Friday 18 February 2011

Advertising Strategy

An advertising strategy should support the marketing plan, which in turn supports the company business plan.
In the Real World you will rarely be handed a marketing or business plan. So you'll normally have to figure things out for yourself.
How to create an advertising strategy: The first step in the development of your communications strategy could be should be a SWOT analysis.
Properly done, a Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats assessment will give you a 360 degree, full-color picture of the market, the product or service, and the company.
There are two major parts to an advertising strategy.
1) Assessment.
What's going on in the market, what’s the history, the current situation? What are the major trends in the market, what's the future looking like? With the product. With competitors. With consumer attitudes.
2) Action
What should your client do about the most significant opportunities or problems presented by the situation? What should you do with the brand? With direct marketing. The Web site. The way the company is positioned.
A SWOT analysis will help you figure out the "What's going on" part. And figure it out quickly.
The "What to do" part of your ad strategy should follow logically from the "What's going on" part.
Example: Say the SWOT analysis reveals that there is serious and growing competition from price slashes.

Your strategy might be:
A) Position, or re-position the product: "Because you're worth it - worth so much more then the extra dollar."
B) Invest in, create a stronger brand personality - one based on an upscale, character that people will aspire to associate with.
C) Use traditional dm and the Internet / Web site to target and sell younger buyers, new buyers, before they have established a product / service / company preference.
You can see how your ad strategy addresses a business issue, competitive price pressure, in the above example.

You can also see that the ad strategy deals with the big strategic issues: branding, positioning, direct marketing, and media. And it does so with simple action statements describing, high-level, what you intend to accomplish.
Eventually your strategy will influence all the details, down to the copy and design of your ads. But start with an executive summary of the big issues, the big picture.
"OK, Mr. President. Here's what's going on. Big picture. One, two, three.
And here's what we will do about it. Big picture. One, two, three."
That's the essence of strategic leadership and vision.

Always yours

Atul Sikrai

Founder & Chief Mentor

Brand Diagonal



Wednesday 16 February 2011

creative-out-of-the-box-advertising-tactics

One of the most common myths along the lines of advertising is the idea that advertising should be safe and similar to competitors in order to reach and connect with the largest possible demographic. This is a common advertising pitfall you will want to side-step when advertising your business. First of all, keep in mind you are not trying to reach the largest possible demographic. Your advertising should be targeted advertising, and you will need to know who your audience is before placing ads.

Another pitfall new advertiser’s make in an ad campaign is to create an ad that is instantly forgettable. It is better to offend someone (who probably has little or no interest in your business to begin with) than to have an ad that no one can remember. Keep in mind as you create ads to make sure your advertising that stands out and grabs the attention of your target audience immediately. This should be your primary focus.

If you want to create the kind of advertising that stands out and makes an instant impression, and makes someone remember you or think of you when they need your service, the last thing you want to do is copy the competition or create an ad that is similar to your competitors. There is nothing wrong with seeing what works for others in their advertising and using some of that to your own benefit. But that is where the emulation should end. If all advertising sounds or looks the same, people stop paying attention. If you drive down a country road and see a row of mailboxes that are all identical, nothing draws your attention or catches your eye, nothing draws you to stop and stare at any particular mailbox. All the mailboxes simply fall into the background. On the other hand, if there is a mailbox that is a little colorful with cows on it or a strange ornament, you are probably going to take a second look at it to figure out exactly what is going on. It will command more of your attention. You might even get a chuckle out of it. The same concept applies to advertising. Do not be afraid to step way out of the box. That is the kind of advertising that gets people talking.
At the same time, do not get so involved in creating off the wall ads that you forget you have a product to sell. Plenty of small business owners make this mistake as well. They try so hard to entertain their audience that they avoid doing anything traditional because they do not want to come across as just another ad. Keep in mind the bottom line is you are selling a product or service. At some point you have to get across a message. You can and should do it in an entertaining and fun way, a way that has never been tried before, even a shocking or unconventional way. People can shake their heads after seeing your ad and even be annoyed by it, but they must at least know that it was advertising in the first place. Just remember that people today are bombarded with advertising. Make yours a little wacky and unforgettable, and you will create a desire in people to want to know more. Hey, if it is wacky enough, you might even give them a good laugh for the day, but they will certainly remember it.


Brand Guru
Atul Sikrai
Brand Diagonal.

Brand Diagonal

Brand Diagonal

Atul Sikrai : Founder & Chief Mentor
wiTdom     : Promoter & Angel Investor.

About us :
Mathematics of connecting two nonadjacent angles i.e. Producer with Consumer.
Its an Advertising & Marketing Agency.

What we do :
Competitive Analysis, Campaign Designing and Execution, Composing and Updating Corporate Collateral, Web research, Designing Corporate presentations and Social Media Marketing. Pre-Sales activities include Lead Prospecting, Client Requirements Analysis, Product Demonstrations, Managing Key Accounts, RFIs and RFPs and Negotiations.

Content Writing includes Composing Corporate Brochures, Website, Press Releases, Promotional Campaigns &Banner content ( for Tradeshows )
The profile includes a tinge of PR activities like Publishing Press Releases and Enlisting company profile in B2B portals

Regards
Atul Sikrai
Founder & Chief Mentor
Brand Diagonal