UNIVERSITY OF KOTA, KOTA

COMMERCE AND MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

ATERM PAPER

ON

“Advertising Campaign and Creativity in Advertising”

Submitted In Partial Fulfillment Of

Under Guidance Of:

Ms. Pragya Dheer

Submitted by

Sevya Kumari

(Roll No………)

CERTIFICATE

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This is to certify that SEVYA KUMARI student of Second semester has

completed his TERM PAPER Titled as

“Advertising Campaign and Creativity in Advertising”

for the partial fulfillment of the award of Master of Business

Administration Degree in DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE &

MANAGEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF KOTA, KOTA.

This Bonafide work is done under the guidance of -

Ms. Pragya Dheer

(Term Paper Supervisor)

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Acknowledgement

It takes in availing me of the opportunity to express my gratitude to my mentor & guide Ms. Pragya Dheer. She extends towards me her valuable guidance, indispensable help and inspiration from time to time. Despite of his hectic schedule she has sprade sufficient time to solve my problem during my term paper preparation.

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Preface

Advertising is one of the most important factors behind the success of any product today. The quality of a product may be superb, but if it fails to create a buzz in the market in terms of visibility and covetability, it is more or less written off. In advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC).

Contents

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ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNING

1. Introduction

2. What is an advertising campaign?

3. Why to Advertise in Term of a Campaign?

4. How long should be a Campaign?

5. Basis of campaign

6. Types of Campaign

7. Why to Plan Campaign

8. Campaign Planning

9. Creation Stages

10. Five Steps to Effective Advertising

11. Some Indian Advertisement Campaigns

Creativity in advertising

1. Introduction

2. Creative process in advertising

3. Advertising message strategy

4. Appeals in advertising

5. Searching for appeals

6. How does one find appeals

7. Types of Ad Appeals

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8. Direct and Indirect Appeals

9. Essentials of an Advertisement Appeal

10. Selling Points and Appeals

11. Copy in advertising

12. How an advertisement works

13. Style of Copy

14. Visualization

15. Layout

16. USP or Unique Selling Proportion

17. Copy Testing

19. Plagiarism

20. Case Study

Temptation Campaign Kinetic style Hitachi Air-Conditioners: “Perfect World Search Championship Coca-Cola "Open Happiness" Campaign Nike’s “Just Do It” Advertising Campaign Vodafone Essar's Advertising Strategy The 'Zoozoos' Campaign

21. References

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ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNING

AND

CREATIVITY IN ADVERTISING

Introduction

Advertising is an important component of your marketing strategy. The aim is to promote your business and communicate the information you

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want to send to your intended audience, usually with the aim of increasing sales or making your audience aware of your products or services

An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). Advertising campaigns appear in different media across a specific time frame.

The critical part of making an advertising campaign is determining a champion theme as it sets the tone for the individual advertisements and other forms of marketing communications that will be used. The campaign theme is the central message that will be communicated in the promotional activities. The campaign themes are usually developed with the intention of being used for a substantial period but many of them are short lived due to factors such as being ineffective or market conditions and/or competition in the marketplace and marketing mix.

What is an advertising campaign?

“An advertising campaign is an organised series of advertising message with identical or similar message over a particular period of time”. It is an orderly planned effort consisting of related but self contained and independent advertisements. Through the campaign is conveyed through different media, it has a single theme and a unified approach. The independent ads used in a campaign are similar to one another, and this is deliberate. There is a psychological continuity due to a unified theme. The physical continuity is provided by similarity of visuals and orals.

In a broad sense, a campaign is a co-ordinative effort of promotion of a particular product/ service during a particular period of time to attain predecided objectives.

Advertising effort does not remain erratic or spasmodic or opportunistic when we plan a campaign. It is a concrete advertising plan consisting of several advertisements, and has a time-frame of a few weeks, or months or years. All promotional efforts is tied to a campaign and does

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not come into conflict with it. The campaign tries to accomplish certain objectives or tries to destroy certain objective.

Why to Advertise in Term of a Campaign?

Buyers are forgetful of erratically appearing ads. Often due to a clutter of large number of advertising messages, they overlook several of them. It is therefore better to approach them in the form of a campaign which is sustained advertising effort.

Part of our advertising effort goes waste at any given point of time, since some buyers are not real prospects at a point of time the advertising appears. New prospects emerge over a period of time. Campaigns force us to look an advertising effort retrospectively so as to improve it.

Co-ordination, balance, timing, continuity and performance- all favour for an advertising campaign.

How Long should be a Campaign?

Campaigns are of varied length – say a seasonal campaign of cough syrup or Vicks Vaporub or wollen garments or it may last the whole year. The logic behind yearly campaign is that they co-incide with accounting year, at the end of which sales and profits are computed. There are several advertisers who keep a campaign running without any change for two or even three years. Lux soap campaign where it is promoted as a beauty soap of cinema stars, adhere the present queen bee of Hindi films endorses it. The factors which affect the duration of campaign are the type of product offered, the nature of advertiser’s marketing programme, seasonality of sales, media policies and the competitor’s advertising.

Basis of campaign

The geographical spread of a campaign can be the basis. The campaign can be limited to a local market, or one entire region. It can be

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national campaign too. National campaign is ruled out for test marketing and for small budget companies.

Pioneering campaigns introduce new products. Competitive campaign emphasis competitive superiority to retain the present market and to expand it either by increasing the products consumption or by weaning the customers away from a competitive brand.

Campaign can be classified in term of media, e.g., direct-mail campaign, newspaper campaign, TV campaign etc.

Campaign’s purpose can be the basis of classification, e.g., direct action campaign where a customer is expected to buy a product or indirect-action campaign. Some campaigns promote products, while some build up a corporate image.

Types of Campaign

There are three types of campaigns:-

1. Multi- media campaign put the message across in different media vehicles.

2. Single –media campaign remain confined to a single media. However, the theme is expressed through a variety of executions, each reflecting the basis proposition and personality of the brand.

3. Brand – building campaign develop creative execution over a period of time, maintaining the consistency and relevance, and contributing to proposition, personality, presentation and positioning of the brand. The executions can be contemporized to make them relevant. There should be repetition without monotony.

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A campaign should have elastic format. There should be some synergy between one and the next ad.

Why to Plan Campaign

Campaigns are to be planned with the following objectives in mind:

to determine the market and its potential to obtain the consumer profile to study the consumer psychology to know the frequency or size of buying to decide about the channels and their satisfactory operation to bring about product modification to determine the geographical scope of the campaign To do media planning To develop a central idea or core idea around which the selling

points revolve. The idea has to be discovered. The strength of this idea forms the basis of effective campaign planning.

