People have been using the art and science of advertising to sell their products for as long as humans have been selling products. The first known written ad was discovered in the ruins of Thebes in Egypt. Thought to be from around 3000 BC, it’s written on papyrus and promoting a weaving shop. The practice has been going strong ever since. Effective advertising reaches out to potential customers and gives them information about your products or services. Good advertising captures the potential customer’s attention and entices them to buy your product. Regardless of the method and medium, advertising should be easy to understand and reflect the quality of your proffered goods. A good ad engages consumers, making them want to click to learn more if they are online or walk into your brick-and-mortar store, the ad must make consumers stop and pay attention.
Advertising is so important that businesses invest a great deal of time, effort, and money into creating ad campaigns that are likely to sell. Professional salespeople spend their time practising the art of persuasion so they can convince would-be customers to sign up for services or invest in products by giving pitches and by holding events like a chemistry meeting to form lasting bonds with customers and partners. All of this effort is for one purpose, to sell!
The following are some guidelines we have collected for creating memorable advertising that is guaranteed to make sales:
Advertise where your target customers are. Start by researching the best advertising platforms. For example, if your consumers are from the younger generations then mobile advertising platforms might be the best fit. People of all ages are now shopping online, so plan on having an extensive web presencefull of engaging content from which you can launch your ad campaigns. Any platform you choose, especially traditional outlets like radio, broadcast, and print, will request a media kit that includes information about the audience demographics.
Always communicate a single, simple message. Most people have trouble remembering people’s names, let alone a complicated advertising message. Go with the tried and true “KISS” principle for your messages: “Keep It Simple, Stupid!”. The simpler the headline, the better, and every subsequent ad element should support the headline’s message. Examples of often used headline content words are “selection” “price”, and “quality”.
The best, most memorable ads have style and personality. Create a fun, catchy concept then stick with it for at least a year or even more if it’s working. Companies sometimes make the mistake of thinking they have to be new and exciting and change their ad styles and content too often which can confuse, or even disappoint customers. This also goes against memorability, if you have a winner, keep it!
Always provide easily visible information in the ad for potential customers to view, including website URL, location, telephone number, store hours, charge cards accepted, etc. Make sure to check the Australian government guidelines regarding advertising before you launch your campaign!
