Advertising For Dummies

Gary Dahl is an award-winning copywriter, creative director, and advertising agency owner in California's Silicon Valley. He is also the creator of the sensational Pet Rock.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

What You’re Not to Read 2

Foolish Assumptions 2

How This Book Is Organized 3

Part I: Advertising 101 3

Part II: Creating Great Ads for Every Medium 3

Part III: Buying the Different Media 4

Part IV: Beyond the Basics: Creating Buzz and Using Publicity 4

Part V: The Part of Tens 4

Icons Used in This Book 5

Where to Go from Here 5

Part I: Advertising 101 7

Chapter 1: Advertising: Mastering the Art of Promotion 9

Making Advertising Work 10

Getting to Know Your Media Options 11

Regarding radio 11

Rating TV 12

Contemplating print 12

Musing upon direct mail 13

Scrutinizing outdoor advertising 14

Ogling online ads 14

Poring over publicity 14

Lessons from the Legends: Figuring Out Your Advertising Needs 15

David Ogilvy 16

Bill Bernbach 17

Wieden and Kennedy 18

Chapter 2: Setting and Working within Your Advertising Budget 19

Determining How Much You Can Afford to Spend 20

Developing an Advertising Strategy and a Tactical Plan 22

Researching and evaluating your competition 22

Identifying your target market 23

Knowing your product’s appeal 24

Maximizing Your Budget 24

Getting the most out of your creative and production 25

Using media you can afford 26

Chapter 3: Boosting Your Budget with Co-Op Programs 33

Knowing Who Uses Co-Op Funds 33

Finding Out Which of Your Suppliers Have Co-Op Funds Available 35

Knowing who to talk to 36

You’ve found your funds, now how do you get the dough? 37

Understanding the Rules, Regulations, and Restrictions 37

Getting your ads preapproved 38

Obtaining proof of performance 39

Submitting your co-op claims package 40

Chapter 4: Defining and Positioning Your Message 41

Understanding Why People Choose One Product or Service over Another 42

Image is everything 42

You’ve got personality! 42

Convenience: More than location 43

Don’t sacrifice service! 44

Let ’em know your uniqueness 45

The price is right 45

Researching and Assessing Your Competition: What Sets Your Product Apart? 46

Developing a Strategy for Your Advertising Campaign 48

Case Study: Advertising a Chain of Women’s Plus-Size Clothing Stores 49

Identifying the USP: The unique selling proposition 50

Knowing the budget — and staying within its limits 50

Shooting the ads 51

Selecting the right media 51

Applying these ideas to your ad campaign 52

Chapter 5: Forming an Effective Ad Campaign 53

Identifying and Targeting Your Audience 54

Focus on your primary market 55

Research your market 55

Checking Out Your Competition’s Ads so You Can Differentiate Yours 56

Focusing on Ads That You Respond to Most 57

Concocting a Creative Hook to Get Your Audience’s Attention 59

Creative brainstorming 60

Creative example: Developing a campaign for a community college 62

Incorporating Your Creative Message into an Overall Media Ad Campaign 65

