|  Co-ops distribute 2010 “Together We Save” calendar
For the fourth consecutive year, Semaphore has produced a calendar for many of its electric cooperative clients. The calendar is a project of “Da Group,” which is comprised of 12 of South Carolina’s 20 electric cooperatives, plus a Georgia co-op. Da Group opened up participation in the project to other South Carolina and Georgia co-ops as well.
Participation has grown from just three co-ops in 2007 to 18 in 2010. For 2010, the theme is “Together We Save,” dovetailing with the new national campaign from Touchstone Energy.
The objectives of the calendar are two-fold: to help consumers save energy, money and the environment; and to keep Touchstone Energy cooperatives top-of-mind among consumers throughout the year.
Each month features a pastoral scene appropriate for the season, as well as helpful energy advice from Da Group’s ongoing Energy Tips campaign. Each month is also customized with the co-op’s name, website, and power outage phone number.
A total of 50,000 calendars were produced. Due to dividing the creative costs among the participating co-ops, the per-unit cost was kept very low.
SC Power Team on back cover of Site Selection
The South Carolina Power Team is featured on the back cover of the November 2009 issue of Site Selection magazine.
The full-page, 4-color ad was created by Semaphore to promote an array of industrial buildings and sites available across South Carolina. The headline "Set your sights on our sites" is a play on words and a call to action at the same time. The ad features a map of South Carolina with binoculars resting on top. This visual connects the site searcher to the location.
Another feature of this ad is the prominent display of the website. Once on the website, www.SCpowerteam.com, the viewer can see the complete list of available buildings and sites. In addition, the ad lists succinct selling points about South Carolina as a location for business and industry.
Semaphore was able to place the back cover ad as part of a package with Site Selection, which includes banner ads on the magazine’s website, www.siteselection.com
’Tis the season for media buying
Now is the time to secure the best deals and placements for your 2010 advertisements, according to Semaphore's media buying guru, Cindy Wade. Cindy, whose job it is to match client's goals with appropriate media outlets, tells us why first-quarter media buys are the most cost-effective.
What's the most expensive time of year to run advertisements?
CW: Definitely the fourth quarter. Then you go down slightly in price during the second quarter, with May sweeps, and then the third quarter and, finally, the first. The first quarter of the year (approximately January 1 - March 31 for broadcast media) is generally the least expensive for running media.
Why is the first quarter the least expensive to run ads?
CW: Historically, rates have always been lowest right after Christmas then go up again after March. There are a lot of reasons for this. A post-holiday lull, companies giving discounts so they can set their budgets for the year and many other reasons – both subjective and concrete.
What makes the first quarter a good time to advertise?
CW: That's when the HUT (households using televisions) levels go up. It gets darker earlier, it's cold outside and people are watching more TV. You also have the big February "sweeps" month with networks hyping their primetime lineups and local news outlets doing more series and ratcheting up their local efforts.
What about radio?
CW: First-quarter radio is also cheaper, except in coastal areas where the summer months dominate. Stations also sometimes offer package deals where if you commit before the first quarter, you can get placement throughout the year at a discounted rate. They might even offer to throw in a live remote.
And print?
CW: Just like radio and TV, magazines and other publications are looking to write their budgets for their year. Because of that, they sometimes offer frequency discounts during the first quarter if you commit to running ads throughout the year. You can also lock in this year's rates if you sign a deal early enough.
Bottom line, why is now the time to buy for the first quarter?
CW: That's simple. The audience is there, the price is right and it's the most economical way to buy media.
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