• by Jim Price , September 9, 2014

Midsized brands often have the misconception that they can’t afford to buy national television.  For brands that have e-commerce and nationwide distribution, national media should always be an option on the table. Even brands with as little as 25 percent national distribution could be candidates for a national strategy, provided the right cost analysis compared to buying multiple spot markets.

On the agency side, we hear a lot of brands argue that they simply don’t have the clout to make the leap from local to national. They believe they need big dollars and lots of leverage to compete with the big boys in the national marketplace. However, a lack of clout can actually work to a brand’s advantage. It allows you to be more nimble, fly under the radar and not always be held to the expected year-over-year increases the $100 million annual spenders usually experience. 

The first step is to partner with a media agency that has strong relationships in the national marketplace, but also the reputation of being scrappy and data-driven. There are three key rules every brand should follow when considering making the leap to national advertising. For brands that have been in the national advertising arena for quite some time, these three principles should serve as a good gut-check to ensure your national media strategy is sound. 

Consider Buying Audiences Not Just Demographics 

In a media world that is quickly being dominated by data and technology there are ways to identify an audience far beyond age and gender and determine where and when that audience will watch TV– essentially making your money work harder for you. We are in an audience buying revolution where we can reach the people that count. In other words, national media is becoming more effective, democratized and clout is being deprioritized. 

Think Beyond the 30 Second Spot 

Midsize brands definitely have the opportunity to sponsor big televised events. If your current agency says you don’t have a large enough budget, look for a new agency.  

For example, Famous Footwear, sponsored Good Morning America’s Summer Concert Series in New York City’s Central Park last summer. The GMA concert series allowed Famous Footwear to bring its brand attributes to life by leveraging pop culture’s biggest musical talents like Mariah Carey, Pitbull, Alicia Keys and more. The event extended from TV to online and in-store, with a combination of live broadcast on-air exposure, live event interaction, online display exposure, social media interactions, in-store exposure and a sweepstakes. The sponsorship garnered a 350 percent return on investment during summer, a traditionally slow time period for the brand. 

Understand the Impact of National TV 

New tools are available for midsize advertisers that can help you understand how the national buy is impacting online activity, even by creative message, allowing you to focus on the right messaging that more closely links to consumer purchase. Brand tracking studies are still important, but make sure you are well versed in the new ones too. 

In addition, it’s important to understand how you can bring the TV experience to life within other channels to follow your consumer’s path to purchase. For example, think about search engine marketing being the next destination as consumers research further once they have seen your ad. Make sure your national messaging plays out across all digital extensions by sharing the commercial on YouTube and Facebook. Finally, think about the bringing the holistic experience to life in-store or at point-of-purchase. 

The bottom line is that you don’t need a huge budget or clout to launch an effective national advertising campaign. Midsize brands are more than capable of achieving meaningful results in the national marketplace through smart data-driven decisions and opportunities.