If you've been receiving my emails for a while, you'll probably remember the following story.
Today, I'm going to suggest something radical based on the busted billboard story.
So, here's the short version ...
About six years ago, a client invested almost 30,000 USD in billboard advertising in one of the largest metropolitan areas in North America.
After the client hired me, I asked a straightforward question about their billboard investment during an advertising audit:
"How many dollars of revenue did your billboard investment generate for you?"
The client reluctantly acknowledged that they did not know.
After completing the client's advertising audit, I recommended not renewing their billboard contract because no data supported that ad buy. Not even a notable uptick in Google Analytics!
Without the billboards, the client increased their year-over-year revenue by approximately 30% and kept 30,000 USD in their bank account.
Allow me to take the story above one step further. Though overly simplistic, I also believe it to be tremendously self-evident.
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The simplest way to determine the effectiveness of any advertising is by not engaging in that activity and noting what happens!
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With the above said, I would strongly recommend taking a measured approach to eliminate any advertising or marketing efforts.
Make sure you leverage the classic direct-response process of changing only one element at a time. You might have to group multiple efforts into a single channel in some instances.
e.g. Pull back on all your social media efforts and take note of what happens. You probably won't be able to use a single post to make a sound assessment.
Additionally, the above recommendation is a 40,000-foot suggestion. Depending on the complexity of your marketing efforts, there could be a little bit of work involved.
If you have a similar example where you eliminated a marketing or advertising buy with positive financial results, I'm all eyes!
Want to get more event promotion advice? Check out the articles below:
- An Important Event Web Site Statistic for Promoters and Event Planners
- Measuring Advertising Effectiveness
- Did You Buy a Snickers Bar Yet?
- Hold Your Event Marketing Accountable!
- Web User Traffic Trends to Your Event Web Site
- The Timing of Your Event Promotion