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Rule 1 Of 7 Rules To A Successful Print Advertising Campaign
(Article first published in Sept '07. It has been modified slightly to suit its publication on our site)
I am often asked by clients what the secret is to a successful print advertising campaign. The secret is - there is no secret, it's simple common sense, good planning and following a basic set of seven rules. Each month I will share with you one of these rules in detail.
This month I will discuss THE most important rule of advertising for new, small & medium sized businesses, but it's the rule that almost everyone gets wrong:
Your Adverts Should MAKE Money Not Cost Money.
This sounds so obvious doesn't it? So what does this rule mean? Well, put another way; advertising should always be seen as an investment not a cost. Yet so many businesses advertise over a period of time and make no real money, while others don't advertise because they are afraid of wasting money. What if you understood how to turn every €1 in advertising spend into €2 or more in profit?
Many business owners think that their ads simply need to tell people they exist and that potential customers will see the ad and remember them in the future. They try this and are hugely disappointed when there is no increase in demand or revenue. The bottom line is that if you are a retailer, restaurateur or anyone trying to sell a product or service then your advertising should NEVER simply say "WIDGETS R US - We sell widgets in all shapes and sizes". You never hear an ad on the radio that says "Hi, this is Harvey Norman, I just wanted to let you know that we're still here, so next time you need anything for your home, come and visit our store." That's because Harvey Norman is in the business of selling units and the only way to make that happen is to get a potential buyer's attention and then make him or her want to come into the store.
It is imperative that as a business owner you understand the difference between "Offer-Based" ads and "Branding" ads. Small to medium companies should always, and I mean ALWAYS run offer-based ads. These are the ads you see or hear from Boots or Tesco for "Buy One Get One Free", and we'll talk about how to get the most from offers in the next article. Large corporate companies run branding ads, these are the ads you see from Coca-Cola or Nike. Basically the difference is that Boots are trying to get you into store today, whereas Nike are trying to persuade you that next time you buy some trainers you should buy a pair from them.
As a business owner can you afford to spend money in the hope that someday, someone who realises that they want a widget might remember your ad and give you a call, or do you want people to see your ad and immediately act on it? The answer is surely obvious.
Still not convinced? OK, well think about this:
It is estimated that the average person will see anywhere from 150 to 500 adverts every single day, but there are literally thousands of ads blasted out in print, radio and TV daily.
It is further estimated that the average person needs to be exposed to a brand or product name a minimum of 8 times before it starts to become memorable (and that's for a well designed and interesting ad).
To get your ad in front of this average person 8 times in a reasonable time-frame would cost much more than any small to medium business can afford, so basically the small amount you might spend becomes a cost.
So how do you go about creating effective offer-based ads? This is the topic of my next article where I discuss Rule 2: Don't Discount - Add Value!
Franco De Bonis has worked in the field of sales and marketing promotion since 1990 and was most recently the global marketing manager for a major international technology company before setting up DG Group in January 2007.
DG Group is dedicated to delivering all the marketing solutions any company may require. Whether it's a website or leaflets and brochures, or even some product packaging; DG Group will manage the whole project and even provide guidance along the way.
The content in this section is the original creation of DG Group and is protected by copyright. You may use this content on your site or in other materials providing you acknowledge DG Group as the author and include a link our site.
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