Ask the Marketing Advisor.

What is the AI Marketing Advisor?

The AI Marketing Advisor is a free chat tool that answers advertising questions in plain language — no email address, no form, and no account. Ask it which channels suit your goal, what a specific budget can realistically buy, or how something like geofencing or CTV actually works, and it answers directly, then points you to the numbers.

It is built for business owners rather than media buyers, so it explains rather than pitches. It works from the same sourced channel data as our free advertising budget calculator — the same real minimums and rates — and it follows the same disciplines: it does not invent figures, it separates your marketing budget from the slice that actually buys media, and it only recommends radio where the Haugo Broadcasting stations genuinely reach. Where a number comes from, it can point you at the source. For the actual channel-by-channel dollar split, it hands you to the calculator — that is the tool that does the math.

What can you ask it?

Anything about advertising strategy. The most common questions people bring it:

• Should I advertise on radio or social media?
• How much should a small business spend on advertising?
• What is geofencing advertising and does it work?
• What can I actually do with a $1,500 per month budget?
• Is CTV or YouTube better for video advertising?
• Which channels work best for a home-services business?
• How do I know if my advertising is working?
• What is the difference between CTV and OTT?

It covers all fifteen channels we plan and buy: search / SEM, Meta and social, LinkedIn, CTV, OTT, targeted display, geofencing, local radio, streaming audio, TikTok, geo video, pre-roll video, YouTube TrueView, Snapchat, and email marketing.

What does an answer look like?

Ask it “I run a home-services business and I have $2,000 a month — where should it go?” and the shape of the answer is roughly this: it starts with the direct recommendation (at that budget, concentrate rather than diversify — usually paid search plus retargeting, because you are capturing demand that already exists rather than trying to create it); it explains the reasoning in plain terms (a budget spread across five channels reaches nobody often enough to be remembered); it tells you what it would not do yet and why (radio and CTV need more budget than this to reach a useful frequency); and it ends by handing you to the calculator for the actual dollar split.

It is designed to end with a path, never a dead end — a specific next step, a relevant guide, or the calculator.

How does it decide what to recommend?

Every channel is weighted by measured effectiveness for your stated goal, market, industry and budget, and the ranking comes out of a rules-based allocator rather than being picked by hand. Every number it uses traces to a published source. That is why the Advisor will tell you plainly when radio is the wrong answer for your business, and why the calculator behind it will allocate you zero dollars of radio when that is the honest result. If something is not working, we will tell you.

How is it different from the budget calculator?

The Advisor explains and recommends; the budget calculator produces the numbers — a channel-by-channel allocation of your actual budget, on real rate-card pricing, for your real market. Most people use them together: ask the Advisor what to do, then run the calculator to see what it costs.

Frequently asked questions

What is the AI Marketing Advisor?

It is a free chat tool on this site that answers advertising questions in plain language — what a channel is, which channels fit a given goal, what a budget can realistically buy, and how a campaign should be structured. It works from the same sourced channel data as the budget calculator — the real vendor minimums, the real rates — and follows the same rules: no invented numbers, the marketing-budget-versus-media-budget split applied honestly, and radio only where the Haugo stations actually reach. It does not compute your channel-by-channel dollar split; that is what the calculator does, and it will hand you to it. It is a pre-sale educator, not a sales pitch, and it will tell you when a channel is a poor fit for you.

Is the Marketing Advisor free, and do I need to give my email?

It is free and it requires no email address, no form, and no account. The same is true of the advertising budget calculator. You get the answer first; contacting us is always optional.

What can I ask it?

Anything about advertising strategy: compare two channels, recommend a channel mix for your business, explain how geofencing or CTV works, tell you what is realistic at a specific monthly budget, or outline a plan for your industry. It covers all 15 channels — search, social, LinkedIn, CTV, OTT, targeted display, geofencing, local radio, streaming audio, TikTok, geo video, pre-roll video, YouTube, Snapchat, and email.

How does it decide what to recommend?

Every channel is weighted by measured effectiveness for your stated goal, market, industry and budget, and the ranking is produced by a rules-based allocator rather than picked by hand. Every number it uses traces to a published source on the references page. That is why it will tell you plainly when radio is the wrong answer for your business, and why the budget calculator behind it will allocate zero dollars of a channel when that is the honest result.

How is it different from the budget calculator?

The Advisor explains and recommends in conversation. The calculator produces the actual numbers — a channel-by-channel allocation of a specific budget on real rate-card pricing for your real market. The usual path is to ask the Advisor what to do, then run the calculator to see what it costs.

Will its answers be reviewed by a person?

The Advisor gives preliminary guidance. Final recommendations — pricing, market analysis, creative, and a launch plan — come from our advertising expert after reviewing your specific market, audience, and goals. We do not guarantee leads, ROI, rankings, or conversions.

Related: Advertising budget calculator · Every figure we publish, sourced · Advertising guides · All services