In Webster's Dictionary, advertising is defined as the process of calling attention to, especially in order to sell. Advertising can also be used for objectives such as: teaching your customers something new about your product; changing customers' attitudes; or reminding them of past satisfaction with your product or company. So, your first challenge is deciding what you want your ad to do.
WHAT'S IN A SUCCESSFUL AD: Once you've established your advertising objectives, there are four things that you should think about:
1. STIMULUS/RESPONSE: What response do you want from your audience? Select the appropriate stimulus that will evoke that response.
2. SURPRISE: Never underestimate the element of surprise in an ad it grabs attention and makes a lasting impression.
3. EMOTION: Love, fear, sadness, humor. They involve the audience and make your point with impact.
4. RELEVANCE: Make sure your ad leaves your audience thinking "They're talking about me!" If it doesn't, you've lost an opportunity, and perhaps a sale.
THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE: You know what you want the ad to do, and you're pretty sure of the content. Now, which media are you going to use... Web? Radio? TV? Trade Journals? Before you decide, keep in mind the physical characteristics of the medium what it's capable of. TV delivers movement and high impact, but 15 and 30 second spots don't offer the ability to convey a lot of information. Radio offers a cost effective way to get your message heard frequently but radio is primarily a background medium. Newspapers don't offer glossy four color photo opportunities, but they do give you the ability to reach a lot of people in a timely fashion. So choose a medium that enhances the message you're trying to get across. Web site have a global reach, but how do to get people to you web site?
PLANNING THE CAMPAIGN: No matter what the size of your purse, you can make your ad campaign work for you if you keep these six key media concepts in mind. Think of the first four elements as pieces of the same pie if you cut one slice slightly larger, you may do so at the expense of the others.
1. CONCENTRATION: When military officers only have a limited number of troops, they will concentrate them in one area, rather than scatter them around. You should apply the same strategy to your campaign. Twentyfive radio spots are more effective than one radio spot, one TV spot, and one newspaper ad.
2. REACH: Reach is the number of people exposed at least once to the vehicle carrying your ad. For example, say you can reach 15,000 people through the local metropolitan newspaper. You increase your reach if you also use the radio ad, which enables you to reach 50,000. So reach accumulates as you add more media. Think of it this way: you can't sell them if you can't reach them.
3. FREQUENCY & CONTINUITY: One of the jobs of your ad is to teach people, and people learn through repetition. That means frequent exposure to your message. So if you have to choose between one glossy four color image, or ten black and white ads, go for the black and white. The fact that it will run ten times increases the chance that a prospect will see it more than once.
4. VISIBILITY & IMPACT: Your ad can run once a week for 52 weeks, but if it doesn't grab your audience's attention, you're throwing money away. You have to make sure your ad is memorable. You don't have to have a million dollar budget, just remember the four essential considerations: stimulus/ response, emotion, surprise, and relevance.
5. BE AWARE OF YOUR COMPETITION: You shouldn't imitate, but you should be keyed into what they're doing. If they're out spending you, find a different angle, target a more sharply defined audience (i.e. if they're going after women aged 25 to 34, go after the 30 to 34 crowd with income over $50,000). Know your competitor's strengths and weaknesses why what they're doing works, or doesn't work.
6. TEST WHAT YOU'RE DOING: The owner of a large department store chain once said "I'm wasting my money on 50% of my advertising budget I just don't know which 50%." Needless to say, he got bought out. So test your advertising strategy it can be as simple as running the same ad in two different papers, each with a different telephone number.
WHAT ARE YOU BUYING? Before you plunk down your money for a series of broadcast or print and web ads, know the advantages and disadvantages of the medium you choose.
TELEVISION: It's flashy, it's exciting, it moves quickly, it has bright colors and a driving beat. It delivers messages to a mass audience at one shot. It's television.
If you decide television meets your objectives best, check into buying one of these options:
• Pre-emptible Time: you pay for a certain time slot and your commercial will air then, unless someone else comes along and pays a higher price for the same spot, thus preempting you.
• RunofStation Time: you pay a certain price for the week, and the station places your spots in unsold time.
• Distress Time: you wait until the last possible minute and buy unsold airtime at a lower price.
WARNING: If you purchase one of these blocks, monitor the time carefully to make sure that it delivers an audience worth your investment. For example, if you buy Distress Time on the late movie, be sure your ad runs in the FIRST hour, not during the last ten minutes.
CABLE: Sometimes referred to as NARROW casting (as opposed to network TV which is BROAD casting), cable is a good alternative for many small businesses who rely on localized or neighborhood customers. You can target, by zip code, the exact audience you need to reach. Cable channels with specialized programming (such as ESPN, MTV, and CNN) further enable you to reach highly defined groups. Cable is less expensive, and many cable operators help you produce simple, low cost commercials. Another plus is that you don't have to shop around for price there's only one cable operator in any given area. However, your purchasing options will vary, depending on the age and sophistication of the cable operator's equipment, and you may find yourself relegated to one specific time slot for an entire week.
RADIO: Most people have only two or three radio stations they listen to on a regular basis. Therefore, frequency is easy to achieve on radio without buying spots up and down the dial. Plus, each station delivers a fairly select demographic group, so you know whose attention you're buying. Remember that KinderCare effectively targets working parents through radio drivetime. But radio is also a background medium. People listen to it while doing other things, so their mind may not be fully on your message. And the audioonly format can limit the impact of the story you're trying to tell.
When buying radio, as with TV time, remember that demand and timing affect pricing which means costs are negotiable. So negotiate!
PRINT: The number of specialty magazines and journals, meaning there's a newspaper, magazine or journal for just about any group you'd like to target, whether its business to business or consumer oriented. And people who buy those publications are actively looking for information. Come up with a new design for a hammer? The readers of Popular Science would like to know about it. Are you a computer consultant? Any number of computer magazines will get you the right audience.
When choosing between newspapers and magazines, remember that magazines allow for more efficient targeting, but have a longer lead time (up to two or three months). Newspapers reach a broad audience quickly but may not reach the people you're looking for when they're making buying decisions.
Once you chose a publication, find out as much as you can about the circulation and audience demographics.
The disadvantages of print? If a publication comes out only once a month or once a quarter, your audience awareness will build much more slowly. Also, some publications may be cluttered with competitive advertising, making it more difficult for your message to stand out. Lastly, many trade publications have been on the decline due to the ease of Internet publishing.
INTERNET MARKETING: Refers to the placement of ads on the web via search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific web sites, e-mail marketing strategies. Internet Promotion offers cost effective ways for small businesses to enhance their product or service distribution networks.
In comparison to other forms of marketing, Internet Promotion presents the advantage of reduced budget and storage costs, when compared with printing brochures, producing television or radio advertisements. It presents a fast and cost effective option for penetrating new markets. Web sites act as virtual storefronts, allowing businesses to stay open 24/7. Internet Promotion gives a business greater visibility, thereby creating more opportunities for increasing its customers at relatively low cost.
The disadvantage of promotion via the Internet is that the customers and businesspersons are isolated. There is little personal contact between customer and salesperson prior to and after the sales is closed. Thus, the prospect for repeat sales may thus be diminished. Entrepreneurs are therefore compelled to adopt marketing strategies to drive online users back to their site.
From all indications, it appears that the advantages of Internet promotion, far exceed the disadvantages. With adequate knowledge, entrepreneurs can benefit significantly from Internet promotion, especially small business owners.
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CONCLUSION: Because it has so many pieces, advertising can seem like it's own puzzle. Just remember the basics first determine the response you want from your audience, choose a message that will stimulate that response, find the medium that enhances your message, and keep the message consistent.
