Advertising Strategy

Advertising strategy is a strategy designed to present ideas about the products and services to potential customers with the intention of convincing consumers to purchase the goods and services. When it is designed in a rational and logical approach, it can be reflected in other aspects of the business (overall budget and brand recognition initiatives) and goals (public image improvement, growth in market share). According to Portable MBA from Marketing's authors, Alexander Hiam and Charles D. Schewe argued the strategy of advertising for a company "determines the character of the company's public face." Although a small-sized business has a limited amount of resources and can't invest as much in advertising as a big corporation, however, it is still able to create an effective campaign for advertising. The key is an imaginative as well as a flexible plan that is based on a deep understanding of the person who is the target audience and the channels that can be used to reach that customer. The majority of strategies for advertising today are focused on achieving three basic goals, as stated by the Small Business Administration indicated in Advertising Your Business: 1) increase awareness of the business's products or service;) boost revenue directly, as well as "attract competitors' customers" 3.) create or alter the image of a company. Advertising, in other words, attempts to inform, persuade consumers and remind them of. With these goals in mind, the majority of businesses use a common process that connects advertising with other marketing efforts and goals of marketing for the company.

STAGES OF ADVERTISING STRATEGY

At the beginning of a new business, in the beginning, one of the main objectives of advertising is to create awareness about the company and its products. When the company's reputation has been established and the products are placed on the market, the number of resources employed for advertising will diminish when the customer develops an affection for the product. The ideal situation is that this enduring and expanding client base will ultimately assist the business in its endeavors to spread its message into the marketplace via its purchasing actions and testimonials for products or services. The key to this abstract procedure is the creation of a "positioning statement," as defined by Gerald E. Hills in "Marketing Option and Marketing" in The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship: "A 'positioning statement' explains how a company's product (or service) is differentiated from those of key competitors." By defining this, the business owner transforms ideas into concrete plans. Additionally, this statement is the basis for developing an offering to sell that comprises elements that constitute the advertisement's "copy platform." The platform defines the text, images, and artwork that the owner of the business thinks will be able to sell the product.

TARGET CONSUMER

The consumer who is targeted is a nexus of individuals. It comprises the person who buys the product, as well the people who decide which item to purchase (but do not purchase it), as well as those who influence purchases of products, including spouses, children, and other friends. To identify the consumer who is targeted, as well as the forces that affect any purchase decision, it's important to identify three factors that define the buyer, as outlined within the Small Business Administration:

1. Demographics--Gender, age, work, income interests, ethnicity, and more.
2. When analyzing the consumer's behavior, advertisers must analyze the consumer's awareness of the company and its competitors as well as the types of service and vendor that the consumer is currently using, and the different types of advertisements that are most likely to convince the customer to give the advertiser's products or service a try.
3. Needs and Desires: Here, an advertiser has to determine consumer's needs, both in terms of practical as well as in terms of appearance, etc.--and the kind of message or pitch that convinces the customer that the advertised service or products will meet these needs.

PRODUCT CONCEPT

The concept of the product is a result of the principles outlined by the "positioning statement." The way the product is placed in the marketplace will determine the type of values that the product is representing and how the consumer who is targeted will experience the product. So, it's crucial to keep in mind that no product can be considered to be just its own thing. It's in the words of Courtland L. Bovee, and William F. Arens stated in Contemporary Advertising, a "bundle of values" that consumers must be able to recognize. If the presentation is framed in a way that focuses on sex, humor, or the science of love, romance, or even femininity, consumers should be able to trust in the image of the product.

COMMUNICATION MEDIA

Communication media is the medium through which the advertisement message is communicated to the customer. Alongside marketing goals and budgetary constraints, the traits of the consumer in question need to be taken into consideration when the advertiser chooses which media to choose. The media types that advertisers can select comprise the following:

• Print-based newspapers (both daily and weekly) as well as magazines.

• Radio AM and FM.

• Video--Promotional videos, infomercials.

• World Wide Web.

• Direct mail.

• Outdoor advertising--Billboards, advertisements on public transportation (cabs, buses).

