The word "ADVERTISING" means different things to different people. And with todays hugely multi-media advertising society it has been somewhat muddied.
Across blogs, textbooks, dictionaries, seminar handouts and expert talks, I have seen or heard a load of definitions for the word "ADVERTISING". How can you decipher the best meaning from all this noise and the people that think they know what they are talking about... and I don't want to add to this noise by writing this... or is it too late?
For simplicity and better understanding, I think that Advertising exisits for one purpose: "To let people know that product X is available to buy, and encourage them to do so" - simples!
Advertising, is one of the most powerful, and socialising force in the business world. It sells more than products. It sells images, ideologies, beliefs, values, goals, concepts, of who we are, who we should be and what we need to be able to live in this world.
Adverts shape our attitude and our attitude shape our behavior.
Those in Advertising work through a different thought processes or a series of stages, each of which contributes to the success of an advertisements development and ultimate deployment in the market-place. A number of advertising theories have been developed over the years, but the most commonly accepted process, is "AIDA" - Attention, Interest, Desire and Action.
AIDA is an essential process that should be walked through in the make up of every advertisement copy or design that you are going to churn out.
Your advert must:
- create Attention
- sustain Interest
- stimulate Desire
- cause Action
... then I'll add ACT - my own little ditty:
- It must create Appeal
- It must be Credible
- and it has to be Truthful
Saying all of this though, I will like to leave you with this ace quote:
"the best advertising, is done by a satisfied customer"... Philip Kotler.
My conclusion: The application of this Advert recipe, is the first step to effective and efficient advertisement of any product or service, mixed into any multi-media strategy and delivered with passion.
Invest some time in getting your advertising right.
