Marketing clinic: how one CPA firm's gutsy decision to use billboard advertising boosted its visibility.

Mass media advertising generally is not recommended for accounting firms. It is expensive, it reaches too many people who will never be clients, and it is too hard to track the results. Marketing advisers usually suggest other tools, such as seminars and mailings. What possessed the shareholders of Eskew & Gresham, a medium-sized CPA firm in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, to use billboard advertising?

MARKETING GOAL: NAME RECOGNITION

The shareholders of Eskew & Gresham, a 75-person firm, were not satisfied with the level of the firm's name recognition, so they decided to do something dramatic to improve it and to increase selling opportunities. The firm had periodically advertised in a highly regarded Louisville business journal, but the ads reached readers only once per issue and there was a good chance that readers wouldn't see the ad (see sidebar on page 94). Radio and television also are hit or miss. The shareholders knew their advertising schedule must be repetitive, almost to the point of irritation, to reach the right audience. They also were concerned that the cost would be too high to justify the benefit.

The firm was looking for a way to reach a large audience with a large, easy-to-read message that was in the public eye every day. Billboards were the answer.

TESTING THE WATERS

Late last summer the firm leaders and the marketing director began to work with a billboard representative on a six-month billboard contract for December 1994 through May 1995. It was vital to reserve the best locations early, so the firm scouted suggested spots and negotiated for the best three. A tentative contract was signed that gave the firm until October 1 to make it final.

The cost for the six-month posting was $13,200 for a 14'x 48'billboard. It would be posted for 60 days each at the three selected locations. The firm saved 15% because it did not go through an ad agency to secure the billboard, so the final price was $11,220. It was the largest advertising expenditure ever proposed for Eskew & Gresham.

MAKING A BIG STATEMENT

There would be no shareholder approval without a good design proposal. The outside design firm chose the term "bean counting" to immediately establish that Eskew & Gresham was an accounting firm while using the fewest possible words. The design firm felt the phrase "beyond bean counting" conveyed that Eskew & Gresham does more than accounting. A simple design would keep the firm's name very large and readable, and the message could be understood in well under the five-second target time for a strong billboard message.

In late September, the idea was presented to the shareholders for the first time. Their responses were mixed--many were e about the idea, while others were skeptical or tired of the "bean counting" theme. It was important to remind the shareholders that business decision makers were the advertisement's target audience, not accountants. When they understood this advertising perspective, the shareholders gave their approval to go ahead with the billboard campaign.

TRACKING SUCCESS

The results of the six-month billboard contract were outstanding. Although only one new client said it was the billboard that brought him to the firm's door, from the first day it appeared the billboard brought attention to and raised discussion about Eskew & Gresham. Clients have given the firm kudos and referral sources have praised the idea. One attorney commented that it was tastefully done, and another client said he was surprised that he actually liked it. All the comments were documented by the firm's marketing department.

The firm also experienced positive results internally. The sheer size of the effort aroused excitement and pride in the firm. Staff heard a lot of comments from business acquaintances, and many used the opportunity to explain what "beyond bean counting" actually meant. Negative comments mostly came from other accountants who wished the term "bean counters" would disappear.

The firm's press releases about this unusual effort were picked up by local news and trade publications. The billboard won a national first place award from the Financial Communications Society and was pictured in Advertising Age magazine. Free publicity was a side benefit of this project.

The decision to use billboard advertising may have been gutsy, but Eskew & Gresham believes strongly in creative marketing. According to John Hamilton, the firm's president, "We needed to let people know we provide many services beyond audit and tax. Yes, we can count your beans, but we are also your business partner, and we can help with your success by providing a full range of services that will help you grow more beans. The billboard has been a positive step in letting people know, this message."

RELATED ARTICLE: Location is Key

Three important factors must be considered to ensure successful billboard advertising.

* Billboard locations should be in heavy traffic areas and be very visible.

* The cost per thousand impressions must be considered. Eskew & Gresham's marketing research showed that the cost per thousand impressions of billboard advertising would be $1.26, compared to $24 for a comparable ad in a magazine. The cost-per-thousand-impression ratio is determined by dividing the cost by the number of times each 1,000 people will see the ad.

* The message must be an eye-catcher and understandable in five seconds or less.

Location is the most important factor. Many billboard locations are partially hidden. Some are literally lost in the clutter. Others are located along roadways with odly moderate traffic. The Louisville market offered Eskew & Gresham a unique configuration of highways for billboard location. Three major highways converge right in the middle of downtown, and anyone headed there must use them. The market for billboard advertising in Lexington was less appealing-available billboards were located in highly cluttered areas or on roadways with moderate traffic, so the firm decided not to place a billboard ad there.

Patricia A. Davidson, is marketing director of Eskew & Gresham, PSC, in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky.