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there may be many types of fact surrounding you and your products； your
customers are interested in only two： the facts that influence their buying
decisions； and the ways in which your business and its products stand out
from the petition。
These facts must be translated into benefits。 （See also ‘Features； benefits
and proofs’ in this chapter。） There is sometimes an assumption that everyone
buys only for obvious； logical reasons； when we all know of innumerable
examples showing this is not so。 Do people buy new clothes only when
the old ones are worn out？ Do bosses have desks that are bigger than their
subordinates’ because they have more papers to put on them？
The message should follow the AIDA formula： get A。。ention； capture
Interest； create Desire and encourage Action。 Looking at each in turn：
。 Ge。。ing a。。ention requires a hook。 Colour； humour and design are tools
used to focus people on your offer and away from the masses of distracting
clu。。er that occupy minds。
。 Interest is achieved by involving people in some aspect of the product；
perhaps by posing a question such as one diet pany does with its
challenge ‘would you like to loose 2 kg in 2 weeks？’。
。 Desire is about showing people the end result they could achieve by
having or using your product。 Every speedboat advertisement has a
beautiful bikini…clad girl posing on the bow； the inference being that if
you owned the boat you would be sure to get the girl too。
。 Action means provoking a painless way for people to start the buying
process。 Free trial； money…back guarantee； offer only lasts this week
and so forth are examples of the strategies used to achieve this result。
UACCA – Unawareness； Awareness； prehension； Conviction； Action
is another acronym used in this context。
Choosing the media
Your market research （see below） should produce a clear understanding
of who your potential customer group are； which in turn will provide
pointers as to how to reach them。 But even when you know whom you
want to reach with your advertising message it’s not always plain sailing。
Marketing 103
The Fishing Times； for example； will be effective at reaching fishermen but
less so at reaching their partners who might be persuaded to buy them
fishing tackle for Christmas or birthdays。 Also； the Fishing Times will be jam
packed with petitors。 It might just conceivably be worth considering
a web ad on a page giving tide tables to avoid going head to head with
petitors； or ge。。ing into a gi。。 catalogue to grab that market’s a。。ention。
If a consumer already knows what they want to buy and are just looking
for a supplier then； according to statistics； around 60 per cent will turn to
print Yellow Pages （or similar）； 12 per cent will use a search engine； 11 per
cent will use telephone directory enquiries； and 7 per cent online Yellow
Pages。 Only 3 per cent will turn to a friend。 But if you are trying to persuade
consumers to think about buying a product or service at a particular time
then a leaflet or flyer may be a be。。er option。 Once again it’s back to your
objectives in advertising。 The more explicit they are the easier it will be to
choose media。
Above or below the line
Advertising media are usually clustered under two headings； above the line
and below the line。 It has to be said that the line is being increasingly
indistinct but it is still a term that is part of the lexicon in se。。ing the
advertising budget。
Above the line
Above the line （ATL） involves using conventional impersonal mass media
to promote products and services； talking at the consumer。 Major abovethe…
line techniques include：
。 TV； cinema and radio advertising： The vast array of local newspapers；
TV channels and digital radio stations can make this a more targeted
advertising strategy than has been the case。
。 Print advertising in newspapers； magazines； directories and classified
ads： Print of all forms has the merit of having a long life； so it can be
used for handling more plex messages than； say； radio or TV。
。 Internet banner ads act as a point of entry for a more detailed advert。
。 Search engines： Search engine advertising es in two main forms。
PPC （pay per click） is where you buy options on certain key words so
that someone searching for a product will see your ‘advertisement’ to
the side of the natural search results。 Google； for example； offers a deal
where you pay only when someone clicks on your ad and you can set
a daily budget stating how much you are prepared to spend； with 5 a
day as the starting price。
。 Podcasts； where internet users can download sound and video free； are
now an important part of the E…advertising armoury。
。 Posters and billboards。
104 The Thirty…Day MBA
Below the line
Below the line （BTL） talks to the consumer in a more personal way using
such media as：
。 Direct mail – leaflets； flyers； brochures： Response rates are notoriously
low； o。。en less than 1 per cent resulting in sale； but direct mail has the
merit of being a proven method of reaching specific targeted market
segments。
。 Direct e…mail and viral marketing： The la。。er is the process of creating
something so hot that the recipients will pass it on to friends and colleagues；
creating extra demand as it rolls out。 Jokes； games； pictures；
quizzes and surveys are examples。
。 Sales promotions； including point of sales material： Activities carried
out in this area include free samples； try before you buy； discounts；
coupons； incentives and rebates； contests； and special events such as
fairs and exhibitions。
。 PR （public relations）： This is about presenting yourself and your
business in a favourable light to your various ‘publics’ – at li。。le or no
cost。 It is also a more influential method of munication than general
advertising – people believe editorials。 There may also be times when
you have to deal with the press – anything from when you are trying to
get a。。ention for a new product to handling an adverse situation； say if
your product has to be recalled for quality reasons； or worse。
。 Le。。erheads； stationery and business cards are o。。en overlooked in the
ba。。le for customer a。。ention； but are in fact o。。en the first and perhaps
only way in which a business’s image is projected。
。 Blogs； where the opinions and experiences of particular groups of
people are shared using online munities such as MySpace； for
example； are an extension of this idea。 Neilson NetRatings reported in
2008 that over 2 billion munity sites are viewed every month in the
UK alone。
Push or pull
Like above or below the line； push and pull are different advertising strategies
used for achieving different results。 Pull advertising is geared to
drawing visitors into your net if they are actively looking for your type of
product or service。 Search engines； listings in on… and off…line directories；
Yellow Pages and shopping portals are examples here。
Push advertising tries to get the word out to groups of potential customers
in the hope that some of them will be considering making a purchase
at about that time。 Magazines； newspapers；