advertisement
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What is advertisiment ?
Advertising
is a means of communication with the users of a product or service.
Advertisements are messages paid for by those who send them and are intended to
inform or influence people who receive them, as defined by the Advertising
Association of the UK.
Advertising
is always present, though people may not be aware of it. In today's world,
advertising uses every possible media to get its message through. It does this
via television, print (newspapers, magazines, journals etc), radio, press,
internet, direct selling, hoardings, mailers, contests, sponsorships, posters,
clothes, events, colours, sounds, visuals and even people (endorsements).
The advertising industry is made of companies that advertise, agencies that create the advertisements, media that carries the ads, and a host of people like copy editors, visualizers, brand managers, researchers, creative heads and designers who take it the last mile to the customer or receiver. A company that needs to advertise itself and/or its products hires an advertising agency. The company briefs the agency on the brand, its imagery, the ideals and values behind it, the target segments and so on. The agencies convert the ideas and concepts to create the visuals, text, layouts and themes to communicate with the user. After approval from the client, the ads go on air, as per the bookings done by the agency's media buying unit.
The advertising industry is made of companies that advertise, agencies that create the advertisements, media that carries the ads, and a host of people like copy editors, visualizers, brand managers, researchers, creative heads and designers who take it the last mile to the customer or receiver. A company that needs to advertise itself and/or its products hires an advertising agency. The company briefs the agency on the brand, its imagery, the ideals and values behind it, the target segments and so on. The agencies convert the ideas and concepts to create the visuals, text, layouts and themes to communicate with the user. After approval from the client, the ads go on air, as per the bookings done by the agency's media buying unit.
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How to make a
good advertisiment?
Crafting
an advertisement that entices potential consumers might seem difficult, but
it's simpler than you think. The simpler the better, in fact. An ad sums up
everything that is smart, innovative, and distinguished about your brand, and
is almost indispensable in today's economic marketplace. Note that in today's
digital environment, ads are evolving rapidly. There are many companies using
little if any traditional advertising and instead relying on social media. Although the platforms may change over time, the basic
tenants of advertising will continue to apply. To plan, write, design, and test
an ad, follow these steps
1. Identify a target
customer. Your business or
product may appeal to a broad range of consumers, but for the purposes of
advertising, it is usually helpful to think only about a specific subset of
this potential audience. A single ad cannot appeal to or target every single
person - accept this and then consider which consumers are most important for
this project.
2. Describe your
target customer. Imagine your
target customer in your mind's eye. What approximate age or gender are they? Do
they live in a major city or a more rural setting? What is their income range?
What other products do they use or enjoy?
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The more rich
description your team can create here, the more targeted (and likely the more
effective) your ad will be.
3.Describe the target
customer's relationship to your product. Once you've described your target consumer's basic
lifestyle and demographic information, now consider how that person interacts
with your specific product. When will they use it and how often? Will they
immediately recognize its benefits/functions or will you have to teach them?
4. Identify the competition. Do other products exist
besides yours that perform similar functions? You have hopefully already
designed your product with the competition in mind - now consider how your ad
might specifically challenge (or complement) your competition's advertising
efforts and how they might react to your advertising actions.
5. Describe the current market. Consider
how your product is currently positioned - is it new or old? How can you
distinguish your product from other, more established products? Do customers
recognize/trust your brand already?
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Also consider the
competitive landscape and the customers who are currently in play. Are you
hoping to convert people currently using the competition's product or will you
target those without a current solution? Each approach has its own challenges.
6. Develop a strategy. Based on the
information you've now compiled about the audience you're trying to reach and
how they might view your product, you're now ready to think about an ad
strategy. Your strategy should take into account what are commonly known as the
3 C's: Company (you), Customer (them, your target), and Competition.
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Strategy is a complex
topic, but by focusing on the desires, strengths, and possible future actions
of the 3 players on the field (yourself, your customer, and your competition),
anyone can build a complex strategy over time.
Writing the Advertisement
1. Come up with a catchy, snappy tagline. Keep
it short and sweet; the average product needs no more than six or seven words.
If you say it out loud and it sounds like a mouthful, edit it down. Whatever it
is, it should grab the consumer's attention and convince him or her that your
product is different from everyone else’s. Consider using:
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Rhyme – “Do you
Yahoo?”