To determine the fundamental human desire to which the adv- ertisement will appeal To determine the type of copy To determine the scheduling and space buying To prepare actual ad copies with a dominant central idea which

has been effectively presented and laid out? So that it appeals to the motives. The consistency is maintained.

The placement of the copy in the media to run the campaign To do the budget for the campaign To co-ordinate with the general administration, sales staff and

other promotional activities.

Campaign Planning

Campaigns, a term borrowed from military science, is an organised and carefully planned use of paid publicity for fulfilling a definite purpose.

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Campaign planning is broader then mere creation of individual advertisements. The basis of any campaign is the consumer behaviour and the market profile .the demographic and psychographic study of consumer constituting a market is a must to create advertisements for the right target audience with the type of appeals.

Campaigns are governed by the following parameters:

The total advertising budget The media availability The consumer profile The product profile The campaign’s duration and its timing The advertising and marketing objectives The distribution channels The marketing environment including pressure groups and

competitors A review of previous advertising / promotional effort The creative considerations The new plans.

Some factor like the demographic study of the consumers, the media availability and the competitor’s activities are uncontrollable factors. They are called the limiting parameters or the constraints.

Advertising planning involves making certain what specific objectives are, what is the nature of the message to be conveyed (the Unique Selling Proposition,) and the budget to cover production and media cost. It also involves pre-testing to find out how a sample of the target audience ‘read’ the advertisement. Sometimes, an ad can turn people off by its language or illustration; certain negative images of rival products or brands can turn the target audience hostile to the product.

An ad campaign determines what the advertiser wants to say. It also determines how, when and to whom the advertiser wants to say it. It also answers the big question – how much to spend?

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These simple questions like ‘what ‘and ‘who’ etc. have different names in advertising terminology. Like ‘whom’ in advertising is the ‘target market or audience’? ‘How’ is the creative strategy and ‘what ‘is the message. ‘Where’ is the media strategy, ‘when’ is the ‘timing’ and ‘how much’ is the advertising budget.

This planning process includes the following activities:

1. Situation Appraisal :

Before planning any activity, one requires relevant information regarding the situation. For planning an ad campaign, we require information about three things:

The target market and consumer, The company or product, and The competition.

Information is collected using primary and secondary research techniques. The three important research areas are: Consumer Research and Market Research. Product and Company Research. Competitive research.

Consumer Research and Market research :

Who buys the product? When do they buy it? how frequently do they buy? How do they use the product? what are their attitudes and perceptions about the product? Who takes the decision to buy? Who influence them to buy? What decision process do they go through before buying? Consumer research and market research find answer to the above mentioned and other related questions. The target market has to be described geographically, demographically and psycho-graphically.

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Product and Company Research :

Product research covers the quality of the product, its uses, distinctive features, packaging, price, unit of sales, brand image, distribution, positioning and its product life cycle, etc.

Company research includes the image of the company, its reputation, the resources, the corporate philosophies, etc.

Competitive Situation Research :

This involves finding the activities of the competitiors with - both direct and indirect- with respect to market share, product range, product features, positioning and targeting strategies, distribution network, prices, etc. This also covers the competitors’ current and past advertising strategies, media expenditure and advertising schedules.

2. Situation Analysis Research conducted to collect information about the target market, the product and competition needs to be analysed to find out relevant and significant facts. These facts help in developing strategies. The following things are done after collection of information.

SWOT Analysis Key Problem Analysis Competitive Advantage Analysis

SWOT Analysis :

SWOT stand for Strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. From all the information collected, campaign planners find out the strengths of the product. This strength could be an area. For example, it could be a

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new or better product feature, better servicing or distribution network, lesser price, durability, etc. The strength often leads to new opportunities to be explored.

SWOT analysis also reveals the weakness of the product in comparison to its competitiors. Weakness makes the product vulnerable to threats from others. For example, if a product is priced high, the competitors could offer their products at a lower price. If the servicing network is poor, then competitors could exploit this. So all the weak areas need to be guarded. Key Problem Analysis :

Form SWOT analysis, the campaign planners find communication problems that need to be addressed through the campaign. Key communication problems include:

Information the consumres, Increasing their awareness level, Changing a negative attitude , To reinforce a message or image, To reassure the consumers, To change an image, To create a new image, To create broad differentiation in the minds of the consumers, To bring about acceptance of goods or ideas, etc.

Finding the Competitive Advantage :

This particular analysis focuses on finding what respects the product is better than its competitors. This analysis tries to find out an area that is important to consumers and if the product has any advantage over its competitors in that area.

3. Strategic Planning:

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Strategic planning is the process of making intelligent decision. It start with finding out what to do (setting objectives), deciding how to accomplish the objectives (determining strategies). It also decide whom to address (the target audience), how to distinguish the product (positioning), how much to spend (budgeting) and for how long to run the campaign (duration).

Setting the Objectives :-

Advertising objectives are determined directly from the key problem analysed earlier. These objectives are usually answers to such question as ‘what does this campaign need to accomplish or what effect should it have on the target audience?’

As far as the first question goes, advertising objective could be:

To inform about a new product. To change, modify or reinforce consumer attitudes and perspectives. To persuade consumers to try a new product to buy more of it. To create a new image or personality for the product. To create a unique position for it. To sustain an image.

Other set advertising objectives on the basis of the impact or effect they create on the consumers. One classic approach is John D. Leckenby’s AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire and Action).

Russel Colley developed a slightly different model called the DAGMAR (Defining Advertising Goal for Measured Advertising Results).This model begin with awareness, moves on to comprehensive , Then conviction, and ends with action.

Michael L. Ray developed the think-feel-do model. Here think stands for awareness, and knowledge, feel stands for liking and preference and do stands for acceptance and purchase.

Advertising objectives are used to guide the development of the campaign strategy. Also these are used to measure the result of the campaign at the end of the campaign.

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Some additional objectives are listed below: To boost immediate sale. To build a brand image. To contribute to increased sale. To build consumer satisfaction. To help the trade channel. To project the corporate image.

Targeting:-

The next step is to identify the present and the potential buyers. They are called the target market or the target audience. Target market or the target audience (the first is a marketing term and the second is an advertising term) includes present and the potential customers. It includes those people who influence the buying decision. In addition to geographic, demographic and psychographic features, the target audience is also profiled in terms of personality and lifestyle of the typical audience member.

Positioning:-

Positioning is a marketing strategy. It is the perception about a product in the minds of the consumers in relation to the competitors. For example, ‘Luna’ is the ‘no tension moped’. ‘Maggie noodles’ is a ‘two minutes snack’.

It involves product feature analysis. The most important and relevant features of the product are then compared with features of competing brands.

