During the holiday season, most of us search to find the perfect gifts to show our loved ones just how much we care about them. The process of matching gifts to people also applies to advertising. Effective advertisers match their products and services with their target market’s specific needs and desires.
Just like Christmas presents, how a brand, product or service is advertised to a target audience should be well thought-out and perfected to mirror the potential consumer’s lifestyle and buying patterns. In advertising agencies, creative and marketing departments carefully craft campaigns with the right elements for both a strong emotional appeal and call to action, while media buyers consider what print, radio, television, or digital ads will best reach their target demographic. For example, advertisers selling makeup shouldn’t promote a spot on a sports program. Rather, they should look for programs designed to reach a female audience in their specific demographic.
Good marketers know that if they put the right media content in front of their target, it will build and enhance their brand identity and lead to higher sales. Placement is more than just the number of people that see the ads; it’s the value of the actual audience and how that audience connects with those ads. The right placement leads to sales, and as with Christmas gifting, advertisers need to connect with people on an emotional level.
The Internet has dramatically changed how marketing and advertising were once approached. Before the digital age, ads were measured more on their appeal and how they were remembered. There was a lot more work involved in research, and thus, the ad’s content had to be precisely matched to potential consumers to have its intended effect.
But with the advent of digital, much of the care that went into designing content to reach people at an emotional level has diminished. Instead, ads are being judged based on metrics such as how many potential customers clicked on ads and how many actually viewed them. If you’ve checked your email inbox the last week or so, you’ve probably noticed a plethora of advertising for the holiday season (much of it unwanted). Many items you may have searched for during the week are suddenly following you everywhere, regardless of what webpage, social media site or blog you’re viewing. The problem with this kind of advertising is that potential consumers soon develop a blind eye to the advertising, and the brand no longer connects with them. Instead, they become annoyed by the intrusion.
Numbers are important, but people are more important. What advertisers should remember is that people are the reason for advertising, not just metrics. Careful planning, research, and crafting is a marketer’s “gift” to consumers. If you’re looking for someone to put that care and research into your marketing, advertising and media buying that it deserves, contact Ad Cetera, Inc. today.
From our family to yours, Happy Holidays!