What is below-the-line advertising?
Below-the-line advertising is a strategy for promoting products in media other than mainstream radio, television, billboards, print, and film formats. The main types of below-the-line advertising systems include direct mail campaigns, social media marketing, trade shows, catalogs, and targeted search engine marketing. Below-the-line advertising methods are less expensive and more focused than above-the-line strategies.
Understanding Below-the-Line Advertising
Below-the-line advertising seeks to reach consumers directly instead of casting a wide net to reach mass audiences. Rather than airing a national commercial during a hit network television show, a below-the-line campaign might focus on an in-store demonstration of a product that consumers may wish to investigate in person. This allows for a more high-touch experience, where a salesperson can answer direct questions and better explain the products. Some examples of below-the-line advertising include:
Targeted Online Marketing
Companies can target specific demographics with their advertising campaigns, such as the age of a consumer or the industry of a company. LinkedIn, for example, allows marketers to target specific people with sidebar advertisements on the website based on their profession or groups that they belong to.
Direct Mailing
Companies still engage in direct mail advertising, especially the older demographics that are not online as often as the younger generations. Catalogs and postcard mailings are still popular and effective marketing tools.
Trade Shows and Presentations
Businesses often present their products and services through the local Chambers of Commerce. Banks host mortgage seminars to answer questions about mortgages, interest rates, and home affordability to land new loan customers.
Of course, there’s no perfect marketing tool that works every time. Instead, companies often subscribe to multiple strategies. For example, a company might send out a direct mailing of fliers advertising an upcoming event that the company is hosting at the local convention center.
Above-the-Line vs. Below-the-Line Advertising
Above-the-line advertising is designed to reach mass audiences. The epitome of above-the-line marketing is a Super Bowl television ad, which costs millions of dollars for mere seconds of airtime but instantly reaches tens of millions of consumers globally. On the downside, statistically speaking, most viewers may not typify a company’s target consumer.
Conversely, below-the-line advertising reaches fewer people but is more selective about its audience. In most cases, below-the-line advertisers initially conduct extensive market research to identify a target niche of buyers more likely to purchase the products. Once the target demographic is identified, below-the-line advertising reaches consumers more personally and directly.
Above-the-line casts a wide net versus below-the-line, which uses a proverbial fishing pole through direct mailings, face-to-face contacts at trade shows, or paid search engine results that pop up when consumers enter specific queries.
The return on investment (ROI) from a below-the-line campaign can be higher than an above-the-line one since below-the-line is less costly and more easily monitored.
Advantages of Below-the-Line Advertising
Lower costs are arguably the most significant advantage of below-the-line advertising. While TV and radio ads tend to be pricy, direct mailing and search engine marketing are far more economical. And below-the-line methods can be more cheaply and easily scaled up or down.
Furthermore, below-the-line methods make it easier to track conversions with intended consumers. Case in point: though there are multiple strategies for tracking the effectiveness of TV and radio ads, it’s hard to gauge their overall impact. For example, asking customers how they heard about a company can yield unreliable responses because people sometimes recall their experiences inaccurately. On the other hand, email and search engine marketing precisely track the links consumers click to provide businesses with more exact details.
Below-the-line marketing fosters superior customer engagement, critical in today’s modern business landscape. While above-the-line methods are ideal for spreading general brand awareness, below-the-line tactics are preferable for fostering more meaningful relationships with potential customers.
Conclusion
- Below-the-line advertising is a strategy for promoting products in media other than mainstream radio or television.
- Below-the-line advertising campaigns include direct mail campaigns, trade shows, catalogs, and targeted search engine marketing.
- Above-the-line methods are ideal for general brand awareness, while below-the-line tactics are preferable for fostering direct relationships with potential customers.
