Earlier this week I wrote that government communication is often a one-way, one-dimensional broadcast. I described it as being too much ‘above the line’ and someone asked me what I meant.
Above-The-Line stems, I believe*, from the 1950s when Procter & Gamble paid their ad agency a higher fee than their PR and promotional agencies. While the line is a little blurry in our contemporary digital world it’s still a term widely used in the world of marketing.
Above-The-Line uses mass media to reach as wide an audience as possible. It includes advertising on TV, radio, and newspapers and outdoor billboards.
Below-The-Line is more targeted, more niche, and more personalised. Traditionally it involved direct mail, point of sale promotions, public relations and events. Now it also employs digital techniques like search engine marketing and social media retargeting.
There’s a great infographic from British digital agency Koozai showing the difference.
Next Tuesday’s blog will show how effective it is when government gets under the line and talks with, not at, community.
* Hopefully my advertising friends will correct me if I got this wrong.