Reaching, converting, and engaging customers in 2024 is more complex than ever before. While today’s companies can use countless channels to interact with their target audience, they’re fighting against an increasing amount of competition for consumer attention.
This is particularly problematic in the digital marketing landscape, where consumers are constantly bombarded with endless email and social media marketing campaigns, and growing volumes of content (thanks to the rise of generative AI).
All the while, demand for more personalised, relevant, and hyper-targeted marketing campaigns is growing, particularly in the B2B world. Today, 94% of companies are using ABM (Account Based Marketing) to strengthen relationships with consumers.
So, as the digital landscape becomes more competitive, could traditional “above-the-line media” be the key to giving your ABM strategy an edge?
Understanding Above the Line (ATL) Marketing
The term “ATL” or “Above the Line” is often used in the GTM and marketing world to refer to campaigns that target large audiences through mass media channels. Today, modern “mass media” channels could easily include search engines and social media channels.
However, traditional ATL media focused more on non-digital solutions, like radio, television, newspapers, and billboards. Standard ATL marketing campaigns aren’t intended for highly personalised ABM campaigns.
With ABM, B2B companies align sales and marketing teams to target and engage customers who are most likely to drive the highest revenue for their business. These campaigns focus on building meaningful connections with customers, through segmentation, and content personalisation.
According to studies, 87% of marketers believe ABM outperforms their other marketing initiatives, and 86% say these strategies increase their win rates.
Alternatively, traditional ATL marketing campaigns are all about creating broad campaigns designed to reach as many people as possible. In the past, they focused on helping companies increase exposure for their brand or product.
ATL Marketing strategies are the opposite of “BTL” or Below the Line” marketing strategies, which focus on engaging specific, niche audiences through events, and personalised campaigns. However, while traditional ATL campaigns might not be suitable for ABM, ATL media is a different story.
ATL in ABM Campaigns
If we look beyond the broad and generic campaigns usually embraced with ATL strategies, we can begin to discover opportunities for using “above the line” media, in new, more targeted ways. While it’s harder to deliver highly segmented campaigns through certain ATL media channels, such as television, radio, print, and outdoor advertising, it’s not impossible.
The key to success is combining “above the line” media, with “below the line” marketing strategies. With below-the-line advertising, companies build custom-built engagement strategies to appeal directly to specific groups of their target audience, or certain consumers.
If you’re taking a sector-specific approach to ABM, focusing on “segments” rather than individual customers, you can use BTL strategies with ATL media, to create more personalised marketing campaigns. Depending on the ATL media channels you use, this could include various strategies, for instance:
Television Advertising
Television is often considered one of the most popular forms of ATL media, giving companies access to a huge potential audience, and exceptional reach. Around 5.4 billion people worldwide have a TV in their household as of 2023.
With an ABM strategy, you wouldn’t just pay for television ads and sponsorships with a focus on connecting with as many viewers as possible. Instead, you’d focus on ensuring your content reaches the audience relevant to your ABM campaign.
This could mean paying for your product name or company name to appear in a specific show or paying for an ad slot on a channel that appeals to a specific user group. Again, this strategy will still be less targeted than most ABM strategies, but it does offer opportunities to reach audiences outside of the saturated digital landscape.
Print Advertising and Direct Mail
Print advertising still has a part to play in the GTM world. In a standard ATL marketing campaign, you’d pay for placements in magazines and newspapers, or send direct mail leaflets to as many consumers as possible. However, if you’re looking at ABM, you’d focus more on specifically reaching a certain group of consumers.
This might mean sending newsletters and direct mail advertisements directly to specific companies you want to target with your ABM efforts. While the average person has thousands of emails in their inbox, direct messages can be more effective in the modern world. Around 62% of people in one study said direct mail inspires them to act more than emails.
On a broader scale, if you’re targeting “segments”, such as specific buyers in a certain industry or location, you can pay for a promotion in an industry newsletter that reaches a specific group.
Radio Advertising
Radio advertising, similar to television advertising, naturally has a broader reach than most ABM strategies would call for. However, again, there is an opportunity to take a more granular approach with your messages, with the right research and data.
You can learn when your ideal target audience is most likely to listen to the radio, which channels they use, and what kind of content they consume to help build your marketing strategies. Once again, this gives you another way to connect with your audience outside of the digital landscape.
Radio advertising could even help to add value to your other ABM methods, helping to expand your brand visibility, and improve your reputation. It could even give you a chance to demonstrate thought leadership to your customers, increasing your chances of future sales.
ABM and ATL Media
On a basic level, ATL marketing and ABM aren’t compatible. To achieve results with ABM campaigns, companies need to be specific about the companies they’re targeting, the messages they send, and their approach to building relationships.
However, this doesn’t completely negate the potential of ATL media for ABM strategies. It’s still possible to leverage traditional channels, from television and radio, to print advertising and direct mail to strengthen your connection with potential customers.
In some cases, ATL can even help to enhance your relationships with existing consumers, giving them access to more valuable information and data after they interact with your company. This can lead to higher levels of customer retention and loyalty.
Taking a Multi-Media Approach to ABM
As the digital world continues to become increasingly cluttered, combining various forms of media, from traditional ATL channels to more modern environments like social media and web-based marketing, could be the key to getting an edge over the competition.
Experimenting with a multi-media marketing strategy that spans both digital and traditional landscapes could mean that you can reduce your customer acquisition costs, reach more customers in your target segments, and increase your chances of conversions.
This multi-faceted approach will be particularly crucial in the years ahead, as digital marketing avenues become more overwhelmed, with the rise of AI content generation. Now could be the perfect time to start revolutionising your marketing strategy, with a more traditional approach.
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