SMART MARKETING: An Attempt At Defining "Advertising"

If marketing is the process of growing your business, advertising is the primary mechanism for giving you that opportunity.

Since I’m not about dictionary definitions (because anyone can get one of those), let me opine that advertising is the “voice” of your business. It’s the shout out the window to get the attention of those who are passing by. It’s your business card. It’s your invitation to consumers to sample or taste your offering.

There are, in essence, two sides of the advertising equation. There’s message and there’s media. One is art and the other is science. One is “soft” and the other is “hard.”

THE RIGHT MESSAGE. As I’ve stated probably dozens of times since beginning this column, the RIGHT message, delivered on the RIGHT medium or media, at the RIGHT time to the RIGHT audience ALWAYS works, to one extent or another. This is gospel. Take it to the bank. Missing the target on any of these elements means you’re throwing your money away. Let’s look at these one at a time.

The RIGHT message means saying something that your customer wants to hear. It’s not simply announcing your name, what you do, your phone number, etc. Consumers are not concerned necessarily with features. They want to know how what they’re reading, seeing or hearing benefits them. The RIGHT message makes the consumer want to know more, and therefore he/she will contact you.

The RIGHT medium or media means selecting the right method of delivering the right message. Broadcast programming targets specific demographic cells. You don’t see ads for feminine hygiene products during football games.

Likewise, you don’t see ads for beer during Oprah.

Certain radio stations target younger listeners. Others aim for older, wealthier listeners. If you know who your customer is in terms of gender, age, income, etc., you’ll be able to select the RIGHT medium or media on which to transmit your message.

The RIGHT time doesn’t mean time of day. It means “fishing when the fish are biting.” I like to use the analogy of a casket. If you don’t have a dead body lying around, you probably won’t purchase a casket, no matter how attractive the offer. If your message is seen or heard by your target customers when certain biological manifestations are occurring — such as termite swarm season, increased ant activity after a particularly wet or dry period, mole crickets, sod webworms or chinch bugs emerging in lawns — chances are good you’ll hear from them.

Finally, the RIGHT audience means knowing who your customer is and what he/she consumes in the way of media. Don’t make the mistake of confusing your personal or particular tastes with those of your customers. Sometimes these two converge, but more often than not, you are not your customer!

A SERIOUS BUSINESS. It should be noted that most of us know just enough about advertising to be dangerous. This is not child’s play. It’s serious business because you’re investing hard earned dollars in an attempt to leverage those dollars towards the growth of your business. I won’t trivialize it by some “don’t try this at home” off handed cliche.

But just as we believe our services are better left in the hands of professionals than in those of well-intentioned do-it-yourselfers, so, too is advertising something that should be handled by someone who knows what he/she is doing.

The author is senior vice president of Massey-Persons-Brinati Communications, a subsidiary of Massey Services Inc. Maitland, Fla. He can be reached via e-mail at bbrewer@pctonline.com.