BELOW THE LINE MARKETING STRATEGIES

Duane “DJ” Sprague

08 / 19 / 2013

• Non traditional marketing and promotions• Typically does not require or depend on paid media• The focus is on owned, earned, and shared media• Performance metrics are not the typical cost per point, cost per

thousand or cost per impression • Performance metrics are often geared toward measuring audience

engagement, brand preference, viral sharing, word of mouth, social media buzz, and trade and media pick-ups and coverage

What is Below the Line Marketing?

08 / 19 / 2013

• Creates goodwill• Differentiates the brand in the eyes of the market and the media • Creates stronger bonds between the brand and the market• Establishes momentum well beyond a paid media schedule• The driving force behind owned, earned and shared media

Benefits of Below the Line Marketing

08 / 19 / 2013

Types of Below the Line Marketing 1. Viral Marketing2. Buzz Marketing3. Crowd Sourcing4. Social Media Marketing5. Lifestyle Marketing6. Events7. Sponsorships

8. Product Placement 9. Public Relations9. Experiential Marketing10. Brand Communities11. Cause Marketing12. Brand Ambassadors13. Affiliate Marketing14. Content Marketing

08 / 19 / 2013

Viral Marketing• The organization creates fun, intriguing, entertaining,

controversial, educational or helpful content, and sends it out over the internet for the market to find and spread further using their own social media and email networks

– Videos– Widgets– Reports– Photographs

08 / 19 / 2013

• Word of mouth advertising is spread by Brand Ambassadors, Advocates or Champions

• Advocates and Champions are individual brand fanatics who work to spread the word on their own volition, and do not officially represent the brand

• Ambassadors officially represent the brand (rewards, incentives). These are social media mavens who are influential with the target audience, and already have a large audience of followers. They have a high Klout score of 80 plus

• A Buzz specialist will find, manage and motivate a team of Ambassadors to get them talking about the brand, who will get others talking about it

• Examples: American Eagle and college kids

Buzz Marketing

08 / 19 / 2013

• The organization asks the market to create and submit their own works, ideas, resources, and content to a central website or resource, where it is made available to others to see and download

• Often times incentives are offered the market to submit their content:

– Sweepstakes– Contest– Free product

Crowd Sourcing

08 / 19 / 2013

• Organization creates their own content, comments, and links to helpful resources, and posts them on their own SM channels for others to see

• Organizations comment on other peoples content and posts, with links back to their own

• Organizations find influential people in their market to follow, and hope they follow them back

• Organization create contests and sweepstakes to drive traffic to their SM channels, and create more followers and “likes”

Social Media Marketing

08 / 19 / 2013

• Identifying marketing methods or advertising opportunities associated or tied to the hobbies, interests and entertainment venues of the target audience

– Collaborative marketing– Sponsoring experts, bloggers, influencers– Ads in niche publications, forums, blogs or websites

Lifestyle Marketing

08 / 19 / 2013

• Concerts• Sporting events• Product demonstrations • Conferences• Keynote and guest speaking• Ride and drives

Events, Sponsorships and Experiential

08 / 19 / 2013

• Getting products placed, referenced, used or mentioned in movies, TV shows, articles, books, viral videos, events, games, sports

Product Placement

08 / 19 / 2013

• Writing and disseminating press releases• Writing and disseminating feature articles• Media relations• Story pitches to beat writers and editors • Community events:

– Cause related marketing– Event Marketing – Sponsorships:

• People• Teams • Group• Vehicle

Public Relations

08 / 19 / 2013

• Combines direct marketing, field marketing and sales promotions into a single event

• Direct marketing through interactive means that give consumers a hands-on experience such as:

– Test drives– Sampling– Tours– Events

• Concerts• Fairs• Conferences and Expos

Experiential Marketing

08 / 19 / 2013

• A community of brand advocates that are linked together through common brand experiences, and/or share a symbolic meaning behind the brand. The identity and belonging are formed through interactions between customers and with the product. A set of shared values and experiences that integrate with feelings about the brand becomes the result

• Think of Harley-Davidson and the rally rides. Jeep and the Jeep Jamborees and Camp Jeep Events. Apple also has a strong brand community with conferences, blogs, etc.

• Building a brand community starts with sponsoring events and online communities that bring product owners together. There must be unique or special benefits to the members, like discounts, information, insider tips, pre-releases, input on product development, etc.

Brand Communities

08 / 19 / 2013

• Ties marketing activities and or profits with a charitable organization or and underserved or disenfranchised group in order to generate goodwill and earned and shared media

• The receiving organization or recipients must be aligned with the interests and sympathies of the target market to be effective

Cause Marketing

06 / 06 / 2013

Brand Ambassadors• Influential people that use and promote the product to peers and

followers – Bloggers– Experts– Social media mavens– Students– Local talent and celebrities

08 / 19 / 2013

• Owners of popular websites and blogs that promote the product for a commission on each unit sold through their website

Affiliate Marketing

08 / 19 / 2013

• Helpful branded content that solves a problem for the target audience, and positions the brand as a subject matter expert:

– eBooks– Videos– White papers– Articles – Podcasts – Webinars – Blog posts

Content Marketing