Take to the Airwaves

By Stephen Bean | Aug 05, 2010

There are all kinds of ways to advertise your self-service laundry to the general public. For example, you can distribute mailers, put signage on your windows, install an inflated movable object on your roof, send out coupons, promote your business on the Internet, or place ads in your local newspaper. You can even hire someone to dress up like a circus clown – big red nose, floppy shoes and all – and stand in front of your place, trying to wave people into your store.

One thing is absolutely certain. To be successful in business you simply must continuously advertise in one form or another. It’s a business truism. This is done not only to gain market share but also to retain and maintain market share. A very successful drycleaner once told me that the reason he continues to advertise (despite his great long-term success) is “because I am afraid not to.” If you stop advertising you run the risk of being conspicuous by virtue of your absence. Even Coke and Pepsi continuously advertise despite their huge and dominating individual market shares of the soft drink beverage market.

When you advertise, your target audience must like the ad. And, if they like the ad, they will like you. And, if they like you, they will very likely consider buying your product. This is somewhat difficult to do using traditional – and somewhat impersonal – print advertising formats; however, it is more easily accomplished by utilizing the more personal nature of television and radio media. It is particularly true when applied to personal service businesses such as self-service laundries. In general, the more personal the business product or service the more personal the advertising must be for that product or service.

Did you ever see an advertisement in a magazine or newspaper for a doctor or a dentist? Medicine and dentistry are very personal services. So, more often than not, a picture of the doctor or dentist is shown. The purpose of this is to get you to approve of the practitioner’s appearance and, therefore, perceive him or her as caring, professional and likely able to provide empathetic care without much pain or discomfort.

I am a huge proponent of television advertising for self-service laundries – and have written, directed and appeared in about 50 television commercials for my own coin laundry, as well as for many of my clients’ laundries. Each television commercial spot is typically 30 seconds in length. And, in fact, my television commercials are so popular in Detroit that I can hardly go anywhere without being recognized as “the laundry guy.”

What is important is that people remember the commercials and, even more importantly, they remember the product or service the commercial was designed to advertise. If people on the street simply greeted me with, “I know you from somewhere but can’t remember where,” then the commercials would be considered a complete flop. Viewers must remember the product no matter how amusing the commercial.

I use humor in most of my television spots because that’s my nature. However, using humor in TV commercials must be carefully thought out and crafted. If not, you run the risk of merely providing entertainment. There are technical methods of constructing a television commercial utilizing humor without sacrificing the product recall. Such methods exceed the scope of this particular article, but suffice it to say, most television spots do not contain humor and, in turn, are less complex to produce.

Television commercials can be filmed live in your actual laundry or in a production studio in front of what is called a “green screen.” With the latter method, the individual in the commercial can then be electronically dropped into the laundry using digital photo techniques. Viewers will perceive the “actor” to actually be in the laundry when he or she is, in fact, not. The quality of commercials is very good when done in this green screen manner, and they are less costly to produce overall.

The television medium is ideal for laundry owners because the store can be shown in detail and the benefits of utilizing the facility can be demonstrated visually. Typically, the laundry owner is the on-camera “talent” so that the viewers can then get to “know” the proprietor. In addition, those who have not used a coin laundry for several years can be updated as to what a modern self-service laundry is like and the scope of services offered.

I always run my television advertising on cable rather than the networks, because cable is less expensive. What’s more, cable commercials can be inserted into programming to cover a specific geographic area. By contrast, network TV reaches too large of an area to be practical for most laundromats.

Radio commercials, which are usually one minute in length, are less effective than television spots due to the lack of visual impingement on the listener. It is truly “the theater of the mind,” and people listening will essentially formulate their own impression of the laundry, which may or may not be accurate.

In general, radio spots are more expensive than television advertising, depending on when the radio ads are broadcast and on which program they appear. Radio also covers a large geographic area, which is not practical in terms of the laundry owner looking to attract only potential customers from within his or her particular trade area.

With that said, radio advertising is certainly being used by many laundry owners and can be effective, but it is generally not as effective as television in terms of response. Of course, in some rural areas, where cable television is not available, radio is an appropriate and logical medium of choice.

It is a good idea to have a variety of television and/or radio spots running at the same time – alternating them in every way possible so that the viewers/listeners remain continually amused and interested. Commercials have a “shelf life” of a period of months, so changing them at reasonable time intervals is a wise strategy.

Television and radio advertising are outstanding ways to promote your business. However, it must be done within the framework of what I call “economic sanity.” In other words, it must be synergistic in nature so that you get back more revenue than you spend in the process to obtain it.

Television and radio commercial production can be expensive if not done properly. Personally, I have a system in place that I have developed over the years, through my association with a large cable firm for the actual commercial development – with me providing the copywriting, directing and post-production editing. So, look carefully at the total cost because, in the final analysis, this method of marketing must produce a positive financial result.

Television and radio commercials must contain all of the fundamental essential ingredients common to any properly composed advertisement. The commercial must first obtain the listeners’/viewers’ attention. Then, it must peak their interest. Next, it must create the desire to act. And, lastly, it must motivate them to actually take action, such as to visit the laundry.

Properly written television and radio commercials also make the viewer curious enough to investigate the offers by containing value propositions and what are called “credibility drivers,” because curiosity sells. The commercial also must be completely honest and not promise what cannot be delivered. Moreover, the commercial should not be overly complicated or so tedious that the viewer becomes perplexed or annoyed by watching or listening to it.

And it bears repeating that the viewers/listeners must remember exactly what the commercial is there to advertise. Perhaps you remember that great old Wendy’s commercial with the now-famous tagline, “Where’s the beef?” The commercial was extremely entertaining because of the age and nature of the actress reciting the line, but in the final analysis viewers never forgot what the commercial was for – and Wendy’s sales skyrocketed. You can revisit that classic commercial on YouTube – it’s still very compelling and worth watching again.

All in all, effective television and radio advertising is truly an art form. Great advertising does not just transmit information; it penetrates the recipient’s mind with desires and credibility.

Stephen Bean is available for personal coaching and one-on-one marketing consulting. To reach him directly, e-mail: smbeanuniversal@aol.com.