Niche Advertising - where is the gold?

A niche is a particular part of a market that has a high demand and low supply. In other words, this is the perfect business environment – a lot of interested customers and very low competition. Niche advertising is similar to this concept – it tries to reach potential clients in areas where competition is scarce. Promotional messages are representative of business competition. If there are 100 companies on a market, chances are there will be 100 ads competing for the same population segment. Niche advertising tries to find the “gold” in bare lands, where no one else is looking for it. In our case, clients represent “gold” and the places to find them are difficult to locate. But enough theory – let’s give an example of niche advertising.

Dog leashes in a sports store?

This is a hypothetical example – what if you were to advertise dog leashes in a sports store? Sounds kind of stupid, doesn’t it? But let’s allow a bit of creativity come into play and see what happens – we might discover a fruitful niche advertising opportunity. Many people buying bicycles and roller skates have pets, and most of these pets are dogs. Owners like to spend time with their dogs doing something fun, which usually involves physical activity, outdoor sports, jogging, running and you got it, cycling and roller skating. A connection is starting to develop here: you buy a new bike but you also see the ad for this incredible dog leash, perfectly designed for your dog to accompany you while cycling. It’s not how the leash was designed – it’s how you present it. This is the whole principle that stands behind niche advertising – putting an item in the spotlight in a place where people are looking and competition is almost non-existent. Placing ads for your dog leash in a pet store is the logical way to do it, but this is also the strategy all of your competitors are using as well. Be creative!

Niche Advertising Risks and Benefits

The biggest problem with niche advertising is that finding a niche is very hard. It has to be like this, otherwise everyone would find it and it wouldn’t be a niche anymore! And there is another risk involved – what if you misinterpret a niche? What if it’s not a niche at all and it’s simply a place where your ads won’t have any impact? These are the questions that shouldn’t worry you too much when you hire an advertising agency: it’s their job to deal with such questions. In many cases a one shot approach may be detrimental to your advertising campaign. Niches have to be tested before serious cash is invested in them. Niche advertising is often a trial and error game, and errors can be costly, so make sure to work with your advertising company until you find the perfect place to develop your strategy. However, if you do find a niche, then profits will surely come your way. Be the first or only one to offer the public what they are looking for in a unique way, and your products will sell like crazy. Use your niche advertising strategies wisely and don’t spread the word about your little gold mine, or soon your competitors will be lining up to take their share.