Advertising 101 – Target Practice
It’s all about getting your message where it needs to go. Strategic media planning can help you hit the right target with the right message in the right venue. Reach your markets. Find new customers. Reap the rewards. Here’s a quick guide to some key terms.
Media
The archer. Good media ideas can drive creative execution. Good media planning can help you find ways to reach your target you may never have considered. Popular choices include newspapers, coupons, direct mail, radio and cable TV. But the options are limitless.
Planning
The aim. Good planning creates good strategy creates good advertising. You can’t hit a target if you can’t see it. Who do you need to reach? What do you need to say? Who are your competitors? How much do you want to spend? With the right planning, a little can go a long way.
Advertising
The arrow. Creating attention for a product (or service). Reaching potential and current customers. Once upon a time it was all about signs, brochures, commercials, direct mail and e-blasts. Nowadays, it’s all about viral campaigns, street teams and animated bus wraps.
Message
The angle. Where does your product stand compared to competitors? What makes it unique? That’s your value proposition. It doesn’t matter if you have perfect aim if you don’t deliver the right message. The right message will get the target to act.
Creative
The attitude. Without the right execution, no one wants to hear (or look at) the message. That’s where creative comes in, taking carefully honed strategy and turning it into compelling ads and collateral.
Public Relations
The accuracy. PR works to ensure a company has a strong public image, including distributing company information and seeking editorial coverage in the media.