Once deciding on a medium that is one) financially viable and 2)) the most effective in reaching the intended audience, the advertiser has to plan the time for the broadcasting of the advertisement. The media schedule, according to Hills and Associates, refers to "the combination of specific times (for example, by day, week, month) when advertisements are inserted into media vehicles and delivered to target audiences."

ADVERTISING MESSAGE

The message of an advertisement is influenced by what is known as the "advertising or copy platform," which is a blend of marketing goals and copy, art, as well as production value. This is the best combination once the intended consumer has been assessed and the idea behind the product is defined, and the appropriate vehicle and media have been selected. This is where the advertisement message can be targeted at a targeted group of people to meet certain goals. Hiam and Schewe have identified three main aspects that advertisers should think about when developing an efficient "advertising platform":

• What are the distinctive characteristics?

• What are the opinions of consumers about the product? What factors are likely to convince them to buy the product?

• How do they rank with respect to consumers? Do they have weak points in their position? Which are their strongest points?

Many business experts recommend hiring an advertising agency to develop the art and to write the text. But, many small-scale businesses do not have the capital to employ an agency, so they have to design their own advertisements. To do this, the business owner must follow some important rules.

COPY

When writing advertising copy, it is essential to keep in mind that the main goal is to convey details about the company and the products or services. A "selling proposal" can act as a guideline to ensure that the advertisement is in line with the overall goals of marketing. A lot of companies employ the theme or slogan to drive these campaigns, highlighting the most important attributes of their products or services within the process. But, as Hiam and Schewe warn, when "something must be used to animate the theme ...care must be taken not to lose the underlying message in the pursuit of memorable advertising." When writing the copy, exact words (saying precisely what you intend to say in a positive and not than a negative way) have been proven as the best efficient. The idea can be argued that the more difficult an audience is required to understand or understand your message, the simpler messages will be understood, comprehended, and responded to. As Jerry Fisher observed in Entrepreneur, "Two-syllable phrases like 'free book,' 'fast help,' and 'lose weight' are the kind of advertising messages that don't need to be read to be effective. By that, I mean they are so easy for the brain to interpret as a whole thought that they're 'read' in an eye blink rather than as linear verbiage. So for an advertiser trying to get attention in a world awash in advertising images, it makes sense to try this message-in-an-eye-blink route to the public consciousness--be it for a sales slogan or even a product name." The content for the copy must be written clearly, adhering to the standard grammatical rules. Naturally, well-written headings enable the reader to be aware of the ad's main point without having to read a lot of the text. An advertisement with "50% Off" in bold black letters is not only easy to read, but it's also simple to comprehend.

ART WORK AND LAYOUT

Small-scale business owners also have to think about the visual appeal of their advertisements, which is to say that the whole advertisement, even the blank space, must have an underlying logic and meaning. Many industry experts recommend that advertisers make use of short paragraphs, lists as well as catchy graphics and illustrations to break up and enhance the text. This makes the content visually appealing and understandable. Remember, advertisements need to grab the attention of the viewer quickly.

ADVERTISING BUDGET

The budget for advertising can be drawn up before or after the business owner has devised the marketing strategy. The time to decide on budget is contingent on the significance of advertising as well as the resources that are available to the company. If, for example, an organization knows they are only given a certain amount of money to spend on advertising, then the budget will determine how advertising will be developed and what the ultimate goals of marketing will be. However, when a company has the funds available, the advertising strategy could be developed to achieve predetermined goals in marketing. For smaller firms, it's ideal to establish an advertising budget at the beginning of the process of advertising.

The following strategies are the most commonly used methods for creating a successful budget. The methods described are advanced and seek to sustain growth:

• Percentage of past or future sales

• A competitive approach

• Market share

• All funds available

• The objective approach or the task

The most simple approach, and therefore the most commonly used, is the percent of the past or future sales methods. The majority of industry experts advise spending on sales that are anticipated to ensure growth. However, for small-scale businesses that are in a position where survival might be more important rather than expansion, basing your budget for advertising on sales from the past is usually a better option to consider.

METHODS OF ADVERTISING

Small-scale business owners have the option of choosing between two different theories when they are preparing their marketing strategy. The first known as"push" is that advertiser focuses on retailers to establish or expand an existing market. The second method, also called the pull method, is targeted at customers (consumers) who are expected to solicit for the product from retailers and, in turn, "pull" it through the distribution channels. Of course, most companies employ a combination of both when designing their advertising strategy.

