Best of the ISP-Lists

Map Marketing

Members of the ISP-Marketing list discuss whether participating in local business city guide promotion would put an ISP on the map.

[February 7, 2001]

On the ISP-Marketing list in January, BH queried,

"Our Chamber of Commerce is producing a new city map for distribution to local businesses and residents; 16,000 copies will be produced, and my cost would be a one time charge of $299. Has anyone tried this type of advertising, and was it effective?"

[PW inquired] "Are you getting an ad on the border of a 'real' map, or is it one of those out-of-scale, caricature maps?"

[BH clarified] "It was described to me as a real map."

A number of respondents recalled negative experiences with the same kind of offering:

[VAW noted] "We tried that a few times, and all we got was more people calling to sell us advertising! Unless you have a cyber cafe, you won't maximize the traffic from such a thing, as generally they are geared to generating walk around town traffic and for relocation purposes. It works well for Realtors, though…"

[BN observed] "We did it last year, won't do it again. Sure, I thought, it's only $299 and what if it does work? Well, I can't attribute a single sale to it, and I don't recall anyone even mentioning the map in passing. At least with my radio, and TV spots, my friends can say, I heard you on the radio, or saw your TV ad. But with this, nothing."

Others suggested that there might be some benefits to it:

[PW countered] "As there are plenty of people like me who won't buy something when they can get a quality option for free, I have found these maps to work well for any business that benefits from having its name on the wall of people's offices. Sounds like a cheap way to get pretty good exposure in front of a good market."

[BK added] "If a lot of folks 'flock' to your area in a seasonal period (i.e. 'snowbirds' coming up to the mountains from May to October) and you can offer them seasonal access, it could be worth it-maybe even offer them dual access in your state and their home state?"

— End