When most people think about marketing, the first thing that comes to mind is a great ad they’ve seen or a memorable message in some form, whether it’s an online ad, social post, television commercial, radio spot or even a print ad. We can all recall a message that resonated with us, made us laugh or made us cry or was simply thought provoking.
Yet – before that great ad is revealed, a major amount of research and development with data, insights, testing and evaluation must take place. Because without a solid foundational marketing strategy and a brand strategy, creating and presenting an ad in any form, is like taking a shot in the dark.
Way before the execution of an ad takes place, you should have clarity on what the USP or Unique Selling Proposition is of your product or service, how that relates to your key competitors, and who the product or service is for and what problem it solves for them. What are the key demographic and psychographics of the consumers who are most likely to be users or customers? How can you best reach those folks in a way that resonates with them? What media do they consume? What is the emotional connection that attracts them to your brand and keeps them engaged?
All of these questions and more can be answered in the process of developing your marketing strategy and from that, you can begin to get clarity on the all-important: 4p’s of Marketing:
Product: How do you define your product and what benefit is there to the user? Every product or service solves a problem that consumers have. What problem does yours solve and how does it do that better than the competition?
Price: What is the value of your product or service and how does that align within your competitive set? Are you the low-price leader, the quality provider, or competitive within the space?
Place: Where and how are people buying your product? How does your audience shop? Where are your competitors selling their products?
Promotion: What is the right message, what is the right time to reach your audience and engage them in your brand? Where are your competitors spending their time and money?
So – when you see a great ad – remember that advertising is what comes last. The foundation for getting there has to be in place for that ad to be great and resonate with the key audience and compel them to act. That is what a great ad will do!