What is an Advertising Campaign?
An advertising campaign is basically a series of similarly crafted advertisements put out by a company or business that share a core message, while speaking to consumers with the intention of purchase or donation. Parts in an advertising campaign may differ in theme, but they should all be consistent in the end goal/big idea.
In order to create an effective advertising campaign, it’s important to always be in check with your target audience and to understand their unmet needs and wants. You want them to remain interested in your product or service, and you do this by coming out with a fully fleshed out campaign that sparks nuance or curiosity.
A well-planned strategy to sell your brand or service will always rise to the top, because it shows you put immense thought into it and consumers aren’t dumb people. An advertising campaign is your well-planned strategy. Whether you choose to promote your brand online or offline, advertising campaigns guide businesses through the process of brand awareness then purchase. They also help you decipher where your business stands in a given marketplace by comparing your competitive advantages with the rest of the competition, thereby also helping you assess the strengths and weaknesses in your products.
Let’s now examine the planning that goes into creating a creative outdoor advertising campaign, as well as see how effective it can be at getting through to your given audience.
Outdoor Advertising Campaign Planning
- Analyze the Situation– Do your research about the marketplace you want to tap into so your team has a good idea of what area you want to enter and explore. This provides your team with information surrounding the strengths and weaknesses of your product, while also giving you an idea about your competition in the market and their previous advertising initiatives. On top of this, analyze potential physical locations you see your campaign in. If you don’t do this scouting prior to a launch, then the campaign may not fit in a setting.
- Have an Objective– In order to give your ad campaign a positive and differentiated boost in the marketplace, look towards generating new product awareness, changing around an existing image or idea of your brand, build hype in consumers, and conducting surveys about how consumers will respond to the future campaign.
- Target Consumers– Remember the target audience when looking towards creating a creative outdoor advertising campaign. Look towards where they hangout, which areas they frequent, and what outdoor spaces they take up. With this research, you’ll begin to see patterns in their behavior that will come in handy with your campaign.
- Make a Statement– Finding the right words to sell your campaign is extremely important. This is what may grab people the fastest and hold their attention the longest. Keep in mind that some creative outdoor ad campaigns use no words, while others rely heavily on written messages. Figure out what type of statement you want to make publicly, and remember that your ad will be exposed to people of all ages depending on location so keep it fairly appropriate, yet impactful.
- Have a Media Strategy– Mass media is sometimes effective enough to keep your campaign trending, but, in the day and age of social media, it’s always a good idea to have brand and campaign promotions across several social media platforms, increasing the chances of more consumers finding value in your service.
- Stick to a Theme– It’s important to follow a certain vibe across your outdoor campaign. Is the advertisement going to be silly and lighthearted, or heavy and emotional? All ads in the overall campaign should reinforce the messages that the theme alludes to.
What Makes an Outdoor Advertising Campaign Effective
- Create a Personal Connection– Show people you care about adhering to their needs and stroke their interests; tap into their belief systems. An effective outdoor ad campaign will give consumers a takeaway, and something they can share and talk about later on.
- Keep it Simple– Minimalism and simplicity are effective when reaching consumers outdoors. Don’t try to solve every human problem at once while still trying to sell a product. Instead, focus on one core issue and attempt to solve that for people.
- Be Honest– Transparency attracts consumers and builds potential client relationships. Strive towards creating an honest portrayal of your product in an outdoor space. Tap into the inherent truths about your service, but try to make them interesting and as if no one can miss out on the experience.
- Repetition can be Effective– An outdoor ad installation at a street corner 10 blocks away from another one can prove to be effective, as it’s drilling home the idea that your brand deserves to be in the scene. It’s not a bad thing to repeat the messaging, as many people take routes seeing different ads at different times. Make yours a crowd pleaser, consistently.
- Identify the Purpose of the Campaign– Identify the action of your campaign, so it’s clear what consumers are able to do with the executions they witness. Always, ALWAYS, remember a good call-to-action.
- Choose the Right Time for Launch– Most ad campaigns are rolled out during a peak season, whether it be Christmastime or back-to-school. If a holiday is right around the corner, consumers will look for new and more attractive products in that style of market. Make sure your campaign is perfectly timed and scheduled to be released during the appropriate, and better selling, dates of the year.
After defining what exactly an advertising campaign is, what the planning necessities are, and some tips on how to make it an effective launch, it’s revealed that a creative outdoor advertising campaign truly takes a lot of thought and competitive research before it can thaw. Remember these pointers and you’re on your way to create a lasting impression in the minds of your very best target consumers.
