Q&A :GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING Unit 1

What is Advertising?

Advertising is an integral part of any company’s operational set up. It helps an organization to generate awareness of the product which in turn leadings to sale and more profits for any firm. Since advertising is so widely used across different hotel chains, it is importantly to know the importance, decision making, types, process and more importantly, various advantages and disadvantages of different types of advertising. Let us now understand the world of advertising.

The American Marketing Association has defined advertising as "any paid form of non-personal presentation of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor."

This definition includes the following four expressions:

i)      Paid form

ii)     Non-personal presentation

iii)  Ideas, goods and services

iv)    Identified sponsor

To comprehend this term in a more clear and concise manner, let us now study these terms in detail:

Marketing

i)  Paid form: For every advertisement, some money has to be paid to the medium which carries the message. For instance, if the message is published in a magazine, payment must be made for printing and the space used in that magazine. If the matter is printed without any charge, it will not be treated as an advertisement.

ii)   Non-personal presentation: When a salesman directly talks to the customer abut any product, it is personal presentation. If the message is communicated through mass media like radio, television, newspaper, magazine, direct mail, hoardings etc., it is called non-personal presentation. In the case of advertising, the message is conveyed through non-personal media. In other words, there is no face-to-face communication by salesmen. It implies that if the message is presented to the customer by a salesman, it would not be treated as advertising.

iii)   Ideas, goods and services: This implies that advertising may be intended to help selling not only goods but also ideas and services. For instance, banks, insurances, companies, airlines, restaurants, and similar organizations advertise their services and ideas underlying the usefulness of savings, traveling, eating, palatable food, etc. just as manufacturers of automobiles, soaps or hair oil advertise the usefulness of their products. Thus, the phrase ideas, goods and services explain that advertising is concerned with much more than the promotion of only tangible goods.

v)    Identified sponsor: The sponsor of an advertisement is the advertiser. The phrase identified sponsor means that the producer or seller who advertises the product should be known through the advertised message. In other words, the receiver of the message should be able to identify both of source and purpose of the advertisement. If it is not sponsored by any individual or institution, it would not come under advertisement.

What Are The Objectives Of Advertisement?

To plan an effective advertisement, we must remember few important things like –

1.      Introduction of new products

2.      Persuading potential customers to buy

3.      Reminding users

4.      To create brand image

5.      To intimate customers about new uses of a-product

6.      To highlight brand character

1.      Introduction of new products - Manufacturer introduces new products from time to time so as to compete with other manufacturers who might have succeeded in winning over customers of the existing product. Advertising the new product is necessary to that consumers know about the introduction of the product, its usefulness, where it may be available, how to get more information about the product, etc. Indeed, advertising is highly important to promote the sale of new products.

2.      Persuading potential customers to buy: Another important objective of advertising - to persuade potential customers to buy the product. Advertising is one of the best means by which the sale of an existing product can be increased. For this purpose, the advertisement should emphasize the usefulness of the product, its quality, price advantage, etc., so as to win over potential buyers and make them actual buyers. If the product is so advertised, traders expect sales to increase and keep larger stocks for sale. Thus, advertising leads to immediate buying action among customers as well as traders.

3.      Reminding users: In a competitive market new products are introduced quite frequently by different firms. All these products are advertised in the market. As a result, old brands are likely to be forgotten by the consumers. To offset this possibility, manufacturers continue to advertise their products to maintain the buyers' interest. Thus, advertisements are also designed to serve as a reminder to existing customers.

 

4.      To create brand image: Business firms very often advertise for establishing an image for the product (brand) and create customer loyalty for that product. When customers develop brand loyalty, they are not inclined to shift to other brands easily. This objective of advertising has great significance in the case of well-known manufacturers of products.

5.      To intimate customers about new uses of a product: Advertising is sometimes used to convey new uses of an existing product to the customers or to draw their attention to some new features of the product. The basic objective of advertising in this case is to convince the customers about the superiority of a product in comparison with other products in the same line.

6.      To highlight brand character: For certain products consumers feel that a particular characteristic is very important. Its existence determines the buyers' choice of a particular brand out of several brands. If the product has that feature, advertising is used to stress it and demonstrate its advantages. Similarly, if the product has a special feature which is linked with a desirable consumer benefit, advertising is used to emphasize it.

Features Relating to Consumer Reach

Apart from the message, the impact of an advertisement also depends on how well it reaches the target customers. For this purpose, the following points should be borne in mind while designing the advertisement.

1.    Appropriate media: The advertisement message should be presented through the media to which the target customers have access. For example, if the majority of the target customers do not have television sets, the message presented by TV transmission will not reach them. Similarly, if the majority of customers are illiterate, the message presented in newspapers may not reach them. So, the use appropriate media is highly important for the effectiveness of advertisements.

2.   Frequency: Frequency refers to the number of times any advertisement is repeated within a specified period of time. It also refers to the time gap between two or more advertisements. In other words, it refers to how many times and at what intervals the advertisement is repeated. The main purpose of repetition is to keep the message alive in the memory of the customers. If the frequency is less, people may not remember the message. If the frequency is more, people may get irritated and may stop giving attention to it. So, the frequency should be optimum.

