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Author: martinjmalone

Tonic Consultancy > Articles by: martinjmalone
Out of home
14th June 20200

What is ‘out of home’ advertising?

We know that the world feels a little different right now. In fact, it feels a little weird talking about ‘out of home’ advertising when so many of us have spent the past few months finding ways to work, live and keep safe very much at home. But, as the world starts establishing a new normal (and more and more of us find safe ways to get back to work) it might be time to start thinking about the best ways to advertise.

So what are the best ways to advertise out of home?

At Tonic Consultancy, we have implemented campaigns across the whole spectrum of ‘out of home’ mediums. The most typical ways are:

Taxi

Taxi advertising is a powerful form of transport advertising. Wrapped taxis can reinforce brand exposure and be a really cost effective marketing method. Although it is definitely worth a sensible discussion about your target audience, as this type of advertising tends to offer a higher impact in more densely populated areas such as towns and cities.

Bus

Buses are an everyday sight in the British landscape. Even during lockdown, buses are providing a really valuable network of transport for our essential workers. And as more and more people spend time outside you can find more and more opportunities to boost your marketing efforts. Bus advertising can offer an impactful form of advertising for any size of business and can really drive your target audience to your business, website or event.

Digital advertising vans

A digital ad van is effectively a giant, portable and entirely-customisable LED screen. We can source digital advertising vans and bikes which are designed to deliver your messaging directly to your target audience. The screen offers the flexibility to deliver static or moving content; with audio and video options available. These vans and bikes can push your message to a wide range of different demographics – delivering the right message, to the right people, at the right time. 

Billboard 

Billboards are definitely an old classic. Which means it can be easy to underestimate the value of using a billboard in your marketing campaign. There are lots of ways that you can customise billboard content (shape, imagery, messaging) but if they are used in the right location, they can act as a constant reminder to your target audience that you are just the right brand, business or website for them.

Digital out of home

This form of advertising takes billboards to the next level – and in this technological era, people expect to see digital interfaces more and more. Moving words and images can really work to captivate your target audience and it offers a powerful way to deliver your marketing messaging. 

We can offer a wide range of options for digital out of home advertising, from small screens in public spaces to enormous screens at outdoors events – we can help you to design and deliver your marketing campaign in the best way possible.

Rail 

People can be really bored at train stations. Commuters and travellers are often spending time just waiting for their train to arrive – and tend to engage with out of home advertising in more receptive ways. How many times have you read a poster on a train platform out of sheer boredom? Rail and tram stations are hubs for your target audience and can offer a clever way to deliver your messaging to a large section of your target audience. 

London Underground

Let’s get real. London is huge. And millions of people navigate the City every day. With clever planning, you can really target vast numbers of the population and most people will see the message once or twice a day. Do you want to target people in financial services? Then look at lines or stations around the City, the West End or Canary Wharf. Do you want to target tourists? Then look more to stations around the sights, Waterloo, Buckingham Palace, Regents Park. 

Advertising on the London underground can be a really effective way to advertise, no matter where in the world your business is located.

Airport 

We know that air travel isn’t really an option at the moment and we really hope that over the coming months that we can find safe ways to resume trips abroad. When this happens you might want to consider adding airport advertising to your campaign. Holiday makers are typically in a happy frame of mind and much more likely to impulse buy – or engage with a brand that they might not ordinarily engage with. 

If you are starting to think about how you could advertise outside of the home, then give us a shout.

Audience research
14th June 20200

Know your audience

Are you looking for a simple way to define your marketing audience? You have a great product, service or business and you have some powerful messages to share. But if you are telling the wrong people in the wrong way, then you are not going to get the results that you want – and you’ll probably waste a lot of time and money in the process. 

Do you know who you are trying to target? Have you thought about who your marketing audience is? At Tonic Consultancy we can help you to define the groups of people who need to hear your message, we can help you to define that message and we can make sure that your target audience actually hears that message. 

But what do some of these target audiences look like? 

Here are some of the main target audiences you might want to consider. At Tonic Consultancy, these are the four key audiences that we are often asked about. 

