Advertising – a bite size guide
'Advertising' is such a vague term. Everything that you do to showcase your company, service or product is in effect 'advertising'. It covers a wide area and a broad range of media. From conventional media like TV, radio, press, sponsorship and outdoor, to more modern formats such as html emails, online, viral and social media – it's all advertising. So what route should you take? Well, it depends on what you want to achieve.
Firstly, you need to have a plan. Without an effective conclusion how do you expect to know where to start? I don't want to run a whole Marketing article here but make sure you set yourself measurable targets or goals. Have parameters in place. It might be that you want to drive sales up by X%, or you might want to attract Y more visits to your website, or even find Y more distributors and suppliers etc. Secondly, set yourself a budget. You can do this as a percentage of profit, or as a rate based on your projected return. Look at spend per person, product or region.
You should embark on a campaign with a specific purpose. Never treat advertising as a way of just 'getting your name out there'. This rarely works. Imagine in human terms if someone came up to you and said 'Hello, my name is Bob'. What would your reaction be? 'And?... Who are you? What do you do? How can you benefit/help me?'
Effective advertising has to be clear, direct and memorable. You only have a few seconds to grab someone's attention and hold it. Use that time wisely.
There is a vast amount of competition out there with more and more companies competing for attention and market share. In the current climate it's even more cut throat with people generally spending and buying less. Take a look at what your competitors are doing. What advertising mediums do they use? Does it work? If not, don't do what they do! Don't be afraid to do something completely different.
The way we advertise is changing. Online advertising grew to a record 23.5% of the market share at the start of 2009, overtaking TV to become the UK’s biggest advertising medium. Advertising fell by almost 10% year on year for the last quarter of 2008 with the newspaper sector suffering a 12% drop. For the first time ever, online spending has overtaken TV advertising (which fell by 5%) rising to over 17% for the same period. Outdoor ad spending also dropped, by 3.8%. It will be interesting to see how the figure stack up for the end of this year.
In summary:
• Have a clearly defined strategy
• Set measurable and achievable targets
• Set a budget
• Don't be afraid to lead your market. Don't just follow
• Use a medium that's right for your product, your market and your audience
• Create a wow factor
• Be clear in what you're selling
• Make your message obvious
Firstly, you need to have a plan. Without an effective conclusion how do you expect to know where to start? I don't want to run a whole Marketing article here but make sure you set yourself measurable targets or goals. Have parameters in place. It might be that you want to drive sales up by X%, or you might want to attract Y more visits to your website, or even find Y more distributors and suppliers etc. Secondly, set yourself a budget. You can do this as a percentage of profit, or as a rate based on your projected return. Look at spend per person, product or region.
You should embark on a campaign with a specific purpose. Never treat advertising as a way of just 'getting your name out there'. This rarely works. Imagine in human terms if someone came up to you and said 'Hello, my name is Bob'. What would your reaction be? 'And?... Who are you? What do you do? How can you benefit/help me?'
Effective advertising has to be clear, direct and memorable. You only have a few seconds to grab someone's attention and hold it. Use that time wisely.
There is a vast amount of competition out there with more and more companies competing for attention and market share. In the current climate it's even more cut throat with people generally spending and buying less. Take a look at what your competitors are doing. What advertising mediums do they use? Does it work? If not, don't do what they do! Don't be afraid to do something completely different.
The way we advertise is changing. Online advertising grew to a record 23.5% of the market share at the start of 2009, overtaking TV to become the UK’s biggest advertising medium. Advertising fell by almost 10% year on year for the last quarter of 2008 with the newspaper sector suffering a 12% drop. For the first time ever, online spending has overtaken TV advertising (which fell by 5%) rising to over 17% for the same period. Outdoor ad spending also dropped, by 3.8%. It will be interesting to see how the figure stack up for the end of this year.
In summary:
• Have a clearly defined strategy
• Set measurable and achievable targets
• Set a budget
• Don't be afraid to lead your market. Don't just follow
• Use a medium that's right for your product, your market and your audience
• Create a wow factor
• Be clear in what you're selling
• Make your message obvious
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