High-Quality Advertising
Signs of proper advertising come from sales, product R&D, and consumers. Brands and agencies need to hold advertising campaigns to a high standard. High-quality campaigns must go through extensive research, create plans & creative strategies, and prioritize business metrics over media metrics. Many companies in the industry take a rush-to-market approach. This approach causes two major issues. 1) Brands pay a premium for consumers 2) Consumers switch brands quickly.
Extensive Research
Advertising campaigns need extensive research to achieve short and long-term success. Some of the insights can last a brand for years or even decades. For example, Coca-Cola used the ad slogan, "The pause that refreshes" for over 30 years. (Source: Business Insider). The consistent message helped consumers remember and connect with the brand.
Advertising research methods fall into two distinct buckets. 1) Primary: The advertiser conducts the research study. 2) Secondary: A 3rd party source performs the research study. Each research method has its own data collection process.
Primary
1v1 Interview: Research interview with the ideal consumer or an individual within the product/service community.
Focus Groups: Large research interview with 5-10 participants. The participants are the ideal target audience. Food is typically given to encourage group discussion and relax the environment.
Surveys: A set of open-ended or multiple-choice questions. Researchers should use campaign personas to select the participants.
Secondary
Databases: Collection of research from interviews and surveys. The results are typically set by industry (ex: entertainment) or product/service categories (ex: hats)
Research Studies: Scholarly articles that base the findings on proven research
Pew Research Center provides a variety of research. For example, brands might use the below study to learn about consumer issues and potential solutions.
Plans & Creative
The main components of an advertisement are the placements and creative.
Placement: This is the where and how of the ad. The ‘where’ includes the Geo (ex: Philadelphia - Center City) and the location within the Geo (ex: train station). While the ‘how’ includes the media channels. The channels are either digital (ex: Paid Search - RSA and Extensions) or traditional (ex: Billboard - 30 Sheet/Static)
Creative: This is the ad visual. The visual can take many forms. Ad channels allow for print/digital images, videos, paintings, sculptures, and more. Traditional channels allow for more visual opportunities than digital channels.
Proper placement and creative are important to the success of an ad. However, many believe that the placement is 40% of the campaign’s success while the creative accounts for 60% of the campaign’s success.
Prioritize Business Goals over Media Channel Goals
High-quality advertising takes a business-first approach. The actions focus on business goals, the consumer, and sales. This approach allows brands to satisfy the consumer and adapt to their needs over time. Media metrics are important, however, media metrics shouldn’t drive the bulk of the insights or recommendations.
Media-driven campaigns mainly focus on new consumers and low CPAs. This makes it hard to get ahead of changes in the industry. Brands only make changes if there’s poor performance. On the flip side, high-quality campaigns learn about the consumer prior to launch. Poofish reports that “66% of customers expect businesses to understand their needs and expectations”. Research allows brands to deliver products/services that directly meet the needs of the consumer. Additionally, brands can communicate properly with old and new consumers.
Share Your Thoughts
Recommended For You
Advertising Support
The client-advertiser relationship is more than a partnership. Advertisers must provide attention to detail, respect behind closed doors, and honesty.
Cost-Effective Advertising
Plan development should take 1-3 months, not a few weeks. Businesses that invest in advertising planning will experience an improvement in short and long-term CPA, client growth, and build loyalty.
5 Stages of the Consumer Journey
The 5 stages of the consumer journey are awareness, consideration, engagement, conversion, and loyalty. Campaigns should focus on 1 stage at a time. All of the business efforts should tie back to the current stage. Brands get the best performance with this approach.
PPPP Advertising vs Performance Marketing
Campaigns need to use a mix of performance, business, and behavioral data to succeed in a privacy-first world. Learn more about media performance-focused campaigns and business performance-focused campaigns.
Paid Media
Paid media allows brands to expand their reach beyond the capabilities of earned and owned media. The media type includes paid search, social, display, ooh, guerrilla, print, TV & radio. Click on the link to learn more about the media channels, creative, and main call to actions.
Ad Research
Research is the heart of Advertising. Brands need to rely on research with increases in consumer privacy concerns. Click the link below to find out more!
Expand Your Knowledge
Pay-Per-Click Channels
The pay-per-click model charges brands when a user clicks on an ad. Pay-Per-Click channels fall into one of two buckets. Learn about media/behavior-focused channels and business-focused channels.
Business Goal Creation
Every business should have 1, 3, 6 Month, 1, 2, 5, & 10 Year Goals. Business goals ensure marketing efforts are effective and encourage growth. Companies should use the S.M.A.R.T Goal technique to create comprehensive business goals.
Advertising for Small Businesses
All businesses need to invest in advertising. Ad research & data can impact the 4 Ps of Marketing. Additionally, it allows brands to understand consumer behavior and needs.
Advertising Cost
Golden Griffin strives to make advertising accessible for every company. Startups and Established brands need advertising to create sales and grow.
Paid Search - Engine Benefits
Paid Search Engines have a ton of benefits. Learn how they hit Stages of the Consumer Journey, geo-target, measure data, and save advertising costs.
Google Grants - Program Overview
The Google Grants program gives nonprofits $10k/month in free Google Ads credit. Discover more about Google Grants and if your nonprofit is eligible.
Search Tips - Basics & Terms
The article gives a deep dive into paid media, digital media, pay-per-click platforms, and search terminology. Learn the basics of paid search.
Earned Media
Earned media is extremely effective. Consumers tend to listen to their friends or family over an ad or brand. The media type includes word of mouth, social media, online reviews, media coverage, & organic search. Click the link to discover more about the earned types and their benefits.
Owned Media
Owned media is a powerful tool all brands can utilize. The media type includes a brand's website, social media channels, app, blogs, articles, speeches, sub-brands, company office, & employees. Click the link below to learn more about owned media and how it can help your brand.
5 Google Ads Tips
5 tips every Google Ads campaign should utilize to improve short and long-term goals. Click the button below to learn more!
The 4 Ps of Marketing
The 4 Ps stand for Product, Place, Price, & Promotion. Each P has the ability to alter the product or service. Click the link to learn more!
New Posts & Updates Delivered to Your Inbox
