Reaching the target specifically: this is the goal in defining Below The Line (BTL) materials.
Erbacipollina guides you in choosing the Below The Line materials that are most strategic for achieving your goals.
The ultimate goal of this type of communication is to convert the prospect into a buyer.
What is Below-the-line marketing
BTL marketing uses tools and methodologies to engage the precise niche audience in which your company is interested.
Below The Line activities are targeted, so they do not target a large, heterogeneous audience but a narrow one with specific characteristics.
Typical materials and strategies for this type of communication are:
- In-store promotions
- Discounts after the first purchase
- Flyers, coupons, and brochures delivered
- Sponsorship of events that target your business
- Digital tools that target defined audiences (e.g., search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, proximity marketing)
- Influencer marketing
- Public Relations
This list clearly shows how BTL includes both operations that take place online and activities that must be carried out in person, having direct contact with the potential customer.
Difference between BTL and ATL communication
What differentiates Below The Line communication from Above The Line communication is the type of audience each of them addresses.
On the one hand, there is the BTL which targets a selected portion of the audience, while on the other hand there is the ATL which offers messages to a very wide audience that is not characterized by common peculiarities. Typical Above The Line media are TV and radio commercials, print advertisements, and billboards.
One should not see these two marketing techniques as antagonistic; rather, one needs to know their characteristics in order to understand when it is better to use one or the other or whether it is appropriate to create a strategy in which the potential of both BTL and ATL are exploited.
Why and when Below The Line is effective
If ATL is effective for introducing a brand to a large mass of people, BTL is suitable for pushing people with a similar profile to your typical customer into action.
Below The Line is the best method for getting people to convert precisely because it creates direct contact with those people who are interested in the product or service your company sells and are in the process of making a purchase.
BTL strategies have always been used, just think of the classic flyer delivered during a trade show, but now they have reached even higher levels of effectiveness thanks to the digitalization of marketing processes and more accurate analysis of buyer personas.
The Erbacipollina team knows how to use BTL marketing to convert. Contact us for a free consultation.