Define advertising strategy

Advertising depends on a viable strategy to work.

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An advertising strategy can be defined as a blueprint to help sell a given product to consumers. There are almost as many different advertising strategies are there are products to advertise, and each company follows its own unique strategy plans. However, all forms of advertising strategy follow a few basic principles.

Qualities of the Product

Before an advertising strategy can begin in earnest, the company must define the qualities of the product or service, according to U.S. Legal. That means stating what purpose the product fulfills, what features it includes and what advantages it offers over other products intended for the same purpose. These qualities will form the core of the advertising's branding, helping to define the message of the strategy and the features the company wishes to emphasize in its ads.

State of the Market

With the product now defined, the question becomes who will want to purchase it. According to Adcracker.com, market research can pinpoint the characteristics of key customer demographics, including such elements as age, gender, social standing and interest towards certain forms of advertising (such as how often they watch certain television shows or read certain magazines). It also means defining how much of the market may be open to purchasing that product and what percentage of the market is currently occupied by rival products. It may also try to pin down the current economic climate in order to understand potential sales. For example, selling a luxury product such as a speedboat may be more difficult in times of economic downturn.

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Advertising Goals

A knowledge of the possible market - including competitors, customer preferences and conditions for selling - and an understanding of the product itself can then lead to developing a specifics set of goals for the advertising. According to Rex Stewart's "Building an Advertising Strategy, " the company can state what they hope to accomplish through the advertising (such as "increase sales by 15 percent, " or "promote further sales to women ages 24-39") and the timetable in which they intend to meet those goals. That forms a road map by which the company can gauge the advertising's success as the strategy continues.

Methodology

The company must decide upon the methods by which the advertising will be implemented. This includes the overall tone of the advertising, the particular qualities emphasized, the specifics medium (magazine ads, television commercials, product placements, and the like) and the geographic location of the ads (specific cities where billboards will be placed, television stations and/or programs where ads will run, and so on). In addition, the company must draw up a budget covering the resources they are prepared to spend on the advertising strategy and the specific ways in which those resources will be used. With the methodology firmly in place, the company can then go about implementing the strategy.