FM Sept 04_PDF.qxd - Orlando Chamber of Commerce

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
Under the Radar
Reaching the modern-day consumer requires a mix of approaches.
By Anne-Marie Burns, Media Planner/Advertising Consultant, Burns Media, Inc., OAF Member
There’s an old advertising adage that
still rings true today: “I know that half of
my advertising dollars are wasted, I just
don’t know which half.”
In today’s competitive marketplace,
more and more pressure is being put on
advertising accountability. Clients most
often equate this with a quantified return
on investment (ROI). Advertising agencies
are expected to be “accountable” for their
client’s ROI. This may seem simple, but it
does not completely factor in the value
and equity of brand building or the fact
that today’s consumer is harder than ever
to reach. Reaching them often requires a
mix of approaches, many of which are
“under the radar.”
As a compromise, some agencies
are now reaching for a mix of Direct
Response (DR) advertising in addition
to traditional campaigns and consumercentric
grassroots marketing. This includes
targeted communications designed to
stimulate a more immediate response that
can be easily measured and is typically in
the form of direct mail, targeted e-mail
lists, “cost per click” online sites, and
“cost per call” TV/cable and radio
campaigns (advertisers pay stations
according to the number of calls that
are generated to dedicated 1-800 lines).
In the old days, creative departments
drove the scope of advertising campaigns,
but now media departments often take
the lead. This is due to the need to be
resourceful in successfully reaching the
client’s target market, while providing
them a strong ROI. Long gone are the
days when you simply ran on network
television or a local independent station.
Today, the market has become so
fragmented that the number of choices
is almost overwhelming. The need to
become resourceful and educated on available
media is paramount for any advertiser.
Media Mix
The latest developments and trends
change regularly, and right now direct
response is a strong leader. E-mail is
extremely popular due to its lack of
expense connected with reaching
customers. But even e-mail is evolving.
Now you can reach your database of
customers using video messages (e-mail
TV), which encompasses a mix of TV
and e-mail to a targeted database.
Search Engine Marketing has also
become a very hot topic. According to
Lodging Magazine, a 250-room hotel can
earn an additional $250,000 to $1,000,000
in annual revenue with proper Search
Engine Marketing. This encompasses
“optimization” of the advertising site
(ensuring that the site is one of the top
sites that appears when consumers conduct
“searches” on top search engine sites
like Google or AOL), in addition to online
purchasing, and possibly working with
third party online marketers.
The key to a successful ROI advertising
campaign is to track response at all points.
For advertisers who request agencies to
be accountable, there needs to be a
clear delineation of what the agency is
accountable for and an understanding of
what each media vehicle, and the overall
media mix, is intended to do. This sets
realistic expectations and helps to build
a productive client-agency relationship.
The Orlando Advertising Federation (OAF)
is Central Florida’s leading organization
for advertising professionals. For more, go
to www.oaf.com.
For more, contact Anne-Marie Burns via
e-mail at Aburnsmedia@aol.com.
BusinessForce Endorses “Pro-Business” Slate for Region
By Mike Ketchum, Vice President of Public Policy, Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce
BusinessForce, the region’s largest
“pro-business” political committee, has
been hard at work in recent weeks conducting
extensive candidate interviews
for important regional state legislative,
county commission and school board
races with the objective of identifying
and supporting the best “pro-business”
candidates for public office.
Under the leadership of Akerman
Senterfitt’s Pat Christiansen, 2004
BusinessForce Chair, a 25-member
Executive Board made up of Orlando
Regional Chamber of Commerce leaders
and a bipartisan array of business leaders
with political expertise was assembled.
These individuals represent the region’s
diverse business community.
Recognizing the need to build
an even stronger Regional Legislative
Delegation, the BusinessForce Executive
Board, acting on the recommendations
of an interview team headed by
BellSouth’s Joe York, has endorsed
the re-election of 10 incumbent Florida
House of Representatives members.
These include Representatives Bob
Allen (District 32), Sandy Adams
(District 33), David Mealor (District 34),
Sheri McInvale (District 35), David
Simmons (District 37) Fred Brummer
(District 38), Bruce Antone (District 39),
Andy Gardiner (District 40), Randy
Johnson (District 41) and Frank
Attkisson (District 79).
For the open seat in District 36,
veteran Tallahassee Fly-In Chairman
Dean Cannon received the endorsement.
In the hotly contested District 49
race, no recommendation was made
at this time between incumbent GOP
Representative John Quinones and
his field of Democratic opponents.
On the Senate side, with veteran
Senator Dan Webster (District 9)
unopposed, only one regional seat is
in play when Senator Gary Siplin faces
democratic primary opposition and a
GOP opponent in November. In his
prior legislative races, Senator Siplin
has never been endorsed
by BusinessForce. However,
his improved voting
record during the 2004
legislative session resulted
in the Executive Board’s
endorsement.
At the county commission
level, BusinessForce, led
by an interview team chaired
by Foley & Lardner’s Terry Delahunty,
opted to focus only on races for Orange
County Commission, where three seats
are up for grabs in 2004. In District 1,
incumbent Commissioner Teresa Jacobs,
with her thoughtful approach to public
service, was enthusiastically endorsed
for re-election. The two open Orange
County Commission seats presented
BusinessForce with more difficult
choices. In District 3, receiving the
endorsement was Lui Damiani, who
provided faithful service as the top aide
to retiring incumbent Commissioner
Mary Johnson. In District 5, the
Mike Ketchum
distinguished legislative
service of Representative
Jim Kallinger in Tallahassee
gave him the clear edge.
The disappointing
state of public education
in Orange County has
been the subject of major
headlines this summer.
A BusinessForce interview
team chaired by Chastang Ferrell's
Mia Thomas has stepped up to the
plate and has carefully evaluated the
candidacies of several Orange County
School Board candidates with their
endorsements going to incumbent
Karen Ardaman in District 4 and
political newcomer Lori-Pearson-Wise
in the open District 7 seat. No
endorsement decision was reached
in the District 6 race between current
School Board Chairman Bert Carrier
and his challenger, Jim Martin.
16 SEPTEMBER 2004 FM