Advertising has two key objectives: converting demand and building future awareness. Every local advertiser needs both from its media plans. As trusted advisors, you should guide your local advertisers on which tactics to use to reach their goals. Part of this is designing campaigns that that balance both objectives.

Let’s review how you can do this and what to recommend to deliver a media plan that performs.

Converting Demand vs. Building Awareness

No matter what your customer offers, only a small segment of the audience will be in the market to purchase. Some things have more regular buying cycles than others like groceries, subscription-based services or everyday items.

In these scenarios, the cycles between demand and awareness are just shorter. For less regular purchases, awareness must stay high to be top of mind when customers are ready to buy.

In considering demand and awareness, recall the “messy middle” of decision-making. Google coined the phrase to describe the fragmented customer journey. People tend to go back and forth through exploration and evaluation.

Your customers also compete in a noisy environment where their audiences see and hear advertising all day. They must stand out to build awareness continuously through advertising and deliver targeted campaigns to win conversions.

Both sides of this should be part of media planning. These would be separate campaigns in terms of creative and tactics. However, targeting remains mostly the same. Working through the entire customer journey for both awareness and conversion helps a business meet people in the “messy middle.”

Awareness Tactics: What to Recommend

Every local business needs awareness advertising. It doesn’t matter if they’ve been in business for 50 years and have a strong customer base. Markets change all the time with new people entering. Also, people have short attention spans and can easily forget who they called the last time their sink was clogged.

The heart of an awareness campaign is radio. Nothing outperforms it in terms of reach and engagement. Short spots consistently airing are a great constant reminder.

Digital tactics can amplify awareness but do so in a more targeted manner, focusing on their ideal customer profile. These ad types work best at the top of the funnel:

  • Display: Banner ads that focus on what the company does and who it serves can reinforce audio ads.
  • Geofencing: These awareness ads target people in a specific space, which could prompt online engagement or foot traffic.
  • OTT/CTV: For an awareness streaming ad, the story is again about who the brand is, what they do, and who they serve.
  • Video ads: You can recommend the same messaging as display but in video format, which could capture more attention.

Branded advertising with a uniform message that builds trust or demonstrates credibility creates positive awareness. It keeps a company as an option whenever a consumer or business needs its product or service.

Conversion Tactics: What to Suggest

Conversion tactics can look the same as awareness. What’s different is the creative and strategy. For example, radio also works to convert. It’s a proven channel listeners trust. They hear about deals, and conversions occur offline. For example, spots that push lunch deals during the morning drive could result in hungry customers walking in for lunch.

Other conversion tactics that work include:

  • Email marketing: The inbox is a space where conversions happen. The receiver likely knows the brand. By segmenting, companies can personalize the offer. These elements work together to deliver sales, form completions, phone calls or sign-ups.
  • SEM (search engine marketing): When people have a problem or a need, they search online. It’s even more prevalent when they are seeking a local solution. Ad copy that uses “buying” language (e.g., hire, purchase, rent, schedule) can gain the click and deliver a new customer.
  • Social media: Ads with in-app form fills are conversion-centric. It gives the company valuable information — the user’s email or phone number — which can lead to sales and relationships.

Media Plans Should Involve Awareness and Conversion Strategies

For every advertiser you meet with, you always ask about their goals, audience and challenges. Most of their answers will come down to awareness and conversion. Businesses must prioritize both to grow and thrive. You can help them find the right balance to ensure awareness builds, and they are ready to convert demand.

Get more insights on tactics and how they align with the customer journey in our downloadable guide.