Crafting an effective Marketing Plan: Advertising

So we’ve been looking at general marketing tips and strategies over the past few posts.  Today we will kick it up a notch by looking at crafting an effective marketing plan for a startup company with the main focus on advertising.

Advertising is an audio or visual form of marketing communication that employs an openly sponsored, non-personal message to promote or sell a product, service or idea.  Importantly, Advertising is a paid activity.

As a new business, it is very important to draw attention to your business offerings and one of the best ways to do so is by advertising.  As you may not have a large advertising budget, it is important to know exactly where your targeted audience is so that the advertisements may connect with them directly.

We know that for millenials, i.e. the generation born between 1982 and the early 2000s, the internet and online sources are among the most common methods to reach them. This is the generation that is au fait with everything digital, from smart phones to iPads and the computer.

While there are Baby Boomers and Generation X-ers who are also knowledgeable about the internet and online sources, these persons tend to get their information from traditional sources such as print i.e. newspaper, magazine & billboards; and radio or television adverts.

So how does a startup like yours craft an advertising plan that allows you to be as effective as possible?  Firstly, it is important to approach advertising based on its value to your business rather than to focus on how much you have to spend.  Like all marketing activities, advertising should provide the business with a Return on Investment (ROI), therefore place your focus squarely on the quality of the returns.

Secondly, your advertising programme should speak directly to your target audience in a language that they can understand.  The same language used for millenials, will not necessarily work for Gen-X-ers. Likewise the same advertising methods used to connect with one group may not work with the next. 

It was American Businessman, John Wannamaker who said that “half the money spent on advertising by companies is wasted; trouble is, I don’t know which half” – critical market research coupled with a new way of thinking can assist startups with identifying where to spend their limited budget so that it connects directly to the targeted audience.

Current marketing trends suggest a move to more online platforms and strategic use of traditional media outlets.  The use of Google analytics and pay-per-click including a call-to-action on online ads will yield a more immediate response than placement of a print advertisement or radio commercial.

Use of other advertising channels such as mobile, email and other direct forms of advertising can also yield greater benefits because of its ability to target an audience specifically.