Low Cost Advertising Solutions

By William Kendy

(Reprinted with permission from Petersen's SHOT Business, August 1999)

In order to grow, retailers have to advertise and promote themselves. Most dealers are familiar with the traditional avenues of advertising, such as radio, television, newspaper and outdoor-related publications. Still there are other, not as well-known but less expensive ways for retailers to promote their stores. Here are a few of them.

• Cable Advertising

According to the National Cable Television Association, nationwide cable penetration is over 67 percent of all television households. Even though the number of viewers on specific cable networks is not as great as regular broadcast channels, cable allows you the opportunity to target in on your viewer for a very reasonable cost. For example, ESPN has a Saturday morning outdoor programming block and TNN offers advertising options on a number of outdoor programs. Research shows that NASCRA races are popular with outdoorsmen and makes advertising sense for the outdoor trade retailer.

While on the subject of cable advertising, don't rule out the weather crawl available on the Weather Channel. For savvy advertisers, running a crawl is one of the most cost-efficient, yet underutilized, advertising opportunities available. Why?

The Weather Channel broadcasts the local weather report every eight minutes and local cable systems can sell into that report. That equates to 180 exposures a day, 1,260 times per week. During the local broadcast, advertisers can run a 280 character text crawl across the bottom of the screen. In most cases, the crawl is limited to a maximum of ten advertising slots, rotated equally during the day. If all the slots are sold, each individual advertiser will receive 20 crawls per day, 126 per week. If only five of the ten slots are filled, advertisers should receive twice the frequency for the same amount of money.

Does it work? The reality is.everyone is interested in the weather. We want to know what to ear, how soon to leave for work and what tomorrow's weather will be. Granted, this is a shotgun approach to advertising, but the cost, based on the number of exposures, is next to nothing.

• Weekly newspapers

There are thousands of weekly or "hometown" newspapers across the country. Even though the efficiencies of weeklies are not as good as daily newspapers (measured on cost per thousand homes reached) the out-of-pocket costs are significantly less. Weekly newspapers are well ready because people are interested in their community.

• Shoppers

Free shoppers may not be a thing of beauty, but they have the distinction of being the only publication where editorial is actually an intrusion. People read shoppers because they are searching for something that they want to buy now. In my market we have a shopper called the Wheeler Dealer that is distributed in gas stations, restaurants and convenience stores. Every week more than 90 percent of their copies are picked up.

• Post Cards

For the small to medium size retailer, post cards can be an effective promotional vehicle, especially when linked to your internal database. They are perfect for alerting present customers to upcoming sales and hunting seasons and attracting new customers. Some commercial printers specialize in printing four color cards in small qualities for a reasonable cost. And be creative in who you mail to. Try to get the membership lists from local shooting and conservation clubs, 4-H clubs and other associations. Barry Perry, owner of Perry's Gun Shop in Wendell, North Carolina finds customer leads in his local newspaper.

"We have pistol purchase permits in North Carolina and a list of people who actually received permits is published every other week in our newspaper," says Perry. "We mail them a generic postcard inviting them to come in. We hand address the cards during downtimes. There's really no cost except the postage."

• Direct Mail

Direct mail is, without a doubt, the most targeted advertising vehicle available. There are over 20,000 mailing lists available, ranging from subscribers to outdoor magazines to purchasers of hunting and fishing licenses. Direct mail is creatively flexible, restricted only by your budget and imagination. A dealer can mail a one-page flyer, an oversize postcard, a four-color brochure or a catalog.

"Direct mail is the most effective advertising we do and we target our known customers," says Dave Zona, general manager of Creekside Gun Shop in Holcomb, New York. "we send out 9-10,000 names, three to four times per year. Last year we sent out a mailer offering 20 percent of everything in stock and we were so busy we had to extend our hours."

• Fliers

Simple fliers, distributed either directly or through your local newspapers, are a low cost advertising option. Ed Pennington, owner of four Ohio Valley Trading and Exchange stores, along with three other retailers, distributes flyers through newspapers that announce month-long sales and are very successful.

"We print about 1.2 million fliers, six times a year. That gives us 7.2 million impressions," says Pennington. "We mailed out a flier in mid January and were absolutely amazed at the response."