Ensuring consistency of your message in all media you choose 66

Keeping your message simple 66

Using words that sell 67

Delivering your message with clarity 69

Part II: Creating Great Ads for Every Medium 71

Chapter 6: Online Advertising: Maximizing the Enormous Reach of the Internet 73

Measuring the Pros and Cons of Online Advertising 74

Creating Your Own Web Site 76

Deciding on your Web site goals 77

Choosing an effective domain name 78

Saving money (or your sanity): Your Web design 78

Designing a strong Web site 79

Promoting Your Site 83

Setting Goals for Online Ads 85

Ads that build awareness 86

Ads that encourage click-through 86

Ads that encourage sales 87

Choosing Among Online Ad Formats 87

Creating banner ads 88

Doing e-mail advertising 92

Chapter 7: Using Print Ads: Small Spaces with Big Audiences 95

Exploring the Advantages of Print 95

Recognizing What Makes a Print Ad Successful 96

Writing and Designing an Eye-Catching Print Ad 99

Hammering out your headline 99

Shaping your subheads 101

Building your body copy 101

Generating your graphics 102

Don’t forget the layout! 103

Chapter 8: Radio: Effective, Affordable, and Fun 107

Summarizing Your Business in 60 Seconds 107

Who are you? 108

What are you selling? 108

When do you want consumers to act? 109

How can customers get in touch with you? 109

Why should customers hire or buy from you? 110

Deciding on the Format for Your Ad 112

Talking it up: Dialogue 112

Amusing (and schmoozing) the masses: Comedy 113

Giving just the facts: A straight read 114

Determining Who Should Read the Script 115

Doing it yourself 115

Using a studio announcer 118

Hiring a professional voice talent 118

Setting It All in Motion: How to Get Your Ad on the Radio 120

Chapter 9: Demystifying TV Commercials: They Don’t Have to Win Awards to Be Effective 123

Designing Your TV Commercial in Layers 124

Audio 124

Video 125

Computer graphics 125

Bringing the Audio and Visual Together 126

Deciding What to Feature in Your Commercial 129

Appearing in your own commercial 129

Promoting with a professional 130

Highlighting your place of business 130

Focusing the camera on your product or service 131

Figuring Out Where to Shoot 131

On location 131

In the studio 134

Producing Your Commercial 135

Using the TV station’s production department 135

Hiring an independent production house 137

Editing Your Commercial 137

Chapter 10: Collateral Advertising and Direct Mail: Brochures, Flyers, Newsletters, and More 139

First Things First: Planning Your Collateral Campaign 140

Watching Out for Collateral Budget Busters 141

Adding a little (or a lot) of color 142

Printing cheap: No such thing? 142

Designing the Best Collateral Ads for Your Business 145

Striving for a simple design and clear copy 146

Deciding what to include in your ad 147

Getting help with your design 151

Handing Off the Dirty Work: Direct-Mail Houses 154

Asking the direct-mail provider some important questions 154

Planning your postage 157

Chapter 11: Opting for Outdoor Ads: Billboards, Posters, Ads on Buses, and Other Signage 159

