What makes an advertising campaign effective? In other words, what factors influence whether a message reaches the target audience, is understood, is remembered and is persuasive enough to elicit some sort of reaction from the audience? The truth is, this is no easy task, but the type of advertising campaign chosen to address each business objective plays a major role.
If you work in the field of marketing and communication, don’t miss this post, because we’re going to summarise the different types of advertising campaigns you can use and which is best suited to each type of business objective. Let’s get started!
Before you design your advertising strategy, take a moment to think
Who is your target audience? What is the aim of the campaign given the available budget? Which channels will the communication focus on? What resources – both physical and digital – are available? Are we targeting a local, national or international audience? At what stage of its life cycle is the product or service we are going to advertise? All these questions are very important when choosing the type of advertising campaign we are going to run.
Let’s take a look at the different types of advertising campaigns based on the nature of the product!
But before you start, remember: Not all products are suitable for creating any kind of content Not all brands need to be present on every channel. Furthermore, it is important to consider whether you are going to base your approach on the product life cycle or the type of product. For example:
If the product is in its maturity phase, we’ll have to try to reinvent ourselves, innovate, revitalise it. New features can be added and promoted as a new development or added value, to spark the interest of those who haven’t tried it yet or to encourage repeat purchases from those who are already familiar with it.
If you want to highlight the product’s features, you should focus on the communication the product’s unique selling points, public opinion and the advantages it offers over the competition – without mentioning any specific brands, of course.
In short, always aim for quality and efficiency in your marketing activities.
Propaganda campaigns
Propaganda campaigns are communication strategies carried out with the with the aim of influencing public opinion, attitudes and behaviours of a specific audience. That is why, when we talk about propaganda, we are generally referring to the realm of politics or organisations with aims other than sales.
In this type of campaign, the message usually appeals to people’s emotions and is very direct. For example: a problem is highlighted, along with the consequences of failing to take a stand. The key objectives are to persuade, inform (or misinform) and mobilise.
Social awareness campaigns
This type of campaign is widely used by charitable organisations. They are similar to propaganda campaigns, with the difference that they seek to promote the common good or champion a just cause, rather than benefiting the organisation itself, regardless of its aims. For example: a political party runs a campaign to attract supporters to its cause, whilst an NGO aims to draw people’s attention so that they participate in some way for the benefit of others.
Communication for institutions or businesses
When we talk about institutional or corporate communication, the immediate aim is not to make sales or generate leads, but to promote the company’s image and enhance its reputation, which will, in turn, have an indirect impact on other types of objectives.
Some of the aims of these campaigns are: convey the brand’s values to the public to connect with them on an emotional level, foster loyalty and promote trust and transparency.
For example, corporate communication campaigns are carried out when there is a reputational crisis, although efforts must be made on an ongoing basis to strengthen the brand image and prevent the damage that such crises might cause.
Communication strategies for industry or B2B
Communication strategies for industry or B2B (business-to-business) refer to communication strategies designed for companies that interact with one another, rather than targeting the end consumer.
Its objectives focus on to do business with organisations in the sector and build loyalty with large companies to which they supply goods on a regular basis. For example, it is common to offer services that require prior training or refresher courses. This helps to ensure that the business relationship is sustained.
What is co-branding?
This marketing strategy, in which two or more brands join forces to collaborate on the launch of a joint product, service or campaign, aims to achieve mutual benefit. It involves combining the resources and brand image of two companies in order to create added value for consumers.
When a co-branding initiative is carried out the strengths of both brands are utilised and they feed off each other’s visibility. Furthermore, this enables access to a new target audience and enhances reputation.
The difference between sponsorship and patronage
Although both sponsorship and patronage involve the support of external organisations to carry out an initiative, the difference lies in the fact that patronage is always aimed at to promote charitable initiatives or social causes, such as donating resources to organise a charity run. Sponsorship, on the other hand, involves providing financial support to another company with which one shares brand values, in order to, to improve one’s reputation and visibility. Thus, the aim of both strategies would be to strengthen the brand image.
Teaser campaign
These campaigns play on curiosity and surprise; and they are almost always used to launch new products. For example, in the film industry, we see that these campaigns are very common for the blockbuster premieres. They can also be very useful for relaunching a product or for announcing improvements and new features.
This type of strategy usually works very well when combined with street marketing initiatives and traditional media, such as radio or television.
Advertising generation
When a company manages to generate news that is relevant enough to the social sphere to be covered by the media, this is known as publicity. The companies at the centre of these news stories pay nothing for this coverage, making it a very effective way of communicating with the outside world. The downside of this approach is that you cannot dictate to the media outlet in question what to say or how to say it.
We hope you found this post on the different types of advertising campaigns interesting. Discover lots more marketing updates by signing up to Educa.pro!