Pennington belongs to the Ohio Valley Trading Group, which includes the Ohio Valley Trading and Exchange, Inc.; Vance's Shooting; Fin, Feather an Fur; and the Old English Gun Shop. These four companies, representing seven storefronts, decided they could be more effective by working together on common sales and marketing goals. To that end, they collectively developed the "365 Day Vendor Support Program," which includes marketing, sales promotion and a total focus on selling. To date, 25 manufacturers are part of the program, part of which includes the distribution of the flier.

"In essence the manufacturers purchase space on a price per item basis," says Pennington. These funds come from national advertising and cover about 75 percent of the cost of the flier."

• Joint Promotions

Joint promotions with other non-competing retailers can help promote your store. For example, donating merchandise to a car or ATV dealer to give away in a drawing is relatively inexpensive. The customer needs to test drive a vehicle and fill out an entry form to have a chance at the prize. The car dealer can promote the contest - and your store - through his normal advertising.

Perry also is involved in joint promotions with other retailers, creating a win-win situation.

"We had a local guy opening up a Polaris dealership and we're working with him to be part of his open house and grand opening," says Perry. "We have merchandise and display at his store and cards and announcements hanging in out store as well. It basically costs us nothing."

• Signage

According to Bob Nelson, owner of Power Retailing, a Phoenix, Arizona, retail consulting firm, retailers have one of the best promotional opportunities right in front of them, but they don't take advantage of it.

"The biggest thing retailers overlook is their signage," says Nelson. "They can very easily create a simple sandwich board and set it outside their storefront or down the street. They also ignore their window signs. It's almost like their image means everything and they need to decide whether they're in business for ego or for money."

"Not only is it basically free, but a sandwich board will draw double of what any newspaper ad could do. I've seen it."

• Statement Stuffers

Any business in your market that regularly mails out invoices or statements is a potential statement stuffer candidate. Invoices, by postal rules, have to be mailed out first class, but seldom does that invoice alone weight one ounce. You may be able to insert a promotional piece on your store, sale or event, along with that invoice. A number of years ago, I was the advertising director for a cable television company. We offered retailers the opportunity to "piggyback" with our cable invoice for a nominal fee, far less than it would cost to send a direct mail piece.

• Advertising Specialties

The variety of advertising specialties is almost unlimited. You can imprint your stores name and address on match books, pens, bracelets, caps, coffee cups, letter openers, miniature footballs, T-shirts or literally hundreds of other products.

According to data provided by Promotion Products Association International, the national trade association for advertising specialty companies, more than 12 billion dollars was spent in 1998 on promotional items. On average, harts, T-shirts, and other items account for 24 percent of the total market.

"Especially for small to medium size business, ad specialties are a very cost efficient medium for advertising, especially considering the number of impressions that ad specialties have the potential to make over their lifetime," says Angela West, PPAI spokesperson.

"When retailers give ad specialties to their customers, their customers are advertising for them," she says. "Studies show that ad specialties create more impressions per dollar than any other advertising medium."

• We Site

More and more retailers, especially those offering specialty products, are utilizing the power of the Internet. But how can you establish a presence on the World Wide Web and how can potential customers find you. Shooters' Online services in Exeter, New Hampshire, is one of a number of host sites for outdoor-related products and services.

"Smith & Wesson stocking dealers can be included in our sponsored web site program," says Paul Pluff, manager of retail services. "For no cost, we will take care of the retailer's domain name and registration and develop up to a seven-page web site. The only cost to the retailer is a $30 per month hosting fee, of which a percentage is handled through co-op allowances."

The benefit to having a host such as Shooters' Online is that it attracts customers who are interested in shooting, hunting and the outdoors, he says. "If you aren't linked, customers can't find you. We find that 70 percent of our users are looking for a product, then search out a dealer."

• The Little Things Count

"We do a lot of little things to advertise to our internal customer base," says Jeff Poet, President of Jay's Sporting Goods in Clare, Michigan. "We try to have a sale flier or something about our next major event right at the cash register and make sure one is inserted into our bags."

"We also try to maximize our donation program," adds Poet. "When we make a donation to a local organization, we ask that they distribute sale or event fliers next to the donation. If it's for an organization that is out of this market, we give them image brochures to set out."

Image is everything, says consultant Nelson who advises retailers to pay special attention to the message they are trying to convey to their customers through their ads.

"Advertising is great, but you need the right message because today's customer is harder to reach and more demanding," says Nelson. "It's not good enough to just come out with a message, something that cuts through the advertising clutter and grab their attention. If you can't get the attention, you might as well not do anything."