What Do You Know About ATL and BTL (Above the Line, Below the Line)

There are three main marketing activities that marketers can use in the area of advertising and marketing. These marketing activities can be classified as  ATL and BTL. The third one is referred to in the form of Through the Line (TTL). For the uninitiated, these TTL, ATL and BTL marketing strategies can create confusion. In essence, Above the Line (ATL) marketing refers to mass media used to reach intended customers. Above the line (BTL) marketing refers to direct marketing or one-to-only-one marketing. Because of technological advances and business growth, a line (TTL) is developed that is the result of the mixture of ATL and BTL advertising and marketing activities. Each of these advertising and marketing processes is followed, keeping in mind the goals of the business and resources. For more information about ATL and BTL read our blog.

What is Above the Line Marketing?

Above-Line Marketing, also above-the-line marketing and above-line promotions, is an activity in advertising that assists businesses in using methods of mass marketing. With ATL’s actions, the entire market is targeted to reach the goals of the business.

Examples of Above-the-Line Advertising

Television

According to research, the average American spends between 3 and 4 hours in front of the television. If you want to promote their brand and products through TV, it’s an excellent way to boost the visibility of your brand. Local companies, i.e., accounting professionals, law firms, saloons, and accounting professionals, can buy airtime on TV commercials. This type of advertising provides both audio and video to draw in customers.

Radio

The ratio is the most enduring medium, and it is widely used by people driving, at work, and even at home. Thus, advertisers have many ways to communicate with their customers with regard to their products or services. Radio is an excellent medium for marketing because of its cost-effectiveness. Small-scale businesses can benefit from this method of promotion even with a limited budget for advertising.

Print Media (Newspapers and Magazines)

This kind of media is accessible at the regional, local and national levels. This media can aid companies in targeting their markets and improving brand awareness. Newspapers are a variety of predefined slots, and the reader can pick one depending on their products and brands. Magazines are published with different specialties like marketing, stock exchanges, beauty, and fashion. It is up to you to decide which readers you’d like to target.

Other examples of ATL advertisements include

• Billboards
• Local Theaters

If, for instance, you own an establishment in your area, and you make use of different strategies like local radio, billboards, wall chalking, and banners. The more money you spend on advertising, the greater your brand’s reputation, as well as the greater juice (sales/customers) you’ll get.

Advantages of ATL Advertising

Reach.

If business owners and marketers successfully use ATL marketing campaigns to promote their business, they could benefit from a larger audience. For instance, a retail company regularly promotes its brand using ATL campaigns to boost brand recognition and visibility.

Garb Customer Attention.

Audiovisual ads such as Radio and TV can are a huge influence on consumers’ minds and impact their decision-making process of consumers. People are more engaged when watching dramas, films, and news on TV, as well as listening to music broadcasts and live calls on the radio. In this manner, they also listen to and watch commercials which influence their decisions. The same commercials that they read in the newspaper and magazines draw the customer’s interest.

Brand Building.

Mass media campaigns are essential to improve brand recognition. One of the most important responsibilities of marketers is spreading messages about the brand to people through a variety of ATL advertising campaigns. It’s not required to begin using all ATL channels immediately, but gradually begin to use them and then measure your success with your brand.

Disadvantages of Above-the-Line Marketing

The cost is high. Advertising in mass media is an expensive activity. Since it’s not a single-time event and therefore, running continuous advertisements is impossible for small and medium-sized companies.

Shifting Trends. At one time, Television, Radio, newspapers, and magazines were the primary media used for advertising. However, the trend has moved toward social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and magazines that are online.

There are many challenges in determining ROI. Not a reliable way to gauge the effectiveness results of ATL campaigns. Because there is no assurance that the TVC will entice a consumer to purchase an item.

What is Below the Line Marketing

Marketing below the line, also known as below the line of advertising and below-the-line marketing, is a direct marketing strategy to target customers. By using BTL advertising, businesses promote products and services by using media different from TVC, Radio, Newspapers, Magazines, and Billboards, as well as other media. If companies employ this kind of direct marketing strategy and focus on the conversations rather than branding and brand awareness.

Examples of Below the-Line Promotion

Direct Mail Marketing

Direct mail marketing could be an effective method of advertising, provided it is used properly if you hire a professional copywriter who is able to create an appealing message that will be heard. The cost of BTL advertising is based on the amount of advertising. However, it is less expensive than above-the-line advertising campaigns.

Door-to-Door Advertising

Door to Door marketing refers to selling products and services on an individual level. Businesses have been using this kind of marketing for an extended period. This type of marketing helps companies build customer relationships with a positive approach. A highly trained sales team must convince customers. One excellent example of door-to-door advertising is the insurance plan which is where sales representatives go door-to-door and convince people to purchase the insurance plan.

Social Media Marketing

These types of marketing campaigns involve utilizing different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and many others. This type of BTL marketing strategy allows companies to connect with customers on an individual level and stay in touch. Social media marketing campaigns are extremely efficient when it comes to BTL marketing.

Email Marketing

Marketing via email is an efficient form of marketing that is below the line. The companies communicate directly with customers and then direct users to a landing page that provides more details about the product and services. The effectiveness of the campaign is easily quantifiable using different analysis tools. This kind of marketing is cost-effective and effective in reaching customers.

In-store Marketing

It is a form of marketing that is carried out on a retail store’s premises by offering different sales promotions, i.e., discounts, free giveaways, Buy one, get one for free, and numerous others. This form of advertising is also referred to as in-store promotions, discounts, buy one get one free, and many more.

Pamphlets, Brochures, and Kiosks

It is a different effective method that is a part of BTL promotions. These include pamphlets, visitors cards and brochures, and the latest trend to be noticed, i.e., Kiosks. Kiosks are tiny vehicles and stand to display ads and provide details and information about products simultaneously.

Additional examples are

• Telemarketing
• PPC marketing
• Exhibitions

Advantages of BLT Advertising

More Targeted Campaigns. If businesses can concentrate on specific customer groups more precisely, they will improve their conversion rates. Social media platforms permit users to target customers according to gender, age, geographic location, and more.

Building Strong Customer Relationships. BLT’s BLT marketing strategies permit you to directly communicate with your customers. You have more chances to establish strong relationships with your customers over a longer period of time.

Highly Measurable. These types of marketing campaigns are designed to improve the conversion rate. It is possible to measure the effectiveness of your conversions and adjust BTL campaigns as necessary. For instance, how many viewers look at your ads and the number of people who clicked on the Ad and then purchased an item or service.

Disadvantages of BLT Advertising

A well-trained sales staff. Face to Face marketing requires experienced sales personnel. There are two options: hiring experienced sales staff or creating a sales training classroom. In both scenarios, you’ll pay high wages, commissions, and expenses for each salesperson training course.

Cultural understating. Prior to visiting customers and launching the BTL social media campaign, you must understand the customer’s culture. It can be challenging and time-consuming to learn about the different cultures and behaviors of each customer.