Metafluence

Time-released, multimedia ad campaigns

Advertisers have been aware for some time that a mixture of media increases the effectiveness of a campaign. It’s also relatively old news that an advertiser will see better results if the messages are connected across media. The industry has referred to this technique as Integrated Marketing Communications. A recently released media consumption study has revealed a new technique that could strengthen the integrated approach.

Pam Horan is the president of the Online Publishers Association who conducted the study. She described their methodology by saying, “Someone actually came into their homes and workplaces and had a handheld computer, every 15 seconds registering their media consumption and life activities.” She then goes on to describe one of the key findings and conclusions as:

Not surprisingly, newspaper use peaked in the morning; that print media was consumed by 17 percent of the subjects between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. When this media was combined with Web consumption, the potential reach for advertisers climbed to 44 percent. During the same morning period, the number of consumers using magazines jumped from 7 percent to 39 percent, and from 44 percent to 62 percent for television.

“The point is that there is an incremental reach that someone can gain by putting together a multimedia campaign,” Horan said.

I would say that it’s not just a multimedia campaign, but a time-released, multimedia campaign. A firm could start their brand message with a newspaper ad for breakfast, follow it with a radio ad to catch the morning commute, support it with web advertising throughout the work day, and then conclude it with prime time television advertising. A time-released campaign could be as simple as when the media is scheduled for, or it could go as far as a campaign message that builds on itself with each installation.