Tackling 2022′ Marketing Challenges Head-on: How to measure the effectiveness of offline campaigns

Measuring the effectiveness of offline ads is not as simple as reading the tools built into your digital marketing systems, but it is important! Understanding how to measure the effectiveness of offline ads is one of the biggest challenges for marketers in 2022 and has been for many years. Whilst it may seem impossible to get an accurate measure of ROI, GottaBe! will be looking at the many ways your brand can measure the effectiveness of your offline campaigns. 

Due to the large number of ads consumers see in a day, they often do not remember where they saw an advert, but hopefully, your brand will have made a big enough impact for consumers to join the marketing funnel. They may head to your site or download your app; no matter the action is taken, you can then measure the awareness of your campaign consideration and look at FOM (front of mind). Consumers are influenced by many touchpoints, so cross channel marketing is needed. Increasing the frequency your campaign is seen across different channels helps to improve brand recall. To understand the effectiveness of your campaigns, your brand must first set measurable goals so you know which areas are most likely to increase during the campaign period. 

Why is it essential to measure offline campaigns?

“Attributing ROI to our offline channels is becoming more important than ever before. To start understanding how to measure the effectiveness of our offline channels, you must first consider the objectives of each channel. Once you understand the objectives, you can begin to define the metrics for success and outline how those can be measured.” – Martin Rothwell, Client Relations Lead at GottaBe!

Marketers must prove ROI to ensure their efforts are not wasted and gain funding for future campaigns. Measuring the effectiveness of your campaigns will give your brand an understanding of the impact it has had and if anything needs to be done to ensure future campaigns have a better engagement. Offline ads are engaging but proving this is one of the biggest challenges for marketers. Often consumers will see a campaign but will not react straight away; they may look at it at a more convenient time or through various platforms that do not conform with the desired campaign pathway. GottaBe! have put together our top 7 tips to help your brand measure the effectiveness of your offline campaigns.

Direct traffic

One of the simplest ways to understand the effectiveness of your offline campaigns is to measure the direct traffic to your site in the period of the campaign. You can then compare this to before the campaign period. This will give your brand insight into your offline ad’s effectiveness. While direct traffic cannot provide an accurate measure that can pinpoint a specific campaign, it will indicate your campaign’s effect on brand awareness and recall. 

Customisable URLs, QR codes 

URL and QR codes provide marketers with the opportunity to prove attribution; unlike some of the other metrics discussed in this blog, attribution gives them a clear indication of where the consumer came from. Marketing attribution allows marketers to collect data on the touchpoints of a campaign and looks at the consumer’s journey through the marketing funnel. In short, it helps determine which marketing tactics are contributing to a rise in engagement, sales, or conversion. 

Your brand can then collect data on the impact of an individual campaign, as consumers will convert directly through your chosen channel to prove the effectiveness of your offline campaigns. Once your brand has this data, you can utilise software such as google analytics to measure conversions and behaviour. 

Wine brand 19 crimes incorporated a measurable metric similar to QR codes into the design of their product with their living labels. They encourage customers to download their app to scan the label bringing it to life. Consumers will then be able to hear the crimes of The Infamous. Most recently, 19 Crimes have enlisted Snoop Dog to be the latest face on the label. The effect is impressive, and the success is immediate as sales increase by almost 500% in just 18 months.

Promo codes/ coupons 

Again, using dedicated campaign codes or coupons will give your brand a direct link between an offline campaign and consumer conversion. Measuring the use of promo codes will not only tell you which of your offline campaigns is most effective but will give you an indication of revenue/ ROI following the campaign. Coupon codes give your brand the precise ROI value of the campaign as you can track the campaign’s revenue and compare this to the initial investment. 

Coupon codes are used in several industries, but one we see frequently is within the e-commerce sector is the ‘refer a friend’ coupon. A loyal customer is offered an exclusive discount in exchange for sharing your code. This allows your brand to measure the effectiveness of your campaign quickly and raises awareness to new consumers through your brand purpose. By rewarding your loyal customers, they will feel they are getting more out of your brand and are sharing the experience with a friend. This increases engagement and brand loyalty. 

A strong CTA on your offline campaigns will ensure consumers engage and interact with the ad, and you will see a high level of engagement on your offline campaigns. Promo codes and coupons can be used across a range of marketing tools such as TV, Radio, leaflets, and billboards. 

Keywords or Phrase match 

Similarly to the use of promo codes, your brand can use Keywords or Phrase matches to track the effectiveness of a campaign. Phrase match search using PPC allows you to include a phrase/keyword in your marketing materials to be followed back to your site. Using phrases rather than URLs is much easier for consumers who are more likely to remember a word or phrase, so your brand will see a higher conversion. A phrase within a catchy slogan or tune will stick in the consumer’s mind. Whilst this is a great way to measure offline campaigns, PPC can be expensive and does not guarantee quality clicks but is likely to see a high return on investment if done correctly.

Share of search 

Share of search analyses the number of times your brand is searched compared to the number of times your competition is searched for. This indicates the competitive advantage the campaign has given us. When measuring share of search, you will notice it increases during the campaign and decreases slightly once it has run its course. You will then see an increase in market share. Hopefully, the decrease you see after the campaign period does not drop as low as before the campaign ran and sits at a steady number, which will indicate an effective campaign. 

Sentiment/ mention 

Measuring the sentiment of your brand can be done in several ways. One is the velocity of mentions across social media, which will give your brand an idea of the reach of your campaign and how engaging it has been. A high number of mentions would suggest positive sentiment but could also be a negative reaction to the content of your campaign. The reaction of your campaign should be monitored as it gives your brand time to manage your response. Take a look at our latest blog to understand the importance of measuring sentiment. 

App downloads 

Tracking the data of App downloads will give your brand insight into the campaign’s conversion rate. This should be measured whether this was the goal of your campaign or not, as any increase in consumer traffic indicates an increase in brand or product awareness and will prove the effectiveness of your offline campaigns. 

We can help you too! GottaBe! have over 13 years of experience within the industry and have picked up a few tips and tricks along the way. We started as a traditional marketing agency, so we understand the importance of your offline campaigns; in recent years, we have adapted to the changing world and integrated digital marketing into our agency. Our expert knowledge in offline campaigns and our digital marketing experts can help your brand reach your audience effectively; by bridging the gap between offline and online, we can create 360-degree marketing campaigns for our clients. Find out how GottaBe! can boost your marketing today, book a chat with one of our friendly team!