Advertising: The Easiest Way to Reach Consumers
The Relationship Between Advertising and Positioning
Effective brand positioning in the market puts the consumer first. You need to influence the consumer’s perception to the extent that they make connections with your brand and retain those connections over time. The simplest way to reach consumers is through advertising.
In the marketplace, advertising takes many forms and exists across all media. Whereas before the internet era, advertising took place only in the real world, the virtual world has now changed the game. The battle is not between products, but for the place they occupy in the consumer’s mind.
Simple messages, yet full of meaning
Consumers are bombarded with information from all sides, and it is clear that it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to retain such a large volume of messages. To successfully position your brand in the market, you must find exactly the right message that will create a connection between the consumer and your brand.
Well-crafted advertising and well-delivered messages—those that inspire consumers or capture their attention—are the ones that will linger longest in people’s minds. In their book Positioning – The Battle for Your Mind, Al Ries and Jack Trout provide a telling example of such a situation. In a market study, 93% of participants recognized Mr. Clean, the character on the bottle of certain cleaning products, even though he hadn’t appeared on TV for over 10 years. Well-crafted advertising positions the brand in the consumer’s mind in a place from which it can hardly be displaced.
From a Product-Centric Approach to Positioning—Advertising Is Evolving
Until the late 1950s, the product was the center of attention. Every product was “the best,” and attention was focused on the product’s characteristics as a whole. After that era, the entire advertising industry shifted its focus to the product’s image. Now, advertising revolves around positioning.
Perhaps the best example of misrepresentation due to a lack of publicity is the story of Christopher Columbus, the rightful discoverer of America. Amerigo Vespucci knew how to ensure that his discovery was made public, and thus he reaped all the glory. The major mistake Christopher Columbus made at the time was that he did not send out any message regarding the discovery he had made. In essence, he had no public presence. In such a “competition,” the very first message sent out mattered a great deal.
These days, consumers’ minds are overwhelmed with advertising messages. Why would they choose to focus specifically on the product or service you offer? Because an advertising campaign with a positioning-centered strategy is far more important than a product-centered strategy. It’s no longer the product itself that matters as much as the unique features it offers compared to similar products. Advertising helps you position your product ahead of similar products, even when those features aren’t all that unique. It all comes down to an advertising strategy that is well-executed and consumer-focused.
A well-developed strategy is the key to success
In the age of technology, when the market offers consumers a vast array of products and services, simply advertising is no longer enough. The era when bringing something new to the market was enough has come to an end. The focus of advertising strategies is no longer on innovation, but on positioning in the consumer’s mind. It’s not the product you offer that matters, but the story behind it. You have to be the first to enter the consumer’s mind and influence it in such a way that it resonates with your brand.
An advertising strategy must take into account more than just the consumer. While the consumer is at the center of the strategy, the competition also plays an important role. A good example is IBM. IBM did not invent the first computer, but they were the first to establish a specific positioning for the computer in the consumer’s mind. The same thing happened in the case of Amerigo Vespucci.
Advertising is the shortest path to the consumer. Through advertising, information about your product or service is conveyed to potential customers. Advertising is what helps position a brand in the market. Without advertising, there would be no well-known brands, no easily recognizable images, and no brand awareness.
Sources:
Positioning – the battle for your mind, Al Ries, Jack Trout
Article author – Andreea
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