A high-end retailer whose name is synonymous with luxury was looking for a new media adviser that would push growth, but still remain within the existing advertising budget. This client had been working with one of the largest independent media firms, one that specialized in “buying clout,” or getting lower costs for advertising. However, the firm had limited planning experience. The client felt that its media dollars were not getting the desired results.
T1 Media was asked to devise a strategy that would increase sales volume working with a fixed budget in a rapidly deteriorating bricks-and-mortar environment due to both encroachment by online vendors and the impending “Great Recession”.
Strategic Media Research
Through careful evaluation, it became clear the media that had been recommended, although demographically efficient, wasn’t effective on any level:
- Purchaser Profile—The wrong customer was being targeted. The previous media firm was focusing on reaching as many people based on the lowest CPM, giving the impression that all media exposure is of equal value and all that mattered was “cheap” media vs. targeted media.
- Geographic Matrix: All markets received equal media weight, disregarding sales-volume analytics that would segment markets based on ROI and sales-growth volume opportunities.
Strategic Media Recommendation
Using T1 Media’s proprietary analytics, the entire media program was changed significantly to align with business objectives and the rapidly changing market conditions:
- Role of broadcast and print were inverted, and online was incorporated into the mix.
- High-end quality lifestyle print was used throughout the year to build a year-round “brand relationship conversation” within product-relevant media.
- Broadcast was conserved and maximized to drive traffic during high-volume periods when the consumer was most receptive to taking action.
- Broadcast station mix was changed to include only those stations with the highest concentration of the desired target, not with lowest CPM.
- Online was layered into the media mix to reach light broadcast and print-media users and to drive email registration to build a brand-owned media network.
Results
Working with the same media budget, sales doubled despite being one of the toughest retail environments in decades. Most competitors closed their stores, while T1 Media’s client grew their store footprint by 200 percent.