What are ATL and BTL Activities

1. What are ATL and BTL activities? ATL & BTL activities refer to two different marketing agency styles, particularly used for marketing and communication promotion. ATL activity means “Above the line” advertising while BTL activity means “Below the lines” advertising.  ATL & BTL are two different kinds of marketing agency styles, particularly used in marketing and communication promotion. “ATL” means Above The Line which means that advertising will be deployed around a broader target audience, for example. TV, radio, billboards, etc. ATL is most applicable when a product is aimed at a wider spectrum of consumers.   BTL or Below The Line suggests that advertising is aimed at a specific group of potential consumers. BTL advertising agencies will be hired to help companies develop advertising and promotion strategies aimed at certain groups of people using tools such as direct emailing or direct product demonstrations for a specific group of people. Above The Line (ATL) and Below The Line (BTL) advertising are two very commonly used terms in the world of advertising these days. However, a few persons would know what these terms actually mean. The terms Above The Line and Below The Line originated in 1954, when the company Proctor and Gamble paid a different rate to their advertising agencies and from other agencies, who took on other kind of promotional activities.

3. In Above the line (ATL) advertising, mass media are used for the purpose of promoting brands and reaching to the target consumers. Conventional media such as, advertising on television and radio, print and the Internet are included in this group. This type of communication is aimed at a wider audience and is not intended for individual consumers. The goal of the ATL advertisements is to reach out to the mass number of consumer audience.  Advertising through Below the line (BTL) method generally involves one-to-one strategy. This includes distribution of pamphlets, handbills, stickers, promotional brochures placed at the point of sale, banners and panels on the roads. Product demonstrations and sampling could also be carried out in busy locations such as malls and market places or residential complexes. For certain markets, such as rural markets where mass media reaches are limited, BTL advertising is a better option.  Other BTL activities could include moving hoardings or road shows and vehicles with promotional personnel interacting with people, who demonstrate the product and distribute product literature. BTL advertising is advertising that uses less conventional advertising methods than specific advertising channels that ATL advertising may or may not use. BTL promotion may include direct mail promotional campaigns, PR and sales promotions that are directly managed by the company itself or outsourced to PR agencies and sales promotion agencies in particular and may or may not be related to the advertising campaign. BTL advertising may include email campaigns, telemarketing, etc. with potential customer groups targeted.

4. Companies prefer to adopt BTL as a way to reach their target customers when their product is something they need to connect with and experience the consumer. BTL is sometimes preferred over ATL because of budget problems, the need to physically display the product, participate in product contests as well as in new campaigns and teasers.

5. Difference between ATL-BTL advertising • In Above the line (ATL) advertising, mass media are used for the purpose of promoting brands and reaching to the target consumers. • Conventional media such as, advertising on television and radio, print and the Internet are included in ATL advertising.  • ATL type of communication is aimed at a wider audience and is not intended for individual consumers. The goal of the ATL advertisements is to reach out to the mass number of consumer audience. • Advertising through Below the line (BTL) method generally involves one-to-one strategy. • BTL includes distribution of pamphlets, handbills, stickers, promotional brochures placed at the point of sale, banners and panels on the roads Published By Brainware University