An advertising strategy should support the marketing plan, which in turn support

s the company business plan.

In the Real World you will rarely be handed a marketing or business plan. So you
'll normally have to figure things out for yourself.
How to create an advertising strategy, part 1. The first step in the development
of your communications strategy could be, should be a SWOT analysis.
Properly done, a Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats assessment will
give you a 360 degree, full-color picture of the market, the product or service,
and the company.
> How to conduct a SWOT analysis.
There are two major parts to an advertising strategy.
1) Assessment.
What's going on in the market, What's the history, the current situation. What a
re the major trends in the market, what's the future looking like? With the prod
uct. With competitors. With consumer attitudes.
2) Action
What should your client do about the the most significant opportunities or probl
ems presented by the situation? What should you do with the brand. With direct m
arketing. The Web site. The way the company is positioned.
A SWOT analysis will help you figure out the "What's going on" part. And figure
it out quickly.
The "What to do" part of your ad strategy should follow logically from the "What
's going on" part.
Example: Say the SWOT analysis reveals that there is serious and growing competi
tion from price slashers.
Your strategy might be:
A) Position, or re-position the product: "Because you're worth it - worth so muc
h more then the extra dollar."
B) Invest in, create a stronger brand personality - one based on an upscale, cha
racter that people will aspire to associate with.
C) Use traditional dm and the Internet / Web site to target and sell younger buy
ers, new buyers, before they have established a product / service / company pref
erence.
You can see how your ad strategy addresses a business issue, competitive price p
ressure, in the above example.
You can also see that the ad strategy deals with the big strategic issues: brand
ing, positioning, direct marketing, and media. And it does so with simple action
statements describing, high-level, what you intend to accomplish.
Eventually your strategy will influence all the details, down to the copy and de
sign of your ads. But start with an executive summary of the big issues, the big
picture.
"OK, Mr. President. Here's what's going on. Big picture. One, two, three.
And here's what we will do about it. Big picture. One, two, three."
That's the essence of strategic leadership and vision.

How to create an advertising strategy, part 2. Here are some key issues to consi
der when creating an advertising strategy or campaign.

Understand, or define, the brand ... as it is now, and what you want it to be, w
hether the same or something different.
> How to create and characterize a brand.

Know how the company is positioned in the minds of consumers, and where you want
it to be positioned.
> How to position a company, product, service or brand.

Understand the Psycho-Dynamics of the market.

14 fancy letters for a simple idea: what s going on inside the brains of buyers, o
f perspective customers?
It includes, but is not limited to, Consumer Involvement Theory ... how the cons
umer relates to the purchase: Rational to emotional. High to low involvement. Yo
u probably buy the same brand of soap or soda with a mindless motion at the mark
et. But you do your homework when buying cameras or cars. Most people do the sam
e.
But besides CIT, there are likely other issues, perhaps more important issues, s
uch as why people buy the other brand:
People think our competitor produces higher quality, more reliable products. Or, Pe
ople think Big Bank has more services and products than we do. Things like inves
tments and insurance, even inexpensive safe deposit boxes. So they think Big Ban
k is more convenient.
Or perhaps it's not so much what people think about competitors, but what they t
hink about your client:
"Gosh, I don't know if I want to buy a Mac. Just not as much software as I can g
et for a PC."
Get the idea? Psycho-Dynamics is everything. It s all that stuff rattling around b
etween the ears of potential customers. The thoughts, feelings and ever-changing
prejudices that influence purchase decisions. That's the Psycho-Dynamics of the
market.
And it is always changing.

Know, or define, exactly what you want the advertising to accomplish.

Strangely enough, this is called the advertising objective. Do you want the adve
rtising to get people to think or feel or do something? Or a combination of the
three?
 We want people to think of us as a maker of truly top quality sports wear, for re
al athletes. We want people to buy our brand instead of Brand N. And feel cool,
proud to wear our logo.
Another way to define the Ad Objective is to ask, what s the most important task f
or our advertising?
Is it to encourage an emotional connection with the brand?
To provoke, challenge or give them an incentive to re-appraise the brand? Give t
he product another try?
Is it to convince them rationally that the service delivers better value for the
money?
Is the objective to get consumers change their usage patterns? To buy your butte
r instead of the butter Mom always bought?
Or react immediately in some way to the advertising? Such as pick up the phone o
r go online and order?

Understand or define the marketing objective and strategy.

The marketing objective is a business goal. For example, in the first year we wan
t to capture 10% of the market in six cities. Or, Our goal is to be profitable in
this country within 6 months. Or, We want to increase sales with this product to t
he point where profits reach $50,000 per month, and do this in 12 months.
All of the above, of course, to be accomplished within a budget.
The advertising strategy supports the marketing strategy.
So let s say we re selling Fred s Farm Fresh Ice Cream. Chocolate, strawberry and vani
lla are flying out of the freezer. But no one wants the prune flavor.
So Fred says, Hey, I want my Purple Prune flavor to add 20% to my sales - not ste
al sales from the existing three - or I m going to dump it in 12 months. Here's on
e million dollars to work with. What do you suggest?
In this case your strategy might be to:
A) Re-name the product: Prune Surprise.
B) Re-position it: Surprisingly Sweet, Surprisingly Healthy.
C) Build a brand based on a fussy old lady, a great cook, who is very demanding:
it s got to taste great, and be great for your health. or she's rejects it.
Project the brand with TV ads showing a young Mrs. Consumer absentmindedly reach
ing for some ice cream at the store. Mrs. Fussy taps her on the shoulder, and sh
e starts, Oh! You surprised me.
Mrs. Fussy, Honey, here s a bigger a surprise
D) Achieve immediate sales with an in-store promo plan or discount coupons, some
thing to encourage people to give it a try.
All the while, keep in mind that one single thread you want to weave into all of
your communications; that one most important thing you want to say:
"Prune surprise is loaded with healthy fiber, and surprisingly sweet."
That's your position. Here are some more examples:
- Satalindo gives you clearer international calls.
- Bogasari is the pasta preferred by professional chefs.
- The new Tempest goes farther on a tank of gas than any car in its class.
- MiniBank is small, which makes you big and important, no matter how much you h
ave in your account.
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