URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/80128
Would you consider yourself a marketing pro? How up to date are you on the most important marketing trends? We've got a fast way for you to test your knowledge. Take our short, 10-question quiz to discover the information you need to keep your company ahead of the pack.
Questions
1. Choose the advertising medium that influences the most
local purchase decisions:
A. Local newspapers
B. Local online ads
C. Local television
D. Local radio
2. This new advertising medium is the nation's second fastest growing (after the internet), is highly effective, extremely low cost, and is available in virtually every city and town. Is it:
A. Cable television
B. Ads in supermarkets
C. Cinema advertising
D. Ads on taxi tops
3. Multicultural marketing offers lucrative new product niches to entrepreneurs nationwide. Which minority or ethnic group has the greatest buying power, spends almost twice as much as the general population on clothing and accessories and tends to make buying decisions based on brand rather than price?
A. Hispanics
B. Blacks
C. Asian Americans
D. Arab Americans
4. Many entrepreneurs send permission-based e-mail marketing messages to in-house lists. When it comes to this marketing method, which of these is on the decline?
A. Conversion rates
B. Orders per e-mail
C. Open rates
D. Bounce rates
5. Which of the following best describes cable TV advertising:
A. Production can cost between $500 and $1,200 per spot.
B. It reaches narrowly defined audiences within special-interest
programming.
C. Time is sold by geographic zone.
D. All of the above
6. Which direct-response medium has the highest average response rate?
A. Dimensional mail
B. Catalogs
C. E-mail
D. Flat direct mail
7. Blogs are hot, and many offer superior advertising opportunities for entrepreneurs. Which of the following best describes the characteristics of the majority of blog readers?
A. Significantly likely to live in wealthier households
B. Younger than the average internet user
C. More likely to buy products or services online
D. All of the above
8. When placing a print ad campaign, the term "frequency" applies to what?
A. The number of times your ad runs
B. How often you change ads
C. The number of times your target audience sees your ads
D. The number of different publications that carry your
ads
9. What percentage of consumers regularly or occasionally go online to conduct research before making an in-store purchase?
A. 40 percent
B. 25 percent
C. 75 percent
D. None of the above
10. Ads on stadium snack-packs, posters in public restrooms and campus laundry rooms, advertising on golf course hospitality carts, and ads on the scoreboards of public tennis courts and swimming pools are all examples of:
A. Ambient marketing
B. Place-based advertising
C. Outdoor advertising
D. Viral marketing
Answers
1. B
Local online ads persuade shoppers more than ads in other forms of
media. That's the conclusion of a study released in April 2005
by the Dieringer Research Group. According to the report, How
Consumers Use Media to Make Local Purchase Decisions, local
online shoppers reported that the internet influenced at least
seven of their purchases in the fourth quarter of 2004, while
newspapers were an influential factor for just 3.5 purchases and
local TV ads affected only 2 buying decisions. Although television
and radio are considered informative, two out of three online
shoppers specifically research local stores and services
online.
2. C
Advertising on movie screens is now available to entrepreneurs in
most communities nationwide. A study published in April 2005 that
was conducted by TNS and sponsored by Screenvision found that
moviegoers who saw in-theater ads were 44 percent more likely to
remember them than consumers who saw ads for the same products or
services on television. The two predominant sales units for cinema
advertising are Screenvision and National CineMedia, and rates are
based on a weekly cost-per-screen for advertising slides that are
displayed during the pre-show. If your local theater has 10
screens, you may pay as little as $25 weekly per screen ($1,000
dollars per month) to reach all moviegoers who see every movie in
that theater.
3. A
According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University
of Georgia, Hispanic buying power is projected to reach $778
billion this year. And the Hispanic Opinion Tracker, a study
published by People en Espanol in July 2005, revealed that
Hispanics index high for the usage of beauty products and are major
consumers of clothing and accessories. The report states that
"56 percent of Hispanics love to shop vs. 39 percent of the
general population." Entrepreneurs targeting the Hispanic
market should focus on branding efforts, as Hispanic women are
loyal to brands they know and trust, even if they cost a bit
more.