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Humor – “Dirty mouth?
Clean it with Orbit chewing gum!”
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A play on words –
“Every kiss begins with ‘Kay’”
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Creative imagery –
Yellow Pages: “Let your fingers do the walking”
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Metaphor – “Red Bull
gives you wings”
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Alliteration – “Intel
Inside”
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A personal pledge –
Motel 6: “We leave the light on for you”
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Dry understatement –
Carlsberg beer has a big sign in downtown Copenhagen that
reads, “Probably the
best beer in town”.
2. Make it memorable. Your message
needs to be top of mind at the consumer's point of purchase. The second your ad
borrows a familiar advertising phrase (for example, “new and improved,”
“guaranteed,” or “free gift” — is there any other kind?), it becomes
interchangeable with thousands of others. What’s more, listeners are so used to
ad clichés that they don’t even hear them anymore. (Just listen to Tom
Waits’s Step Right Up to hear how meaningless clichés sound
when strung together.)
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What matters most is
how the consumer feels, not what they think. If they feel good about your
brand, you've done your job.
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Startling the reader
into paying attention is especially useful if you have a lot to say. For
example, this long, environmentally-oriented announcement wouldn’t turn many
heads if it weren’t for the unusual, confrontational tagline; if the reader
wants to get the joke, she or he has to read more.
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Know how to walk the
line between controversial and entertaining. Pushing the limits of good taste
to help your ad grab attention is common practice, but don't go too far — you
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want your product to
be recognized on its own merits, not because it was tied to a tasteless
advertisement.
3. Use a persuasive technique. Note
that persuasion doesn't really mean "convincing." The point is to
make the consumers feel better about your product than anyone else's. For most
people, how they feel determines what they buy. Here are some tried and true
methods that advertisers rely on to make their ads stick. These include:
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Repetition: Getting your product to stick by repeating
key elements. People often have to hear your name many times before they even
know that they heard it (Jingles are one way to do this, but can also be annoying).
If you go this route, brainstorm a more creative, less obvious repetition
technique such as the one that was used in the Budweiser frog commercials
(“bud-weis-er-bud-weis-er-bud-weis-er”). people think they hate repetition, but
they remember and that's half the battle.
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Common
sense: Challenging the
consumer to think of a good reason why not to purchase a
product or service.
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Humor: Making the consumer laugh, thereby making
yourself more likeable and memorable. This pairs especially well with
refreshing honesty. Not the most successful business in your class? Advertise
that your lines are shorter.
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Exigency: Convincing the customer that time is of the
essence. Limited-time only offers, fire sales, and the like are the commonest
ways to do this, but again, avoid meaningless phrases that will slip under your
customers’ radar.
4. Know the customer. Even the
cleverest ad won’t work if it doesn't appeal to the target audience. Are you
looking for a certain age group? Do you want people with a set income level? Or
maybe you're looking for a population with a special interest? Continually
check back in with the targeted customer you previously outlined - would they
respond to this ad or not?
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Keep your target
customer in mind when you're developing the tone and look of your ad. Remember:
it needs to appeal to your audience as much as possible and avoid offending or
talking down to them. Kids tend to be over-stimulated, meaning you will need to
grab their attention on multiple levels (color, sound, imagery). Young adults
appreciate humor and tend to respond to trendiness and peer influence. Adults
will be more discerning and respond to quality, sophisticated humor, and value.
5. Find a way to connect the desires of
consumers to what you're advertising.Check back in with your strategy here.
Make sure you are focusing on the most appealing aspect of your product. Why
should it entice people? What sets it apart from other similar products? What
do you like best about it? These can all be good starting points for an
advertisement.
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Ask yourself if your
product or event is aspirational. Are you selling something that people would
buy in order to feel better about their social or economic status? For
instance, you might be selling tickets to a benefit gala that is designed to
feel elegant and luxurious, even if the ticket price is well below what most
wealthy people would be able to pay. If you are selling an
inspirational product, try to make your advertisement exude an air of
indulgence.
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Determine whether or
not your product is for practical means. If you're selling something like a
vacuum cleaner, designed to perform common tasks or make life easier for the
consumer, spin it in a different direction. Instead of emphasizing luxury,
focus on how the product or event will provide relaxation and peace of mind to
your consumer.