Recognizing the Advantages of Outdoor Advertising 160

Measuring the Effectiveness of Outdoor Ads 162

Choosing Among Your Outdoor Advertising Options 163

Designing Memorable Outdoor Advertising 166

Pursuing potential customers 167

Making your ad readable 168

Keeping your ad clear 169

Making it worth remembering 169

Looking at a Success Story: Chick-fil-A’s Billboard Campaign 170

Aiming for the target audience 171

Setting up the marketing strategy 171

Capitalizing on the creative strategy 171

Reaping the results 171

Part III: Buying the Different Media 173

Chapter 12: Investing in Internet Advertising 175

Hiring Someone to Create Your Business Web Site 176

Choosing a Web designer worthy of your hard-earned dollars 176

Contracting with and paying a Web designer 178

Finding an ISP to Run Your Site 179

Ranking Your Site: Purchasing Key Words on Search Engines 181

Buying Banner Ads on Other Web Sites 181

Using ad networks 181

Placing your online ads yourself 182

Online advertising via affiliate programs 182

Finding out whether your banner is working 183

Assessing the Cost-Effectiveness of E-Mail Advertising 184

Chapter 13: Buying Ad Space in Print Media 187

Choosing the Right Publication for Your Print Ad 188

Calculating Your Print Ad’s Cost 189

Finding a Good Sales Rep 191

Cold-calling a publication: Don’t do it! 191

Going straight to the top: Call the sales manager 192

Asking for referrals 192

Becoming a Formidable Ad Buyer 193

Acting as though you’re reluctant 193

Making your sales rep think she’s got competition 195

Complaining when the time is right 196

Chapter 14: Purchasing Ad Time on the Radio 199

Determining the Best Radio Station for Your Ads 200

Specifying which demographic you’re after 201

Doing your homework 202

Buying the station 204

Talking the Talk of Radio Advertising 205

Cume 206

Ranker 206

Dayparts 207

Reading the Fine Print 207

Hammering out the details 207

Holding ’em to it 209

Waiting Patiently for the Results 210

Giving your audience time to respond 210

Buying radio time: Too little, too much? 211

Evaluating your radio ads from time to time 211

Taking Advantage of Seasonal Incentives to Reduce Your Costs 212

Chapter 15: Getting Your Ads on Television 215

Buying the Programming, Not the Station 216

Comparing TV Stations: Request Media Kits 217

Ready to Negotiate? Better Know Your TV Marketing Terms First! 218

Understanding timing and sweeps 219

Measuring ratings and market shares 219

Working with a Sales Rep 221

Talkin’ the talk: Negotiating successfully 223

Is Cable Advertising Right for You? 226

Working effectively with a cable sales rep 227

Hitting the bull’s-eye with cable ads 229

Doing the math: Cable TV market penetration 229

Chapter 16: Deciding Whether to Hire an Ad Agency 233

Determining When You May Need to Hire an Agency 234

Finding the Right Agency for Your Business 236

Getting to Know the People Handling Your Account 237

Compensating Your Agency 238

Media commissions 239

Creative and production charges 240

Markups 241

Retainers 241

Working with Your Agency to Get What You Need 242

Part IV: Beyond the Basics: Creating Buzz and Using Publicity 245

Chapter 17: Creating Buzz and Word-of-Mouth Advertising 247

Getting the Terminology Straight 247

Seeing the Power of Word of Mouth 248

Examining word-of-mouth marketing success stories 249

Beware of negative buzz! 250

Tips and Techniques on Generating Buzz 251

Coining a great new phrase 251

Hiring beautiful people to promote your product 251

Taking advantage of celebrity endorsements 252

Throwing a party 253

Hitting the streets 253

Figuring out where to find your big mouths 254

Creating a blog about your business 254

Chapter 18: Leveraging Your Advertising with Public Relations, Publicity, Specialty Items, and Events 257

Starting a Public Relations Campaign 258

Understanding How Publicity Can Bring Customers 259

Writing an effective press release 260

Getting the story to the right media 263

Advertising on Specialty Items 266

Recognizing the advantages of specialty advertising 267

Selecting specialty items with a purpose 269

Keep the copy simple on a specialty item 271

Generating Traffic: Promotional Events 271

Radio: The promotions king 272

Other promotional opportunities 275

Participating in Sponsored Events 275

Determining whether you can staff the event 276

Calculating the costs: A valuable investment? 277

Deciding which events are worthwhile 277

Finding sponsored events that work for your business 278

Part V: The Part of Tens 279

Chapter 19: Ten Secrets for Writing Memorable Advertising 281

Ignoring the Rules of Grammar 281

Making Your Ads Effective 282

Knowing Why People Buy Your Products 282

Finding a Creative Hook 283

Remembering That Creativity Is Hard Work 284

Letting Your Creative Hook Dictate Your Media Buy 284

Considering Your Budget 285

Striving for Continuity 285

Keeping It Simple 286

Being Clear in Your Message 286

Chapter 20: (Almost) Ten Ways to Know It’s Time to Hire an Agency 287

Your Ad Budget Has Become Substantial 287

You Need the Expertise of a Professional Media Buyer 288

Your Creative Light Bulb Has Burned Out 288

You’re Overwhelmed by the Demands of Production 289

You’re Having Trouble Keeping Up with the Bookkeeping 289

You’re Leaving Co-Op Funds on the Table 289

Your Time Is Being Taken Up by Media Reps 290

You’re Running Faster to Stay in the Same Place 290

You Want a Bunch of Free Stuff 291

Glossary 293

Index 297