What exactly is below-the-line marketing? To find out, I looked intensively into BTL marketing

I cringe when I see how many unopened emails are in my work inbox. I’m lucky if I open maybe ten percent of them – including all the promotional items.

But of that ten percent, what convinced me to open up and respond? These companies have done below-the-line marketing (BTL) right.

Email marketing, direct mail, events – below-the-line marketing includes these and similar targeted tactics to persuade and convert buyers. What goes into running a successful BTL campaign? And where do you start?

To help you get started, I delved into BTL marketing: the history, its relationship to other marketing tactics, and best practices from experts. Here’s what I found.

Table of contents

What is below-the-line marketing?

Great question! The question “What is BTL marketing?” is surprisingly tough.

First, let’s look at the history. Below-the-line marketing began in the 1950s.

Manufacturing giant Procter & Gamble wanted to separate advertising activities based on who was paid for them. “Traditional” advertising costs (aka TV, radio, OOH) payable to advertising agencies were above the limit provided for in the company’s draft budget. Everything else fell below the line.

In modern marketing jargon, I would say that below-the-line marketing is a spiritual cousin of demand generation. However, in practice, BTL marketing feels more like a subset of demand generation – it enables demand generation strategy through tactical details and execution. BTL campaigns often run on shorter operating schedules.

The results BTL generates are more focused on responses and conversions than the longer-term customer acquisition and nurturing goals of demand generation.

For our purposes, BTL marketing tactics include the following:

• Direct mail
• Email marketing
• Trade fairs and events
• Location-Specific Promotions
• Targeted online approach

While traditional BTL marketing is based on a physical component, the reach of the Internet is essential. As long as it is highly targeted, personalized and time-bound, you could make a case for incorporating physical and digital marketing tactics.

Above-the-line vs. below-the-line marketing

Speaking of the internet, digital marketing has blurred the lines between above-the-line marketing (ATL) and BTL marketing. But regardless of whether it happens in cyberspace or in physical space, we must distinguish between the two processes. For our discussion, let’s say:

• ATL marketing involves broad campaigns aimed at a wide audience.
• BTL marketing involves targeted campaigns that target specific segments of your target audience.

The elements of Targeting And personalization make the difference. Instead of nationwide billboards, these are mailings sent to a dozen neighborhoods. BTL has a clear focus on reaching a target group and getting them to buy.

This targeting reduces the size and scope of a campaign, so BTL promotions typically cost less than their ATL counterparts.

What does ATL and BTL marketing look like in practice?

To answer this question, I went to Sara Croft. Croft is the CEO of Five four partnersa growth agency that helps companies start up and scale. Many of their early-stage startup clients use below-the-line marketing tactics.

She positions the ATL vs. BTL divide to her clients like this: “Let’s take an example of a LinkedIn advertising campaign,” Croft said. “A general, broad message about your product aimed at a very broad audience and directing people to your homepage might get a lot of attention and perhaps a few clicks, but probably won’t result in a conversion. For a young company, this means a waste of time. While brand building is important, startups need customers – now.

“For targeted BTL marketing, an early-stage startup might consider running LinkedIn ads for a webinar,” she continued. “There is a lower barrier to entry for the audience to sign up for a webinar than signing up for a demo of a potentially six-figure product purchase. The webinar further educates the audience and helps qualify and disqualify prospects. The results are tangible, measurable and actionable.”

A strong marketing strategy requires both ATL and BTL measures, but it’s important to know when to apply each:

• ATL marketing is great for companies looking to increase their brand awareness and reach. If your metrics are more focused on the top of the funnel, you are well advised to use the ATL tactic.
• BTL marketing targets specific audiences and supports bottom-of-the-funnel metrics. If your goal is to persuade and convert, BTL is the way to go.

Or, as Croft puts it: “ATL marketing makes the prospect aware of a problem and its solution, but BTL marketing helps them know what to do about it.”

How you can use below-the-line marketing for yourself

Regardless of whether you are marketing for a young start-up company or a multi-billion dollar corporation, BTL marketing offers many opportunities to convert your target group. But getting started can be daunting.

When creating BTL marketing plans, I find it helpful to adopt journalistic concepts Five Ws (plus H):

• WHO?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• Why?
• How?

With these questions in mind, let’s see how you can create and execute your plan. For our purposes, I will also share details of BTL donor relations campaigns I have conducted to link these concepts to concrete results.

