Last week I did a post on using co-op advertising to offset some of your advertising costs. I hope you took my advice and got your ass moving because like I said in that post, co-op dollars usually expire at the end of the year. But, if you didn’t feel inspired by that post, maybe this will help.
Clients don’t care about you
Don’t get me wrong, they don’t wish you harm, but to them, you are just the company that is going to install this or repair that. What they do care about, especially in a down economy, are brand name products.
Sure they are going to smack you around on price, but at the end of the day, when times are tough, people look for quality products from brands they trust, so use that to your advantage in your marketing.
How to mix that into your marketing
Let’s say you are marketing hot water heater replacements in a direct mail campaign. As a home owner, I don’t know the first thing about replacing a hot water heater, but I do know that Bradford White brand heaters are pretty good. As a marketer, I also know that Bradford White will reimburse up to 50% of the cost your ad.
So play both sides against the middle
If you know a particular brand is popular in your area, find out what co-op is available to you, then advertise the hell out of it knowing you will be getting a good chunk of that money back in a reimbursement.
In the end, clients are happy because they are getting a product they know from a name they can trust, and you’re happy because you leveraged the advertising of a multi-billion dollar manufacturer to close a deal. Everybody wins, now get to work!