Students: This is a really broad audience, but you are probably looking at an age range of 18-24 with a diverse set of social attitudes, values and an ever-shrinking appetite for more traditional marketing.

Millennials and Generation Z: This is another really broad audience – all those people born between 1981 and 2012. A diverse set of needs, looking for a diverse set of experiences with a focus on social media marketing and video content. 

Families with children: This is, unsurprisingly, a really broad audience. There really is no such thing as a standard family in 2020. This is another diverse audience but you probably want to think more about imagery, timing and impact. 

ABC1s: Or, if you’re unfamiliar with the term, the people who make up the higher socioeconomic demographic. But this is, wait for it, a really broad audience. And it’s tough to define this audience too. ABC1s can no longer be ring fenced by industry, job title, education or income and this audience could also quite easily sit in one of the other categories too.

Have you noticed a theme here?

Modern-day marketing cannot rely on broad definitions of target audience. Within each broad audience there are distinct, diverse segments; but tapping into these segments can yield powerful results. To identify your specific audience you should really consider your products, your services and your competitors. 

So how can we help you?

At Tonic Consultancy we are obsessed with audience research. We love crunching the numbers to really understand what you want to say and who you want to say it to. The marketing journey for us always starts with the audience – who are you trying to target? What are you trying to achieve? 

We apply a rigorous, scientific-led approach to define your audience. We use leading categorisation systems (like Mosaic) and technology and data services (such as TGI data) to really understand who you need to target. We are so obsessed with the data that some people might call us geeks; but we just call ourselves audience-led. 

And once you have defined your audience, we can help you to target them in a clear, effective and efficient way. We know how to target the full spectrum of audience types in the best way possible. In designing your campaign like this, we can provide you with the most effective campaign with a clear vision and minimal wastage. 

If you need help finding your audience then give us a shout – hello@tonicconsultancy.co.uk

News from Tonic
14th June 20200

Storytelling – and the story of Tonic Consultancy

Humans are intrinsic story-tellers; it’s how we learn, how we communicate, how we connect. We have been telling stories since we evolved; stories to share, stories to document our history, stories to inspire. 

Storytelling is an essential part of any good marketing campaign. But you’re not just interested in any old story. A good story needs to be authentic. Your audience needs to feel the emotional connection, to understand the purpose – they don’t just want to be sold to. 

If you want to build your business, you will need to learn how to craft a compelling story that your audience can relate to. You need to know your message, your story plot; you need to know how you want your reader to feel. You need to be creative, emotive, concise and clear – you need a story with purpose. 

Let Lisa Byrne, our founder, tell you the story of how Tonic Consultancy began. 

“17 years ago, I sat next to a guy on a plane. I was studying at Leeds University at the time and, after a brief conversation, I discovered he was the sales director for a large radio station.

Without hesitation, I offered to work for him over the summer for free – something I would obviously never recommend anyone to do in 2020! But I turned up every day for six weeks; throwing myself into the company and into every single task. I had absolutely no expectations, I just loved working with people. Building great relationships with every member of the team and helping them in any way that I could. 

When I graduated, that same man had worked his way up into a role at a new company and offered me my first paid job as a media planner for one of the largest UK radio stations. A job that I almost certainly wouldn’t have got without that initial chance encounter. 

That first job was a springboard to a role in one of the UK’s largest radio groups and then, from there, I joined one of the leading out of home advertising companies. I loved all of my jobs. I loved working with people – colleagues and clients – using the skills and connections I had made on the way to do one thing: help them. 

Tonic Consultancy was founded shortly after the birth of my second child. It happened very organically – and quickly! – people I had worked with over the years began reaching out to me, asking for help. I knew I had the skills and the connections to make it work so I did it. I helped them, just as that man on the plane had helped me. 

Tonic Consultancy has grown from those early days. Our team has grown. Our offering has grown. We are a full-service marketing agency. We are a business that combines expertise and industry knowledge with a desire to deliver outstanding client service. 

So I guess the moral of the story is: seize every opportunity. That chance encounter on the plane set me on a career path that led to Tonic Consultancy. And don’t forget to help people.”

If you need help writing a story with a purpose, then get in touch. <Add link to contact page>