3.  Timing: The specific time of advertising the message is an equally important aspect of advertisement. For example, if the advertisement appears on the T.V. when most of the customers are not viewing it, the effect will be much less as compared with the effect when a majority of the customers are viewing the T.V. program. Hence, the timing of the advertisement should be so determined that it may reach the majority of customers

Why to Advertise or the purpose of Advertising?

Hospitality firms advertise for a number of reasons.

-          Advertising reaches a vast audience.

Advertising, especially print and broadcast advertising can reach thousands of potential guests and clients.

-          Advertising is relatively inexpensive

While printing columns space and electronic media costs is not low, the cost per reader, viewer or listener can be quite low. It is important to target your advertisement at the potential user base of your product.

-          Advertising prompts direct response

Coupons, Telephone numbers, email addresses, website details etc can be given to see the response of the advertisement. The inquiries lead to conversions which lead to sale, finally ending with the profit for the company.

-          Advertising demonstrates competitiveness

The advertisement gives a chance to the users to compare benefits of the competitors. A hotel property that can present superior benefits in an advertisement and listens to client’s needs has a better chance of gaining that marketing edge.

What are the different Types Of Advertising ?

The types of advertising that hospitality firm’s use include print, broadcast, electronic, direct mail, outdoor, collateral and alternative media.

PRINT ADVERTISING

News papers

Print advertising media include news papers, magazines, and directories. News papers are used by the hospitality industry more than other advertising mediums for a number of reasons.

High Readership

There are many cities and towns where one newspaper dominates, providing easy access to targeted markets in specific areas. These are widely read and so they are an ideal medium to reach the local community.

Targetable

Sections in newspapers allow the advertisers to reach there target market segment. Women section are often given preference for beauty products, the sports page will often feature an ad by a famous motor cycle manufacturer, or a national electronics leader will always feature in the additional magazine section of the newspaper.

Flexibility

Newspapers allow the choice of ad sizes as per the opportunity to promote the product. The special offers on new products are often seen on the front main page or the magazine section, to grab maximum attention. It is easier to schedule newspaper advertising. An opportunity to reach the masses in shorter duration makes it an ideal vehicle for the sponsor.

Low advertising rates

Low rates in the print advertising, helps to have more frequent placement of ads. Many newspapers offer bulk rates, on offers for advertising for a month or so. This enables a hotel property to place more ads with a national daily.

Magazines

Magazines are an excellent advertising option, since many consumer and trade magazines target specific reader ship. Other advantages include

-          Production Quality

-          Specific Audience

-          Credibility

-          Long life

Directories

Directories fall in to three categories. They are general, hotel, trade etc.

BROADCAST/ELECTRONIC ADVERTSING

Both broad cast and electronic advertising media have the potential of reaching large no of consumers at one time.

Different methods of Electronic Advertising

1.      Radio – Radio is heard by almost 83% of the public daily.

Advantages:

It has many advantages like:

^Ø   It costs less to reach potential guests (on a cost per person basis) than through newspaper advertising.

^Ø   It allows frequency of advertising and image building among the local population and the target market segment.

^Ø  It is extremely flexible medium.

^Ø   It is one of the most effective medium in terms of reach and instant recognition and retention of a slogan or message.

Disadvantages:

^Ø  Many channels poses the threat of message not being heard by enough listeners.

^Ø   No visual image to back the message.

^Ø   It cannot be saved like print ads and so cannot be referred to at a later time.

2.  Television –

Advantages:

^Ø  It is both seen and heard and so is more appealing to the potential customers.

^Ø   Can be influential while spreading the message at an appropriate time.

^Ø   Creates an immediate impact on the viewers.

^Ø   Most influential medium in all advertising media.

Disadvantages:

^Ø  High cost of advertising slots and production value.

^Ø   No guarantee of the message being reached to the target viewers.

^Ø   Almost impossible to target the potential customers, however, frequent ads gives favorable results in the long run.

Internet, CD ROMS and internet are some of the other ways of reaching out to the potential clients.

DIRECT MAIL ADVERTISING

Direct mail is one of the most popular forms of hospitality advertising because it is

-          Targeted at particular market segment

-          Personal

-          Flexible

-          Designed for prospect involvement action

      -          Easily cost controlled

-          Easily tested and measured

OUTDOOR ADVERTISING

Methods of out door advertising

-          Signs

Sign can be a simple as a painted board or as standing board with the atmosphere of the place.

-          Bill board

Signs appear on the grounds of the hotel or restaurant, but billboard advertisement are placed away from the property at strategic location on well traveled streets and highways

-          Displays

Displays can be used both in house and off property to promote products and services.

Collateral Materials

Virtually all hospitality firms use collateral materials in one form or another. It includes materials, such as brochures, poster, fliers and tent cards and specialty items designed to promote your product and services.

