| The common misconception of advertising is reducing it to a matter of exposure. While exposure is not to be underestimated, its potential varies depending on the way it is carried out. Exposure alone is unlikely to effectively benefit a company whose image contradicts its message. This seems obvious at first, however advertisers usually fail in the subtle applications of this principle. An unconscious perception of the composition of the message for example, which forms an impression, must accommodate the assertions of advertiser, otherwise credibility of the message is lost. Advertising, much like a weapon, must first be designed, produced, and precisely aimed at a target to be effective. As attitudes and philosophies change from one target market to another, the process of creating effective advertising is always evolving. One thing is always true however, know your market, understand it, and never try to fool anyone. Advertising is not about fooling people into buying your product or service, it's about presenting yourself as the most viable option to the consumer. It is about creating a rapport with the market, letting your corporate philosophy be known, and providing people with an understanding of what your company can offer them. Advertising is a serious industry, with incredible success stories and tragic failures. It can make or break almost any company out there, so choose your agency carefully and ask as many questions as you can during the process. Leave the work up to the experts but always stay informed about its many aspects. Artifex's advertising services Online: Web banners: Need better online exposure? Banner ads, if strategically placed, can greatly improve your site traffic. However, it is important when creating such ads that you present the right image. Banner ads are notorious for their low click rates, this is predominantly due to audience skepticism and poor topic relevance, as well as what has recently been termed "Banner Blindness" which stems from the flood of online ads consumers are faces with. However, the better designed ads can be extremely helpful in attracting people to your web space. Ad emails: Using a combination of accurate market information (contact lists) and well produced multimedia ads, you can directly target the consumers or clients most important to you. Ad emails can be very useful in informing a designated audience of product releases, company news, recent corporate changes, or simply to generate hype. Multimedia: Using multimedia productions online as a complement to a site or as the site itself will almost always improve traffic and browse time. Consider either changing your current site to incorporate richer media or posting a short multimedia presentation on your current site to better explain your services or products. Offline: Print Ads: Whether in a newspaper, magazine, yellow pages, or on flyers print ads are extremely effective. As an advertising option this may be best suited for most companies out there. It is pervasive, and can be accurately targeted to specific markets. Despite the advent of electronic media, print advertising has remained very popular, for obvious reasons. Posters: Billboards, buses, and countless other physical spaces can be made to work for you. Poster ads can be posted in numerous areas but what they lack in direct targeting they make up for in exposure. Any given poster in a populated area may get hundreds of thousands of views in a day, though it may only get a couple thousand "hits" from the market targeted. Still, posters are great for improving company recognition. Multimedia: Offline multimedia, predominantly distributed through CD-ROMs and videocassettes, as well as their big cousin, TV commercials, may also be something worth looking into for companies that can afford them. Such productions have the maximum effect on our senses. Incorporating rich and effective media, they are the most easily consolidated as memories. They are also, for cognitive reasons, the least questioned. |
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