Tis the Season for a Successful Regional Media Buy

Understanding the correlation between your sales seasons and the strengths of your media seasons to gain an advantage.

If you’re a national company then you probably can afford to advertise all year long. However, if your company is mid-market or regional, then one of the most important rules you need to follow is to use your ad mediums when they are seasonally strongest to make the greatest impact to your audience. Remember, most mediums have their top performing seasons and times and with limited budgets it’s imperative to extend your ad budget by utilizing the best choices throughout the year. While some mediums have only slight audience ebbs and flows, others gain or lose as much as 30% of their audience depending on the season. And, by season I don’t necessarily mean Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall.

Television has two key times. The first four months of the year and the last three months. Billboards work best when people are traveling in warmer weather and when the daylight is at its maximum. Radio listenership expands during weekday rush hours and middays on weekends in warmer weather when people are more apt to be outside.

Mid-market regional companies need to remember that seasonality will offer different challenges from market to market and their product or service may play very differently during the same season of the year based on the market.

For example: If a regional company’s product or service is sold on the entire east coast and they are considering out of home, then they need to be aware that billboard messaging plays very differently in Florida during the winter months than it will in New Jersey and vice versa in the summer months. Every type of media not only needs to hit your audience but should be used when it’s at its full force. Be very strategic.

While some mediums offer discounts during their slower seasons many do not. So, it’s important to obtain as large an audience as possible with each medium which will lower your cpm and increase your audience opportunities.

The trick is to align your highest sales seasons with the highest audience media metrics. So, cable can be an excellent choice for many reasons but remember it may not be the best tool during the summer. And, pure play is always a viable option for certain audiences but it’s highest seasons occur during the warmer months and day light savings time.

Matching peak selling times with peak medium times will help ensure that a budget is spent more wisely and extend the campaign.