In order to get to a great start, all the specifics of Local Advertising have to be discussed and pre-arranged with our clients. The Distributor should know all the necessary information:
- The business / service that our client promoting.
- Format of material to be delivered out there.
- Content of the material.
- Target and demographics groups that any particular campaign is aiming for.
· Appearance – it is very important that distribution operatives are in hi-visibility uniforms or at any promotional dress that we agree with the client. He/she must look smart, professional and have a clear idea of the task to be completed. It may look simple, but it is not. We all have seen distributors that hang around, looking bored, making no effort to connect with the public, smoking, chewing gum, no proper uniforms, 2-3 standing close together and aimless wandering, simply being at work but not doing it properly.
· Position – it can make or break any campaign whatever expense and initial planning has gone into it. Standing behind a wall or in an area where there are other distributors or that is classed as low footwork will not create the desired contact with the public. Rarely people will go to ask for a leaflet, it is the distributor’ s job to reach politely in their direction and be able to explain the material’ s content.
Distributors should be active, use own initiative and by being able to move around in the best possible area. If near a tube station, they have to be positioned in way that both incoming and outgoing traffic can be seen. Handouts require some degree of experience, people who are generally outgoing, enjoy interaction with the public and with the ability to think in their feet.
· Communication – it is not enough to handout a leaflet and consider the work done. For the massive volumes of work is practically impossible to explain to every person what the flier is about, however a good distributor can use some prepared and simple phrases that can be said at the same time a flier goes in the public’ s hands. Explaining an offer, a launch party, a promotional voucher an address venue etc. Everyone has to know the content of material, what our client is offering and how to reply to people’s questions, and yes many people ask us in the street, what is this about? We have to promote and communicate, while also handing out the flier. Thanking people who take fliers marks a professional distributor doing a proper job, from someone that is not focused and motivated.
Generally fliers need to be handed out with an extended arm in a way that the targeted person should not have to move around you, blocking the path of people moving about is not considered a successful form or leafleting. The distributor should look people in the eye, smile and if someone refuses to take the material not to take this personally.
In high density crowds often happens that if the 1-st person will not take the flier, those behind tend not to take it, so it is advisable to let few people pass and resume with others instead of trying to force it in anyone and losing momentum. Walking around with or opposite the crowd helps with the dynamics and the movement of the crowd, a better way than a fixed-point distributor. Having many people moving in one place can be good, but counter productive too, people walking at fast pace may not take the flier or drop it at the next bin, in this case the distributor is advised to move to a quieter place able to target people with more accuracy and increasing the chances of the material to be kept.
Another method that has proved very effective is to target small crowds. A group of people waiting at the theater, in front of a stadium, pubs, bars, in parks, students hanging around together, with a polite approach and simple explanation groups are usually receptive and one message can filter down to more than one person.
In same cases some people can be confrontational, the distributor must remain calm, rational and continue their work with people who are more receptive.
Lastly, it is the right or anyone to leaflet about most things and advertise about his ideas, business or service; however a professional distributor is responsible for his place of work. Some distribution spots require permission from the council, the institution or the landlord of that particular place, however in any case environmental issue must be considered. All distributing operatives should have the means to collect the materials that are thrown in the floor by the public and collect them so the place is kept clean.
September 8, 2010
Nice little article, thanks