4. C
Open rates have declined over just one year ago, according to data
released in mid-September by ad serving company DoubleClick. Open
rates in the second three months of the year dropped to 27.5
percent, down from 36 percent in the second quarter of 2004. Much
of this decline may be due to new image-blocking measures put in
place by e-mail clients and ISPs, which prevent e-mails from being
read. The good news is conversions and orders per e-mail are up
(about 28 percent and 18 percent respectively), making
permission-based e-mail marketing a smart, effective tactic.
5. D
Advertising on cable television is newly accessible and affordable,
thanks to major companies such as Comcast, which serves areas from
Los Angeles to Miami and offers low-cost production for local
advertisers through its Comcast Spotlight division. The advantage
of cable TV advertising is that you can select programming
that's of special interest to your unique target audience. From
gardening and auto maintenance to history programming, viewers who
are engaged in the shows they're watching are more likely to
remember your spot. And advertising is available in zones, allowing
you to reach just a part of a single metro area or several
cities.
6. A
The Direct Marketing Association's 2004 Response Rate
Report studied data on how 1,406 campaigns from 25 industries
used 12 different media. Dimensional mail (typically in a box or
tube) averaged a higher overall response rate than flat direct
mail, pulling a 5.49 percent response rate compared to flat
mail's 2.73 percent. The catalog industry average was 2.45
percent, and e-mail had an average response rate of just 1.12
percent, although its low cost made it index among the highest for
return on investment. Entrepreneurs targeting highly qualified,
small B2B audiences can successfully use dimensional mail to cost
effectively get past screeners and make a strong impression on key
decision makers.
7. D
Behaviors of the Blogosphere, a study by comScore Networks
released in August 2005, revealed 50 million U.S. internet users
visited blog sites in the first quarter of the year. These visitors
were 11 percent more likely than the average internet user to have
incomes of $75,000 or more, 30 percent more likely to live in
households where the head is 18 to 34 years old, and 30 percent
more likely to buy products or services online. In fact, the report
showed the average blog visitor who shopped online spent
approximately 6 percent more than the average online buyer.
Together, these characteristics make blog readers an attractive
target audience.
8. C
Novice media buyers often erroneously believe that frequency is the
number of times a single ad runs. Instead, it's the number of
times your unique target audience is expected to actually see your
ad. For example, most of a magazine's subscribers won't see
every page of every issue. That's why it's essential to
advertise more than once to achieve a frequency of one--even if
you're using a full-page ad--and continue advertising with
sufficient frequency for your message to penetrate.
9. C
In the Consumer Intentions and Actions survey released in
March 2005 by BIGresearch, seventy-five percent of consumers said
they conduct online research before buying off-line. So if
you're a brick-and-mortar retailer with an online presence,
this underscores the need to make the shopping experience customers
have on your website mirror the positive experiences they enjoy in
your store. If you sell solely online, it's essential to
capture and hold the interest of shoppers by providing in-depth
information, on-site search, product photos, online customer
service and multiple payment options. Incentives such as free
shipping also work to ensure shoppers complete their purchases on
your site.
10. B
Place-based media, or what the industry calls "alternative
out-of-home," goes anywhere and everywhere consumers do. The
best place-based media venues reach your prospects when they're
in a position to buy what you sell or are in the right frame of
mind to be receptive to your message. You can reach exercisers at
the gym, businesspeople on their way to work or pet owners--by
acquiring naming rights--on the local hiking trail. The options for
place-based media are almost limitless.
How Did You Score?
Nine or more correct: Congratulations! You're a
marketing expert.
Six to eight correct: Your marketing knowledge is a bit
rusty. Time to brush up.
Five or fewer correct: You may be a marketing novice, so
read and learn all you can.