Effective Advertising: Essential to Every Business

October 3, 2011

I recently stumbled across this article online: Top 10 Tips for an Effective Advertising Campaign. As a marketing and communications agency, we at gordongroup communicate some or all of these points to our clients and potential clients quite frequently. It seems obvious to me, coming from a background in business and marketing, that any business owner or CEO would understand the value in marketing. However, understanding its value and understanding how it works are two very different things.

Before getting to the tips, the article looks at the value in advertising itself—and how everything hinges on doing it right. Too often, companies still perceive marketing as a cost, rather than an investment. In fact, there are greater costs to a company in NOT advertising, or in POOR advertising. But because these costs do not show up on the balance sheet, they are often ignored. I am always amazed when I come across a business or organization that does not have a marketing program of some kind. Sure, you might have a great product or service, but how are people going to know if you don’t tell them?

Now, say that you, the company in question, agree on the need to invest in marketing. You have a good understanding of the company’s value proposition, market position, target audience and effective marketing channels. You understand the need to establish an image, a visual identity. This is where design comes in—and where many choose to go with the least expensive option. You know your target audience and the image you wish to convey, so this information should be enough to go on to create a satisfactory design, right? Wrong. Pricing is more often than not an indicator of quality—in other words, you get what you pay for. As the fourth tip in the article dictates: you have to spend money to make money. Cutting corners on your ad budget in any area, including design, can clearly affect sales.

Just as design is important and “speaks” to your audience, so too do the words you use. Developing strong messages and ad copy is an art. The cost of creative writing is often left out of advertising budgets, and companies will frequently supply “final copy” for design only. In fact, you might be making a huge media buy investment, but if the words and images in your creative do not speak to your target audience or portray the right brand image, then again, you are negatively affecting sales and your investment has been wasted.

These are all apparent points but, as I said, they are too often overlooked. Don’t undermine your business with lacklustre marketing—there are professionals readily available to help you make each element of your ad campaign a success!