Duration of the Campaign:-

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Advertising campaigns vary in length, i.e., duration. Some run for few days, some for weeks, some campaign run for month and some other run for years together.

Factors that determine the duration of a campaign are the competitors, media strategies, the market situation, the seasonal sales curve of the product, the life cycle of the product, the advertising fund, campaign objectives and the nature of the advertisers’ marketing programme.

Budgeting:- Budgeting is finding out how much is going to be spending for the campaign before one starts planning the campaign. Client companies usually finalise an exact amount and ask the agency to fit the campaign expenditure with in that amount. Or they give an approximate idea and ask the agency to finalise the budget amount or the advertising appropriation or ad spend.

There are some of the methods companies use to set their advertising campaign budgets.

1. The Percent of Sales Method:

The advertising campaign budget is a constant percentage of desired sales. A car manufacturer may spend less than 1% of sales, while a small retailer may budget 3 -7% of sales. A jewelry store may budget 8 -12% of sales and other companies may budget 20% or more.

This method works as long as the advertising campaign budget is set as a percentage of desired sales. If the budget is set to actual sales, and sales drop, you do not want to cut your advertising campaign budget, or you will get caught in a downward spiral.

2. The Task Objective Method:

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How much money do you need to spend to reach the specific goals you have outlined for the advertising campaign? This is especially effective when you are starting out, or if you are trying to grow rapidly. Some advertising campaign strategies call for heavy spending upfront in order to win long-term customers.

3. The Historical Method:

How much did you spend to reach your sales goals in previous years or periods? You will find that by tracking your ads, you will know in advance what you need to do to accomplish your goals.

4. Share of Market - Share of Voice:

This method links market share to advertising expenditure. A company with a 20% market share would spend slightly more than 20% of the total advertising dollars spent in the market for that product or service. For new companies, expenditures would be 1.5 times the desired market share until that position is attained. [So if you want 20% market share, you spend 30% of total advertising dollars in that market until you get it].

5. Competitive Parity:

With competitive parity you spend in equal amounts to your competitors as a percentage of market shares. This is a self-defense method of budgeting marketing and advertising expenditures.

6. The Combination Method:

The best advertising campaign budget you can set will be based on some combination of all of the previous models. You want to maintain a minimum level of advertising, fulfill specific goals, maintain your market share, keep up with your competitors, and compare everything to last year.

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4. Creative Planning:-

Creative planning is a simply a way to analyse the communication problem and find ways how to solve it. The creative planning helps as a guideline for all the people involved in the creative development work in one direction. Creative planning includes developing a theme, the creative strategy and finally deciding the creative tactics.

Developing a Theme:-

A campaign is a series of ads built around one central theme. This is also called the ‘big idea’. Big idea is an idea that leaps across all problems faced by a brand. The big idea is an outcome of deep insight into the consumers. There should be an awareness regarding his attitudes towards a product category and brand.

The characteristics of big idea are given below:-1. It sums up the brand proposition creatively and effectively.2. It is so flexible that the whole campaign can built around it.3. It is so durable that it lends itself to different executions over a period of time.4. It is relevant today in the changed environment.

Brand Big ideaWills Made for each other Amul Utterly butterly topicalityEveready Chupa rustumRaymonds The complete manLux The beauty soap of film starsThums up Victory’s symbolLifebuoy Tandurasti ki raksha Air India Maharaja

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Bajaj Scooters Hamara BajajMarlboro Cowboy Smirnoff Pure thrillPepsi Choice of a new generationCoca Cola Open happinessBenetton’s united colours

The theme or creative concept is the part of all different ads of the campaign that are prepared for different media, situations, audiences and different times of year. The theme, thus, need to be a strong concept to be able to hold all there different and diverse ads together.

For example: Pepsi has been using the ‘Pepsi Generation’ theme for decades. Thumps- up used the ‘thubunderous taste’ theme for a very long time. Lux has been using the ‘beauty soap of film star’ theme for over five decades now.

A powerful brings out what is called synergy to the campaign. Synergy works as a ‘binding factor’ that intensifies the impact of the campaign through repetition.

Also the theme provides a psychological continuity or link among all the ads of the campaign. For example, using the same slogan in ads for different media creates this continuity. A theme must always relate to and reflect the campaign objectives. Also a theme should be tied to the need, wants and problems of buyers and to the advertiser’s product as the answer to these problems and wants. Effective themes are true, believable, and convincing. And finally it should be distinct and unique to be able to establish competitive superiority.

Creative Strategy :-

Creative strategy decides the type of message. It flows from the communication problem and the objectives. The creative strategy outlines the impressions the campaign wants to create. Some of the common creative strategies are:

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Generic Strategy: - This is used by market leaders who ignore the presence of competitors.

Pre-emptive Claim Strategy: - Here the brand is the first to pick up a particular feature. In the minds of the people, it becomes associated with that brand. For example, everybody associates PUF with Godrej refrigerators while it is present in all fridges.

Unique Selling Proposition {USP} Strategy: - Here the campaign talks about some feature which is unique to that advertised brand and it is not available in others.

Brand Image Strategy: - When there are no strong differentiating features among the competitors, then brands try and create images. For example, Pepsi in the ‘new generation drink’, Maggi Hot and Sweet tomato sauce is ‘different’, etc.

Product Positioning: - Sometimes products or brands are position differently from competing brands. For example, Maggi noodle is a “two minute snack”.

All the above creative-strategies or message-strategies try to set brand apart from all its competitors. Here one can take an informative approach where one gives straightforward facts. This approach is suitable for high –involvement products like slow moving consumer goods (Cars, TV, Fridge, Washing machines, etc) where consumers are looking for information to make the purchase decision.

The other approach is the associational or emotional approach. This approach adopt for low involvement goods like fast moving consumer goods(chocolates, toothpaste, cigarette, etc) where consumer do not need much information to decide. Here

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advertising tries to establishing tries to establish image or touch emotions.

5. Creative Tactics and Implementation

Now that we have developed a theme and decided on creative strategy, it is time for executing them. Creative execution translates the strategy into advertising messages. It dramatise strategy to capture the attention of the audience, make it memorable and effective.

An advertisement is called creative when it is original or novel and has features that stand out. To be effective, an ad has to be relevant and connect the audience with the product.

Creative tactics or implementation (execution) includes copy writing, deciding the visuals and layout in case of print advertisement. In case or radio and TV ads, it includes writing the script, recording, editing, giving music and other special effects.

6. Media Planning:-

The ultimate goal of advertising is to reach the target audience with the advertising message. The major decisions that need to be taken are:

Which media to be used? Where to advertise (geographic region)? When to advertise (timing and scheduling)? How intense the exposure should be (frequency)?

