Advertising Strategy

Ad strategy is defined as communication that conveys brand’s primary benefits i.e. how it can solve consumer’s problem or need. It is developed to communicate ideas about the products and services to potential consumers with the aim of convincing them to buy those products and services. The key to strategy is creative and flexible planning based on in-depth knowledge of the target consumer and the avenues that can be utilized to reach out the target consumer.

This strategy, when built in a rational and intelligent manner, reflects other business considerations (overall budget, brand recognition efforts) and objectives (public image enhancement, market share growth) as well.

Most ad strategies focus on achieving three general goals:
Promote awareness about the business and its products and services.
Stimulate sales directly and attract competitor’s customers.
Establish or modify business image.

The ad plan is natural culmination of marketing plan which needs to include a section on analysis, ad objectives and strategy.

Steps To Develop Ad Strategy

1. Key fact specification: single minded statement from consumer’s point of view that identifies why consumer will or will not buy the brand

2. State market problem: marketer’s point of view from perspectives like price, promotion, distribution etc.

3. Work on communication objective: what affect ad is going to have on target audience and how brand should be positioned or creative message strategy.
4. Mandatory requirements : inclusion of corporate logo, tag lines etc.

Types of Advertising Strategies.

It basically refers to the process of positioning the core message you want to bring home to your customers.

1. ‘Authentic’ Product Positioning Strategy

Ideal strategy for firms who are the first to develop a position for its product type. Levi’s slogan ‘the original jeans’ is one such example;
It takes advantage of the public’s tendency to associate the first brand with what is also more authentic, and think that the other products are thus mere imitations

2. 'Catch-up’ Advertising Strategy

Avis’ slogan ‘Avis is only No. 2 in rent-a-cars, so why go with us? We try harder’. This technique is powerful for the No. 2 firm, as it will increase the No. 2 firm’s market share while edging out firms No. 3, 4 and 5.
Psychological studies have determined that most consumers at most recall the top two brands, such as Eveready and Duracell for batteries, Kodak and Fuji for film.

3. ‘Lowest price’ Advertising Strategy

This technique allows you to easily highlight your competitive benefits. Walmart is one such example.

4. ‘Higher price’ Advertising Strategy

This plays on the idea of prestige; or ostentatious demand / snob appeal in economics terms.
Convey a sense of class, as in the campaigns ran by Gucci, Rolex, Montblanc, Haagen-Dazs.
Customers usually associate higher price with higher product quality.

5. Sturdiness Advertising Strategy

This exploits consumers’ desire to want something durable. Samsonite and Volvo are perhaps the best examples.

6. Safety Advertising Strategy

Quality – This is the raw form of quality, not quality hyped up by price, but sheer design excellence and true product quality.

7. Quantity Advertising Strategy

Especially for companies that promise quantitative benefits, such as weight loss products.

8. More bang for the buck Advertising Strategy

Gillette’s Trac II razor was marketed as the only razor with two blades, going by the slogan ‘two blades shave better than one’.

9. Sex appeal Advertising Strategy
This appeals to raw emotions and works effectively for a wide variety of products: beer, champagne, shaving cream, toothpaste, underwear, lingerie, perfume.

10. Gender Advertising Strategy
Famous male-oriented products include Marlboro cigarettes and Lava, while famous female-oriented products include Virginia Slim cigarettes.
Interestingly, there is a greater emphasis on women, since they make up to 80% of all household purchasing decisions. Women buy 80% of men’s undergarments and 65% of their dress shirts.

11. Time of day Advertising Strategy
Kit Kat is the lunchtime chocolate, while NyQuil is a nighttime remedy, and Coast is the ‘the eye opener’.