ALTERNATIVE MEDIA ADVERTISING

In addition to these common advertising options, three are several alternative media advertising options. These include

-          Movie theater advertising

-          Sponsor ship advertising

-          In flight advertising

-          Insert in billings

-          High flying advertising

-          Retailer tie ins

How To Develop An Advertising Plan ?

No matter what strategy is used, your advertising must promote your firm in a memorable and cost effective way. Four characteristics reach; Frequency, consistency, and Timing play important roles in all successful advertising strategies.

-          Reach

It refers to the no of different individuals or homes exposed to an advertising message at least once during a specified time period.

-          Frequency

It is a measure of how many times the average person in the target market is exposed to the advertising message over a specified time period?

-          Consistency

It plays an important part in consumer recognition of your hotel or restaurant. Your advertising will be far more effective if it has a consistent look and, in the case of broad cast media, a consistent sound

-          Timing

It involves scheduling advertising for those times when it will be most effective. The news paper advertising bureau recommends timing advertisements to coincide with seasonal sales patterns –promoting summer vacation packages just before the season.

What Do Mean By Advertising Strategies ?

An important part of any advertising plan is deciding on advertising strategies. The three strategic options are:

Differentiation

Segmentation

A Combination of Two

In Differentiation, you emphasize how your hotel is different from others. The advertising must aim at some meaningful differences like uniqueness of location, consistent and reliable service, theme based restaurants are positive USPs that you can use to start the advertisement campaign.

In Segmentation, your strategy can be to target a specific segment which has been left untapped under a particular marketing segment like – Women business travelers under business travelers, which can be used to start the advertising campaign.

Combination – In this strategy, both the differentiation and segmentation strategies are selected to form the advertising plan. A specific market segment is selected to advertise and an attempt is made to differentiate your property from other properties by offering unique benefits that will be of interest to the selected segment.

RECIPROCAL ADVERTISING

It is the exchange of hospitality product or services (rooms, food and beverages etc...) for advertising space or airtime. This type of advertising can be especially effective for firms with limited budget

  

What are way of Measuring Advertisement Effectiveness ?

There are three ways to monitor the cost-effectiveness of your advertising

1.      cost per thousand

2.      cost per inquiry

3.      cost per conversion

CPM (Cost Per 1,000 Impressions)

Stands for "Cost Per 1,000 Impressions," and is used in online advertising. CPM defines the cost an advertiser pays for 1,000 impressions of an advertisement, such as a banner ad or other promotion. An impression is counted each time an advertisement is shown.

Cost per thousand refers to the cost for reaching one thousand potential buyers, and is calculated as follows

Cost of advertisement

CPM

*   1,000

Vehicle circulation

Cost per inquiry can be used evaluate both the response to a specific advertisement and the cost of soliciting each potential customer. CPI can determine as follows.

Cost of advertisement

CPI

Total inquires generated

Inquires don’t always result in sales, so to determine the actual value received for the cost of advertising ,actual sales must be measured.

Cost of advertisement

Cost per conversion

Total conversions

Cost per conversion is an advertising and marketing term, describing the cost of acquiring a customer, typically calculated by dividing the total cost of an advertising campaign by the number of conversions. The definition of "conversion" varies depending upon the situation; it is sometimes considered to be a lead, a sale, or a purchase.

Cost of advertisement

Eg:    Cost of sales

Total sales

What Are Advertising Agencies ?

Advertising Agency is defined as independent business composed of creative and business people who prepare and place advertisement in media for clients seeking to find customers for their products and services.

Advertising agencies can be extremely helpful in making media decisions that will cut through media clutter and make the best use of your advertising money.

Advertising agencies typically offer these designations and professionals. Some of them are:

Copy Writers

Art Directors

TV and Radio producers

Media Buyers

PR Experts

Advertisement planners etc

There are different types of Advertisement Agencies which are catering to different type of clients. Lets study them further are :

1.      Full Service Agencies

2.      Creative Shops ; and

3.      Media Buying Agencies

Full Service agencies provide all services for clients which are divided into four major departments, like –

Creative Department – handles the development and production of Ads Media Department – selects specific media and places the Ads

Research Department – determines the characteristics and wants of the targeted audience Business Department – handles agencies business affairs like handling existing clients and looking for new clients who can be profitable to the company.

When selecting an advertising agency, it’s important to consider these factors

-          The agency longevity, reputation and experience with hospitality firms

-          Who will handle your account and his experience

-          The number of accounts the agency handle

-          The services the agency provides and how it would work with your firm

-          The number of and types of media with which the agency experienced

-          Staff Strength which includes the number of employees in the agency and their experience in the industry

-          Research – the ability to copy research, product placement, motivation research and package the product so as to appeal to the maximum customers.

-          Merchandizing – Evaluation of ideas and materials that can provide to make all forms of selling.

-          Production – this is an evaluation of the agencies resources to produce or supervise production of all types of advertising, promotional and merchandizing material

So, in this unit you have learnt all the basics related to Advertising. While reading notes, you must elaborate as much as possible keeping in mind the definition and core concepts. Further, list the examples related to the field of hospitality.