Media planning is a ‘behind the sense’ part of advertising. It plays an integral role in merging the science of marketing with the art of advertising.

A media planner has to find out about the availability of various media. Then the media planner has to choose such media which would reach the target audience effectively-both impact and cost wise.

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Deciding the Media:-

Form the newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, and films to pamphlets, leaflets, brochures and posters to outdoor and transit media. Advertising uses many means to reach the target audience. All these media have different reaches, different rates, different characteristics and they also differ in terms of popularity.

A media planner has to select and choose the medium or media mix depending on the above mentioned things as well as the target audience and the advertising objectives. One important consideration here is low much money is available for media buying in the ad budget.

Once the media planner chooses the medium or media mix, the next step is to choose the vehicles within these media. For example, if the medium chosen is newspaper, then there are many vehicles available like national, regional or local newspaper, various language newspapers, general newspapers or special newspapers like economic and business newspapers. For television, there are so many channels available

Media Scheduling:

When to run the campaign and for how long to run it. This is called media scheduling or finalizing the day, time and other specifications about the placement of ads.

One important aspect of scheduling is the frequency or the number of time an advertisement message is delivered (published and broadcast) with in a given period of time (usually a week or month). Another important aspect is timing pattern. Some common timing patterns are:

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Seasonal: this pattern is used for product which sells seasonally like sunscreen lotion, air coolers and refrigerators in summer, cold creams, water heaters, room heaters, woolen in winter.

Steady Pattern: This pattern is used for products that sell uniformly throughout the year like soaps, shampoos, toothpaste, etc.

Pulsing: this is also called fighting. Pulsing involves short bursts of advertising in a few markets for a short duration rather than going for a steady pattern. It increases the awareness level of consumers to a much higher level that continues while the product is not being advertised.

Media Booking:-

After the planning is over, then the media buyers contact the various media and book the space and time according to the media plan devised. Big agencies with media buying wing do it on their own. Many agencies, however, leave media booking and media buying to specialized media buying organisations

7. Coordination:-

Advertising is often thought to be the only means of reaching prospective consumers with the selling message. In reality, it is only a part of marketing communication or promotion. Personal selling, sales promotion, publics relations are the other means of reaching the target audience.

Advertising, depending upon the product and the situation, may play a dominant role with other activities supporting it. It may also play a supplementary role to other promotional activities. All these promotional activities have the same goal—of achieving increased sales or acceptance. Thus, there is a need for proper coordination among all these promotional activities the people planning ad campaigns should be fully aware of the other promotional activities and plan the campaign accordingly.

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8. Evaluation:-

Constant and periodic evaluation of the ad campaign at various stages is required to judge the effectiveness of the campaign. Some advertisers do not pay much attention to this aspect and get the evaluation conducted informally. However, there is a greater need to conduct evaluation by way of formal and proper research.

Evaluation of an advertising campaign is conducted at two strategies:

Pre-evaluation (pre testing) Post-evaluation (post testing)

Pre –testing: -

This is conducted after the creative execution is over and before the advertisements are placed in the media.

The prepared ads are shown to a cross section of the largest audience. If they like the ads then they are released to be placed in the various media otherwise the ads are changed accordingly

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Post- testing:-

This is done after the campaign is over i.e., after the ads have been published aired or broadcast for the duration decided. The results are matched with the original objectives (both advertising and marketing objectives).

The main purpose of post- testing is to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign and to learn lesson for future campaigns. This way one can repeat effective and successful practices and avoid or change ineffective practices.

Creation Stages

There are three phase involved in the creation of any campaign:

1. Strategy Development Phase,2. The Briefing Phase, and 3. The Creative Phase

1. Strategy Development phase:

This phase decides the objectives and contents of communication. It analyses the research data and decides positioning of a brand. The

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strategy formulation is in modern day’s agencies a team effort. The creative persons from a part of this team not as creative persons but a mind. There is brain storming sessions. The brilliant ones in the team pick up one or two ideas from the total of ideas generated and develop them. Our strategy should give us a competitive edge.

2. Advertising Brief to the Creative:

In this phase the strategy formulated is communicated to the creative people. They are briefed about how to create the advertising the product needs. The strategy should be communicated with clarity. The strategist should be a good motivator for the creative team.

Proper briefing is going halfway as far as creativity is concerned. Bad brief to the creative team results into bad work. Good brief ensures good work.Creative brief of strategy contains a key consumer insight. If the brief acquaints you with the consumer, and how his mind works, it has the seeds of creativity in it. It gives stimulus to creative team.

Success or failure of the advertisement is largely dictated by the brief.

Great briefs inspire great work. Briefs should have clarity and single-minded objective. They should aim at a target person. The idea is to have the desired response. All briefs must suggest a benefit or a product plus.

3. The Creative Phase:

Here, the lateral thinkers come on the scene. They leap from a single unidirectional idea of the strategist to an advertising idea that will add value to the product / brand. The creative persons are supposed to be right-brained---lateral thinkers, irrational thinkers as against the accounts director who is left brained, I.e., logical. They make connections that had not existed before. They rearrange the order of things. They create abruptions

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in the consumer mind. There should be a beautiful marriage between the strategy and the lateral thinking in the creative people.

Spink of the Lowe group says “Strong creative are probably the cheapest competitive advantage that a company can have.” The best creative are derived from a complete understanding of the product and the benefits it offers. But a thorough understanding of the target audience provides an edge.

Norman Berry of O&M says, “It is the sensitive understanding of the audience that takes one’s creative from logic to magic.”

Five Steps to Effective Advertising

1. Prepare:-

Good advertising begins with good information. And the best way to gather the information we need is with a little Q&A.

Some basic questions that help in preparing for just about any ad written assignment.

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Description: What is the product/service/opportunity in 50 words or less?

Purpose: What does it do? How does it work? Price: How much does it cost? Features: What are the vital facts about this product/

service/opportunity? Benefits: What will it do for people? What specific problems does it

solve? Saves money or time? Makes life better? What is prime benefit? Competition: Why is my product/service/opportunity better? How is it

different? What attributes can I stress that they don’t have? Guarantee: 30 days free trial? Money back? Prospect: Who is my ideal prospect? Male or Female? Income?

Lifestyle? Objective: What do I want? Inquiries, leads, sales, image building,

traffic, etc.? Offer: What’s the deal? Two for one sale? Limited time offer? Free

information? Deadline: When does my offer expire? Method of Payment: cash, VISA, Master Card, etc.? Method of Ordering: Mail, phone, fax, computer, etc, ?

