Factors that help answer the “what are we advertising”? focus on what the advertising message should be. In general, there are really only two kinds of effective advertising message:
Firstly, does the business/product have a Unique Selling Proposition (“USP”)
A unique selling proposition is a customer benefit that no other product can claim
In reality these are rare, although that does not stop marketers from claiming them for their products.
Secondly, does the thing that is being advertised “add value” and if so, how?
For example, advertising for washing powders will focus on the “added value” created by whitening agents or the fact that a particular formulation will last longer than the competition (take a look at the Fairy web site to see if you can spot the other “added value” features claimed for its products)
Whatever is advertised, it is important that the message is:
• Seen
• Read
• Believed
• Remembered
• Action upon by target customers