PUSH METHOD

The purpose of the push technique is to persuade salespeople, retailers, or even dealers that they should carry and promote the product of the advertiser. This can be achieved through offering incentives for the retailer, like offering advertising kits that can assist retailers in selling the product, giving incentives to purchase stock, and putting together trade-related promotions.

PULL METHOD

The purpose of the pull technique is to persuade the buyer to test, buy and then purchase the item again. This is accomplished by directly appealing to the buyer with coupons, store displays, and sweepstakes.

ANALYZING ADVERTISING RESULTS

Many small-scale businesses are remarkably unprepared to determine if their marketing actions are achieving the desired impact. Instead, they just put out a marketing campaign and try to hope for the best, and relying on their general perception of the company's health to decide whether to carry on, stop or modify the advertising campaign. Small business owners fail to realize that a myriad of factors affects the fortunes of a company (regional economic turmoil, the emergence of new competition, seasonal purchasing changes, etc.). Small-scale business owners who don't take the time to properly examine their advertising strategies is at risk of throwing away an excellent advertising strategy (or keeping a terrible one) when he isn't able to discern whether fluctuations in business result from advertising or some other cause. One way you can determine the exact extent to which your marketing strategy is performing is to get the opinion of your customer and their opinion, which can be obtained in a variety of ways. Although many options for tracking are highly complex, requiring either a substantial budget or extensive research skills, even smaller enterprises can make the necessary steps to evaluate the efficacy of their advertising strategies. Direct response surveys are among the most precise methods of assessing the effectiveness of an organization's marketing due to the simple fact that it analyzes actual responses to advertisements. Other less expensive options, including the use of redeemable coupons, could also help in assessing the effectiveness of an advertisement.

ADVERTISING AGENCIES

The decision of whether or not to utilize an agency for advertising depends on the company's marketing strategy and finances. A professional agency can plan, design, and then place advertisements in such a way that it meets the established goals better than small-sized businesses can manage on their own. However, the cost of acquiring such professionals is typically prohibitive for smaller enterprises. Yet, a few smaller and mid-sized companies have discovered that agencies can aid in defining and monitoring advertising strategies. Due to their capabilities and resources, agencies can be useful when planning an extensive advertising campaign that will require a significant amount of money. A marketing agency can aid in monitoring and analyzing the effectiveness of advertising. The factors to be considered when selecting an agency are the size of the company as well as the size of their clientele (small firms should be wary of allying their services with agencies with an extensive list of large corporate clients to ensure that they do not get considered as a last resort) as well as the amount of time that the main clients have been working with the agency, their general philosophy of advertising and the main character of the agency's account (are they knowledgeable about your business and the difficulties that come with separating the products or services of your company from other businesses in the business? ).

ADVERTISING LAWS

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) safeguards consumers from misleading or false advertising. Small-scale business owners must be aware of the following laws that pertain to advertising and marketing, which are enforced through the Commission:

• Consumer Product Safety Act: Outlines the mandatory safety guidelines and prohibits the sale of dangerous products.

• Children protection and toy safety Act - Prohibits the selling of toys believed to be hazardous.

• Fair Labeling and Packaging Act -- Requires that all packaged items carry an informational label that lists the ingredients.

• Antitrust Laws - Protects commerce and trade from illegal restraints, price manipulation pricing, price-fixing, and Monopolies.

Many complaints against advertisers are centered around allegedly misleading advertisements. Small business consultants encourage business owners and entrepreneurs to follow these general guidelines:

1. Beware of ads that lie or exaggerate the value of the product or the savings that the buyer will receive.
2. Do not run out of sale items advertised. If this occurs, companies should think about providing "rain-checks" so that the purchaser can purchase an item later at a reduced cost.
3. Be wary of calling the product "free" if it has costs closely linked to it. If there are any costs that are associated with the free item, they must be stated in the advertisement.

Advertising is a complicated procedure, and law for business changes constantly; businesses should seek the advice of an attorney before distributing any advertisement.