Advertising 101: A Refresher

Peady’s Selling Engagement sponsored by IRD Prospector


Welcome to this week’s post on sales and selling success.

As my regular followers know, I get to work with media salespeople across various platforms. This affords me the opportunity to work in-field with those salespeople and also meet their local customers. In those meetings it surprises me how many salespeople don’t understand the basics of advertising which results in misunderstandings, failed campaigns, unhappy customers and missed opportunities.

Some of the basics

  1. In reality, #1 with a bullet! Advertising takes time to gain traction. 
  2. What is reach? Understanding a target audience, the size of that market, how many your medium can deliver and why it’s important to an advertising campaign.
  3. Why sufficient frequency (or repetition of message) is a critical component after you have established reach parameters. Then determining the level of frequency needed.
  4. How the right creative message transforms, drives retention and creates awareness or action using the competitive uniqueness of the business.
  5. What’s a feature, what’s a benefit? Where they both fit in creative messaging.
  6. The strengths and weaknesses of your own medium – why it can’t be all things to all people and all things to all businesses.
  7. Using the power of Branding messages and not relying on Call to Action as the only solution. Understanding the difference and the application of one or both.
  8. Gaining agreement with customers on the mutualexpectations of a campaign and setting up outcomes that are measurable and realistic.
  9. Understanding the role of advertising and what it can do and what it can’t do. Specifically, advertising can create interest, leads, enquiries and traffic.

Product knowledge is only part of the puzzle

Many sales managers continually emphasise to their teams the importance of product knowledge – yes, it’s important but nowhere near the importance of understanding how advertising works and how to use your medium to do it.

Albert Lasker said…

Even in this digital world many of the basics outlined by Albert Lasker, David Ogilvy, William Bernbachand Leo Burnett are still applicable. Who? If you don’t know who these guys are and you work in media sales, Google them now!
Lasker who some call the father of modern advertising said this “advertising is a very simple thing. I can give it to you in three words: it is salesmanship” 
Until next week, good selling!
 

About the author 

Stephen Pead is a media industry veteran of 30 years with significant experience in direct sales, sales management and general management. He is based in Sydney and specialises in helping SME’s market their businesses more effectively and providing training for salespeople and sales managers.

He can be contacted at [email protected]

 

 

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