Five fundamental aspects of advertising should always be considered:

1. Purpose: In advance of any advertisement, promotion, event, or campaign, you should determine what you want to accomplish.
• To increase sales? If so, by how much? In what territory? What age demographic? In what time period?
• To increase awareness? Of your company? Your product? To what end? How will you measure results?
• To communicate a philosophy or approach? To whom?
• To invite people to do something? What is the response you seek?

2. Audience: The more you know about your audience, the more likely you’ll be able to reach them through advertising. You must know your typical customer, and to which types of media he/she gravitates.

3. Visibility: Your advertisement will be competing for attention with thousands of messages. There are two well-respected ways to break through all the sensory noise and have your message heard.
• Make the ad so unusual that people can’t help taking notice. Use a professional to create the television or radio spot, or design a print ad. It will cost some money, but it will be a worthwhile investment. No matter how creative your ad is, it will have the most impact if it is professionally produced. Quality does matter!
• Create a simple ad with a very straightforward message and run it consistently over a long period of time. The idea is to repeat the message so many times that the audience makes it a part of their subconscious. This approach is relatively inexpensive.

4. Frequency: The magical number in advertising is three. This is critical. On average, a person must see or hear an advertisement three times before they are compelled to buy.
• The first time “reader” will generally give an ad the once-over-quickly routine. This could be called the “So what” reaction.

• The second time “listener” hears the ad, and the credibility of the product or service increases in their mind. We tend to believe what we hear. This is the “What was that?” reaction.
• The third time “viewer” has now figured out you have some staying power. There is an inference drawn that someone must be buying your product if you are running this many ads. There really is something that registers in a person’s brain enough to call them to action. It’s the “I’ve got to have it” reaction. That’s the one you want!

5. Measuring Effectiveness: Try to incorporate a measuring device into your advertising to determine how well it is doing. For instance, if you are mailing out postcards, be sure to include a call to action, a coupon, or some special offer. You can keep track of how many coupons were redeemed, or how many asked for the special offer. While not all advertising is geared toward this type of analysis, you can always ask customers how they heard about you and keep track of those responses.

In conclusion, if you stop to consider the five fundamentals above, advertising will not just be an expense on your bottom line. It will greatly add to your return on investment.

From Bi2Biz NWA March 2009

By Randy Mullikin / The Mullikin Agency / Springdale: Author/ expert Randy Mullikin, owner of The Mullikin Agency, has spent more than 25 years creating some of the more memorable campaigns in this region. 2009 marks the 15-year celebration of Mullikin’s full service advertising, marketing, and public relations agency. randy@mullikinad.com.