Advertising 101

							       CPA Info # 111                                                     February 2005

                                       Advertising 101
                                        Megan L. Bruch
                                     Marketing Specialist
                                Center for Profitable Agriculture


Introduction                                        Advertising Media

While advertising may not be a typical              Advertising can be accomplished through
marketing strategy for traditional farming          many types of media including newspapers,
operations, farmers and agri-entrepreneurs          radio, magazines, television, direct mail,
involved in direct-marketing, value-added or        point of sale, outdoor (signage and
agritourism enterprises should include              billboards) and the Internet. The media type
advertising in their marketing plan. These          used by the target audience to learn about
entrepreneurs need to become familiar with          products and services and to make
advertising fundamentals and concepts.              purchasing decisions need to be consistent
                                                    with the advertising media chosen. It is also
What is advertising?                                important to consider the advantages and
                                                    disadvantages of each media type. The types
While the term “advertising” is often               of media are compared in Table 1.
thought to be synonymous with the term
“marketing,” advertising is only one option         Once the type of media is chosen, the
for promotional strategies within a complete        specific media outlet, such as the specific
marketing plan. A marketing plan will likely        newspaper or radio station, must be selected.
include a combination of promotional                Consider the geographic reach of the
strategies, including advertising, publicity,       publication or station and the demographics
sampling, word-of-mouth referrals and               of the readers or listeners to determine if
discounting.                                        they match the target audience of the
                                                    product or service being advertised.
Advertising is an announcement made to the
public to call attention to the desirable           The placement or timing of the
characteristics of a product or service. It         advertisement is also an important factor to
requires investments of both time and               determine. When is the target audience
finances. Done well, investments in                 likely to tune in to a radio or television
advertising may generate sales. Done                station? Which section of the newspaper or
poorly, consumers may develop a negative            magazine is the target audience likely to
impression of the business.                         read?




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   Table 1: Advantages and Disadvantages Associated with Specific Advertising Mediai
  Media                Advantages                            Disadvantages
Newspaper     Potentially large coverage area                   Inconsistent reproduction
              Low cost relative to other media                  Typically one-day exposure
              Immediate/timely (daily or weekly)                Clutter (can be lost among other ads)
              Access to many socioeconomic groups               May be limited to text or black-and-white
              Target specific audience via specialty section    Lack of movement and sound
              Can use color
              Flexibility in ad size and cost
              Visibility of the product (i.e., picture)
              Use of coupons to measure effectiveness
              Short lead time
Radio         Specific audience (demographics)                  Time limitations restrict message
              Immediate/timely/multiple exposures               Need for repetition
              Possible high entertainment value of ad           Clutter (can be lost among others)
              Celebrity endorsement or pitch                    Ad recall is low
              Time and content flexibility                      “Station surfing” during commercial breaks
              Use of a human voice (celebrity)                  Short ad exposure
              Sound reinforcement
Magazines     Potentially large coverage area                   Clutter (can be lost among others)
              Can target a specific audience                    Cost associated with repeat exposure
              Can use color                                     Lack of movement and sound
              Flexibility in size and cost                      Not immediate; publication may be weekly,
              Visibility of the product (i.e., picture)         monthly or less frequent
              Use of coupons to measure effectiveness
              Large repeat and secondary exposure
Television    Large coverage area                               Can be costly to produce and air
              Can target a specific audience                    Time limitations restrict message
              Uses both visual and auditory stimulants          Need for repetition/short ad recall
              Large repeat exposure                             Clutter (can be lost among other ads)
                                                                Inverse relationship between hours watched and
                                                                audience income
Direct Mail   Can target a specific audience                    Expensive ($1 to $2 per piece)
              More opportunity to educate on product/service    Difficult to obtain “clean” mailing list
              benefits                                          May be perceived as junk mail/discarded
                                                                unopened
Point of      Can influence impulse purchasing                  Can be expensive
Sale          Helps product stand out among competition         Clutter (ad can be lost among other point-of-sale
              Customer has opportunity for direct response at   material)
              time of ad presentation (i.e., purchase)
Outdoor       Large audience exposure depending on              Limited message length
(signage      placement                                         Initial production and preparation costs
and           Use of color                                      Ideal sites are difficult to access
billboards)   Can provide information and directions
              Continuous exposure
Internet      Information available 24/7                        Maintenance necessary
              Customers access at their convenience             Not effective as stand-alone strategy
              Relatively cost effective                         Difficult to gauge impact
              Can target types of viewers                       Costs of development and maintenance can vary
              Messages can be timely
              Ads can be interactive
              Ability to use coupons to measure effectiveness




