To some, this month’s newsletter may remind of the televised comedy game show hosted by Drew Carey and his crew. But for us at Zeist, this isn’t a game and neither is it comical. We’re talking about serious lines. Serious business lines – Below and Above. Yes! This month’s newsletter is about what Below and Above the line strategies are and how you could use these strategies to your advantage. Enjoy Reading…..
So what is this ‘line’ that has generated a huge buzz?
Fine, fine to those of you who still haven’t understood the LINE, they’re none other than Below the line (synonymously known as BTL) and Above the line (in memoirs called as ATL) strategies.
These words (ATL and BTL that is) are one of the most commonly used jargons coming out from a marketing guru or any consultant. AND no, you won’t find it in the older version of your well preserved Marketing Management by Phillip Kotler book either. So here it goes - ATL and BTL are nothing but promotional activities undertaken by companies. The outlying difference is in their nature of the activity and the costs attached to conduct the same. ATL has a wider target base and audience reach vis – a – vis BTL and is much more expensive (obviously due to the activity undertaken) than that of BTL.
Examples please?
Okay. This is simple. Remember how I told you about the wide target base that ATL covers. Well think about it! What would be the easiest way to cover a million targets all over a city, state, country, region or even continent! TELEVISION! Oui, c’est la télé! Obviously everyone’s hooked to it. So why not ADVERTISE! If I had to divide ATL strategies and rank them according to order of importance, I’d totally put television commercials at the numero uno spot! I feel that if there’s something that’s worth it and it’s on the tele, the product or service will sell like hot cakes.
Print ads would be next on my top list. Believe it or not, print adverts are the most sought after by many companies. The reason – People love newspapers. Who wouldn’t like to have a sip of his early morning chai and cigarette and read the newspaper! Ah everyone’s favorite pass time. Volkswagen is one great company that really takes its print ad campaigns seriously. Remember the talking newspaper? Yes, now that’s some good food for thought. Isn’t it?
Billboards – Yep you see them everywhere. From the alley or what we call nukkad to the freeways and expressways. Just like newspapers, billboards according to me, will never cease to exist. Why? Obviously because of its popularity. Think about it – You’re stuck in a traffic jam whilst you’re on your way to the office. What do you see? A huge pair of ________. Now who wouldn’t those pair of __________ (Fill as per convenience – No puns intended!) Obviously that’s caught your attention hasn’t it? This is the magic of billboard advertising.
My next, would encompass a dying breed of media - The Radio. Sadly, when Freddie Bulsara Mercury sang Radio Gaga little did he know that the radio would have been a dying breed. However, it should be noted that a lot of people like me still listen to the radio and go gaga about it. As a manager if your target fits the radio loving bill, take the risk.
Now that we’re done with ATL, we should move on with some BTL examples. BTL is one of the most exciting and ‘fun’ strategies that you as a reader could come out with. BTL allows you to be funky, innovative, cool, haute, name the adjective and you could position them under this category. The only thing is – IT BETTER BE CHEAP! One good vantage point BTL has against that of ATL is that it is less risky. Well we at Zeist know how BTL works and love our below the line activities.
Some of our BTL activities in the past have included street guerilla marketing activities that have been very effective. All you’d need is a runner boy and some banners. Your total cost – Anything between $25 - $50 (For 8 hours a day). Moreover, it acts as a cheap source of advertising – I like to call it – The mini B! B obviously being the billboard. Now isn’t that a brilliant cost saver idea?
E – mailers and Newsletters – I could put this under an informative advertising category if there were any. E – mailers and newsletters give your target audience the required information and passes on the message you’re looking to provide. The only problem here is that you need a list of contacts – something you could either generate by your own list of networks or pay for a database contact. The disadvantage you may face by using this strategy is that you may want to check up on is how many people are actually interested in reading your newsletter a.k.a – who’s your target? Once that’s been sorted out, you will need to segregate your database and that itself is a tedious process. Good luck with that!
Flyers – If you can’t afford a print ad, I’d suggest go for newspaper flyers. Extremely cheap and has a wide target reach. Your flyers need to be extremely catchy and graphically appealing or else it goes straight into the junk box. Don’t worry about that, we’ll help you with it.
The World Wide Web – Yes the internet. Now there’s a huge disparity under which segment the internet would fall under. The way I look at it is that it depends on your budget just like the other strategies. Posting advertisements on facebook for a nominal amount or paying a bomb to get your website done in flash. Totally your call. However, the advantage here is brand visibility over the new media. Everyone’s looking for a piece of cake in this side of the world. The social media is another area where everyone – from companies to individuals are looking to make the most out of the least amount of investment.
So here you have it examples of both BTL and ATL activities. I’ll leave you with two things.
One – Don’t discriminate BTL and ATL. Both of them have their own advantages and fallacies. In the end, it is you as a manager have to decide. If I had the money, I’d be looking to minimize my risk by investing 60% on ATL and 40% on BTL.
Two – My top ten of BTL and ATL strategies that you could use to market your company.
Nikhil’s top ten favorite BTL and ATL strategies : -
So what is this ‘line’ that has generated a huge buzz?
