Sunny Media Archives - Sunny Media

QA helped turn a humble iPhone case from Cairns into an international seller

It all started in far north Queensland when a team of Aussies discovered a need in the market for a sturdy product that would protect the iPhone, but not just any old case!

The team at Indepth Cases designed an iPhone case that was waterproof, shockproof and dustproof. The case is perfect for tradesmen, miners, water lovers and those with an active outdoors lifestyle.

The Indepth Case allows your phone to be completely waterproof and fully functional underwater, allowing you to take underwater photos.

QA helped launch the product across Australia with an advertising plan that incorporated a limited budget with highly targeted TV placement. The initial strategy focussed on the cheaper option of digital tv, in particular ONE HD which is already a channel highly targeted to males, sports lovers and fishing enthusiasts.

After just one month on air Indepth Cases had launched their way into the marketplace, online sales had gone through the roof and fishing store stockists were getting a fantastic result.

Indepth Cases have now evolved over time with added features and accessories including a belt clip, bottle opener, floater accessory, mounting clip and more female friendly colour options (pink of course).

With everyone moving over to the iPhone as the preferred phone choice this was definitely the right market to get into. Indepth Cases have continued on a long-term advertising campaign across all states of Australia in only the highest targeted programming designed to reach the core market of outdoor, water and sports lovers.

Steady sales and increasing popularity has allowed Indepth to break into the international market, first with a TV advertising campaign in New Zealand, followed by an American campaign on the Outdoor Channel broadcasting to a reach of almost 40 million viewers.

Indepth Cases is a great example that advertising on a small budget isn’t a barrier to achieving results. QA look at all aspects of your business and devise powerful long term strategies to help you achieve growth and success, based on high level research, ratings, consumer behaviour and a thorough understanding of your product.

If you would like to launch your new product or company contact QA and we can help you achieve results.

Sunshine Coast Radio set to change… but how!

What will happen when one station’s most popular team moves on… across the road.

For the last 8 years, Sunshine Coast listeners have either loved or hated the Todd & Sami Breakfast show on Hot 91. Recent revelations revealed that rival radio station Mix FM poached the pair to host a new Drive Show, and this week marked their final breakfast show on Hot 91.

The pair will of course love their new lifestyle probably consisting of sleep ins and a lot more time with their families but what how will it affect local radio?

Mix FM already have the very popular Mark & Caroline hosting their breakfast program, which will now be followed by locally produced programming right throughout the entire day.

Mix FM would be counting on the move to bring over loyal listeners who previously followed the duo on Hot 91. The likelihood of this happening is very real and although only time will tell, Mix FM has set themselves up for a very interesting time.

Without an official radio survey they can’t report on exact listening numbers but as an advertising agency we certainly look forward to seeing how the change effects the balance of listeners in our local market.

Only time will tell! If you are from the Sunshine Coast let us know on Facebook who your favourite station is.

Is your advertising being seen or are you wasting money?

There is a lot more to advertising then just placing an ad and expecting a result.

We have many clients that come to us who already have advertising campaigns in place but they are wondering why they’re not getting the results they want.

Advertising can be hit or miss if you are not getting the planning right. As an agency, our role is to research all aspects surrounding each client, their product and the media available. Our main goal is to achieve better outcomes for our clients, by strategically placing advertising across the best possible options whether their budget is big or small.

There are many factors that need to be considered when it comes to placing advertising but here are QA’s top 3 tips;

Audience Reach figures will reveal how many viewers, listeners or readers will see your advertising. These figures are heavily relied on when comparing one option to another.

Who are your Target Market and what are their media viewing habits. Many advertisers start off with their own view on what their client is watching, or which radio station is the most popular etc. These views almost always reflect their own preferences. When placing advertising you must consider the Target Market and the research at hand rather than rely on your own or the biased opinion of one particular media.

Cost Efficiency helps you determine which option is going to reach the most amount of people for the least amount of money. There are a number of ways to measure cost efficiency but the most common is cost per 1000 (people). When we are working with a budget it is vital to achieve the best possible result with a limited spend, while your audience reach may not be at the levels you would like, you will still be achieving the highest reach possible for your budget.

These are just a few of the factors that we consider when planning a media spend. Here are QA, we like to say that we can do it better, so if you are an existing advertiser or have previously ran a campaign that didn’t get you the right results, talk to our team today to see how we can help you achieve better outcomes.

Why should customers buy from you and not your competitor?

You should be able to answer this question, if you can’t you could be missing out on sales.

Every business needs a unique selling point. The term USP was developed as a strategic way of thinking, to set your business or your product apart from your competitors and offer customers a benefit or value.

In an often crowded market place, where many businesses are selling similar products and services your unique selling point is going to set you apart, and attract customers away from your competitors.

Here are some examples of what a customer might see as a unique selling point in a small business:

1. A locally produced product or locally staffed business

2. A dedicated team with experienced staff

3. A hands on approach and personal dealing

4. Lowest cost or price comparison

5. Highest quality product or service

6. Variety, choice and more options

You need to find a benefit that your business offers over your competitors. (What would customers want most from you?) This benefit doesn’t always have to come in the product, sometimes you’re simply selling a product exactly the same as someone else but you can differentiate your business by offering a value to your customer such as a faster turn around on your service, or some sort of added bonus… the opportunities are endless. This USP should then be used as the theme of your advertising and marketing.

