Advertising is an effective way to communicate with your audience about your products and services. It is a paid form of promotion, so it needs to deliver meaningful, clear results. Show
On this pageRole of advertisingAdvertising is part of the promotional mix and is often the most visible aspect of marketing. It's an important part of the 'P for promotion' component in the 7 Ps of marketing toolkit. Advertising enables you to:
Benefits of advertisingAdvertising can help you achieve your marketing objectives. It's a powerful and effective way for your business to:
Advertising is about 'spreading the word.' It's about telling and selling the story so people know, trust and remember your brand. Through words, sounds and images, advertising can connect on an emotional level, beyond purely functional and rational benefits.
Find inspirationThink about your favourite brand advertising. How does it make you feel? How are those feelings created? Do an online search to find examples of successful advertising campaigns that helped to speed up business growth and make brands famous. Plan your advertisingWhile developing your marketing programs, you may have identified an opportunity or need to run an advertising campaign. Before you start, you need to know if you'll:
To plan your advertising campaign, follow these steps. Knowing what you want to achieve will make your advertising campaign more successful. You may want to, for example:
Your advertising campaign should support your marketing objectives, as set out in your marketing strategy. Outline the KPIs (measurable results) for each campaign. Examples of KPIs are:
Make sure you can track, and report on, the KPIs you choose. Read more about tracking your digital performance. Your marketing budget should consider your business goals and how much money you have available. Your marketing plan determines how much you should spend on advertising. As always, the right balance is essential. Remember:
View advertising as an investment. The return is not always immediate, but there are significant long-term advantages. Keeping up with the competition
You need to know who you'll be targeting with your advertising campaign. Base this on your target segments. Find out as much as you can about how your target audience uses media. This can include:
You might, for example, find that your potential customers:
This will help you decide:
As part of your creative approach, you'll need to create your unique selling points (USP). Focus on how your business is different and the unique value you deliver. A USP is a short, snappy statement to promote your business. Think about:
The catchier the better – you want your customers to remember. Make sure all your advertising channels play their role to reinforce the messages. USP examplesImagine you run a boutique florist and deliver 'the fastest local delivery at affordable prices.' You can convey this in your advertising slogans, for example:
Read more about defining your value proposition and USPs. Find the best channels for your advertising by looking at your:
Typically, the more people who read a newspaper, watch a television show, or drive past a billboard, the higher the cost to place your advertisement. However, this also means that more potential customers will be exposed to your products and services. Make sure the audience numbers are correct and relevant to your campaign:
Also read about the advantages and disadvantages of different types of advertising. As part of the campaign planning process, you need to book your media schedule – the where and the when. You want more people in your target audience to see and hear your advertisements more often. Try to find the best balance between the:
Keep a work-in-progress document, so you:
Make sure you keep track of due dates to supply advertising material. In Step 1, you would have made sure that you could track, and report on, the KPIs you chose. Now you can review the information you have available to see how well your campaign worked. The purpose of this review is to:
Find out how you can measure and analyse your advertising campaign. Types of advertisingUnderstanding available advertising channels will help you make the right decisions for your business. A successful advertising campaign will:
Whether you're encouraging new customers to buy one of your existing products or are launching a new product, your brand is more likely to stand out if you use the right creative (images, video, or other advertising formats) in the right environment. You may find that you get the best results by using a combination of channels. For each advertising type, consider the:
Newspaper advertising is a form of print media that can help promote your business and reach a wide audience. It typically consists of:
Generally, the higher the circulation (readership), the higher the advertising cost. To decide if and how newspaper advertising will work for your business, consider the:
Magazine advertising enables you to connect with a highly targeted audience. For example, magazines may focus on:
If your products need to be displayed in colour, a glossy magazine advertisement can be ideal. People also tend to take more time to read magazines and keep them for longer. This means there's more chance of your advertisement being seen. Keep in mind:
Radio advertising can be an effective way to reach your target audience. It gives you the:
Keep your target audience in mind when choosing which station to run your advertisements on and what time of the day to run them. Radio advertising can be a cost-effective medium. However, listeners may not easily recall your advertisement, so you many need to run them regularly. Television advertising:
