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| Advertising ::
Tips Fundamentally, successful marketing communications and advertising are about delivering the right message to the right customer at the right time. This document is about helping you accomplish that. In technology, the pace of innovation means new products are developed in an incredibly short period of time and old ones change dramatically overnight. No other industry in the world has so many strong competitors vying for leadership across so many product categories; for this reason, advertising plays a critical role. Advertising provides a focal point for unifying your marketing and messages. Great advertising is distinguished by three fundamental qualities:
The following sections are important to consider as you think about your advertising effort. Goals ù It is a generally accepted notion that advertising is an important component of a successful business. However, without the proper planning and goal assessment, money can be easily wasted on non-targeted campaigns and collateral. Ask yourself the following questions:
Target ù Of critical importance is what type of customer or constituency you are targeting with this effort.
Timing — The timing of your campaign is critical to its success. Before you move forward with creation of campaign, consider all of the timing factors.
Defining Campaign ù Once you have a clear idea of what you'd like to accomplish and the audience you would like to target, you're prepared to begin creation of a campaign. A campaign is an umbrella plan with high level messaging that will help you keep your efforts targeted. In order to define a campaign consider the following:
The Creative Development Process Of all the different advertising media, including TV, radio, Web, and print, the last-print, or magazine or newspaper ads, is most likely going to be the mainstay of your marketing communications (possibly in combination with Web marketing and direct mail). All print ads should follow the same general guidelines and share several main elements to be successful.
Print Advertising There is a creative development process for print advertising that, if followed, can help make creating ads with an agency more efficient and effective. Note that this same process can serve as a basis for processes used to develop other printed materials such as direct mail and brochures, as well as communications developed for other media as well, such as Web marketing materials. In general, print ads should be benefit-driven with practical examples demonstrating your brand promise-your pledge-to your customer. Design of your ads and other printed materials should have a clear concept (an idea that suggests imagery or a clever way to express benefits) extended throughout the communication. And remember: good design works in synergy with the ideas and messages of the copy to tell a story. Use the process milestones provided in the navigation bar at left to help you stay on track every step of the way. Measurement Your ad should have a clear call to action which will allow for easier measurement of the ad. Here are some examples:
Customer Follow-Up Any campaign is futile without a commitment from your company to follow-up with your customers. If you ask customers to contact you or take part in an action, it is imperative that you proactively follow up with each customer regardless of how much potential you deem the lead to have. Often the least likely opportunity becomes a significant source of revenue to your company. For more information on successful customer follow-up and relationship management, read about a solution from Jim Cecil located in the Tools section of this Kit. |
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