Rotating Newspaper Ads (real estate, advertising, buy, work)

[grmi66]

Was just hired as the marketing person for a company that does auto related repair. Our company currently advertises in three local newspapers where we have locations on a daily basis. We do get work from these ads, but in one location we rotate the ads every other day to focus on different services and we keep the ads static in the other two locations.

Any thoughts on keeping the same ads running for 1-3 months at a time or should we rotate ads every other day or every other week? What is the best strategy to get the most out of daily newspaper advertising?

[chet everett]

I don't really know how much is based on 'science of marketing' but when I was involved with putting ads in newspaper for real estate the folks that were allegedly expert on this seemed to stress that keeping the "branding" elements the same (overall look including logo/name/ contact info) the same from week-to-week was good but the "content" had to be mixed up or people would not thing that that the ad conveyed anything worth acting on. Translating this to car repair I think you need to have "seasonal specials" and highlight the kinds of services you want folks to come to you for as the "content" but keep the "branding stuff" the same from week to week.

This might all be conspiracy between the newpaper people and the design people, but I tend to think that if the same stuff shows up, or even different stuff in a style that is too easy to skip over, people tune out the ad.

[harry chickpea]

Chett is right. Back when movie ads in newspapers were important, Each theatre would have its own style of ad, but the content of that box was the artwork provided by the movie distributor. If the place is running a static ad, that is because the previous marketing person wasn't hustling. Contact major parts distributors and ask about "co-op" money. With co-op ads, the same dollars you spend now will buy more inches of space and allow you to get more creative.

[debtmonger]

Rotating your ads and changing content is important. If you have been in business for a long time, I would use your long term customers in your ads, with their permission, of course. Maybe you could give them a 25 percent discount for using their name. In the auto repair business, honesty and integrity is paramount. As important as the competency of your repair techs. Don't ever turn down a chance to be featured in a story for your newspaper. I've talked to many people who have seen a real spike in business after a story about their business ran in the newspaper.