Ask the Expert: How Can Local Sellers Win Long-Term Digital Ad Campaigns?

Start with Basics on Brand Awareness and Market Saturation

Orcutt coaches salespeople to begin conversations about always-on advertising. The reality is that only a small part of the audience urgently needs a product or service. Advertisers have to keep reminding the community of their brand for it to be top of mind when the need arises.

Orcutt provided examples of HVAC and roofing companies. Consumers don’t continuously require these services, but when they do, they act fast to secure them. If these businesses are advertising consistently and often, it’s their brand that will come to mind.

A long-term digital ad campaign makes the company “sticky” to its intended audience, and this can’t be achieved without brand awareness messaging throughout the year.

Here-and-There Advertising Restarts the Recall Engine

Orcutt noted that local companies may be hesitant to buy six-month or annual ad buys. They think they only need to highlight their brand during busy seasons or when they have specific promotions, events or product offerings.

Overcoming this mindset is critical, according to Orcutt. She advised that running continuous advertising is more cost-effective in terms of ROI. If a company runs a three-month campaign and then goes silent, they have to restart the brand awareness and trust foundation. With longer ad buys, advertisers achieve the frequency needed for better recall.

Long-Term Ad Campaigns Can Have Multiple Goals and Audiences

Orcutt also explained how to present options that include specific promos and evergreen messaging. Both are necessary but have different goals. The evergreen ads are for brand awareness and introducing the audience. They may include ratings, customer testimonials or product/service overviews.

Sprinkled in with these ads would be the promotions, which may be seasonal and run for a limited time. This can also be a long-term buy. Orcutt described how flighting and creative scheduling within digital advertising technology support this.

With these features, you can define the time frame of a creative. For example, landscaping companies shift promotional messaging based on the season. In late fall, they may want to advertise services for winter prevention. By February, the content would change to getting yards ready for spring.

With flighting and creative scheduling, you could sell them an annual campaign and set up the rotation of creatives.

Another example is restaurants; they can swap out creative to highlight new menu items or special deals.

The value of these longer-term digital ad campaigns also means there is more time to optimize. Testing various creatives offers insight into what resonates with audiences. This intelligence can lead to higher performance.

Businesses with multiple audiences should launch campaigns that run parallel but have unique messaging and targeting. Orcutt explained this scenario using the example of higher education. Colleges typically run ads for students and parents. With a longer ad buy, they can test things out and see what converts for both groups.

Orcutt relayed that the greatest value in these multi-month campaigns is the freedom to experiment and see what drives action.

It’s a Marketing Strategy, Not an Ad Buy

Orcutt recommended presenting the options to advertisers as a marketing strategy to drive brand awareness and lower-funnel actions. When sellers propose an integrated ad campaign that uses multiple digital tactics to meet customer goals, they can highlight how each channel can do this effectively.

Orcutt also discussed how this approach plants the idea that sellers are expert local marketing resources. It can build trust and help with winning renewals. The relationship isn’t transactional; it’s a partnership based on getting the most for every dollar spent.

An example from Orcutt was automotive. The industry spends a lot of dollars locally, engaging in brand awareness buys and specific promos. Those changing specials and introductions of new inventory are crucial to drive lead generation and sales, so planning out a yearlong campaign enables them to keep momentum but change the creative as needed.

Any business with seasonal messaging, from restaurants to furniture stores to med spas, fits the profile of delivering marketing strategies.