JWT Advertising Planning Guide Summary

Advertising needs planning and innovation since clients operate in different market and has different needs.

Every ideal advertising planning method should be realistic, pragmatic, fundamental and structured.

Realistic means they must be based on what has been found in practice but not just the imposition of an external structure.

Pragmatic also means the advertising planning method must be reasonably simple, memorable and easy to follow. In other words, they must be workable.

An advertising planning method being fundamental  means they must be based on logical and consistent theories of how advertising contributes to marketing. This also includes how communication works in advertising, how people create new ideas and how they work together to produce the best outcomes.

Adverting planning method should be able to be broken down into simpler processes to make evaluation of each task easier. This makes the method structured.

The writers seeks to summarise the theories on which advertising planning methods are based and then set out a framework for planning which represents what the best planners are doing anyhow.

 

How Advertising Contributes to Marketing

People select their choice of brand based on their overall impression of each brand. So before they visit supermarkets or stores to buy items, they had already arranged the list of items they wish to purchase in a certain order. So if they wish to buy powder soap, they have already selected in their mind the particular kind of powder soap they wish to purchase. The choice they make is based on the decision they made on a brand with regards to how it appeals to them.

Some select particular brands based on how it appeals to their senses.

This includes how it looks, smells, tastes, feels or sound.

Some brands also appeal better to their reason based on what they can use it for and how it performs with relation to other brands. Some people claim iPhones are easier to use and classier than Android smartphones. This could be a reason someone would choose an Apple iPhone over other Brands.

Some brand could also appeal to the clients emotions. Benz automobiles are considered to be patronized by the rich or the wealthy in society so that feeling of being rich could make someone choose a Mercedes Benz over other car brands. These come with psychological rewards.

So before the individual decides on one brand over the other, he has already considered the various appeals.

Brands are like a person; though one, the individual has various characteristics that come together to make him complete. We don’t his various attributes from him. We still consider him a one person. So for someone to love that individual, he must have considered his various attributes and still considers him best to befriend or choose as a partner. This is similar to how we see brands. Though with many features, we still see them as one and unique among its competitors and appeals to our senses, the reason and emotions.

Every brand has a blend of motivating and discriminating appeals. The motivating appeals inspire people to buy the brand. In the smartphone industry, every company is producing phones with selfie cameras. This has become common because it is an integral part of the considerations clients make when buying a smartphone. Some appeals are less important in motivating people to buy the product type but adds an extra value that makes the brand different from others. Those are the discriminating appeals.

 

Factors Affecting Brand Personality

The factors that affect brand personality are sometimes under the manufacturer’s control but some are not.

It is in the manufacturer’s control to decide how to name the product, package design, how to advertise, price and distribute the product.

When the product gets to the market, whether the customer will buy it or not lies with the customer. The customer may consider his or her past experiences with the product, what people have told him about the product and how the product compares with its competitors in the same market. These factors are beyond the manufacturer’s control.

It is difficult to segment consumers and attach them to particular brands because their decision to choose one brand over another can change over time and anytime. Some people may be buying a particular brand because of its proximity to them and also due to their financial state, once any of these improve or change, their choice of brand may also change.

 

Role of Advertising to Marketing

Advertising has direct and indirect contributions to marketing.

Advertising contributes directly by consistently reminding customers of the existence of the brand. Advertising informs people of the new products and features from the brand.

Indirectly, advertising also adds value to the product in the long term. Consumers are made to believe what the product should mean to them. Currently, most tech companies are building an ecosystem around their devices. Apple makes you believe that buying an iPhone isn’t just about buying a phone, you are buying value, something you can use along with its other devices which includes the Apple TV, iMac, Macbook and they all synchronise and work seamlessly. This changes how people view a brand therefore affecting their knowledge and attitudes.

 

How Communication Work in Advertising

People already have their perceptions about brands based on their past experiences and information they have received. Any information received inconsistent with this is likely to be ignored. Sometimes people receive and accept messages not because they probably like it but because of the person bringing the information.

Below are some implications for advertising communication:

Advertising, instead of trying to convert people instantly to new ideas, should rather modify peoples existing ideas gradually.

People will accept an advertisement if only it is consistent with their interests and attitudes.

Exaggeration in advertising could be counter-productive.

The response to an advertisement may not be as we expect.

 

Setting Advertising Objectives

Properly set objectives have to answer these questions:

1. How does the brand compare with competitors?

Brands are better because their competitors are good. Without competitors, there is no way of comparing your brand. This means as your competitors are getting better, you must always be ahead of them.

2. What is the direct role of advertising?

This is about what you want advertising to do, whether you want to create awareness or make people take an action and buy. And as you identify, you make available the resources needed.

3. What is the indirect role for advertising? This refers to the long term impact of the advertisement you wish to have on consumers.

The desired responses we want to get can be made more specific by listing them according to the ways in which brands do appeal to people. That is, in terms of; responses from the senses – what we want people to  notice  about the brand; responses from the reason – what we want people to believe  about the brand; responses from the emotions – what we want people to feel towards the brand.

4. Who should be the target group? You need to identify your target group based on the direct or indirect objectives of advertising.
5. What priority in responses? No advertising could hope to get all the desired responses to the brand all the time. So the objectives must aim to set priorities, for both short and long-term.
6. How to answer all these questions? There is a lot of information and research that will help us answer them; but in the end it will be a matter of judgement.

 

The Nature Of Planning Advertising

The Creative Process

To create a new idea, people have to pass through some processes. Sometimes new ideas are obtained unintentionally and some are through tedious research. Scientifcally, there are processes that enables a theory or idea to be accepted.

To create a new idea, a problem must first be defined which you realised when solved could bring a reward. You then gather any available information about the problem. From the information gathered and other thoughts perceived, the hypothesis is created with justification. The hypothesis are then tested and tried to make sure it works across various situations. If the hypothesis fails, the idea is thrown away or put aside but if it could not be disproved, it is then accepted.

Framework For Planning Advertising

One way to provide disciplines and controls for our advertising planning is to establish a regular sequence of work and thought. We do this by asking where are we, why are we there, where could we get there and are we getting there?

This framework recognises that there must be a continuous process of learning and modification and responding to changing competitive circumstances. It also provides feedback. Answering each question, and trying out each experiment, prompts re-examination of the question before.

These questions are all about the  brand, not about the advertisements. By use of the same questions and the same language – the language of responses about all marketing activities, we can help to ensure that it is a genuine marketing mix, not a lot of unrelated activities.

It also makes it clear that the only way to plan advertising effectively is to have the closest possible co-operation between client and agency throughout the process. The agency cannot answer the questions fully on its own; and should not try to.

 

Where Are We?

This question answers the question on where our brand stand now compared with competitors in the market and in people’s minds? If it is a new brand, where do the competitors or substitutes stand? Where have we come from? In what direction do we seem to be going?

Why Are We There?

This is about the factors that have contributed to the brand’s strengths and weaknesses.

Where Could We Be?

This question tries to answer realistically what could be the position of the brand in the future. Is it a new position or maintaining our present position?

How Could We Get There?

The changes that need to be done and the elements in the marketing mix that might be changed to help achieve that, is what this question is about. The role and objectives for advertising and the campaigns that could achieve the advertising objectives.

Are We Getting There?

This question is about knowing whether the advertising is achieving its objectives and whether the total effect is working? If it is an area test, which area did it perform better?