Digital Lab

There are a lot of ways to advertise your business…

But how do you make sure you’re advertising the right way?

Let’s break down the 3 fundamental types of ads you can use to grow your business.

Top of Funnel (TOFU)

Top of Funnel ad campaigns are the kinds we see in public most often.

Often referred to as Brand Awareness campaigns.

Where the primary goal of the campaign is to reach as many people as possible.

The success of these campaigns is usually measured by metrics like impressions and engagement.

The point is not to measure a direct impact on sales but rather to generate buzz around your brand.

These campaigns are incredibly important for companies to create high-impact first impressions with prospects.

A prospect who already knows who you are, what you’re about, and has a positive impression of you is far more likely to become a customer in the future.

TOFU campaigns are ideal for brands that are addressing a large market, millions of potential customers that you need to reach.

This should be the first ad someone sees from your company.

TOFU Campaigns Include:

• Sponsorships
• Social Media
• Billboards
• Posters
• Radio
• TV

Bottom of Funnel (BOFU)

Bottom of Funnel ad campaigns are the most popular type of campaign.

Companies will often start with this ad type because they encourage prospects to take action.

These are often referred to as Direct Response campaigns.

Google Pay-per-Click Ads are a great example of BOFU advertising.

These campaigns are the easiest to measure the ROI for as you can tie them directly to a lead or revenue value.

The caveat to this type of campaign is that conversion rates & budget efficiency are often dramatically impacted by TOFU campaigns.

Someone whose never heard of you before is much less likely to convert on a BOFU campaign compared to someone who has already engaged with your TOFU campaign.

Even though measurement and tracking can be difficult, this is why massive multi-billion dollar companies spend the majority of their budget on TOFU advertising.

When your company is still small & growing (< $50M) BOFU campaigns are probably the #1 type of campaign you’ll be investing in.

But as you start to scale to $50M+ you will have an incredibly difficult time scaling beyond without a supporting TOFU campaign.

BOFU Campaigns Include:

• Local Directory Ads
• Search Advertising
• Lead Magnet Ads
• Retargeting Ads
• Discount Ads

Activation

Activation campaigns are a mystery to most smaller businesses, but they’re run daily by large companies.

Often also referred to as Brand Activation campaigns.

These are ad campaigns that are targeted at your existing customers.

The goal is to generate repeat business (more $), higher brand loyalty (less churn), or referrals (more customers).

Many companies are so focused on generating new business that they forget about their biggest asset.

Their customers!

These campaigns are usually intended to get customers excited about the brand by offering them extra opportunities to interact with or celebrate the brand.

These campaigns generate brand awareness, turn your customers into brand advocates, increase your per-customer lifetime value (LTV), and reduce your customer acquisition costs (CAC).

Activation Campaigns Include:

• Communities
• Up-sells/Cross-sells
• Hosted Events (Live)
• New Feature/Benefits
• New Product Launches
• Referral/Affiliate Programs

Need help with your ad campaigns?

Whether you’re just getting started with advertising, trying to scale your campaigns, or looking to manage your ad spending efficiently…

Our experts can help!