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Changing Lanes
July 31,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on August 2012
In May, Advance Publications, whose daily newspapers include venerable publications such as New Orleans Times-Picayune as well as titles in Birmingham, Huntsville and Mobile, Ala., announced it was scaling back the number of days print editions would appear.
The move signaled Advances increased reliance on its publications digital news distribution. With declining print circulation, and more people getting their news off their computer or smart phone, it will come as no surprise if that trend continues.
Its also a development that should give furniture retailers many of who have long depended on newspaper ads and inserts as a key promotional toolsome thought.
Where to put ones advertising dollars poses many more questions than it did 10, even five, years ago. Digital advertising blasting smartphones or e-mail inboxes or print? Television or radio? A combination of the above? Its not as if furnitures rebounding at a rate that makes it easy to spread a promotional budget around.
This month, we asked people who make their living in advertising and marketing for their take on whats working for their clients, and queried furniture retailers for their thoughts on allocating their advertising budgets. Read on for their answers.
A NEW (DN)AGE
Advance Publications actions were simply a dramatic instance of digital technologys increased importance to media companies. And furnitureland had best pay attention.
Mobile technology has forced everyone to rethink the way we do everything, said Lance Hanish, principal of the Los Angeles-area agency Sophis1234. Its time for business to really understand, both retailers and manufacturers, what is relevant and what resonates.
Hanish said his clients are adapting, but theyre not typical of the industry.
I feel we really havent made much progress. Were stuck in I only do the things I know. Were all creatures of habit and get queasy with anything outside our safety zone, he said. Check and see how many ads in your pages have QR codes. If they dont, how do (advertisers) expect to reach the audience when QR usage with smartphones is greater than 35 percent?
With their ability to disseminate complex messages over distance instantly, Hanish said smartphones and tablets could end up as groundbreaking as the printing press or telephone were back in their day.
In one decade, the world has shifted from hard-wired and print-based communication to a 24-hour news cycle and everything we have now, he noted. Weve arrived, and nobody seems to understand were already there. Legacy media no longer dominate todays world. We live in what I call a new DNAge.
HOLD THE iPHONE ¦
As Hanish noted, most furniture retailers havent done a lot to bring digital into their advertising mix to date. Unfamiliarity with the form and their place in the promotional ethersphere are reasons why.
Theres a lot more noise to contend with. Its harder to stay targeted with what you do and whom you reach, said Jason Pires, principal at MVC Agency in Los Angeles. Online you have the entire world searching and competing for customers attention. To do digital advertising right, you have to know whos your consumer and determine a strategy for what works online. You have to have the tools in place to measure the results of any particular campaign. ¦ Are you branding, or looking for a call to action?
Banner Marketing in Spokane Valley, Wash., is big on a complementary relationship between print and digital promotion.
As we are all aware, we are becoming a mobile nation consuming information on-the-go via portable devices such as tablets and smartphones, said Shirley Griffiths, VP of sales. The question for retailers is how to respond to this? Should they do away with traditional media, venture out and reallocate all their ad dollars online? Or do they continue doing what theyve always done and stay with familiar, traditional media? In my opinion, neither is the correct response. Both traditional and new media are powerful in their own right. Together this duo can be dynamic with the ability to reach consumers wherever, whenever.
She said that retailers are opting for a hybrid of traditional and new media: A common mistake is switching everything to digital and leaving traditional media out of the mix, she said. Why do away with a familiar and trusted vehicle that can drive traffic online? In other words, if you dont invite me to your Web site, its unlikely Ill just stop by. The World Wide Web is a big space and retailers need to precisely direct consumers to a predetermined site rather than just hoping theyll stumble across it.
A key at Banner is driving customers to the retailers Web site through print ads and search engine marketing (SEM).
Connect your trusted print marketing efforts to digital elements by utilizing QR Codes, which direct consumers online to any chosen URL, she suggested. Use a print incentive, like a coupon or contest, to invite your potential customer online to a social media page or Web site.
SEM involves identifying key words relevant to a business, and optimizing their placement in online marketing to increase search engine results. Identify exactly where the consumer is in the buying cycle, Griffiths said. A banner ad that is placed alongside search results can entice consumers to visit your Web site, or you can direct them to a social media page or video. She added that Banner SEM packages are performance-based, so clients only pay when consumers click on banner ads and are directed to the intended site.
Performance based marketing is a fundamental shift in media, Griffiths said.
Online advertising has very good gross impressions, but the click-throughs are not so good, in the experience of Brad Lebow at Horichs, Parks, Lebow Advertising in Baltimore. The agency handles advertising for 38 furniture retailers, including 10 of the top 100 in annual revenue.
A lot of retailers dont do transactions on the Web, thoughif you could click through and buy, online might be more effective advertising, he noted. Signs such as newspapers cutting back on publishing days, however, are troubling. Once you train people to get their news somewhere else four days a week, they might not come back, Lebow said. Youll see more news information going online.
SO WHERES THE MONEY GOING?
Television continues to be the most important vehicle for Horichs, Parks Lebow clients, where ad dollars are moving to television and direct mail.
Thats network television, though we do some cable, Lebow said. Number two is direct mail. The Internet is a far, distant third. Were seeing a declining number of newspapers, so were doing fewer circulars.
Ad spending is up for Lebows clients, though, slowly moving in the right direction. Were still seeing declining traffic, but the (sales) dollars are maintaining. The reason is that more people are shopping online, so people coming into the stores no what they want and are more serious about buying. Because of that, were doing less and less of things like larger format printed pieces. Dont get me wrong, we still do 32-page pieces for Darvin, but theyre a volume dealer. The Internet is replacing that information need, so were putting dollars in the other media. Were making sure our clients are putting a lot of money into their Web site, showing a lot of product.
