At Leighton Media, we’re a full-service marketing company. What does that mean? It means we partner with local businesses to help them brand their companies, and establish a marketing strategy that helps those businesses align with their goals. You might still have questions after that explanation, so I’ll walk you through our marketing process.
Step 1: Discovery
Consider this initial stage as a good, old-fashioned meet and greet. Our AE’s (account executives) will facilitate a meeting for introductions and backgrounds. Our team will conduct a deep dive looking for any information relevant to your brand. What’s your industry like? How did you get started? Who is the competition? What makes your business unique? What current marketing, if any, are you undertaking? As we learn more about you, our AE’s can begin to envision a strategy for your particular business.
We’ll uncover if what we call the “interest” is there – are you open to learning more about the power of radio advertising? Is your target audience aligned with the demographics of our listeners? Meaning, are you B2C – business to consumer vs. B2B? The "Discovery" could be considered the qualification step of our marketing process – zero obligation of course, but we want to ensure we’re partnering with a business we know we can help hit goals with.
Step 2: Strategy
This is the part of our process where the “work” gets defined. After you’ve shared your goals and vision for your company’s long-term, our team gets to work building you a strategy that helps you get there. We take what we know about your industry, conduct research and make recommendations. At Leighton Media we follow a system called BrandsFormation® - which gives our process a solid foundation through four distinct stages:
- Strategy – what is your differentiating idea? Heritage, specialty, leadership, process
- Strategy Based Message – establishing what is consistent with your brand (mortar) and how you’ll dramatize a single idea (bricks).
- Frequency – the most important part of any radio branding strategy is the saturation your message will have.
- Consistency – which stations your branding will air on, what time of day, etc.
Step 3: Presentation
This is the opportunity for our team of AE’s to share your company’s strategy with your team, in a follow-up meeting. We’ll cover creative, your branding and other specifics about radio advertising. You will learn more about our company – who our on-air personalities are, what community events are on the horizon, and familiarize yourself with all the “broadcasting lingo” or jargon you will hear and be part of moving forward. It’s during this stage we flesh out any final details and finalize your entire radio campaign with your feedback and approval.
Step 4: Partnering Principles
A lot of our clients ask us what comes next – meaning after their radio advertising strategy is in place, and branding hits the airwaves. I consider this step of our marketing process our very best, and where our brand is able to differentiate itself from other broadcasting companies. We call this stage our Partnering Principles – what our values and mission mean to our clients. We like to tell our partners to think of Leighton Media as an unpaid member of your team. We’re just as focused on your success as you are, and we’ll help you with anything we can.
Think of this step as cyclical, with an evolving, four-element process including:
- Service – no matter what you need, rely on us to help. Non-radio question? No problem.
- Monitor ROI – as defined by your team in the initial goal setting conversations. Gross sales? Referrals? New leads? Customers?
- Adjust Plan + Creative – tailoring your message to events, seasons, and events specific to your company while remaining consistent
to your brand. - Execute Marketing Plan – hitting the “on” switch and turning your great business into a great local brand.
The ultimate goal of any radio advertising campaign is brand awareness by "purchasing" the mental real estate in consumers' subconscious minds when they hear your branding on the radio. When those listeners have a need your business or service provides, your name will already be associated with familiarity and trust.
Here is a customer success story on how our client, Bursch Travel, reaches its audience with consistent messaging as the travel expert.
