“No one is buying right now. Business will come back in Q4. It’ll get better. Our clients aren’t spending at the moment.”
Is that what you are hearing from agencies? Is that what management is saying? That’s like me stating that I can’t get a job because no one is hiring. But companies are hiring, and businesses are making money. The reason that your clients aren’t spending ad dollars is because they’re scared. Scared brings out their conservative side.
Fear, unless it’s for your life, is not the best basis for decision-making. Fear is an anxious state. Think back on the all the right decisions you’ve made and determine how many were based on fear. Probably not many.
So, while many businesses have their heads in the sand, others are using ingenuity to overcome. Enter The Taco Maker:
The Taco Maker, a Puerto Rico-based fast-food chain, ran a combination radio and mobile-marketing promo in which they gave away free burritos.
The Taco Maker and their agency, BxP, created a character named “Juan Maker” who made radio appearances to talk to local DJs about free stuff. The broadcasts were all recorded and then made into ten 60-second spots that offered a free one-pound burrito to Taco Maker aficionados that texted in the correct answer after hearing the spot.
The agency declined to specify the price of the promotion, but said it cost less than $50,000. For that amount, the agency was able to track consumer response by station, time of day and even DJ. The company focused its ad dollars where they were doing the most good in real time.
Five-thousand texts and 2500 burritos later, the chain reported a 21% sales increase for the region where the promo took place. Hmm, that is so weird.
Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Coordinator. His passion is writing, contributing to BMA as well as freelancing. He’d love to hear from you, so leave a comment or follow the links: linkedin.com or twitter.com.
