Dsfsdf

Below the line (advertising)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010)

Above the line (ATL), below the line (BTL), and through the line (TTL), in organizational businessand marketing communications, are advertising techniques, or different strategies companies use to sell their products.

In a nutshell, while ATL communications use media that are broadcast and published to mass audiences, BTL communications use media that are more niche focused. While both ATL and BTL communications can be used to either build brand awareness or drive sales through specificoffers (promotions), it is BTL communication that gives the marketer the ability to tailor their messaging in a more personal manner to the audience.[citation needed] ATL promotions are also difficult to measure well, while BTL promotions are highly measurable,[citation needed] giving marketers valuable insights into their return-on-investment. These insights can then be used to inform the next BTLcommunication to the audience and tailor the messaging based on the feedback received.

"Through the line" refers to an advertising strategy involving both above and below the line communications. This strategic approach allows brands to engage with a customer at multiple points (for example, the customer will see the television commercial, hear the radio advert and be handed a flyer on thestreet corner). This enables an integrated communications approach where consistent messaging across multiple media create a customer perception.

Contents [hide]
1 Above the line sales promotion
2 The line
3 Below the line sales promotion
4 Through the line
5 See also
6 References

[edit] Above the line sales promotionATL is a type of advertising through media such as television,cinema, radio, print, and Out-of-home to promote brands or convey a specific offer. This type of communication is conventional in its nature and is considered impersonal to customers. It differs from BTL advertising, which uses unconventional brand-building and promotional strategies, such as direct mail, sales promotions, flyers, point-of-sale, telemarketing and printed media (for example brochures)– and usually involves no motion graphics.[1] It is much more effective than when the target group is very large and difficult to define.

The term comes from top business managers[citation needed] and involves the way in which Procter & Gamble, one of the world’s biggest advertising clients, was charged for its media in the 1950s and 1960s. Advertising agencies made commission from bookingmedia (Television, cinema, radio, press, out-of-home and magazines). As below the line had no media involvement there was no commission to be made for the advertising agencies. The accountants thus labeled the different media ATL and BTL depending on where it would sit in the balance sheet and profit and loss accounts (ATL where they made a profit and BTL where they did not) Since then, models havechanged and clients are no longer charged for their media in that way.[citation needed]

[edit] The lineAs mentioned above, the line was born out of an accounting definition in terms of above the line (capital expenditure) or below the line (current expenditure). Colloquially, ATL means mass media. However the media landscape has shifted so dramatically that advertisers have reconsidered theirdefinition of mass media.

For some marketers the "line" divides the realm of "Awareness or Attention focused marketing" and that of "Interest + Desire focused marketing". Since audience numbers in the Interest and Desire phase of the AIDA sales model narrow down to a fraction of the Awareness audience, the line could be drawn right below the awareness set of activities.

It could also be...