Make sure your customers are aware of the benefits your offer above your competitors, through your website, advertising and even your tagline.

If you think your business doesn’t have a unique selling point or you’re not sure what it is, talk to the team at QA. We can help market your unique selling point so that customers will buy from your and not your competitor.

The multi-screen household and what it means for Advertisers

Australian’s of all ages continue to spend the majority of their screen time in front of their TV sets. However, the introduction of new screen technologies allows multi use between different devices, separately or at the same time.

I am sure many of you have seen this in your household… Dad is sitting on the couch watching his favourite TV show, while browsing online with his laptop checking out the new car he has been wanting to purchase. Mum is in the kitchen and using the iPad to look online for some recipe ideas for tonight’s dinner, one teenager is in their room on the computer surfing the net and another is watching TV and using her mobile device to simultaneously check social media and shop online. Sound familiar?

A recent report has shown that currently 27% of Australian homes have each of the four screen types: TV, PC, tablet and mobile phone which is up from only 16% a year ago. Also, a considerable 31% of homes now have a tablet compared to only 15% in 2012, this number is likely to continue growing.

Although the notion of multitasking isn’t a new trend, in previous years where someone may have been reading a magazine while watching TV they now have one of these devices either in their hand or nearby that is connected to the internet.

So what does this mean for Advertisers? Consumers are more likely to visit your website or look at your product online if they have just seen your ad on TV and liked it. More screens also mean more opportunities for you to get your brand or product in front of consumers eyes, which proves how important a digital strategy is these days.

But… don’t be confused, it certainly isn’t time to reduce TV advertising! The multi-screen household hasn’t taken away from the popularity of TV viewing, it remains strong and is more than likely to continue this way. The introduction of multiple devices is working to complement each other.

The best way for you to adapt your advertising and marketing plans to the multi-screen household is to incorporate a digital strategy. If you haven’t already or you think your current online activities could be lacking contact QA to find out how we can improve your reach.

Thanks for reading our blog and check out our website www.sunnymedia.com.au

Engage a PR plan before a crisis escalates

A crisis can affect all brands, products and even personalities regardless of their size or location and saying ‘no comment’ simply doesn’t cut it anymore. Having a crisis management plan in place is vital and that’s where a PR professional can help you. Let’s see what Peppi Bueti our PR Guru has to say about Crisis Management…

My good mate, former Channel Nine reporter and leading media trainer Warren Clarke says when it comes to making the headlines, newsrooms still follow the ‘if it bleeds then it leads’ philosophy.

Bad news helps to sell newspapers and unfortunately most organisations are on the back foot when the proverbial hits the fan.

Just recently a tiger attacked his handler at Australia Zoo creating headlines across the globe and as I type this I note that Gold Coast Suns player Campbell Brown has been sent home from the USA after allegedly breaking his team mates jaw in a late night incident.

Issues and crisis are faced everyday across large corporate businesses as well as small business, schools, Universities, churches and sporting teams.

How they handle these incidents can be very critical as they can all affect an organisations brand which ultimately impact on its perception in the market and (if applicable) sales.

This is where a solid issues management plan comes to the fore and this requires thinking about all possible worse case scenarios and how they will be managed before an issue escalates. A PR person is usually engaged to think strategically about this issue and to minimise the impact of what has occurred and ensure it is resolved as quickly as possible so it doesn’t turn out to be a full blown crisis.

One of the world’s most wealthy individuals Warren Buffet once said “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” When you look at it like that it’s not hard to understand why it’s important to plan for a crisis well before it has a dire impact on your business.

Peppi Bueti, Director of Public Relations

Traditional and digital media proving to be good partners

Traditional media still has an important place in advertising campaigns as long as its understood how to leverage the benefits of an integrated digital campaign according to Sunny Media director Roger Delaney.

“Two years ago it became quite clear to us that as a media advertising agency we needed to embrace and lead the way in the digital space for all our clients. At that time we searched the country looking for a suitable partner who could help integrate traditional strategies with the brave new world of digital media and we eventually partnered with a Brisbane based digital marketing firm called Reload Media.

“Reload now works with our clients to boost their digital marketing performance and as one of the few Google accredited agencies in Australia we now work side by side on all media strategies. We’ve seen firsthand how traditional and digital media can work together to help improve our client’s overall presence in the marketplace.

“We call it the ‘leaky bucket theory’ and that ensures our traditional advertising spend is not wasted when people go to find the business on the internet,” he said.

Rhys Furner from Reload Media says businesses may have recently seen their websites drop in the Google rankings and this is a result of its recent change of its algorithm, now called Hummingbird.

“Hummingbird is a new program which will better reward those businesses who have invested in producing great quality content and optimised websites. It is designed to give people better search results for their query.