Fine, fine to those of you who still haven’t understood the LINE, they’re none other than Below the line (synonymously known as BTL) and Above the line (in memoirs called as ATL) strategies.
These words (ATL and BTL that is) are one of the most commonly used jargons coming out from a marketing guru or any consultant. AND no, you won’t find it in the older version of your well preserved Marketing Management by Phillip Kotler book either. So here it goes - ATL and BTL are nothing but promotional activities undertaken by companies. The outlying difference is in their nature of the activity and the costs attached to conduct the same. ATL has a wider target base and audience reach vis – a – vis BTL and is much more expensive (obviously due to the activity undertaken) than that of BTL.
Examples please?
Okay. This is simple. Remember how I told you about the wide target base that ATL covers. Well think about it! What would be the easiest way to cover a million targets all over a city, state, country, region or even continent! TELEVISION! Oui, c’est la télé! Obviously everyone’s hooked to it. So why not ADVERTISE! If I had to divide ATL strategies and rank them according to order of importance, I’d totally put television commercials at the numero uno spot! I feel that if there’s something that’s worth it and it’s on the tele, the product or service will sell like hot cakes.
Print ads would be next on my top list. Believe it or not, print adverts are the most sought after by many companies. The reason – People love newspapers. Who wouldn’t like to have a sip of his early morning chai and cigarette and read the newspaper! Ah everyone’s favorite pass time. Volkswagen is one great company that really takes its print ad campaigns seriously. Remember the talking newspaper? Yes, now that’s some good food for thought. Isn’t it?
Billboards – Yep you see them everywhere. From the alley or what we call nukkad to the freeways and expressways. Just like newspapers, billboards according to me, will never cease to exist. Why? Obviously because of its popularity. Think about it – You’re stuck in a traffic jam whilst you’re on your way to the office. What do you see? A huge pair of ________. Now who wouldn’t those pair of __________ (Fill as per convenience – No puns intended!) Obviously that’s caught your attention hasn’t it? This is the magic of billboard advertising.
My next, would encompass a dying breed of media - The Radio. Sadly, when Freddie Bulsara Mercury sang Radio Gaga little did he know that the radio would have been a dying breed. However, it should be noted that a lot of people like me still listen to the radio and go gaga about it. As a manager if your target fits the radio loving bill, take the risk.
Now that we’re done with ATL, we should move on with some BTL examples. BTL is one of the most exciting and ‘fun’ strategies that you as a reader could come out with. BTL allows you to be funky, innovative, cool, haute, name the adjective and you could position them under this category. The only thing is – IT BETTER BE CHEAP! One good vantage point BTL has against that of ATL is that it is less risky. Well we at Zeist know how BTL works and love our below the line activities.
Some of our BTL activities in the past have included street guerilla marketing activities that have been very effective. All you’d need is a runner boy and some banners. Your total cost – Anything between $25 - $50 (For 8 hours a day). Moreover, it acts as a cheap source of advertising – I like to call it – The mini B! B obviously being the billboard. Now isn’t that a brilliant cost saver idea?
E – mailers and Newsletters – I could put this under an informative advertising category if there were any. E – mailers and newsletters give your target audience the required information and passes on the message you’re looking to provide. The only problem here is that you need a list of contacts – something you could either generate by your own list of networks or pay for a database contact. The disadvantage you may face by using this strategy is that you may want to check up on is how many people are actually interested in reading your newsletter a.k.a – who’s your target? Once that’s been sorted out, you will need to segregate your database and that itself is a tedious process. Good luck with that!
Flyers – If you can’t afford a print ad, I’d suggest go for newspaper flyers. Extremely cheap and has a wide target reach. Your flyers need to be extremely catchy and graphically appealing or else it goes straight into the junk box. Don’t worry about that, we’ll help you with it.
The World Wide Web – Yes the internet. Now there’s a huge disparity under which segment the internet would fall under. The way I look at it is that it depends on your budget just like the other strategies. Posting advertisements on facebook for a nominal amount or paying a bomb to get your website done in flash. Totally your call. However, the advantage here is brand visibility over the new media. Everyone’s looking for a piece of cake in this side of the world. The social media is another area where everyone – from companies to individuals are looking to make the most out of the least amount of investment.
So here you have it examples of both BTL and ATL activities. I’ll leave you with two things.
One – Don’t discriminate BTL and ATL. Both of them have their own advantages and fallacies. In the end, it is you as a manager have to decide. If I had the money, I’d be looking to minimize my risk by investing 60% on ATL and 40% on BTL.
Two – My top ten of BTL and ATL strategies that you could use to market your company.
Nikhil’s top ten favorite BTL and ATL strategies : -
- Social Media Games/Contests – Facebook, Twitter
- Viral Videos (Made In-house)
- Television Commercials
- Guerilla Marketing Campaigns
- Billboards/ Posters/ Banners
- Print – Advertisements
- Online Advertisements
- Competitions
- Coupons/ Groupons and finally…
- Workshops/ Tie – ups/ Exhibitions
P.S. – We’d like to hear from you. Please do let us know what you think of our newletters. You can mail us at nikhil@zeistmarketing.com or info@zeistmarketing.com We love feedback!
