UNDERSTANDINGADVERTISING 201
TABLE8.2 PrimaryAdvertisingAppeals
Product/servicefeatures
Product/competitiveadvantage
Product/servicepriceadvantage
Newsaboutproduct/service
Product/servicepopularity
Genericapproach
Consumerservice
Savingsthroughuse
Self-enhancement
Embarrassmentoranxiety
Producttrial
Corporate
Manyproductshavesuchstrongtechnologyorperformancecapabilitiesthatthese
featurescanserveasaprimaryadvertisingappeal.
Whenanadvertisercandeterminethathisproductissuperior,eitherintermsof
features,performance,supportingservices,ori mage,emphasizingacompetitive
advantagehasprovedtobea successfulappeal.
Offeringaproductata reducedpriceorundersomespecialdealarrangement(e.g.,
buy-one-get-one-free)maybetheonlyviableappealina particularad.
Therearetimeswhenatrulynewproductisdeveloped,orwhenanexistingproduct
is changedorimprovedina substantialmanner,thathighlightingthissingle
elementisthecoreappeal.
Althoughthemannervaries,thenotionofclaimingthataproductis"numberone"
orthemostpopularisanappealthathasbeenaroundforalongtime,
Insuchadvertising,aproductorservicecategoryispromotedforitsownsake,but
individualmakesorbrandsofproductarenotsingledout.
Apopularappealistoillustratethroughtheadvertisementhowtheproductmaybe
usedtobestservetheneedsoftheconsumer,
Anopportunitytosavetime,money.orenergyisalwaysveryappealingto
consumers.
Helpingusfeelbetteraboutourselves(e.g.,personalcare,clothing,automobiles)is
anappealthatmanypeoplecan'tresist.
Situationsthatrepresentathreateningsituation,eitherphysicallyorsocially, can
providethebasisforaneffective appeal.
Whenthisappealisused,theadvertiseroffersa freesample,a pricereduction,or
someotherpurchaseincentivetoencourageconsumeruseortrial.
Thistypeofappeal presentsacompanyo rcorporat ionina favorablelightin order
tocreatea favorableimpressionorimage.
Developing theMediaPlan
Althoughthemediaplanisplaced laterinthis process,it isinfactdevelopedsimultane-
ouslywiththecreativestrategy.Thisarea of advertisinghasgonethroughtremendous
changes;a criticalmediarevolution hastakenplace.
Thestandardmediaplanconsistsoffourstages:(I)statingmediaobjectives;(2)eval-
uatingmedia;(3)selectingandimplementingmediachoices;and(4)determiningthemedia
budget.
StatingMediaObjectives
Mediaobjectivesare normallystartedintermsofthreedimensions:
- Reach- numberofdifferentpersonsorhouseholdsexposedtoa particularmedia
vehicleormediascheduleatleastonceduringa specifiedtimeperiod. - Frequency-thenumberoftimeswithina giventimeperiodthata consumeris
exposedtoa message. - Continuity-thetimingofmediaassertions(e.g., 10 %inSeptember, 20 %inOcto-
ber, 20 %inNovember,40%inDecemberand10%therestoftheyear).