Promoting Lighting

ALA BiNational Advertising and PR Program Sets Stage for Successful 2017

The ALA BiNational Advertising and PR Program has a lot in store for 2017. This program strives to promote the importance of high-quality lighting to consumers through various channels. From further enhancing Lighting magazine, to improving the ALA website, the BiNational Advertising and PR Program is setting the stage for a successful year.

Lighting Magazine

Lighting magazine is produced in partnership with the ALA BiNational Advertising and PR Program and Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Media. This year will be the magazine’s 11th year in publication. Last year, a variety of improvements were made to the magazine, from an updated logo, to incorporating a more high-end stock and design, to adding more information to help promote ALA member lighting showrooms.

This year, the association plans to further improve the cover stock to fit with other high-end design publications. Additionally, the layout of the magazine will change from specific style sections to broader, more inviting section heads that strive to not limit consumers’ interests. Meredith Corporation will also provide a dedicated Lighting landing page on traditionalhome.com, as well as social media promotion over Traditional Home, and a Facebook live segment during June Lightovation.

Lighting Planning Guide

Also, the ALA BiNational Advertising and PR Program is partnering with Bravo Integrated Media to produce a lighting planning guide for ALA-member showrooms. The planning guide will include images from ALA-member manufacturers who advertise in Lighting and will be made available to ALA-member showrooms who participate in the BiNational Advertising and PR Program. This guide is designed to be a valuable sales tool showrooms can use when interacting with customers.

ALA Website

A complete revamp of the ALA website is also in the works for 2017. ALA has long strived to provide a website that serves as a top lighting resource for industry members and consumers alike. Therefore, the ALA BiNational Advertising and PR Program will help fund an overhaul of the site content, design and content management system to better fit industry and consumer needs.

Bright Ideas Newsletter

Another part of the ALA BiNational Advertising and PR Program is Bright Ideas newsletter, a consumer e-newsletter that is sent monthly to 100,000 consumers. The newsletter is also distributed to ALA members so that they can customize each issue, or send as is, to their consumer contact lists. In 2017, ALA plans to further enhance this newsletter with the most relevant content.

ALA Blog

Last fall, the ALA BiNational Advertising and PR Program launched a redesign of the ALA Blog. The blog contains consumer-driven information on lighting design and basic technical tips and pointers. The blog is available to ALA members for sharing through their websites and social media platforms at americanlightingassoc.wordpress.com.

Newsfeed and Discussion Platform

Another project for 2017 is the addition of an online discussion platform available to ALA members. The platform would be designed to help members interface with each other to discuss challenges and successes facing the industry today. The ALA Newsfeed will likely serve as the host for this platform where members will also be able to share and discuss current events.

The BiNational Advertising and PR Program is funded through donations from ALA members. Members interested in donating to participate in the program may contact Amy Wommack, ALA manager, communications, atawommack@americanlightingassoc.com.