So, you have identified your ideal customer profile, (ICP), you’ve got the team to help you score, but you’re still perfecting your marketing plan- we get it, and you’re not alone. With a never-ending supply of potential marketing options available, it can be tough to pick where you put your dollars.
For a proven, hyper-local approach, consider scoreboard advertising. Trust us, your digital marketing plan and business will not be the same after. After all, people buy what they know, what connects with them, and what they see, and according to the Harvard Business Review, the more times your ad is served to an ICP, the more likely they are to buy.
You want to meet new, ideal clients on their home turf, and we are here to tell you how to execute the play.
Hyperlocal: What it is, Why it Matters
Hyperlocal targeting is a relatively new idea, and we think LinkedIn explains it well. When, “...citywide or area-wide marketing isn’t quite local enough,” you should “realize the benefits of targeting a hyperlocal area- just a few blocks (or even streets) in which to target new customers.”
Opponents of hyper-local marketing strategies might say that focusing too narrowly on a single customer base might miss an opportunity to attract others, but what that does not account for is the fact we have already established: you know your ideal customer, and we know where they are.
Think of it this way, when you’re looking for a new restaurant, you likely begin by searching “nearby,” because those are the establishments most applicable to you and your needs. The reverse is also true, meaning a restaurant’s marketing plan will likely increase conversions from ad viewers to customers if they serve ads to a hyperlocal area or demographic, likely one very near the restaurant.
Hyperlocal marketing is the playbook your business has been missing, and scoreboard sponsorship tackles that approach while providing other benefits. Read ahead to find out what we mean.
Make Your Digital Marketing Meaningful
As a marketer, you understand that any channel can serve someone an ad, and that person might convert and become a buyer. In that approach, however, there are a lot of opportunities to drop the ball.
So how do you make sure your ad is not only seen by your ICP but resonate with them, as well?
The answer is more human than strategy, but it boils down to a simple fact: we buy what we know and what is meaningful to us and those we care about.
Digital scoreboard advertising is a home-run for real estate professionals, restaurants, and similar local businesses as part of their digital marketing plan because a scoreboard at a sports game is right where the eyes of your ICP are going to be. Scoreboard advertising at schools provides direct funding to the sports and athletes in the community, and it is almost certain if someone’s watching a school sports game, it is because they (or more likely their kids,) have some skin in the game and your local community.
Other marketing plans and strategies may convert customers, but what they can not do is position the business, quickly and successfully, as a champion of the local community.
In essence, while you can spend your marketing budget anywhere, you’ll spend it wisely by putting unskippable ads on a scoreboard beneath hundreds and sometimes thousands of local buyers.
Repeated Exposure: Driving it Home
We know putting together a marketing plan isn’t easy, so we’ve done some research to help out. Did you know video is the top advertising format for Gen Z, that 42% of families attend at least one high school sports event per week, or that more fans attend high school sports every year than all pro sporting events combined?
In his book, “Successful Advertising” the author Thomas Smith made the following observation: he stated that by the 14th time a person looked at an ad, they “start to feel like they’ve wanted it for a very long time,” by the 19th time, they “count their money,” and by the 20th time of a prospect seeing an ad, “they buy what is being offered.”
Despite Smith’s book being more than a century old, the experts still agree: messages are more effective when repeated and buyers are more likely to buy from brands who not only are close to home, but give support close to home, as they do with scoreboard advertising as part of a successful go to market strategy.
Now we understand that scoreboard advertising is just part of your overall strategy, and while that may be true, using these digital ads can actually increase the success of ads from other mediums, like social media, paid search ads, and content marketing. This occurs because of the increased exposure potential customers have to your ad, in person, beneath the lights of a scoreboard.
Innovate for Every Game
Maybe you are sold. Maybe we scored the goal and you are ready to commit all or part of your marketing strategy and budget to scoreboard sponsorship. If so, great- we are sure glad to hear it, but maybe not, maybe you like the idea but don’t know how to execute it.
Well, that’s where your marketing partners, like Scoreboard Media, come in. They not only get your marketing plan on the right track and get your ad onto the screen for every game, but they provide guidance and feedback on what works to do it, and do it well.
Some of the most successful scoreboard and digital billboard advertisements we have seen are ones which highlight something other than the product, for example, a business’ ad spot on a sports scoreboard to feature an “athlete” or “teacher of the week” beside the business name.
Other examples are sponsoring a moment of silence, highlighting local heroes in military or other uniformed services, and even on-screen puzzles.
Additionally, for a more modern audience, like the Gen Z’ers we mentioned earlier, featuring hashtags to trend on social media or on-screen QR codes and short links has also proven effective.
At the end of the night, that audience is going to see a local ad, consider innovating with some of these options, and make sure that ad is yours.
Your Marketing Strategy, Defined
Whether your business is a restaurant or real estate or doctor’s office or local mechanic or tire shop, with scoreboard ads as part of your marketing strategy, you can define not only what ads your ICP’s see, but that they see it, and see it repeatedly. That’s the power of scoreboard advertising. Meet your client on their turf, but on your terms. Contact Scoreboard Media today to find out more.
