The Construction Marketing Association’s Advertising Best Practices Webcast was packed full of inspired advertising case studies in the construction industry. CMA Chairman, Neil M. Brown, also shared tips on media planning and buying to better your advertising strategy.
Results from a recent national CMA survey were also presented. The survey found that 96.6% of construction professionals employed some form of advertising highlighting its value in a modern marketing mix. To view all results from this survey, read Advertising in Construction- Survey Results.
What is Advertising?
Advertising is a form of communication for marketing, used to encourage, persuade or manipulate an audience to continue or take some new action. Types of Advertising include print (magazine, trade, newspaper, directories), broadcast (TV, radio), outdoor (billboard, transit), online (banners, paid search, social).
Why is Advertising so important? Although Advertising is often one of the biggest budget items, it offers the advantages of reaching large and targeted audiences vital to building brand awareness. Whichever medium you choose, media placement costs are significant. However, crafting consistent, high-quality ads can help your message break through the clutter and resonate with your target audience.
Because of the costs associated with Advertising, Ad Testing is recommended to improve success. Qualitative or concept testing uses interviews or focus groups, and is generally exploratory using headlines, rough layouts or storyboards. Quantitative or copy testing uses surveys or physiological measures to evaluate different executions of completed (or almost completed) ad copy.
So which testing type is best for your ad? The extent of testing depends on the expected advertising budget- both ad production and placement. Quantitative testing allows for larger samples sizes and can provide a level of statistical validity that may be important with larger investments.
Summary of Advertising in Construction Survey Results
The majority of construction marketers surveyed employ advertising, with social networks and trade magazines most often. Trade magazines were found to be the most effective advertising type, while telephone directories were the least effective advertising type. The full survey can be found here.
CMA STAR Awards Advertising Samples
The CMA STAR awards recognize excellence in 16 marketing categories and 81 sub-categories including advertising, website design, promotions, and integrated marketing campaigns, along with the Construction Marketer of The Year. Some of the 2012 winning entries in the Advertising Category are listed below:
CMA SuperStar – Print Trade and Campaign- Sweets by McGraw Hill Construction.
CMA SuperStar – Advertorial – Tile of Spain by McGraw Hill Construction.
For more information about the CMA STAR Awards, click here.
Did you miss the webcast? To download the entire presentation click here. Stay tuned for our next webcast: CMA STAR Awards – Previews and Tips, July 18 at 1 PM CST. CMA Chairman Neil M. Brown will preview the upcoming (September) Marketing STAR Awards with a walk-through of how to apply and WIN! He will share examples of past winners, answer frequently asked questions (FAQs), and provide some recommendations for winning in 2013! Register here.
I really enjoyed hearing Neil Brown’s take on the best marketing practices in the construction industry.