Advertising plays a major roll in business success. Both small and large business owners recognize the vitality of strategic advertising.
When promoting a business, one must consider the audience which the business is attempting to attract. For example, the Jaguar car company is less likely to run an ad on Nickelodeon, than an ad for the latest Sponge Bob toy appearing on C-SPAN.
The purpose for advertising is to promote a business to an audience that is more likely to be affected by the ad. Which is why every Sunday morning an advertisement for the Collegiate Apparel Shoppe can be seen on the Ernie Miles Gospel Show.
Ernie Miles, a former Grambling State University employee, hosts an hour-long gospel program from 7 to 8 a.m. on Sunday.
The show began airing in 1979 and after about four years, popularity soared.
“Calvin Wilkerson (original owner of the Collegiate Shoppe) and I were very good friends and the Collegiate Shop became the show?s first advertiser.”
The Ernie Miles Gospel Show reaches some 30,000 homes across the Ark-La- Miss, giving the Collegiate Shoppe an advantage over other small apparel shops.
Leon Smith, current owner of the Collegiate Shoppe, said the shop continues to support the Ernie Miles Show because it gives them an opportunity to serve out of town customers.
Smith explained that the Collegiate Shoppe receives a large portion of its high-end apparel through advertising on the Ernie Miles Show.
In 20 years the shop has only missed one advertising slot because the television station did not run the ad. According to Miles, the show sells out of advertising space every week.
This Sunday’s (April 24) show will make number 1,342.
When asked if the Ernie Miles Gospel Show has been beneficial in building a strong clientele for the Collegiate Shoppe, Leon Smith said, “Oh yeah.”
The shop currently supplies the wardrobe for Ernie Miles.