonder where most coupons we use are found? Where we get present ideas and even feel like we're as dollar powered as anyone else looking through the 'paper mall.'

The study equation: Review the following newspaper inserts and identify the best sale-to-audience strategy with a focus on technology devices.

Qualified advertisers in the Chaz study: Best Buy, hhgregg, Kmart and Target. All inserts were in newspapers Sunday August 16, 09'.

Rating Schedule: 1-5 [5 is superior]

Target Review/09 College

Design:

Target lines up their prices in a uniform fashion-uses large point size that says, "Sale" and "Save"- so much you get the idea you're looking at left over stock rather than new items that have hit the shelves.

Evaluation:

Target's electronics category was under the headline of 'College Tech Sale'- making the case to get in the door by featuring a $28 Epson printer, scanner, copier. Assuming this is what will 'reel you in for more,' we thought the hard drive also promoted was too far removed from the front view. If they had packaged the dorm/apartment room with both of these items plus a simple hair dryer they would have increased traffic flow passing 5-10 more options to buy things like soap and DVDs throughout the store. All in all there was too much focus on the college student with little regard that 5 out of 10 times they would be shopping with parents. Target left to 'open game' the other things students would have been shopping for. The paper insert was not directed to students, parents or friends who would likely get a gift certificate if it had been more directly in the mix of ideas presented more energetically. The stuffer was designed for the Target lover but could never compete with the Wal-Mart mindset or sassy students. It was one of those inserts with stuff..stuffed and more stuffing.

Lets not overlook the TracFone by Samsung T301 $29.00. Great photo grouped with other technologies particularly the $89.99 18.5" widescreen LCD computer monitor. Good headline-these were the lowest prices of the season- should have emphasized the Target RedCards here for more sense of purchase power. OOPS!!!

Rating 3 star - would have been a 2 if the all in one Epson Stylus NX100 had not looked so good!!

Kmart

Designed as a bookend to sales-'Get your teen's jeans and a hoodie and look at the great snack offers too! Bottled water gets as much realestate on these front and back covers as bathroom tissue- too predictable. No technology on the 'pull you there' pages.

There they are, technology, gadgets...-right after the vacuum cleaners ads these pages are called 'Ready to Rock' (Now that sounds like ready for school) and we find the popular Nintendo DS, cameras, karaoke CD's, 2 TV's etc. next page-TacFone LG $29.95. Left corner- great spot and adds a dimension of outdoors when considered the proximity to the trampolines and bicycles. The TracFone does have a presence on the unintentional product page but the airtime offer reduces the buy impact. (Why are there never any call numbers so you can have one of these waiting for you when you get there?)..DREAMING>

Conclusion: Technology could boost the Kmart image and reason to shop there. it's just a very small attribute of varied product lines and if given a chance of presence may reintroduce an audience to the competitive price advantage of other items. The layout of the insert is designed around value pricing- good photography and looks like it hits the high points of back to school purchases with some speculation of holiday purchases. Should have considered a stronger lay -away feature to cap the audience-"Two stones-One bird." Also the differing size of pages like the campus clearance one get lost, fall out, are too hard to come back to. Save the design energy. Put it all in one with more white space and lead text to distinguish audience priority.

Rating: 2

hhgregg

Great design-folds well-has a real look. A brochure of electronics and stuff you need to make you tech happy. But then again, that's what they are about. Their ad insert has some vacuums too but in a more logical place. We wonder why no one thinks a directory right in the front wouldn't help some!!

Who's not to like the consistent yellow that frames each page and makes all the technology jump right off?? You can actually see the products in a way that makes them look more real and like a walk through of departments.

The shopper is reminded of financing and free delivery in all the right product spots- you even look at a salesperson who seems real and friendly who reinforces the 'GUARANTEE.' WOW- that's a real marketing term that you don't find emphasized in most flyers?? [One hopes, really hopes that sales support is not a typical commissioned hyper salesperson but someone that knows what will work best for the situation.] One more observation- the salesperson featured is the only face in the promo piece and would have been more meaningful if pictured about helping with something more than mattresses that everyone knows doesn't need a salesperson to "sell it." The back always know the way!

Their TV's look terrific in the layout- we want the Ultra Slim Samsung-12 months with NO INTEREST!! (It's the NFL players choice too- a good point of endorsement).

About technology like computers and gadgets- they take on a secondary presence. They suppose that appliances and TV's are their calling card. The computers are mostly laptops and appear like birds on a wire' in their photo presentation as opposed to the Best Buy flyer presentation. Worst of all- the 'hhtech' service looks like it's playing catch up in a concept- but could look value plus. If the cover of the flyer could have featured the Microsoft Student with Notebook and Range Max Wireless Router- the entire perception of technoloy and home smart appliances would have gained a chance to get the attention of a much wider audience. Color selecting and adding priority to the computer and communicaiton/networking pages would be a good future feature of layout.

And they have a TracFone tool! $39.99 gets you the LG600 phone-you worry about connecting to the prepaid network.

Rating: 3

Best Buy

Designed with a priority section with larger pages that project to help parents and students go right to their special sales pages. Best Buy does design knowing which pages get the most notice. The cover goes to the punch making sure 18 months no-interest gets noticed. TV and computer are the key lead products. Because these are the big 2 on the minds of most customers buying technology- the logic says to the customer.."Break to the chase."

The price points are perfectly presented in the format- with before and after prices it's a no-brainer that you're going to really save money on big brands and lots to choose from. All tags are yellow- you know to look on the tags- great, consistent design.

The flyer looks like lot's of tech and lots of fun. Product support- you think it's easy to make technology come together with each page presented like its gadgets for dummies! From Sirus- help you get connected to SKype- I feel like the folks there know how to refer me to the right source- 'guides in the rain forest where they're restless animals.'

Best Buy incorporates the "yellow" tag with everything. The icon of their logo is also a sign of promise.."Best Buy." This is really genuis advertising and will work for years- timeless!

If the technology repair features of the products had been a foremost design element- in cover of first 4 pages then humanizing service could have been accomplished in a more inspiring way. Best Buy would do well to make the pages a little 'Wired' combo. They could become the premier source for technology with enhanced ship-install with a few adjustments to the publication.

Rating: 4

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