09/ 20/ 2006
by Gary M. Stern
Cost rules out television advertising for most small businesses. But new services like Spot Runner and Comcast Spotlight offer ways to get your message on the tube for less than you'd expect.
Spot Runner produces online digital ads that small businesses can use on local cable TV networks at prices that start at $500. "We've taken the whole process online and enabled local businesses to compete against big advertisers on a level playing field," says David Waxman, Spot Runner's co-founder.
Business owners choose from thousands of prototypical ads that can be customized with a tag line, voice-over, product images or a Web site address. After learning about a client's objectives, the company helps create a schedule of the most effective networks and times to run an ad. Spot Runner usually recommends that ads run at least three times. Costs vary depending on your location. In Topeka, Kan., a 30-second weekend spot on CNN is $34; in Manhattan, it's $1,032.
Comcast Spotlight will help small-business owners create their own ads from scratch. Customized jingles and professional actors are options if you're willing to spend a little more.
Greg Kunin noticed a 20 percent spike in online orders at his powdered vitamin company, San Francisco-based Ola Loa, when he purchased a series of ads that ran at a trade show. "The ads helped us reach a new audience of people who have never set foot in a health food store," Kunin says. "It strengthened our brand."
But getting your ad on TV doesn't guarantee success. "The problem isn't the economics; it's the strategy," says Al Ries, chairman of Ries & Ries, a Roswell, Ga., marketing consultant. "Even the most sophisticated advertisers in America have difficulty running effective advertising."
How do you know if your ads are effective? "You can feel it. Every successful campaign generates responses in sales, e-mails, letters and word of mouth," Ries says. "If you get no responses, it didn't work." Waxman advises that small businesses track sales increases via an 800-number, a special URL or discount coupons.
As with any successful campaign, tweaks may be necessary. But at least you're keeping your name in front of customers. "If a local pizza shop is competing against Papa John's, Domino's and Pizza Hut, this gives them a chance," Waxman says.
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Learn more about spreading the word in the "Advertising" section of "Sales and Marketing" at www.NFIB.com/toolsandtips.
