Advertising: the basics

Planning an advertising campaign

Certain businesses choose to advertise when their target audience is most likely to buy their product or service. Sometimes this can be seasonal - a toy retailer, for example, will focus its advertising efforts around the run-up to Christmas. If you're selling to other businesses, it's worth identifying when your customers and potential customers will have the budget to spend.

However, some businesses choose to focus more attention on their quieter times on the basis that the busier times will naturally see an increase in sales. Advertising during quieter times might mean you won't have to work as hard to stand out from other competitors, as they won't be advertising, but there may be fewer customers to target.

Gaining a greater market share during these periods could not only help during the busier times - you will have already developed a bigger customer base - but will improve your cashflow and minimise your reliance on certain trading periods.

The reasons behind a campaign

Many businesses launch advertising campaigns simply to boost sales or increase brand awareness.

The launch of a new product will almost certainly require you to step up your advertising.

New businesses will want to consider some form of advertising just to let people know they exist. You could combine it with an introductory offer to give people an incentive to visit or call.

Can you plan the campaign yourself?

You need to think carefully about what you want to achieve and the message you want the reader, viewer or listener to take away. Remember - advertising is only effective if you reach your target audience with a message that makes them want to find out more.

You may be able to design and produce a straightforward advertisement for printed media - see the page in this guide for tips on writing a print advertisement. However, most print advertising organisations have in-house services if you can't do it yourself.

If your advertising needs are more demanding than an occasional, low-priced local advertisement, it may be worth outsourcing the campaign to an advertising agency. See our guide on how to choose and manage an advertising agency. This is only suitable if you are prepared to pay the extra cost, but in any event, it is advisable to have your adverts professionally designed to ensure maximum impact.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• How advertising can help your business
• Local advertising
• Advertising on the internet and in online directories
• Advertising in the trade and technical press
• Radio, cinema, outdoor and national advertising
• Planning an advertising campaign
• Getting value for money from your advertising
• Managing responses and monitoring your campaign
• How to write an advertisement
• Here's how I increased my sales through advertising

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