I’m a sucker for a good ad campaign, and one of my favourites?
This doozy from the New Zealand Tourism Department:
A bit of context. Years ago, New Zealanders weren’t holidaying at home; instead, opting to jump on a jet for their holidays.
The Tourism Dept. got their heads together and devised an iconic campaign that’s gone down in NZ folklore.
Click here to watch the super-short video.
The point of the ad is simple - why go further afield when you haven’t maximised the value on offer in your backyard?
It’s a great message and underlines a philosophy we’re increasingly adopting for our kitchen retailer clients. It also worked a treat for my family’s kitchen business.
Rather than trying to promote to a large geographical area, we initially focused on maximising our visibility in the city where the business was located.
Only when we were exceedingly well known in that area did we expand the promotional activity further afield.
It worked – we grew the business by a factor of 8 in just 15 years. Adopting that exact strategy was one of the critical components of the success.
I can recommend it – don’t try to go too wide, too soon (to coin a rugby phrase). Instead, establish a high level of awareness for your kitchen business in your local area first.
Focusing on a smaller geographical area means that ALL your marketing focus and money goes on that area alone. The result is a much better bang for your buck than if you spread yourself thin over a wider area.
It follows the adage: You’re better to reach 10,000 people ten times than 100,000 people once.
Choose the postcode/s, make your kitchen business unignorable to the people who live there, and you’ll have the best chance of dominating that area. As a group, they’re more likely to want to buy from you due to your proximity to them.
Skip this step, try and reach everyone in a 20-mile radius, and you’re just diluting your attention with less effective marketing as a result.
Don’t leave town till you’ve seen the country.
