We all have heard about advertising campaigns and in this article I’ll break down what it actually means in marketing.
An advertising campaign is defined as a combination of advertising activities that are built around a central theme. A recent example is Apple’s Apple Watch and the TV ads make up a large amount of their advertising activities. To establish a measurable objective for advertising campaigns, one should remember DAGMAR which is Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results. The DAGMAR of an advertising campaign can be determined by establishing an advertising budget through either of the four following methods. The first method is percentage of sales which allocates a certain percentage of sales towards advertising. The second method is competitive parity which matches major competitors budgets. The third method is all available funds which creates a budget for every expense except from advertising and allocates the left over disposable income towards the advertising campaign. The fourth and recommended method is the task method which is broken down into three parts. The first is to determine advertising objectives to increase brand awareness, the second is to determine the advertising mix which pertains to the media in which the advertising takes place (e.g., news, print, television, etc.), and the third is tabulate the costs of the second part and cut costs when needed.
Once the goals have been set for the advertising campaign, you must then consider which media outlet best fits the advertising campaign. To determine this you must evaluate the five following general considerations. The first is the necessary circulation that includes the reach and frequency of such media and you must avoid wasted circulation. The second is to set promotional objectives to inform your target market. The third is the cost related to the circulation that is normally measured as CPM or cost per 1,000 individuals or households. The fourth is the timing of the message which should coincide with the buying decision and examples includes the media closing date and flexibility. The fifth is the requirements of the message that includes the length and complexity of the message and what senses that would be needed in order to reach the target market.
You should also be aware of the characteristics of the different types of media. The first is Print which includes newspapers and magazines delivers a better solution to explain complex messages but there is a high unit cost of CPM. The second is Direct Mail which could be snail mail or email and it has the least wasted circulation as it has the best match with the target market especially when provided a good mailing list; although, the inclusion of junk mail creates an unfavorable noise factor. The third is Broadcast Media which includes TV or movies and it provides the lowest unit cost of CPM because of the high circulation of larger audiences but since commercials are limited to a shorter length is reduces the complexity of the message. There is also the higher chance of wasted circulation; however, trends like infomercials and narrowcasting has helped to overcome these disadvantages as it allows a longer length that increases the complexity of the message.
