Promotional Campaigns – Picking An Audience

Promotional campaigns can be very hit and miss. Why do people do them then? Well, when they are hits, they can be huge ones that can really launch a business, new product line or whatever is being offered. When they do go wrong, however, the problem is often the audience the campaign is directed at.

There is an evil temptation when it comes to promotions. That temptation is to try to pick as large an audience as possible. I live in San Diego. There are over a million people. If I tailor my campaign to all of them, I am bound to pick up a bunch of leads and sales right? Study after study shows this is not the case. Instead, you are far better off focusing on as specific an audience as possible.

Let’s consider a business that sells aftermarket mufflers. These mufflers add power to an engine and sound very racy. Who is our market? Kids in the age group of 18 to 25 for the most part. Is running a promotional campaign geared toward everyone in San Diego going to produce good results? No. Why? Well, most people are not going to be interested in my produce and those that are probably aren’t going to see my marketing efforts. I’ve missed my audience and my marketing plan is doomed to fail.

A better approach would be to seek out the locations my target audience congregates. Local car shows would be an obvious choice. I could get a booth at the show to display my muffler and offer a raffle for a free one. Although not promotional, I could sponsor the show!

This approach does not get my company in front of millions of people. It does, however, get me in front of my target market, a market that is going to be highly receptive to my product assuming it is a quality one. By targeting my audience, the campaign will produce a much better response and revenues.

Know your audience and market to them and only them.

Thomas Ajava writes about customized promotional products and other promotional topics for NomadJournals.com - your online source for unique promotional items.