Do people know when you're ads are on?

I had coffee earlier this week with one of my friends at the Durham Performing Arts Center. In a tough economy they have had an incredible first year. Sellout after sellout and big increases in season ticket sales going from their first to their second year.

They've done it by programming great shows in a great venue. I also think that their willingness to be aggressive in their media planning helped to get them off on the right foot.

I've always been a proponent of the notion that "When you're on, you're on." When we have a campaign in the market I want to be noticed and I'd much rather have a big advertising presence for one week than a minor one for two months. Generally, I'm looking for a frequency of 3-5 impressions per week with whatever media we're running to get some message recall among the target.

So when it came time to promote the launch of the DPAC we proposed to turn a three-month opening into a very compressed media schedule that lasted 6 weeks. We bought tons of GRP's in TV and radio. During the month and a half the ads ran it was nearly impossible to watch media in the Triangle without seeing or hearing about the new DPAC. They got off to a great start, word of mouth spread from the early visitors and they've been firing on all cylinders ever since.

As you are doing planning for exhibitions or shows this fall and winter, look at your media buy and see if you've got your ads running with enough frequency to create an impact. If the weekly frequency's a little low, look at shortening the schedule to make sure that your audience notices you're on.