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Developing Advertisements                        Preparations for advertising should begin at
                                                 least two months prior to the time when the
Advertisements should be developed to            advertisements will be run. Preparations
reach the target audience and designed           include contacting media for costs and
around the business’ desired image.              scheduling information. If development of
Advertising can only be effective if the         the advertisements will be outsourced, more
message reaches the business’ specific target    time will be needed. A professional
audience.                                        advertising agency may be able to assist in
                                                 the development of effective advertisements
Advertisements and all other promotional         and in determining advertisement
materials should portray a consistent image      placement. If possible, advertisements
for the business enterprise. The portrayal of    should be developed by the same source to
a consistent image through all of your           maintain consistency.
marketing efforts will help to build customer
recognition of your business or product and      When developing advertisements, consider
decrease the potential for customer              the six point advertising strategy. This
confusion.                                       strategy will assist in creating a focused and
                                                 comprehensive advertisement that will
The development and use of an appealing          effectively communicate needed information
business name and an attractive logo will        to potential customers. Be sure to carefully
help to build awareness and recognition of       check the advertisements for grammar and
the enterprise and to create consistency in      spelling errors.
marketing efforts. A graphic artist could
assist in the development of a logo. The
business name and logo may be trademarked
so that it cannot be used by other businesses.




Six Point Advertising Strategyii
1. Primary Purpose
    What is the primary purpose of our advertisement?
2. Primary Benefit
    What unique benefit can we offer customers? What primary customer value or need
    can my enterprise meet?
3. Secondary Benefit
    What other key benefits will customers receive from our products or services?
4. Target Audience
    At whom (what target market) are we aiming this advertisement?
5. Audience Reaction
    What response do we want from our audience (come to the operation, visit a Web
    site, call an information line)?
6. Company Personality
    What image do we want to convey in our advertisement?



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Purchasing Advertisingiii
                                                             The effectiveness of advertisements can be
Like many products and services,                             evaluated using several methods including
advertising is often a “get what you pay for”
business. Although the rates for a four-line                      Tracking and evaluating total sales,
classified advertisement in the newspaper or                      average sales per customer or customer
a radio spot running at 3:00 am may seem                          visits before, during and after an
like a bargain up front, they may not be an                       advertisement or series of
effective method to reach the specific target                     advertisements is run
audience of a particular product or service.                      Recording the number of coupons
                                                                  redeemed (if a coupon was included in
Remember that media agencies are                                  the advertisement)
businesses too. Selling advertising space is                      Asking new customers how they heard
how these businesses earn revenue. Media                          of your business
agencies and advertisers support each other
in their business endeavors and need each
other.                                                       Summary

                                                             Advertising is an investment necessary for
Evaluating the Effectiveness of                              many value-added agriculture businesses.
Advertisements                                               With proper choices of media types,
                                                             placement and design, advertising can be an
During and following an advertisement                        effective component of an enterprise’s
campaign, it is important to evaluate the                    overall marketing plan.
effectiveness of the advertisements in
meeting the established purpose. This
evaluation will help to determine if the                     The author would like to acknowledge the
correct media type, specific media outlet or                 assistance of Rob Holland and Amanda
advertisement placement was chosen or if                     Ziehl, Extension Specialists with the Center
the customers received the desired message.                  for Profitable Agriculture, for their review
The information learned from the evaluation                  of this publication.
can be used to develop future advertising
campaigns or make adjustments to the
current campaign.

i
   Adapted from Dalton, Anne, Rob Holland, Shasta Hubbs and Kent Wolfe. Marketing for the Value-Added
Agricultural Enterprise. The University of Tennessee Agricultural Development Center. May 2002.
ii
    Adapted from: Marchall, Maria I. The Marketing Mix: Putting the Pieces Together. Purdue University. Available
online < http://www.foodsci.purdue.edu/outreach/vap/materials/marketing.pdf> Accessed February 15, 2005.
iii
    Adapted from Clark, Patricia. Communications Plans for Small Enterprises.




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