Budgets are tight and limited. Marketers need to work them like a machine, constantly looking at efficiencies and effectiveness throughout the mix. Advertising is just one cog in the marketing function that needs to justify its investment.
With thin budgets, the advertiser has to strive to be mentally available to the market as often as possible whilst making sure that their brands, stores or services are physically available to the markets they speak to.
However, with thin budgets how can you maintain presence throughout the year? What do you do? Do you advertise in bursts, or every day, show face once a month, seasonally or even once a year? Do you spend it all on creative and limit your reach or reach your market as often as possible while having to manage your creative expectations?
William Wrigley Junior had a great quote regarding the case for continuous advertising. He said, "Advertising is pretty much like fanning a furnace. You have to keep on shovelling coal. Once you stop stoking, the fire goes out."
In most cases brands, services and retail stores are open and available 365 days a year. In a perfect world, reaching your category buyers everyday would be the most effective. Realistically though, it's not possible but if you were to 'fan the furnace' it seems reaching the market weekly should be the ideal objective.
Research suggests that the earliest best day is Tuesday and the latest Friday. The perfect sweet spot is arguably Wednesday and Thursday. The Roots survey (last conducted in 2010) is one of the best sources of data to explain the thinking.
According to the survey, which focuses on purchasing decision makers (PDMs) only, urban South African shoppers do most of their grocery shopping on the weekends. In fact, 65% shop on the weekends and a further 18% mull between the weekends and the week itself. That leaves just 17% of urban shoppers choosing to shop only during the week.
So what is the implication for advertising and brands trying to be visible weekly? If most shopping takes place on the weekend, when should we be reaching the buyer? The survey covered a number of questions to buyers with relevance to how they are planning their shopping. It turns out that shoppers do plan their trips - even for non-durable goods like food and groceries.
In fact, over 60% always plan before a big shop and a further 26% sometimes plan the shop. Only 14% of urban purchasing decision makers don't plan their shopping. For advertisers this is good news because over 85% of buyers are thinking about buying before they shop. That is when their radar is on. They are mentally in a buying situation and if you can reach them in this zone, your chances of being considered and thought of are far greater.
When are they planning this shop? According to Roots backed by other international sources, most shoppers (64%) are planning their shopping trip two to three days before they shop. A further 33% of consumers plan within the week and only 3% plan a week before or more.
Marketers and retailers need to 'fan the furnace' with advertising because shoppers buy all the time. The goal of marketing is to be thought of in a buying situation. Budgets are limited but you should be reaching the market weekly at best, monthly at worst. If you want to make the budget work as efficiently as possible, then your advertising should appear on Tuesday at the earliest and Friday at the latest, as most shopping takes place on the weekend.
Buyers plan their shop and mostly do this two or three days before. Therefore, the most efficient timing for advertising is Wednesday or Thursday - that is when the majority of shopping radar is on and strong. In my view, Sunday is too early or far too late for efficient timing given real shopper buying behaviour.
After that, media effectiveness becomes critical because without reach of category buyers everything else matters very little. Using high reaching media that get to the market in this 'shopping radar' zone are best.
It is no wonder why local press attract major retail advertising. They tend to be delivered mostly mid-week, they saturate key retail catchment areas and have become the reference point where shoppers plan and browse to see what's available around their 'hoods.
