Advertising consists of all the activities associated with conveying a message about a product or service to a customer or consumer.  The fundamental purpose of advertising is to sell a service, product, person or concept.  

Because wholesalers typically sell to other businesses that sell retail, they do not, as a general rule, pursue advertising strategies that target the end user of their product.  Exceptions usually include large corporations trying to increase the consumption of their product in order to increase sales by their retail distribution agents.  For example, a beverage company that imports beer for wholesale availability to supermarkets might advertise it’s beer to the public in order to 1) increase sales, and 2) convince supermarkets that it’s beer is popular in order to increase the number of supermarkets who decide to carry their product.

In determining which advertising strategy to pursue, you should ask yourself if the products and/or services you intend to sell are unique, or if there is a high degree of competition from other sources.  If you believe you are offering a unique product or service (or one that is not easily substitutable), you should focus your efforts on convincing retailers and consumers that there is indeed a need for your product or service.  To that extent, your advertising strategy should emphasize the product(s) and/or service(s).

Some examples of advertising strategies that may be used to sell products or services are:

*  Visualization - Showing how the product(s) is used.

*  Association - Connecting the product(s) with a tangible person, lifestyle, object or place.

*  Physical Representation - Using people or objects to convey the benefit.

*  Documentation - Citing facts, figures, statistics, case studies or other forms of data to support your claims.

On the other hand, if you are among a number of companies offering the same or roughly equivalent products and/or services, your concern should be distinguishing your company from your competitors.  In this case, your advertising campaign should focus more on reasons why a retail distributor or member of the public should buy from you, and not from one of your competitors.  In other words, why would purchasing the product(s) and/or service(s) in question from your company make them more profitable.

Some examples of advertising themes that may be used to sell a company' s superiority include:

*  Price Competitiveness - The fact that many consumers are very price conscious is well known, but so are many retailers-- the less they pay, the more money they can make either through increased volume or increased margin for themselves, or both.

*  Dependability - Retailers might give heavy consideration to issues such as your company’s ability to continue to fill orders or provide service in a timely fashion, whether or not you deliver or make house calls, and your ability to provide additional or supplementary products and services if necessary.

*  Quality of Merchandise - Buyers might also give heavy consideration to the type of merchandise you sell-- where it is made, what kind of warranties are available, whether or not you service the items yourself, and what kind of turnaround time you offer on replacement, repairs, upgrades, etc.

Describe the advertising your business has done in the past and your projections for the future. Mention of the type of media used, the budget allocation and the frequency.  You should also explain the reasons your strategy supports your overall marketing plan.   A table depicting this information would be most helpful to the reader. 

Your advertising strategy should address questions such as the following:

-  How will you use print, radio, and/or television ads?
-  Will you use other electronic media (e.g. videodisc, videotape, audiotape)?
-  How will you leverage your logo or other characterizing motifs?
-  How will you use the packaging for advertising (e.g. bound or insert ads)?
-  What kind of point of purchase actions will you take?
-  Will you use signage (billboards, placards, or display signs)?
-  Will you utilize brochures, booklets, or related collateral?