2. Organize:- After assembled a pile of information, the next step to organise it. Some basic information which is essential for organizing:

Description Purpose Price Features Benefits Competition Guarantee Prospect

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Objective Offer Deadline Method of Payment Method of Ordering

These are the central points that will need in writing an ad.

3. Write:- After prepare and organise the next step is write an ad. It involves:

Write headline Write sub heads Write body copy Write call to action

4. Edit:- Edit the ad with some questions……

Does headline get attention, select an audience, delivers a complete message, and draws the reader into the body copy?

Is headline clear and to the point? Does it relate to the product/ service?

Do subheads logically expend on the headline in the order of importance?

5. Review:-

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Use the “Three second test” with a prospect. If they do not know what the ad is about after glancing at it for three second, it need to simplify.

List negatives about the ad and correct them.

Some Indian Advertisement Campaigns (that Were Too Intelligent for Their Own Good):

1. Motorola (Model No):

The ad depicts three men in an office pouring their heads over certain discrepancies in their financial sheets. The two bosses are interrogating a subordinate who claims to be totally innocent and unaware of how such a misappropriation could take place. This is when the subordinate’s mother calls up on his mobile and the bosses notice the expensive looking phone. They exchange knowing glances and start questioning him on when he bought the mobile. The ad hopes to convey in a humorous manner that it is a cheap phone that looks expensive and if you choose to buy it, please face the consequences.

Let's for a minute imagine that many youngsters with limited pocket money would like to go for a contraption that looks far more expensive than it is. But isn’t the advertising loud and clear about the same aspect, which

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makes the phone model very recognizable and defeats the whole purpose. What is worse than being stuck with an average looking cheap phone after all? Being stuck with a phone that set out to look expensive, but looks cheap now because everybody knows how cheap it is!

2. Maggi Healthy Soups :

Now we all know what powdered soups are all about. A dehydrated glib glob (read mass) of some circumspect vegetables with noodles of hydrogenated fats and mono sodium glutamate thrown in for flavor. They are high on convenience and the MSG ensures that we often even end up yearning for these products. But to actually call them healthy soups is getting a bit over ambitious. Just because you have printed ‘added calcium, vitamins, iron and what not on the cover is no proof of its nutritive value. Therefore this ad campaign fails to make a mark. It would be better if they just highlighted it as an indulgence that any overworked working woman resorts to in order to feed her family on stressed out days. But show me one woman who serves Maggi noodles or soups to her kids without an iota of guilt and I’ll show you an ad campaign that failed before it started.

3. Ponds Age Defying Complex:

Ok, those on the wrong side of thirty generally know about the fine lines appearing on their faces, the crow’s feet, the laugh lines etc. Not that one is thrilled to bits to see the first signs of aging, but the point is the way in which the campaign tries to sell the product. To think that their models

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are basically shown as these unsure, not-so-confident and unaccomplished women in their late thirties with the sole ambition of getting their husbands to notice the overnight change in their looks and take them out for candle lit dinners leaves a lot to be desired. One almost feels like screaming and telling them, “Please go and get a life first.” I, for one, would not be caught dead buying such a cream. Wouldn’t it be much better if a campaign celebrates all that a woman of substance stands for, who is not mortally scared of aging gracefully and definitely not so insecure about her husband passing her on for someone younger. The ad fails to create a positive vibe among smart older women of today who would take pride in the wisdom and maturity that comes with age and managing to look young is just a bonus and not the end of life.

4. Tata Sky:

This ad is planned around the World Cup fever where a person is off on a trip to the West Indies wearing a costume made out of grass. Hrithik Roshan makes a timely intervention in the guy’s holiday plans and suggests watching the matches on Tata Sky with the possibility of his being the lucky winner and watching the Final in Hrithik’s personal theatre. Is the ad aiming to dissuade people from traveling to an exciting destination where they can watch great cricketing action unfold live in front of them? Or is it a small hint that given the form of the Indian team, it is really not worth going all the way. Whatever is the intention, the ad fails to make an impact and Hrithik is truly wasted.

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Creativity in advertising

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Introduction

Creativity in the field of advertising is different. It is not self expression. It is expression in a planned and calculated way. It has a specific motive of persuading or motivating. And it is always goal oriented i.e., it tries to achieve some goal and other. Creativity is the power of quality of creation and creation mean the presentation of a new concept in an artistic embodiment or manner.

Creativity in advertising is all about vigorous, vital, compelling and persuasive messages that effectively achieve their objectives. Here, two things come to the fore –advertising message role as a link between the product and the audience, and the relevance of the advertising message. On the basis of these two things , some people define creativity in advertising as creating “unique and relevant connection .” these unique but relevant connection are nothing but solution to the consumer’s problems.

Creative process models are very important for in the field of advertising creativity. These models used an organized way to approach an advertising problem. Preparation or gathering of information is the first step

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in the creative process. The advertiser or ad agency starts by developing a through understanding of the product or services, the target market and the competition.

Creative process in advertising:-

Creative process starts with the gathering of information and ends with seeing the solution. According to James Webb Young, the creative process is “the production of ideas is just as definite a process as the production of ideas, too, run on assembly line; that in this production the mind follows an operative technique which can be learned and controlled; and that its effective use is just as much a matter of practice in the technique as in the effective use of any tool”

Young’s model of the creative process contains five steps:

Young’s five steps creativity model

Step I: → Getting raw material, data, immersing one’s self in the problem to get the background.

Step II: → Ruminating on the data acquired, turning it this way and that in the mind.

Step III: → Ceasing analysis and putting the problem out of conscious mind for a time.

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Step IV: → A sudden inspiration or intuitive revelation about a potential solution.

Step V: → Studying the idea, evaluating it, and developing it for practical usefulness.

Baker describes the concept of creativity as a pyramid divided into three parts. Advertising creativity frequently takes off from a base of a systematic accumulation of facts and analysis. The second phase represents processing, or analysis, and the third part is the idea, that is the culmination of creative efforts.

Creative input

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Verification and Revision of Ideas

Use the product to become

familiar with it!

Read anything related to the

product or market

Work in and learn about the

client’s business!

Listen to what people are

talking about!

Ask everyone involved for information!

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English sociologist Graham Walls outlined the four steps in creative process as follows:

Wall’s view of the Creative Process

Objective

Evaluate ideas generated.

Reject inappropriate

Ideas.Refine remaining

ideas.Give them final

expression.

Techniques

Directed focus groups

Message communication

studiesPortfolio tests

Viewer reaction profile

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Advertising message strategy:-

The advertising message strategy describes what is to be communicated and how it is to be communicated. It consists of the:

VerificationRefining the idea

IncubationSetting problem

aside

PreparationGathering

information

Illumination seeing the

solution

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Message Idea: the main theme, appeal, or benefit to be communicated in the message.

