The very purpose of advertising is to create awareness – be it a product, service or an event. An advertising campaign should ideally aim at reaching out to the maximum strength of potential customers, at the lowest possible cost, without compromising on the quality of the subject being advertised. If executed correctly, the advertising campaign can boost your business manifold by attracting new customers; if not, the campaign can turn out to be a heavy expenditure for no feasible results.
Given the importance of proper advertising for any advertiser, it is important to have a look on the possible factors to be kept in mind while planning the campaign:
- Clear Objectives to Target Audience :
The primary objective of the advertisement should be to attract customers. The advertisement should be designed in such a way that the goal of the advertiser is expressed, revolving around the target audience as the main element in the story. Audience connect and respond to advertisements only when the advertisement speaks the language of the target audience.
- Leverage of Relative Advantage :
It is important to showcase the positives of the advertising company in order to survive the competition posed by other competing companies. Without highlighting the pros of the subject being advertised, there is little to low possibility for people to take interest in the advertisement, or even consider the subject for usage.
- Building the Brand Image :
The brand image is how people identify different companies. Advertisements play a very vital role in building up brand consciousness. It is important to keep building on the brand image, through interviews and media interactions, as this directly influences the choice of potential customers. The brand must be news in itself.
- Planning the Advertising Budget :
It takes money to advertise, and lack of funds in the advertisement campaign might just lead to the campaign turning flop. This would, in turn, adversely affect sales and bring down more financial problems for the company. Hence, it is best to choose an advertising program which does not fall short of funds whenever required.
- Selecting the Ideal Advertising Medium :
Choice of the advertising medium is crucial to the success of an advertising campaign. It is important to first conduct thorough research on the target market and thereafter plan for the medium best suited for the purpose of advertising for that relevant market.
- Flexibility in Budget Caps:
Advertising expenses can be estimated, but cannot be determined in advance. It is, therefore, recommended that the advertising company has flexibility in their advertising budget, so that there is neither a dearth of funds if and when need arises, nor is there a wastage of money in trying to advertise at a point of time when advertising will not bear any fruits.
- Experiment and Expand:
Companies should ideally be experimenting with different forms of advertising media for different purposes and different target audiences. Working on the same fixed guidelines, though safe, may create monotony and might not go down well with the changing tastes and preferences of potential customers.
- Be Specific to Specific Audiences:
Each person behaves differently under different circumstances. Similarly, one advertisement shall not appeal to one and all alike! It is important to keep in mind that you should plan a campaign for a specific target market, and they are exactly the people to be taken into consideration – their wants, desires and beliefs – in order to make the campaign successful. Different approaches need to be adopted while designing advertising campaigns for different target audiences.
- Conduct Pre-Testing :
Pre-testing of the advertisement, if funds and time permits, can be conducted in advance in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign on the potential customers. The advertisement should focus on hitting the right chord by spreading the exact message intended by the advertiser to the customers. Pre-testing can help ensure if the communication process is doing just fine, or any changes need to be made.
- Tracking the Advertisement Campaign:
By monitoring the advertisement, you can ascertain which elements of your campaign are working in your favour and which are not working for you. It is necessary to evaluate the performance of the advertisement and decipher the most profitable avenues for your advertising campaigns in the near future.
An advertisement campaign planned and executed with the utmost care is bound to generate results in the form of new customers and higher revenue numbers. If planned improperly, the results might be disastrous. The advertisement speaks for the product/service being advertised and should directly connect with the target audience to be a successful campaign.
