TOP AD: WSBT-TV for "Your Hometown Eyecare" campaign

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Media: WSBT-TV

Advertiser: C&B Optical One

Campaign: Your Hometown Eyecare Professional

Digital Marketing Specialist: Aaron Wood

Challenge: C&B Optical One has nine locations in northern Indiana, including South Bend/Elkhart, Indianapolis and Lafayette, and Chicago, Illinois. Because of a small budget, the local chain traditionally spent the majority of  its marketing  budget on its four locations in the Elkhart/South Bend area.  The group did not advertise at all in large markets like Chicago, which are highly competitive. They wanted to figure out an effective marketing tool to grow brand awareness for all nine of their locations that would also yield a successful return.

Strategy: The marketing plan developed in conjunction with WSBT-TV split the budget between stores and aimed to drive customers to all nine locations. 

Concept: C&B Optical One branded the message "Your Hometown Eyecare Professional" to capitalize on its local ownership and appeal to people pre-disposed to avoid national chains.  They paired the branding with the convenience of interactivity  and an "exlusive offer."

C&B targets a more upscale audience highly interested in family health and wellness, especially  stay-at-home women who are married with children.

Interactivity: When consumers clicked on C&B's online ads, they could cilck to request an appointment and text the word "EYE" to WSBT's short-code and to recieve an "exclusive offer."

Multi-media distribution channels included contextually and geographically targeted display ads in areas beyond WSBT-TV's ordinary reach. To extend the audience WSBT used a display ad network to target the five counties and northwest and north central Indiana, in addition to advertsiing on WSBT.com in the Elkhart /South Bend DMA. 

Results: In 2012 C&B Opticals One's campaign delivered almost 4,250,000 ad impressions and generated more than 2,500 clicks and 1,399 text subscribers. In total, 1,040 customers redeemed their text offer in 2012, which brought in more than $300,000 in revenue for all of C&B Optical One's northern Indiana locations. The campaign showed a return of $279,928. C&B is renewing this same program for 2013 and looking to expand. Text subscribers also showed an  80% retention rate, proving that customers were equally happy with the campaign. 

Judges take:

This campaign is a stand-out in the key areas judges look for: Concept, interactivity, multi-platform distribution and results. C&B is also a less traditional advertising  category. We like the "click to request an appointment" directly from the ad;  a solution that can work for a variety of personal service professions from dentists to hair salons. Too often this capability is reserved for directory listings and left out of campaigns that have significant dollars attached.

Another key detail is the offer, in return for a text opt-in. This is a well-timed program that gets the offer into the right hands at the right moment - and collects great data for the merchant can  use later on.

Next, WSBT-TV did an excellent job us using online capabilities to target and extend beyond its legacy reach.

And finally, the results for the customer are measurable and significant. We like how the company combined multi-media audiences to deliver a huge reach and substantial trackable response. This is a program that should be emulated and pitched to similar local chains. 

Congratulations to Aaron Wood, digital specialist for submitting this outstanding entry.

LocalMediaInsider and the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute created Top Ads to reward excellence in creating multi-media advertising campaiagns for local merchants. For rules and to submit and entry, click here. Co-sponsors include: 

Alabama Broadcasters Association

American Society of News Editors Colorado Press Association

Florida Press Association

Inland Press Association

Kentucky Press Association

Local Media Association

Missouri Broadcasters Association

Missouri Press Association

Nevada Press Association

Pennsylvania Newspaper Association

South Carolina Broadcasters Association

Washington State Association of Broadcasters

Washington Newspaper Publishers Association

Wisconsin Broadcasters Association

Wisconsin Newspaper Association

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