Copy Plate form: A written statement that fully describes the message idea.

Message or Creative format: A broad creative approach used to communicate the message idea to the target audiences.

Message or Creative Formats Testimonial. Slice of life. Analogy, association and symbolism. Trick photography or exaggerated situations. Work play or made –up phrases. Honest Twist. Fear. Comparisons.

Appeals

Appeals in advertising:

An appeal, in advertisements, is anything that motivates a person to action. Human being are called bundle of wants. A human being is a strange mix of hopes, ambitions, needs, interests, goals, etc .All these things works as motivating factors. These are also called motives. Various

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advertisements try to appeal to some of these manifold motives that force people to take action.

An advertising appeal is nothing but a promise of a benefit the advertised product will provide to the buyer. For example , the possible promises or appeals for a home appliance could be comfort, convenience, economy of installation , economy of operation , cleanliness, dependability and durability, safety, multiple operation , many and varied features, trouble free operation and smart looks, etc.

ADVERTISING APPEALS can be one of the methods that can influence in some extent the buying behavior of consumers, by using multiple appeals, rationally or emotionally it can impact the prospects of consumer’s purchase decision.

Also three important characteristics need to be considered before selecting the appeals. The appeals need to be meaningful, distinctive and believable. Consumers spend a lot of money and thus, they are skeptical or doubtful about the usefulness of the product. They would buy the product only when they believe in the promises made.

Searching for appeals

Let us analyse few brands in one product category – Powered salt. The first brand in this product category in India was Tata. As the earlier available salt was not made mechanically it was considered to be impure. But Tata claimed that its salt was prepared and cleaned using sophisticated machine and thus, pure in quality. Also the name was a guarantee for quality.

The next brand to enter the branded and powdered salt market was Annapurna (Kissan).This brand started talking about purity (sudhata) directly. All the two brand are using the same appeal –purity. However, their presentation varies. And these different presentations have created different and distinctive images for the two powered salt brands.

HOW DOES ONE FIND APPEALS:-

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A product has a distinct characteristic. This could be either a physical feature like size, shape , fragrance, weight, etc. or a functional feature like how well it clean , how well it works, how long it performs, how little maintenance it requires ,etc.For example,

Doy soaps for kid’s uses the animal shapes of soaps as appeal.

Hero Honda claims to be the ‘no problem’ bike and Luna claims that ‘Luna mein hain no tension’, Baja claims to offer value for money for years.

Godrej almirahs use the appeals ‘kal aaj and kal’ or being long lasting.

If a product does not have any distinctive feature then some subjective or emotional features are attached to it through advertising. So a biscuit become any time biscuit, for many people it is always Coca –cola or for some others Pepsi is the right choice.

One of the problems faced by advertising people is not about finding the possible appeals for a product but selecting the most appropriate appeals that would attract the consumers. A lot of research is conducted by ad agencies to find out the most appropriate appeals.

Structured research is used (to get specific answers to specific questions). These mostly used random sample survey – through interviews or questionnaire. Advertisers also use depth research methods.

These are also called motivation research and projective studies. In such studies, individuals or small group of people are interviewed at depth to know their preferences, likings and dislikes.

Types of Ad Appeals

Appeals are broadly classified into three types.

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1. Rational Appeals

2. Emotional Appeals

3. Moral Appeals

1. Rational Appeals :

Rational appeals are those directed at thinking process of the audience. They involve some sort of a deliberate reasoning process, which a person believes would be acceptable to other members of his social group. They attempt to show that the product would yield the expected functional benefit. A rational ad becomes believable and effective.

We may consider some buying motives behind such appeal that can be considered rational under normal circumstances.

High Quality Appeal;

Most of the consumers durable like Plasma TV, stereophonic music system or other electronic or PC hardware items too are bought for their high quality.

Low Price Appeal;

Many people buy low priced locally made like air conditioners for their home because they believe that these products will perform the same as rationally reputed brands. In this case he is exhibiting a rational motive.

Long life Appeal;

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The durability time factors plays important role for a few prospect performance, case of use, re-sale value and economy are the matter considered before purchase.

2. Emotional appeals :-

Emotional appeals are those appeals, which are not preceded by careful analysis of the pros and cons of making a buying. Emotions are those material agitation or excited states of feeling which prompt us to make a purchase. Usually the emotional motives are below the level of consciousness they may not be recognized by a person, even if recognized the person may be unwilling to admit to others because he or she may feel that it would be unacceptable as a proper reason for buying among his her associates and colleagues.

Emotional appeals are designed to stir up some negative or positive emotions that will motivate product interest or purchase.

Negative emotional appeals:

We may induce a particular behavioral changes by emphasizing positive or negative appeal, for example; positive aspects of a medical drug would be its low cost easily available, no side effects etc & the negative aspects-not using the prescribed drug would lead to illness- or like if you have no fire insurance it will lead the danger of losing one’s possessions or the ravages of fire.

Positive appeals use the strategy of ‘reducing’ a person’s anxiety about ‘using’ a product, while negative appeals use the strategy of ‘increasing’ a person’s anxiety of not using the product.

For example : An advertising campaign to get the target audience to buy fire insurance may stress the positive aspect – low cost relative to other investment , the service the insurance company provides, early settlement of claims, and so on ;or it may stress the negative aspects of not

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getting insurance - the danger of losing one’s possessions or the ravages of fire.

Positive emotional appeals

Love, affections, care, feelings, pride, prestige & joy are a few positive appeals used to highlight a products benefits & attributes capable of influencing consumer behavior.

For example; Mother’s love appeal used by Johnson and Johnson which shows care and affections.

Other emotional motives appeal to be:

Desire to be different Desire to be conform Desire to attract other Desire for prestige Desire to belongingness

In general, a positive appeal stresses the positive gains to a person from complying with the persuasive message; the negative appeal stresses his loss if he fails to comply.

Different dimensions of Emotional appeals.

Emotional Appeals: Response Categories

S.NO. Dimension of Response to Emotional appeals

Illustration

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1. Feeling of an upbeat mood evoked by music humour and other such ad element

‘Celebrate with Asian Paint Home Coming’ Campaign!

2. Feeling of quite and relaxed pleasantness used in cosmetic commercials bringing out sensuousness.

‘Lakme –she’s a woman to me’ campaign.

3. Feeling of heart- warming and tenderness.

Cadbury’s Mother-son commercial.

4. Felling of motivational, appetite, desire to buy or consume the advertised brand/ category.

Food ads.

A part from the above four categories, the emotional roles the products play in Indian context also affect the response.

