What are advertising campaigns?
Advertising campaigns are part of marketing communication. They are designed to raise a brand's profile and increase sales of its products or services.
Today, these campaigns can run across a number of offline and online channels:
- print media;
- online media;
- television and radio;
- social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.);
- video platforms (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.);
- outdoor advertising (street billboards, shopping centres, etc.);
- direct marketing (phone, SMS, email, etc.).
An effective marketing plan can help you meet or even exceed your sales targets. To build a successful advertising campaign, you need to work through certain steps properly.
How to create a successful advertising campaign
Set your objective and budget
There are several types of objectives you can consider when creating an advertising campaign.
Lead generation: targets "strangers" who could become customers and are starting to interact with the business.
Brand awareness: targets existing leads so they learn more about the company and the products or services it offers.
Consideration: targets people who already know the brand and need to be convinced that its products or services suit their needs.
Loyalty: targets existing customers to persuade them to buy again.
Once you have set your main objective, it is a good idea to define something more specific. For example, gaining 50 new newsletter subscribers next month, or increasing sales in a product category by x% within three months.
Whatever objective you choose, you also need a realistic budget. In general, small companies can invest 15–20% of their revenue in campaigns, while large, established ones can invest 5–15%. Of course, the final decision is yours.
Identify your target audience
The more you know about your target audience, the easier it will be to run a successful campaign. Create buyer personas – semi-fictional characters based on your existing or ideal customers. Each profile should include:
There are several types of objectives you can consider when creating an advertising campaign.
Lead generation: targets "strangers" who could become customers and are starting to interact with the business.
Brand awareness: targets existing leads so they learn more about the company and the products or services it offers.
Consideration: targets people who already know the brand and need to be convinced that its products or services suit their needs.
Loyalty: targets existing customers to persuade them to buy again.
Once you have set your main objective, it is a good idea to define something more specific. For example, gaining 50 new newsletter subscribers next month, or increasing sales in a product category by x% within three months.
Whatever objective you choose, you also need a realistic budget. In general, small companies can invest 15–20% of their revenue in campaigns, while large, established ones can invest 5–15%. Of course, the final decision is yours.
Identify your target audience
The more you know about your target audience, the easier it will be to run a successful campaign. Create buyer personas – semi-fictional characters based on your existing or ideal customers. Each profile should include:
- general information: age, gender, location, income, education, etc.;
- professional information: industry, role, etc.;
- key values: what matters to them when making a decision;
- personal and professional goals and challenges: what they need and how your products or services can help;
- where to find them: which publications do they read, where do they shop, which social networks do they use, which events do they attend and where do they get their information?
Once you have defined your target audience, you will know how to address them and through which channel.
Craft your message
The message you deliver through your campaign must be tailored to your target audience. Then think about how you can trigger an emotional response from potential customers. Target their wants or needs and highlight how your brand can improve their lives.
Now is the time to brainstorm with your team to find the ideal messages. To make discussions more efficient and keep your colleagues engaged, use interactive whiteboards.
Develop your communication strategy
You might be tempted to use as many communication channels as possible, but this is not always the best approach. The more channels you adapt your campaign for, the more you will spend. Instead, we recommend focusing on the channels best suited to the target audience you have identified. That way, you go straight to the point.
Launch the advertising campaign
Now it is time to launch the campaign you have just created. Fortunately, this is the easiest step. All you need are capable people to coordinate the plan you have developed.
In some cases, a graphic designer, a copywriter and a social media manager are enough. If you want to print or personalise textiles, however, you will also need a Direct to Garment printer.
Measure and analyse the results
Once the campaign is over, you need to analyse the results carefully. They will show you what worked (and what did not): which channels delivered the most results, which customer groups bought the most and how much you actually spent per sale.
To streamline business processes and information management workflows, work with a company that provides printing and document management services.
Marketing is constantly evolving, and you need to keep up with new possibilities and trends to succeed. Even so, the steps listed in this article will always remain relevant. Set clear objectives, identify your target audience, tailor your message to it and choose the right communication channels, and your advertising campaign will deliver the results you want.