TV advertising is typically sold in units of time (e.g. 15 seconds or 30 seconds) and the costs will vary depending on the station, program and time. It can be expensive when you factor in all the production and broadcasting costs. Because of the broad coverage and high costs, television advertising might not be a good option for many small businesses. Outdoor advertising is a way to connect with potential customers when they're outside and on the go. There are typically 3 different out-of-home advertising environments:
This visual advertising can be designed for high impact. Both traditional and digital options may be available. Remember:
Directories provide a cost-effective way to list your business. They can be printed or online. Online, location-based listing or directories allow you to:
Check if there are free online directories for your local area. Potential customers may use directories to compare options through online ratings and reviews. Online advertising provides a highly targeted and highly effective way to attract new customers. It's particularly important as most customers do online research before making a purchase decision. There are 3 main types of digital advertising at your disposal:
Read more about digital marketing and advertising and social media for business. The channels and formats (e.g. video or images) will be based on the online behaviours of your potential customers and what you are striving to achieve. Also remember that you'll most likely be driving traffic to your website. A well-designed website can increase your sales. Action items
Video: Developing your marketing activitiesWatch our video to help turn your marketing strategy into an action plan of activities to promote your business and grow your sales. Topics include:
Transcript of video Top 10 tips for effective advertising
Working with external agenciesWould your business benefit from getting professional help to plan and run your advertising campaign? Be realistic about your internal capability and capacity. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of doing it yourself compared to engaging with specialists. Measure and analyseIf you invest in advertising your business, you need to know the results. As an example, let's say you run a boutique shoe store and through the planning process you set 3 KPIs for your advertising campaign:
Monitor your business performance before starting the advertising campaign. This represents your baseline performance. In the shoe store advertising campaign example, you should have some idea of:
After running your advertising campaign, you can compare the desired KPIs with the actual results.
Based on your advertising budget and the incremental revenue, you will be able to work out if the campaign resulted in a positive return on investment (ROI). There are many simple ways to find out which types of advertising worked best:
It's best practice to do a post-campaign review. In addition to looking at the measurable results, this can be as simple as asking:
With these answers, you'll be in a much stronger position to refine and improve your next advertising campaign. In the example, a learning may be that most customers went to the website first, but there was not enough information available. However, once in store, the offer delivered strong sales. So, when planning a future advertising campaign, it will be important to update the website and create a landing page. Remember that your advertising may take time to generate results. Advertising regulationsBefore you start, you need to understand the laws and regulations associated with advertising. Your advertising must always provide customers with the 'whole picture'.
Also check the requirements for running promotional competitions. Australian Consumer Law (ACL)The ACL was introduced on 1 January 2011 to protect consumers and ensure fair trading across Australia. The ACL is contained in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and is national, state and territory law. The ACL covers key areas that relate to advertising, including:
Avoiding unfair business practices is a handy guide that explains the ACL in simple language with easy-to-understand examples. The guide also outlines the penalties that apply for businesses that break the law. You can find out more information from the regulators of the ACL:
Industry self-regulationThe Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) Code of Ethics is the self-regulatory system. This system is focused on socially responsible advertising in the context of prevailing community standards. In addition to the AANA Code of Ethics, there are a number of product, audience and channel specific codes. Visit Advertising Council Australia to find out what is relevant for your industry and business type.
Which of the following was established by the federal government in part to regulate the advertising industry?Established by the Federal Trade Commission Act (1914), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates advertising, marketing, and consumer credit practices and also prevents antitrust agreements and other unfair practices.
Which of the following is a federal agency that regulates advertising activities?In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, is the primary federal consumer protection agency.
Which groups have the force of the law behind them with regard to regulating advertising?The FTC enforces these truth-in-advertising laws, and it applies the same standards no matter where an ad appears – in newspapers and magazines, online, in the mail, or on billboards or buses.
Which of the following is one of the roles of the division of advertising practices?The Division of Advertising Practices protects consumers from deceptive and unsubstantiated advertising and enforces the provisions of the FTC Act that forbid misrepresentation, unfairness, and deception in general advertising at the national and regional level.
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