It is a cold and blustery Saturday morning, so it is a good time to catch up on some of the things I’ve been meaning to get done. One such item is catching up on reading through a few of the trade publications that came in this week’s mail.

As I was thumbing through one particular publication something familiar struck me. On a recent trip to somewhere we needed to go, my wife and partner commented about a billboard advertisement. It created a little conversation about how much has changed in the past few weeks, but after looking through a few trade publications and magazines it suddenly sparked an important thought.

Is it Time-Sensitive?

Many messages we wish to convey to our customers are time-sensitive. Our business environment is always changing and lately it changes with each blink of an eye. Let’s look at the one that sparked this particular post…gasoline prices.

Current Events are … Current!

The billboard and the ads in the magazines were centered on gasoline prices being at all time highs. In a print media there is a lead time between when the ad is conceived and when it is presented to the consumer. The same thing goes for billboards.

Factor In Lag Time For Print Media

In this particular case, both are touting the high price of gasoline. Although this was a major concern just a few weeks ago, in the blink of an eye prices are nearing record lows by comparison. Gas was over four dollars a gallon; now it is just under two dollars (in Neenah, Wisconsin) so the message has lost a great portion of its intended impact. Sure, it serves as a reminder of what the prices were, but for the most part consumers live in the present. If the message wasn’t written to be a reminder, it too will lose its impact towards the market it was intended to reach.

Timing is everything. Remember that print media of any kind has a lag factor associated with it. Broadcast media is nearly instant. New media (Twitter, Facebook, all forms of social media) message can be updated with just a few keystrokes or even by cell phone. Make sure you consider the timeliness of your message before selecting your media venue.