1. Define your target segments.

WHO are you talking? Due to BTL’s narrower focus, you need to describe your target segments in detail. The more information you have about your potential buyers, the better.

In previous campaigns, I have created donor contact lists based on demographic and psychographic data collected from various sources:

• Old
• Location
• Disposable income
• Dealing with other content
• Previous interest (e.g., volunteering at an organizational event, visiting a physical location)
• Previous donation dates (if available)

These data points helped me develop the vision of my ideal buyer.

2. Customize and personalize messages.

Once you know who you are talking to, you need to understand Why You reach for and What You want them to know. I’ve seen marketing teams work with generic copy from other campaigns and call it a day. This is a surefire way to waste time and resources for you and your buyers.

Through market research and past interactions, you can build a nuanced understanding of your messages. What clicks with interested parties? What makes people’s eyes light up with interest? What scares them?

In this phase, practice articulating your message with draft text. I find it helpful to create an internal brief that includes:

• Key messages
• 3-5 key points for buyers to remember
• Statement of Intent (Why am I contacting you?)
• 30-second elevator pitch text (What do I mean by that?)
• Draft text for short and long content

Great writing comes from great thinking. Use this internal letter model to organize your thoughts and express your point of view.

3. Select the right channels.

You’ve chosen your segments and crafted a compelling message. Now, Where Can you find your buyers? When Will you get in touch? And How Will you do it?

BTL marketing campaigns thrive on the smallest details. Based on your research and experience, you should know where your buyers spend their time.

Combined with a clear message, you can choose the right delivery channels:

• Direct mail
• Email marketing
• Personal experiences

My donor community loved receiving letters in the mail. They tended to be older and more likely to respond and convert by returning a check rather than filling out a digital donation form.

So my organization sent a letter every two months to over 1,200 donors or prospects. The copy would be ghostwritten by a board member, program manager, or even program beneficiary. We inform donors about the impact of their donation and invite them to renew or upgrade it.

Although we offered multiple engagement channels (e.g., “Find us on Facebook” or an online donation link), this letter converted and uplifted more donors than any other tactic.

Pro tip: I wouldn’t use generative AI to write full drafts. But AI tools can help you incorporate personalized information from your CRM to humanize copy.

For example, highlighting a donor’s most recent volunteer effort at the annual holiday event can help you build a more meaningful connection. AI can scale these small insertions to hundreds or thousands of letters.

I knew my donor base inside and out, which helped me run successful BTL campaigns. With all of these pieces in place, you can start running your campaign.

4. Measure and analyze results.

As you implement your plan, check your progress often. Pay close attention to how your BTL campaign fits into the goals of your overall marketing strategy. Know which metrics are important to your business and use those metrics to track the results of your campaign.

For example, the goals of my donor management role included:

1. Building new fundraising relationships with interested parties.
2. Reactivation of expired encoders.
3. Increasing donation amounts for current donors.

Each letter in my direct mail campaign focused on achieving one of these goals. Then I checked the response and conversion rate of these letters to figure out what worked, what didn’t, and how I could improve for the next batch.

Remember to also collect quantitative and qualitative data. Post-action surveys can provide additional information about your target audience and key messages. Prospects may not respond to your first BTL promotion.

But offer them the chance to win a $500 gift card if they take a survey and tell you what you did wrong? This will start conversations.

5. Tinker and try again.

You don’t always succeed the first time. In fact, it will probably take around eight touchpoints to move a prospect. Use your data to tinker with the previous steps and try again.

As with any good scientific experiment, you shouldn’t change too many dependent variables at once. You want to track what you’ve changed so you can reproduce successful results. Try changing a segmentation criterion (e.g. changing age group) or channel selection and run your experiment again.

Croft explained that this is one of the biggest advantages of BTL. “BTL marketing helps you figure out what you should scale” she said. “As you start with more targeted marketing, you can better understand the ROI of the campaign.”

Examples of below-the-line marketing

You can recognize BTL marketing in your daily life. Let’s focus on two examples from my life – and how these companies converted me.

Example 1: Email marketing to my dog ​​friend

Email is a popular channel that overwhelms users. Today, your buyers probably never open your email: 79% of consumers Delete branded emails at least half the time.

And even when they open it, consumers spend one an average of nine seconds before you decide to buy it or throw it away.