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Is there an unmet
desire or need, any frustration in the mind of your consumer, that will create
a market for your particular product? Assess the need gap that exists for the
product or service
6. Make sure all the relevant information is
included. If your consumer needs to know your location, phone number,
or website (or all three) in order to have access to your product, provide this
information somewhere in the ad. If you're advertising an event, include the
location, date, time and ticket price.
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The most important
element is what's called a "call to action". What should the consumer
do immediately after viewing the ad? Be sure to let them know!
7. Decide where and when to advertise. If
you're advertising for an event, start promoting it at least 6 to 8 weeks
beforehand if it's going to accommodate more than 100 people; if it's less than
that, start advertising 3 to 4 weeks ahead. If you're advertising a product,
think about the time of year when people are more apt to buy what you're
selling. For instance, if you're promoting a vacuum cleaner, it might sell
better in the spring, when people are undertaking spring cleaning.
Designing an Advertisement
1. Choose a memorable image. Simple
but unexpected is often the best route to take. For example, these stark,
colorful silhouette ads that barely even show the iPods they’re peddling
couldn’t get much more straightforward, but because they don’t look like any
other ads, they are instantly recognizable.
2. Distinguish yourself from your top
competitor(s). A burger is a burger is a burger. but if you let
yourself think like that, you’ll never make your sale. Use your ad to highlight
your product’s advantages over that of your competitors. To avoid lawsuits,
keep to statements about your product, not theirs. For
example, this Burger King ad mocks the size of the Big Mac while speaking the
literal truth: that is a Big Mac box, after all, leaving
McDonald's no legal ground from which to retaliate.
3. Design a business logo (optional). A
picture says a thousand words, and if a logo is effective enough, it can render
text unnecessary (the backwards Nike checkmark, the Apple bitten apple, the
McDonald's arches, the Chevron shell). If you're running a print or television
advertisement, try to develop a simple, appealing image that will stick in the
minds of viewers. Consider these points:
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Do you already have a
logo? If you can, think of fresh and creative ways of re-imagining it.
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Do you have a
commonly-used color scheme to work with? If your brand is instantly
recognizable by the colors in the ad or the logo, use this to your advantage.
McDonald's, Google, and Coca-Cola are good examples.
4. Find a software or technique creating your
advertisement. How you create your ad will depend on which medium
you're using to advertise. Note that if starting from zero, it takes a long
time to acquire skill with a design app, or with design itself. In these cases
it may be more helpful (and less frustrating) to browse freelance sites like
craigslist and 99designs for design help. If you're looking to try it on your
own, here are tech suggestions to get you started:
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If you're making a
small-scale print ad (such as a flyer or magazine advertisement), try using a
program such as Adobe InDesign or Photoshop. Or, if you're looking for a free
option, you can use GIMP or Pixlr.
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If you're making a
video ad, try working with iMovie, Picasa, or Windows Media Player.
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For an audio ad, you
can work with Audacity or iTunes.
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For a large-scale
print ad (such as a banner or billboard), you'll probably have to contact a
print shop to get the work done. Ask which software they recommend using.
Testing an Advertisement
1. Tell customers to ask for someone by name. If
customers have the option of calling your establishment in response to an ad,
for example, direct them to “ask for Mike.” On another ad, direct them to “ask
for Laura.” It doesn’t matter if Mike or Laura even exist; what does matter is
that the person taking these calls records how many people ask for whom. This
is a free way to track which ads are bringing people in and which aren’t.
2. Develop your online data-tracking. If your ad is
clickable online, or directs customer to an web address, you'll have immediate
insight into how the ad is performing. Many data-tracking tools exist to help you get
started.
3.Direct customers to different URLs on
your page. This is a great
way to directly compare the performance of two separate ads that may be running
simultaneously. Set up your website to have a different landing page for each
ad you’re testing, then track how many people go to which. Now you have a
simple, unobtrusive way to see which strategies draw the most people.
4. Offer coupons in different colors. If coupon-ing is
part of your ad strategy, make sure each ad has a different color coupon so
that you can tally them separately.
5. Gauge the overall response to your ad. Did
sales seem to spike after your ad, or did they drop? Did your ad contribute to
the new numbers, or were they due to forces out of your control? Evaluate how
well your first effort went and take a lesson for next time.
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