Role Category of the product

Details Example

1. Background Normal part of the scene necessary to set the stage on which important things I life occur associated with emotion- laden events like marriage.

Room furnishings, accessories, most appliances, e.g. , Storwel cupboard of Godrej.

2. Mediator to interaction

Product necessary for interaction to occur

Cameras

Souvenirs of events which enable reconstruction of these events (VIP luggage campaign Kal bhi, Aaj bhi, Kal bhi).

Restaurant scene of Titan watch ad. Husband

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gift the watch to his wife. The symbol of warmth is watch.

The interactivness has heightened. Background music plays an important part.

3. Expression of Self

--------- Clothes, apparel and accessory categories. Reminders of self –esteem. Raymond’s ‘complete man’ campaign. Sharmila Tagore and Pataudi in Gwalior suitings campaign

4. Products themselves become objects of Emotion

High product involvement object becomes a substitute for human relations.

‘Hamara Bajaj’ campaign.

Precautions while using the Emotional Route:

1. The advertising should have relevance. If the product needs attribute- based rational advertising, emotional appeals should be avoided.

2. There should be natural flow of feelings.

3. Execution should not be exaggerated. The level of emotionality should not exceed that experienced by the consumer.

4. There is a difference between a consumer’s emotions associated with the product/brand and a consumer’s emotional reaction to the ad copy itself. Preferably, these two should be compatible.

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Fear Appeals:

The fear appeal is most important among emotional appeals, and also the most effective. It is said that the message’s effectiveness increase with the level of fear it generates. The use of fear appeal in getting people to start doing thing they should is very common. Many ad message of toothpaste employ this appeal. They present the fear of tooth decay or unhealthy gums or bad breath, and then suggest the use of a specific brand of toothpaste to get rid of such fears.

Fear appeals are at times used in ad messages in connection with getting people to stop doing the things they shouldn’t do. The advertisements relating to prohibition, prevention of losses and conversation of energy fall in this category. The warning on the cigarette packet that smoking is injurious to health is a typical example, even though this is a statutory warning and advertisers themselves would not like to include it in the ad on their own.

3 . Moral Appeals:

Moral appeals are those appeals to the audience that appeal to their sense of right and wrong. These are often used in message to arouse a favourable to social causes, such as prohibition, audit literacy, social

forestry, anti-smuggling and hoarding, consumer protection, equal right for woman, social responsibility projects of corporations’ rural development, siding weaker sections of society, employment generation, and so on.

There are messages that appeal for generous donations for flood victims and for famine relief operations-these are often based on moral appeals.

Many commercial advertisements are criticized on moral grounds. The most controversial ad campaigns are by multinational companies marketing baby food products. Many WHO experts are critical of these corporations that promote bottle-feeding against breast-feeding.

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4. Sex Appeal:

Sex Appeal in contraceptive ads have become explicit and are more visual than verbal, research has shown that non- sexual illustrations are more effective than sexual one’s while under going brand recall. Because people usually tend to remember the sexy illustrations and not the brand, hence in some extent it dilute the brand, but I think it all depends upon the amount of sexual content within particular ad and the way of representation, possibly that’s not going to effect brand image obviously if you are selling innerwear or contraceptive devices.

Direct and Indirect Appeals

1. Direct Appeals: Direct appeals are those that clearly communicate with the consumers about a given need, followed by a message that extols the advertised brand as a product that satisfies that need.

In industrial advertising, some ad may have a direct appeal, satisfying the consumer’s technical need; but, in consumer advertising, the direct appeal plays a very limited role. In America, the hamburger was once advertised with the hunger appeal. The ad said: “When you get a man-size hunger, eat a whopper hamburger.”

2. Indirect Appeals:

Indirect appeals are those that do not emphasis a human need, but allude to a need. Because advertisers understand the influence of needs upon selective perception, they leave some ambiguity in the message so

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that the consumers may be free to interpret it and the need to which the advertiser is appealing.

There are two types of indirect appeals:

1. Product –oriented indirect appeals:

Feature-oriented appeals

Use-oriented appeals

Product comparison appeal

2. Consumer-oriented indirect appeals:

Attitude-oriented appeals

Significant group-oriented appeals

Lifestyle –oriented appeals

Sub-conscious-oriented appeals

Image-oriented appeals

Essentials of an Advertisement Appeal

1. It must be thematically sound.

2. It must be communicative.

3. It must be interesting.

4. It must have credibility.

5. It must have finality and be complete.

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6. It must contain truthful information.

Selling Points and Appeals

Selling points are those product attributes that are listed in the advertisement copy to impress upon the consumer the significance of a product to him. They could be specifications, quality statements, composition statements, descriptive or narrative or performance statements. Some selling points are primary selling points and the rest are subsidiary selling points. Selling points in order to be effective must have the force to appeal to a particular buying motive. So selling points successfully touch upon the buying motives

Copy in advertising

The term ‘copy’ has been in use since the days of early printing when the compositor was given a manuscript and told to copy it. Copt means all the words in advertisements- whether written (printed) or spoken.

How an advertisement works

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It begins with the PROMISE OF BENEFIT. It then provides AMPLIFICATION or elaboration. The next thing an ad does is provide PROOF. And finally it ends with a request or call for ACTION. Advertising professionals call this the PAPA (Promise, Amplification, Proof, and Action) formula. The promise or benefit is expressed at the beginning through the headline. Amplification and proof and provided by the subheadings and the body copy. Finally, the end part of the body copy and sometimes the slogan make a request or call for action.

1. The Headline

The headline is the most read part of an advertisement. So advertiser tries to tell maximum part of the product story through the headline. A headline introduces the product, makes the promise statement or puts a question. It basically tries to attract the attention of the reader and creates curiosity so that the reader reads further.

The major types of headlines are:

Direct promise of benefit, News (of the product), Curiosity or provocative, and Command headlines.

Direct promise headlines make a direct promise about how the product will benefit the readers.

News headlines provide some new ‘information’ and are called news headline. Curiosity or provocative statement, the headline tries to create a lot of curiosity about the product. It also forces the customer to read the copy and the promise is made in the copy.

In command headlines, the customers are urged to buy the product by promising a reward. For example “buy one, get one free”

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Another type of headline is the select headline. This is directed at the headline scanners. Such a headline selects its own audience. For example such headlines are: attention all housewives, for all young men over thirty etc. such headlines can reach selected groups by either addressing them directly or by discussing their specific problems.

2. The Sub-Headline

When the advertiser wants say a lot at the beginning but the headline cannot do the job, then the subheading is used. The headline and subheading together can contain a longer message. The subheading usually spells out or elaborates. The promise made in the headline or it stresses on the product’s unique feature.

