BTL Media – Let the data guide you.

 

If you woke up tomorrow morning requiring an agency to run a media campaign on your behalf you’d be spoilt for choice. The industry has an abundance of agencies providing Above The Line (ATL) and Below The Line (BTL) services, so how do you choose?

In short, let the data guide you…

The rapid development of BTL media over the last decade has meant that digital channels should no longer be considered as lower funnel mediums. Aided by the growth of mobile devices, digital now more than ever has the ability to impact all aspects of the marketing funnel, meaning there’s no reason why an organisation shouldn’t kick off their marketing activities exclusively utilising BTL channels.

Surprisingly, there are a large number of organisations/brands that are yet to fully grasp the capabilities of digital media, usually because of a lack of knowledge or a dependence on traditional mediums.

Here are five of my most important pillars of BTL media (and digital in particular), which presents a compelling business case for any organisation trying to gain as much value and knowledge from their marketing budget:

 

Knowledge of Spend

Digital has the ability to provide real-time expenditure at a top-line or granular level (e.g. demographic, location, device and keyword), which is great because it helps provide clarity on where your marketing budget is being spent.

 

Performance Data

Digital has the ability to provide performance data in real-time (e.g. impressions, clicks, CPC, cost and conversions), allowing for clear transparency around performance throughout the journey of a campaign.

 

 

Granular Targeting

Digital has the ability to engage broad audiences (awareness/reach), while specific targeting (consideration/preference) is also available, allowing advertisers to isolate specific segments that are more likely to convert.

 

Reporting On Objectives & KPI’s

Depending on your campaign goals, most action points in a BTL campaign are trackable. The ability to track phone calls, form fills, brochure downloads or online purchases to name a few is invaluable for any client that’s trying to measure the success of their marketing activity.

 

Review & React

Advertisers can edit campaigns whilst they’re being run. Unlike traditional forms of media, BTL activity can be edited with minimal downtime. The ability to pivot allows for the continuing improvement of your online activity by pushing budget to campaigns / activations that are driving either better engagement or a better return on investment.

The better agencies have the ability to become an extension of their client’s business, in order to get to this point, a level of trust needs to be developed. When you’re handed the keywords to a brand or business you need to ensure that you use the budget as efficiently as possible.

In summary, before running your next campaign, ask yourself if more can be done across BTL mediums and always remember to let the data guide you.