Driving Sales

Creating a Powerful, Brand-Focused Ad Campaign

Developing an ad campaign that's persuasive, powerful, and brand-focused can be a highly-effective tool for getting your audience's attention and moving them to action. While cutting-edge creativity can help boost an ad campaign into the cultural consciouness,  it takes more than a bold idea to break through the clutter and produce real bottom-line results.

Here are some tips that can make your next ad campaign a top performer.

Think "Renewable Energy." When brainstorming ideas, ask yourself if an ad or commercial is merely an entertaining "one-shot" or the opening gun of a campaign that will last for years. You need to have a recurring, renewable focal point to the ads to build and sustain a memorable campaign. The campaign thread can be almost anything: a visual device (the Energizer Bunny) a character (the Geiko Gecko) or people (the bantering Rooms To Go couple).

Talk the Talk of Your Target Audience. If you want to appeal to an audience that frequents upscale restaurants, your ad should describe "gourmet dining and fine wine," not "hearty chow and cheap drinks." Creating generic ads that don't speak the language or grab the attention of your potential customers is a common mistake leading to missed connections and subpar results. Know your market niche and preach to the choir.

Promote Your Competitive Edge. A clever ad isn't worth much if it neglects to sell the benefits of your product or service. Remember - getting their attention is only have the battle. If what your company does increases productivity and reduces downtime, make sure you say it loud and clear. If you offer something of high quality for less money than your competitors, make that value proposition a central theme in all your ads. Promoting your competitive edge is one of the keys to creating a successful ad campaign that keeps working hard and reinforcing your core messages and brand over the long haul.

Always Include a "Payoff." Your ad may be a work of creative brillance or a thing of breathtaking beauty, but if it fails to deliver readers to some kind of a payoff, you've missed your opportuntity to capitilize on your investment. Whether your "payoff" is a call to action that drives someone to your website for more information, a phone number to place an order, or simply a prominent logo placement that registers or reinforces your brand, keep your eye on the goal and follow through with a clear statement in words or images of how you want your audience to respond to your ad. 

For more ideas to drive sales check out archives or visit Ambit Advertising and Public Relations.

Now Hear This: B-to-B Audience Still Tuned to Radio

It may not be "rising up the charts with a bullet" anymore, but don't underestimate the advertising appeal of the oldest electronic medium.  In a world of sexy new digital media options for marketers,  radio still matters, especially for business to business audiences.

According to a study by Media Audit, 55% of business owners, partners and corporate officers listen to the radio between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m., compared with 45 % of the general population. The telephone survey of 6,860 business executives in 88 U.S. cities in 2006 and 2007 also found that on an average day, 75% of these executives tune to radio, compared with 68% of the general market. The survey identified the top radio formats for reaching business executives as news/talk (21%), public radio (17%), country (12%) and talk (11%).

Why does old-school radio still fit the modern marketing mix of many b-to-b advertisers? By delivering timeless benefits unique to the medium, including:

• Capturing an audience's attention and imagination by appealing to the "theater of the mind."
• Creating drama or urgency that makes people stop and listen.
• Crisply explaining a need and solution without the distractions of images or visual effects.
• Reaching the right targeted audience on a local level with a time sensitive message.

Business-to-business media buyers caution that radio advertising is not for every marketer and that it works best for certain industries, such as finance, health care and telecom. A lot of radio targets general business owners while a lot of b-to-b advertising is industrial in nature.

Your top priority in deciding to use radio as a marketing vehicle is to make sure that your ad is targeting the right audience. Choose your programming genre and air times carefully, and the "old gray mare" of advertising can still deliver your message to the local market decision-makers you want to reach with all the power and persuasion of the latest interactive marketing tools.

For more ideas to drive sales check out archives or visit Ambit Advertising and Public Relations.