Your email should inform, engage and convert in nine seconds. This is a big challenge for any marketing team.

BarkBox did that to me. I have a dog and she is classified as a “Super Chewer.” She loves chewing on tasty treats and sturdy toys. BarkBox knows this and sends me targeted, personalized emails.

They put my dog’s name in the title and don’t waste time presenting the offer. The email includes the Super Chewer range for the Christmas box so I know exactly what I’m getting. And BarkBox offers a clear CTA that converts me in seconds. Guess who will be chewing on their Rudolph toys this holiday season?

Pro tip: If you’re struggling to use email successfully, our comprehensive email marketing guide can help you.

Example 2: Direct mail gift boxes to extend my subscription

Receiving a physical item still means something to people. This is what research by the gift platform Sendoso found 83% of recipients feel closer to a company upon receipt of a physical gift.

But this gift must mean Something: Research from Business.com found this out 54% of working people received such a bad gift that they immediately threw it away.

You need to know exactly what your buyer wants and reinforce that feeling through your gift selection.

For example, I have been using and promoting an AI presentation creation tool called Gamma for over a year. As a reward for my support and commitment, they asked me my shirt size and sent me a gift box.

Inside I received a logo hoodie in the correct size, a water bottle and a personalized note. Gamma sent me useful, meaningful items. While this box celebrated our relationship, it also encouraged me to upgrade my subscription.

That’s exactly what I did. And I was more inclined to share the tool with my marketing friends.

This tactic comes with a higher upfront cost—and a higher cost of failure if you don’t know your audience. But in the right hands and with the right people, direct mail can deliver big conversion numbers.

Best practices for below-the-line marketing

We’ve covered a lot about BTL marketing so far, but before you get started on your next campaign, let’s take a look at some final (but important) best practices.

Do your research.

Successful BTL marketing means that you know your target group exactly. There is no shortcut for this process. Your goal should be to reach the right people, in the right place, at the right time, and with the right message.

Audience research helps you achieve this goal. Through extensive research, you can segment an audience across multiple axes:

• Demographic data such as age, gender and income.
• Buying intent like people looking for the “best college laptop to buy.”
• Lifestyle, including attitudes, opinions and interests.

A large amount of quantitative and qualitative data is available to help you with proper segmentation. Discover audience research tools and techniques to get the good results.

Secure relevant permissions.

BTL marketing is exciting, but think about all the legal and ethical implications. Did your direct mail recipient agree to a gift box? Do you adhere to the CAN-SPAM regulations when sending targeted emails?

Because BTL tactics typically require personal data, review your data security and privacy requirements before launching campaigns. Tell people how you want to use their data and what value they can expect. It’s worth being open about your intentions and making it easy for people to unsubscribe.

You can even turn obtaining permissions into a touchpoint. For example, let the gift box recipients choose the gift they actually want. You obtain their consent by letting them participate. Plus, they’ll be extra excited when their self-selected package arrives.

Integrate BTL into your overall marketing strategy.

This tip may seem self-explanatory. But I’ve seen teams try to implement BTL tactics without understanding how other marketing actions and ATL tactics influence their audiences’ brand perception and intent.

For example, you can create an incredible booth experience at the largest trade fair in your industry. But if no one knows you’re there or what to expect (e.g., content you share in a press release or media campaign), you’ll miss out on significant traffic and coverage.

Effective BTL promotions require that you understand the impact of marketing on your entire business. Marketing and communications, sales, customer success – include everyone involved in achieving marketing’s strategic outcomes.

Also, plan comprehensively to ensure everyone agrees and achieves the same results. For example, use HubSpots Email marketing planning template to help you plan, plan and optimize your BTL email marketing campaign. Share this document with everyone involved so everyone stays informed.

BTL marketing is more important in busy digital worlds

My BTL marketing review made me think that we need more marketing like this. Overall brand building holds an important place in our marketing toolkits.

I don’t think we’re going to have a world where you never advertise or buy billboard space.

But amid the noise about scaling marketing and using AI and similar technologies, there’s something refreshing about real personalization. About something meant For me.

That’s why I opened these ten percent of emails with:

• Offers tailored to my needs.
• Simple and clear calls to action.
• Delivery at the right place and at the right time.

In a busier world, make your customers feel seen and heard. Well-executed BTL marketing can help you convey this feeling while achieving better marketing results.