Creating Print Advertising, Choices of Various Media for Advertising, Media—Spending Planning & Advertising – Communication Goals

(h) Creating Print Advertising:

The key format elements in print advertising are as follows:

(i) Headline:

The headline refers to words in the leading position of any advertisement. These are words that will be read first in order to draw the reader’s attention. These headlines are set in large, dark type and generally set apart from body copy to make them prominent. It is considered the most important part of a print ad by most advertising professionals.

To attract the reader’s attention, the headline must put forth the main appeal, theme or proposition, giving powerful reason to read the more detailed and persuasive information contained in the body copy about the product or service.

(ii) Body Copy:

The main text portion included in the advertisement is called the body copy which contains the complete details about the headline. It covers the attributes, benefits and utility of the product or service.

The copywriter should speak to the prospect’s self-interest, explaining how the product or service will satisfy the consumer’s need.

(iii) Slogan:

Many slogans are used as successful headlines. Slogans provide continuity to services of ads in a campaign and also help in creating a positioning statement. De Beers use the slogan “Diamonds are forever”. One reputed paid manufacturer uses slogan “Where-ever you see a colour, think of us.”

Onida TV uses a slogan “Owner’s pride and neighbour’s envy.” Good slogans attract prospective customer’s attention.

 

(i) Choices of Various Media for Advertising:

Commercial advertising media can include wall paintings, billboards, street furniture components, printed flyers, radio, cinema and television ads, web banners, web popups, skywriting, bus stop benches, magazines, newspapers, town criers, sides of buses, taxicab doors and roof mounts, musical stage shows, subway platforms and trains, elastic bands on disposable diapers, stickers on apples in supermarkets, the opening section of streaming audio and video, and the backs of event tickets and supermarket receipts. Any place “identified” sponsor pays to deliver their message through a medium is advertising. The various media for Advertising can be broadly classified into six categories.

 

Which are explained as below:

 

 

(j) Media—Spending Planning:

While Planning various combination of ad-exposures, if TV ad is clubbed with print ad, it gives greater impact. Print offers the crucial benefit of focus, limited by its very nature to the literate. According a market surveys, TV is just 5% ahead of Print, in terms of each in the socioeconomic classes. Print reaches to 20 crore people and with literacy levels rising, the penetration of print is growing.

For reach and awareness TV is the best. In case of the target audience is either the middle market mass, is dominated by women, the unemployed or the relatively less educated— TV delivers the best results. Print serves the up market, the better educated and the predominantly male segments more effectively.

 

 

Advertising – Communication Goals

Advertising should concentrate on clear and measurable communication objectives known as DAGMAR (Defining Advertising Goals, Measuring Advertising Results). Russell Colley, in 1961, pioneered DAGMAR. At that time he wrote- “Advertising succeeds or fails depending on how well it communicates the desired information and attitudes to the right people at the right time and at the right cost.”

 

Advertising objectives must be oriented around the process of communication. Communication tasks are

(1) Developing brand awareness,

(2) Changing consumer attitudes,

(3) Associating desirable themes with products, and

(4) Informing consumers about product attributes.

The ultimate purpose of most advertising is to help the probability of the sale of a product or service. Advertising as a mode of promotion increases propensity to purchase — moving the prospect steadily, inch by inch, closer to a purchase decision. Of course, advertising is only one of several communication forces. It moves the consumer through successive levels such as unawareness, awareness, comprehension or recognition, conviction (intention) to buy and action (purchase).

 

Advertising goals may be divided into four stages of commercial communication as given below:

(1) Awareness:

The customer must become aware of the existence of the brand or the company. Awareness is the minimum goal of advertising.

(2) Comprehension:

The customer must understand what the product is and what it will do for him. Comprehension level indicates that people are not only aware of the brand or company but they also know the brand name and can recognise the package or trademark. But they are not yet convinced that they want to buy.

 

(3) Conviction:

The customer must be mentally convinced to buy the brand or the product. The conviction level shows brand preference and intention to buy the product in the near future.

(4) Action:

The customer takes meaningful action. Purchase decision is duly taken.

Advertising performs its role when it contributes to moving the consumer from one level to another in the communication spectrum: awareness of the existence of the product, comprehension of the features and advantages, rational or emotional conviction of the benefits and, finally, action leading to a sale.