“Essentially Google has become more efficient at determining what information a searcher wants to see and the key to improving a site’s Google ranking is to produce high quality, unique, genuinely helpful and shareable content on your website through a blog or resource section such as articles, infographics or videos.

“We are working with Sunny Media’s clients to improve their search presence and rankings so that Google will pick up on the themes around this content and begin to identify their relevance for particular search phrases.

“Google’s goal is to give people the information they want so when you align this with your website, you will reap the rewards from search engines, especially Google,” he said.

Roger Delaney, Managing Director Sunny Media

Roger Delaney, Managing Director at Sunny Media

Rhy Furner, Digital Strategist at Reload Media

So what is Public Relations?

One of the most commonly asked questions from potential clients is what is the role of public relations and how can it improve business?

Peppi Bueti Director of QA Public Relations explains what PR is:

Let’s start with what I tell my University of the Sunshine Coast PR students and that is if you cannot write persuasively or have the ability to think strategically then it may not be the career for them.

There’s a misconception out there that if you have a great personality then you should get into PR. While it’s important to have good interpersonal skills, it’s a long way from what is required unless you think PR is handing out brochures or products at your local shopping centre.

That’s not PR folks.

PR is an important part of the marketing mix and tactics range from media relations, events management, promotions, internal communication, social media and issues management.

Media relations is used to generate publicity through a media release to help promote a product, event or an issue of interest. At QAPR we write media releases for a range of clients covering all sorts of industries. These are pitched to press, radio and TV stations as well as industry publications and social media sites.

At QAPR we work alongside the QA team to ensure all messages throughout your advertising, marketing and public relations are consistent. This is achieved for above the line and below the line spends.

So when you are planning how you spend your marketing dollars, consider how PR can help you generate greater exposure for your dollar.

Contact Peppi Bueti our Director of Public Relations to find out how you can improve your business with PR.

Peppi Bueti – pbueti@sunnymedia.com.au or 0447 131 306

Peppi helping out at a client’s event

Crowdsourcing: Is it worth the trouble?

Crowdsourcing is a concept where businesses fill out an online brief which is then submitted into a pool for a group of designers to work on and essentially compete for your money. According to a crowdsourcing website, 99designs.com, there are 2,048 contests occurring currently and in October 2013, a massive $1.8m was handed over by businesses for the work of the many graphic designers.

Let’s look at a few worrying factors about this process:

No relationship: Not once have you as a business spoken to a designer to their face. You have not specifically outlined your businesses brand, your audience or core values. All you have done is give a small amount of information to a faceless person who produces something in hopes to impress you only to move onto the next job at hand
Time waster: You are left with countless examples of what someone else thinks your logo should look and you now have to spend hours sifting through each one, sorting the good from the bad. Surely you time is more valuable put towards building your business? After all, you paid the experts to decipher fonts, colours and other tedious details didn’t you?!

At the end of the day, the idea behind your logo is to shape consumers perceptions and expectations. When you decide to leave your brand in the hands of someone who doesn’t have a vested interest, you will no doubt end up with something generic and powerless which will struggle to penetrate your target market.

Temptation to take the cheap route is increasingly common these days as budgets tighten. However, in the long run your brand is not worth cutting corners. People don’t read – they scan. We are constantly saturated with content from multiple platforms so unless you can stand out with a well-designed brand – you’ll blend in!

Our Senior Graphic Designer, Darryl Baldwin prides himself on taking the time to ensure the needs of each individual client are met. QA Design is now operating for all your graphic needs.

We hope you enjoy reading the Sunny Media blog. For more information please visit our full website www.sunnymedia.com.au

What YOU can be doing to help boost your business

Here are a few tips from QA that you can try yourself to help your business grow.

Get personal with your customers

Your customers are the heart of your business – without them, you would cease to exist! By interacting with them you can develop a powerful relationship.

When a customer makes a purchase, or signs up to your newsletter etc, have them receive a welcome email. Something simple like this reduces cognitive dissonance (the feeling of ‘oh god, what have I done’ after a purchase or decision) and allows them to feel supported in their decision.

Get social

By incorporating social media into your everyday business, you can connect with tones of potential customers.

People go on Facebook to be distracted – so give them something worthwhile to turn their attention to! Refer to our previous Instagram blog post to find tips on how to use Instagram for your business.

Leave the office

Increasing your public profile through conferences and networking events can be beneficial to the success of a business. So any events that are suitable to your industry you should consider attending.

Be the leader/ expert in your industry

Consider who the influential leaders are in your industry. How can you get amongst them?

Offer insights to bloggers, journalists or become a guest editor to give your opinion. Customers relate to knowledgeable and powerful figures.

Know your users

If you don’t understand what it is you customers want, there is no point implementing any of the above tips. Engage with them to find out what kind of product, information, insight, services it is that they are after.

This can be found by finding out what keywords are trending in your space through Google’s free keyword search tool.

Here at QA we love to hear about what is working to boost your business, and we love giving advice so contact QA if you would like to chat about other ways we can help you boost your business.

We hope you enjoy reading the Sunny Media blog. For more information please visit our full website www.sunnymedia.com.au

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