Promotional Advertising
To Stand Out And Stay Out!

One main objective of paid promotional advertising is to stimulate demand for the products or services you offer. Advertising is one of many marketing tools. It is used for a specific purpose or in certain well chosen circumstances.

An Advertising Plan

1. You generally use promotional advertising to communicate specific information, such as:

• the existence of your offer,
• what the customer will get out of it,
• where and when to get it,
• how best to use it.

2. You use advertising to persuade people to buy … by:

• repeating your message within a predetermined time frame,
• using slightly different versions of your message at different moments in time,
• being visible in many places at the same time,
• by using advertising slogans that stick to mind easily.

3. Last, but far from least, you also use promotional advertising it to increase your notoriety and brand name acceptance.

The Senses Rule On Land

Humans get their first input of what is significant in their surroundings through their senses. Therefore, it is standard promotional advertising practice to appeal to your senses of eyesight, hearing, smell and touch.

1. Most often, your eyesight or hearing will be solicited first, to draw your attention to a given product or service.
2. Then, and only then, will your brain intervene to analyze the information being presented to you.

An ad will generally be designed to appeal to your senses first. Which one of your senses will get the first input will depend on the moment's context and physical surroundings. Here is how:

• Your eyesight (bright colors, movement, strategic placement of appealing objects).
• Your hearing (we are all familiar with the suddenly loud commercial on TV and with the music chosen to put you in the right mood …).
• Your sense of smell (perfumes near the main entrance of a large store, the restaurant projecting appetizing smells in the immediate neighborhood, the distinctively appealing smell of a new car interior, …).
• Your sense of touch (softness of high quality clothing, the light and solid feel of high impact plastics, the cold and heavy feeling of a high quality frying pan, …).

Where standard marketing and advertising practice is used, you are usually a "passive receptor" before your brain kicks in to analyze. Once it does, then it will suggest an appropriate action … flee, buy or ignore!

A Two Edged Sword

Advertising techniques have grown so sophisticated and effective that some consumers have become jaded and indifferent, unconsciously shutting out the "noise". An increasing number even react very negatively toward anything resembling an advertisement or a sales pitch.

A sure sign that traditional promotional advertising tactics are losing ground is the emergence of consumer protest groups. The influence and clout of some well organized groups have steadily increased over the past two decades.

The Revolution Is On

The ever increasing use of the internet and of the vast resources of the web is proof that more and more consumers are actively taking matters into their own hands.

Many web surfers are not taking the advertisers word for granted anymore.

They are active, even pro-active, in finding out for themselves what is best for them.

The pendulum is swinging the other direction … toward them. The web has put the "power back in the hands of the consumer". Make it your business to know how you can make a positive contribution to this already well established trend.

The word is "in". The rules have changed. Find out how marketing and advertising should be done on the web.

Kind Words For You

By far, the most effective and efficient form of promotional advertising is word of mouth. My recommendation is:

• Rely mostly on word of mouth advertising to support your marketing efforts.
• Use paid advertising sparingly and mostly for special occasions.
• Above all … avoid manipulative tactics … they will eventually backfire on you! It actually pays to observe strict advertising ethics.

Best of all, word of mouth is free promotional advertising. Plan to make the most of it by offering genuinely helpful content on your web site.

Stay Tuned!

Do come back often. I will be adding to this site regularly.

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