Buying Media
Advertising Resources and Characteristics
The information offered here presents guidelines on the strengths and weaknesses of various media. Professional strategists evaluate a medium for its ability to reach a specific, or target, audience as defined by its reach and frequency.
Reach is measured by the medium's ability to deliver the advertiser's message to the greatest number of people in the target audience. Frequency defines how many times the message will be seen, heard, or both, by that same audience.
Professionals will further evaluate each medium on a cost per thousand (CPM) listeners or readers, or viewers. It's a way to compare the various media being considered for purchase on an apples-to-apples basis. Other contributing factors include cost of producing the advertising message, ease of changing messages and, of course, the suitability of the message to the medium.
Look for professional media buying assistance in your congregation or among friends and acquaintances. Ask a local advertising agency for help. Making good buys is a tricky business.
Television
TV's strength is its reach. But its primary drawback is cost, particularly if network programs are being considered since those attract the largest number of viewers. Cable TV, while attracting fewer numbers of viewers, can be very efficient and therefore accessible and reasonably priced. Cable also allows you to more narrowly target your audience. Popular shows that resonate with potential Unitarian Universalists (UUs) include The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, both on the Comedy Central Channel and Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. In smaller markets these shows can be affordable.
There can also be significant costs associated with producing the TV commercial. The UUA has TV spots (Windows Media) (RealVideo) that can be adapted for congregational use. An additional TV spot (Windows Media) (RealVideo) was developed for the Tampa Bay Area marketing campaign.
Radio
Radio's strength is in its frequency. The message is heard many times at a reasonable cost per thousand listeners (CPM). Your radio spots will need to be engaging in order to cut through the noise of the programming. Many Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations have sponsored programs on their local public radio station. In fact, some congregations pool their members' donations to public radio and then buy public service announcements for their congregation—a great idea!
Some congregations produce their own radio spots, but this can be very costly. These three radio ads, below, produced for the UU Church of the Desert in Rancho Mirage, California, are copyrighted by The Famous Radio Ranch and may not be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of The Famous Radio Ranch. All inquiries regarding the commercials should be sent to the attention of:
Sandy Orkin,
Business Affairs Manager
The Famous Radio Ranch
13440 Ventura Boulevard
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423.
Phone 818-465-0150, and
email sandy @ radio.ranch.com.
The ads are:
- Church People (mp3)
- Fishy (mp3)
- Sit Down (mp3).
Outdoor
Billboards, whether they are of printed paper or vinyl bulletins, are good for high impact short messages. They are good for brand, or name, awareness. They are purchased on a monthly basis. The Tampa Bay Area UU marketing campaign in 2008 included billboards in its mix of media. Billboard graphics can be adapted as designs for bumper stickers.
Other forms of outdoor advertising include bus side boards, train station or subway posters, and taxi displays. All these can be effective media buys in large cities.
The two costs of this medium are the rental of the boards and the cost of producing the printed materials.
Newspaper advertising in major metropolitan areas may be out of reach of a congregation's budget, particularly because a congregation may need to run the ad several times to be effective. Community and alternative papers are lower cost options because they deliver to much smaller audiences. It is important to ask the newspapers for their circulation in the markets you are interested in. They can provide circulation figures by zip code.
Free papers often show very high circulation figures. However, because they are free, knowing the actual readership is difficult; many copies may be thrown away, unread, each week. These papers can provide a list of their free pick-up locations. Make sure that they are within an appropriate distance of your congregation.
When evaluating a newspaper or magazine, look at a few issues and consider the percentage of news stories versus advertising. If the paper is filled with advertising, your ad may not be noticed.
Some congregations have advertised successfully in local college newspapers. These papers normally have fewer pages and fewer advertisers. Larger university papers are read by professors, administrators and staff, as well as by graduate and undergraduate students. The audience can be older than one might imagine, and can be a good target for your congregation's marketing efforts.
Most newspapers provide color in ads but the premium is substantial. The UUA has ads for you to use.
Internet
Internet advertising has many advantages. It is a perfect response mechanism for people searching on the internet for a specific product or service (for example, when a person is searching for liberal religion, your ad may appear). But it is different than mass media. With mass media, your ad is out there for everyone to see. With internet advertising, an individual is searching for something specific.
With internet advertising, as an advertiser you "pay as you go"—called "pay per click"—meaning that you only pay for an ad when someone clicks to view it. Pay per click allows you to both manage your budget and measure results. Google Adwords, part of Google.com, is the most commonly used program and is a good place to begin. On Google's home page you will find an "Advertising Programs" link, with lots of helpful information to plan your campaign.
Another means of internet advertising is to use web banners. These web banners can be placed on congregational and on other web sites to steer people to the congregation's web pages, especially web pages designed for newcomers to your church. A web banner was used in the Tampa Bay Area regional marketing campaign.
Direct Mail
Direct mail is an effective marketing tool for congregations. While it may appear to be expensive on a per piece basis, it is very efficient because your congregation can target the audience, down to the household, that you wish to reach. Direct mail has many components, including the list of prospects, addressing the mail piece, design and printing of the mail piece, and postage costs. The UUA has graphic templates for UU congregations to use.
Niche Marketing Ideas
Not all advertising has to be conventional. Think "outside of the box." Ask, "How can we reach our target audience?" If you're trying to attract young families, advertising in the catalog of the local park district, or recreation, program may work. Consider promoting a book group or a speakers' forum that your congregation is holding. Flyers on bulletin boards of libraries, coffee shops, and bookstores are easy and affordable. Art house movie theatres often have advertising before each film and you can easily provide PowerPoint slides. A range of topics can be the basis for such a movie house campaign: GBLT (grayscale), UU theological diversity, and UU diversity are some useful themes. Your local Sierra Club chapter or GBLT group may have a monthly newsletter where you can advertise very inexpensively.
Websites
Most congregations promote their website address (their URL, or uniform resource locator) for users to obtain further information. As a result many visitors to your congregation will have pre-qualified themselves and will know quite a lot about your congregation before they even arrive at your doors. Make sure that you review your congregation's website through the eyes of your guests. See if it is easy to find important information quickly. Be sure to keep it up to date!
Using Multiple Media to Deliver a Consistent Message Over Time
If your budget allows, a good advertising plan should use multiple media. Always return to the question of who your targeted audience is. And make sure that your message is consistent across media. Consider timing, some good times for church advertising include a few weeks prior to the start of the church year, and January, when people are making inspirational resolutions.
For more information contact marketing_outreach @ uua.org.
Last updated on Wednesday, May 14, 2008.
