Objectives & Strategy in Advertising

Things to know before embarking

First, we need to consider some considerations… then we’ll get to the objectives.

What is advertising?

Without looking in the dictionary, let’s cook up a definition. Here goes: “There’s this entity — the promoter. He, she, or it wants to communicate a message in order to achieve something. The word advertising covers this whole matter.”

Put everything through the wringer

You may have read, in this guide’s section titled, “History of past campaigns,” that when you’re pursuing sellable facts, you should disregard the small points. Forget that stupidity. Instead, leave no stone unturned. Consider the product from every angle. For example, fill in these blanks:

This product is a ____. Its purpose is to ____. The person who needs it is a ____. The product helps him by ____. It ends an ordeal with ____. The prospects should care because ____.

When you’re marketing a product, every part of it is “the potential Eureka,” because something you didn’t assess might jump out at you.

“Um… about those strict orders you gave me?”

You won’t lead your company to the goals by following every smart person’s advice. You’ll probably find their directives don’t match. Follow them all and you’ll only run around in circles, water down your ad, bark up the wrong tree, or some other metaphor. Rather, let their advices (new word) enhance and modify your judgment.

Scatter

If you try to take in the whole project in one sitting, it will be too overwhelming and you’ll avoid the assignment. So, take it a piece at a time. When you come up with a solution in one sub-area, it will help you in some of the others.

Getting to the objectives

What are the goals for this ad, anyway? Here are some questions that can help you find the answers.

Questions about you…

* Why are you advertising?
* What kind of results do you want?