Horichs, Parks, Lebows largest retail accounts get their biggest weekends from direct mail campaigns to their customers. Its expensive, but its effective, the return is there, Lebow noted. A lot of retailers just dont have the (cash flow) to afford the kind of advertising big retailers do.
At MVC, Peres sees a marked increase in advertising among his clients, who havent really shifted their media much. I see a more aggressive outlook on gaining market share, he said. Theres more confidence out there. He believes TV and radio remain very strong media for furniture stores. When the bigger players want to make a statement, promote a sale, television and radio, though expensive, still seem to be the most effective. People that generate video content also can use that as a rich media ad on a Web site. For furniture retailers, I still think its good to focus on television, radio and local newspapers, in that particular order.
WHAT RETAILERS SAY
Furniture retailers are moving some ad dollars, and print remains an important vehicle for many, but not always daily papers.
We have moved a small percentage of our ad dollars from newspaper and TV to digital advertising, said Robert Klaben, vice president of marketing at Fairborn, Ohio-based Morris Furniture Co. Morris also relies on sliding billboards and page takeover ads for major sale events.
These are highly visible like our front page newspaper spadea ads, said Klaben, referring to ads that cover half of the newpapers front page and wrap around the back. It gives us three full pages of image area, he continued. Weve been doing them about four years in our markets.
Morris also runs some category specific half-page ads and inserts, and is big on e-mail blasts twice a month for sales events.
Were continuously changing the look of our Web site, Klaben said. We have also invested in social media via Facebook with fresh content daily. Since we use traditional media to promote sale events, social media allows us to share the personality of our company with potential shoppers. We can share how we support our local communities, service success stories, decorating ideas, contests and much more. We also have Pinterest boards and Twitter postings.
The big picture also affects Morris ad budget. Its a presidential election year, and Ohios always a battleground state.
Political spending in our state is making television ads much more expensive, Klaben said. The dollars have gone up and the impressions have gone down. Were looking forward to November.
Robert Leon, owner of Chesnick Furniture Co., Victoria, Texas, has used custom publications to reach customers in the past, but distribution became too expensive for the return. Ad dollars are pretty much in the same proportion among media.
There has been no shift, he said. Chesnick is consistent in using Internet, newspaper and TV.
La Difference, Richmond, Va., reallocated some money to very specific, targeted audiences. For instance, to advertise our LaDiff Kid area, we are advertising in Richmond Family Magazine to let families know we have what they need for their kids rooms, said Sarah Paxton, vice president and co-owner. Also, we have hundreds of apartments and condominiums in the urban neighborhoods around our store, with more on the way. We have created a postcard program, branded by LaDiff and the various property developers, to offer incentives to their residents to shop with us. Both of these examples are truly targeted audiences.
Blockers Furniture & Appliance Center, Immokalee, Fla., uses one ad medium: TV. Owner Ken Blocker said its best for his market because it portrays his company best and reaches his target market. Blockers doesnt do urgent, time-sensitive ads so TV works well. He dropped radio and newspaper 15 years ago. Blocker also noted that his Web site generates interest.
While print remains the most effective advertising at Heavner Furniture in Smithfield, N.C., the lower number of eyes on those ads has forced the store to feed more money into other avenues, said Owner Patrick Heavner. We have moved money away from the print ads and funneled more to television and the Internet, he noted.
The Arrangement in Dallas is among those retailers adapting traditional advertising formats to technology. After the downturn in the economy. the message wasnt being delivered to the home but to the e-mail box. We now send direct mail gatefolds and oversized postcards as well as e-mail blasts, said Owner Katherine Snedeker. We also have increased special events in-store and charity events. TV is down but so is the viewership.
Those have been especially important in re-establishing relationships with customers whod purchased before, but had been in hiding during the recession.
Snedekers also found some deals: I decided to drop a publication in the regional markets of Dallas and Houston. The publishers of both dropped their rates significantly from $10,000 to $2,500 each. It was very last-minute but the savings were significant.
And while print still plays a role at The Arrangement, its not in the daily paper.
We are in unusual marketing vehicles, with small readerships, Snedeker said. The client in all instances proudly announces thats where they saw us and why theyre at our doorstep.
Fishers in Sag Harbor, N.Y., is doing more Web advertising because its the way people communicate now. Owner Jill Markowski believes her customer is less likely to look at newspaper ads. She uses the Fishers Web site as a catalog, again because its where the customers are, and its also convenient for them.
Consumers mailboxes are filled with catalogs, perhaps too many, she noted.
At La Diff, Paxton noted a difference between reaching old and new customers.
Interestingly, our old faithful direct mail cards seem to be the most successful way to reach our existing customers, she said. New customers respond to anything and everything. Were finding more and more that your current promotion wont draw them in if the timing in their life is not right. What we hope to move toward is a way to reach new customers when they are readyat those prime furniture buying moments: new marriage, new apartment/house, remodeling, divorce ¦ children move out and/or downsizing.
BRAVE NEW WORLD
Cross-generational advertising is probably the most difficult part of reaching customers at La Diff.
Millenials do not respond to the same vehicles, offers and communication as Gen-Xers, and neither behave the way Boomers do, Paxton said. It makes us feel rather schizophrenic with our approaches, but it is necessary if we are going to continue to sell to a customer base who ranges in age from 28 to 78.
To keep those generations coming in, furniture retailers must find ways to adapt their message to the digital age.
Mobile technology and the way it delivers information is rewiring our brainsattention spans are shorter, copy has to be shorter, Hanish said. And potential customers are the ones driving this change. They want their news and information now, and on their terms. If retailers are not actively involved in advertising on digital mobile platformsunderstanding them and using themthey simply wont get (that) business. HFB