The keys to BIG results on a small budget
So many mass CPG brands no longer have the big advertising budgets they used to. While unfortunate, it is not the end of getting big results. Here’s how to put your limited dollars to their greatest use.
1. Refine your target audience.
Focus your limited spend on a group of consumers that you can reach effectively with your media budget. The greatest idea in the whole world won’t do you any good if your target doesn’t see it enough. Frequency matters, and it is cheaper to achieve with social and digital. You can refine your target based on geography, lifestyle, behaviors, etc. Most brands have lots of good data, so use it to point your advertising spend at your most productive audience — where you are not strong, but the data says you should be.
2. Generate curiosity.
Chances are if your brand has been around awhile, you’ve become wallpaper to many consumers within your target audience. You need to make them curious about you again. Start by reestablishing your relevancy by updating your personality, how you are expressing yourself and the lifestyle that you fit into. While you may not have Coke, Pepsi or Gillette’s budgets, look at their social feeds. They all project very now personalities. It doesn’t take a big budget, nor do you need to be a new brand to express yourself in a contemporary and relevant way.
3. Align your media with your messaging.
The environment where the consumer sees your message will make it more relevant and effective. That doesn’t mean you can’t use low-cost, programmatic vendors. It goes back to how you define your target audience. Good targeting will go a long way towards ensuring that your message is delivered in the right environment. Also, media can drive the message too. Challenge your media partner to identify opportunities where your brand can stand out, then challenge your creative partner for a stand-out message.
4. Always be converting!
That doesn’t mean always be selling. You are advertising for a reason, so how are you measuring that you are accomplishing your goal? As in the example above, if you need to update your brand personality and rebuild relevance, social media is a great environment for that, and engagement (short term) and followers (longer term) are your best KPIs.
5. Plan for agility.
You should always have multiple messages in the market. Always be conducting small tests, measuring and refining your approach; it’s the only way to improve. It may seem like a pain, but it’s a relatively small investment of time and money, and it’s critical to getting BIG results.
We have a plethora of examples of how we’ve helped our clients achieve big results on small budgets. Just recently we delivered a 300% ROI on a $100K campaign for our client Seafood Nutrition Partnership. Check out the campaign here. Bottom line, you can do a lot with a limited budget.