3. Body Copy

Most customers want to know many facts before they decide upon buying the product. These details are given in the body copy. When the headline usually makes a claim, the body copy elaborates upon it and provides supporting proof. When the headline poses a question, the subheading answers it. Sometimes readers want proof or evidence of the claim made in the advertisement. So proofs about quality, performance, durability etc, are provided through arguments, proof by experts, testimonials by user or through demonstrations in the body copy. The final aspect in an advertisement is a call for action. Through this, most advertisements try to strengthen the readers’ determination to buy or continue buying. The call for action takes several forms in an advertisement. It is usually part of the body copy. ‘Visit our dealers’, ‘see the product in action’, ‘send for a free booklet on how the get the best out of our product’, ‘write to us the following address’, ‘call your local dealer for a free demonstration’, ‘full this coupon for a free information booklet’, etc, are example of calls for action.

4. Slogans

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The term slogan comes from the Greek word sluagh gaim, meaning battle cry. A slogan is a short and catchy phrase that gets the attention of the audience is easy to remember and comes on the tongue easily.

A slogan could help to describe the use of a product. Suggest the special advantage or importance of the product; create an overall image of the company (you are in good hands, we bring good things to life, believe in the best, better than the best etc.) guard against substitutes (COCA COLA is the real things, Gold Spot: the zing thing) slogan are mostly emotionally charged. They motivate the selling story is to be presented through headline, subheading, body copy and slogan in the promise, amplification, proof and action formula.

Style of Copy

Style of copy is the way of presenting information. Advertisers follow two basic approaches- the factual approach and the emotional approach.

1. Factual Approach: The factual or rational approach deals with reality or what actually exists. It calls for focusing on those facts about the product that are of most importance to the reader, and then explaining their advantages. For example: the slogan is ‘no one can eat just one’ of Raffles Lays.

2. Emotional Approach:

There are certain aspects that cannot be measured, weighed or seen and touched. These subjective values can only be felt or experienced. For example, one Suzuki ad had this headline ‘SUZUKI conquers Boredom’.It is followed by this copy:Life has always been what you make it. Excitement or just routine. And the line between freedom and feeling trapped can be as simple as two wheels- something like getting on a Suzuki and breaking away. Getting out seeing the rugged land you never see from inside your car………. It’s your life.

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And you can make it anything you like. A phone call to your nearest Suzuki dealer can be a whole new beginning.

The fast moving consumer goods like chocolates, cigarettes, toothpastes, soaps, etc. mostly use the emotional approach.

The advertisements do not use only the factual or the emotional approach. They mostly use the approaches in combined.

Visualization

Visualization means to think in terms of visuals or pictures. Visualization requires visual thinking. For example, think about the entire picture that comes to mind when you think of the word ‘grip’. It could be the grip of handshake, it could be a kid gripping his grandfather’s finger, it could be the grip of a claw or the grip of a tyre. These kind of perceptions need to be portrayed in the advertisement.

Visualization is only limited by the visualiser’s imagination. Visuals and pictures help people dream and project themselves into another time, place, or situation. Pictures appeal to our hidden and suppressed emotions. Also pictures communicate ideas quickly and easily. And there is almost no chance of misinterpretation.

Visuals not only attract attention, they hold the interest and often tell maximum part of the story. Visuals also identify the product, arouse interest, create a favourable impression of the product or the advertiser, clarify claims made in the copy, make demonstrations, emphasise the unique features of the product. And finally visuals provide continuity for all advertisements in the campaign through the use of similar visuals.

What to Show?

The visual options before advertising people are limitless. These include;

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Package containing the product. Product alone. Product in use. Product features. Cross- section of product to show internal functioning. User benefit. Comparison of products. How to use the product. Charts and graphs.

Layout An advertisement has two major components—copy and visuals. The placement of copy and visuals has to be attractive and at the same time, it has to present the advertising message forcefully. This placement of copy and visuals is called layout.

A layout could be the first pencil sketches which puts the idea on paper. A layout could be the final piece after finishing touches. Good layouts are forceful, attractive and full of vigour. Bad layouts could be tasteless, vulgar, and unimaginative.

Stages of layout:

Layout process starts with thinking on paper.

Thumbnail Sketches:

A copywriter and a visualiser sit together and create ideas. These ideas help in creating more ideas. These hastily drawn ideas are called thumbnail sketches and from the first stage of layout. These sketches need not be shown to any one. But the copywriter and visualiser can visualise how the ad would look after these thumbnails are polished and given the finishing touches.

Rough Sketch:

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The second step in creating layout is to choose the best options out of the thumbnail sketches and polish them.

In the rough stage, bigger layouts are made so that more details can be accommodated. These rough layouts are presented to the agency’s creative director for approval. Then the rough layout is further polished.

Comprehensive Stage:

In this stage the rough layout is enlarged to its actual size. All the copy is lettered or composed. Proper borders and other marks are put on the layout; photograph and other visuals are cut from other places or photocopied and pasted.

This layout is easy to understand. This layout is presented to the client for approval. One the client approves the layout; it is ready for the final finishing touches.

Art work:

This is the final stage of layout. Here care is taken to look into each minute detail. The copy is properly composed or lettered. Proper photographs, paintings, sketches or graphics are used. Other elements like borders etc. are properly placed. Colouring is done. Finishing artists give the final touches. At this stage the ad is now ready to be printed.

Advertising Layout Strategy

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Proportional guideline:

1. Illustration 65 %

2. Headline 10 %

3. Copy 20 % 4. Logo 5 % 100 % of space allocation (20%+ white space

1. Illustration

In most ads, the illustration is used to attract attention. Large, single illustrations attracted the most attention (advertising recall studies by Starch). Though the headline may be the "stopper", the illustration is the most critical element in the ad's success. It can also visually communicate product benefits and concept, and lead the reader into the headline and copy.

2. Headline

The headline is used to attract attention, arouse interest, and make the ad more attractive and readable. However, it should not be over 10 words and more than 15 % of the ad's total area.

3. Copy

Style of typeface used in the headline, subhead and copy will impact the mood and readability of the ad. Mixed type should be either very similar or very different. Mixing more than two (or three at most) different typefaces makes an ad busy and confusing.

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4. Logo Because we read left to right and top to bottom, the logo or company signature can be strategically placed in the lower right hand corner of an ad. With this position, the logo is the last element we see and most likely remember.

5. Direct the viewer's eye

From the page's top, down through the center and end at the page's bottom. The eye sees the illustration first, and then we read down from there (David Ogilvy). Headlines located below the illustration pull 10% more readers (research by Simmons).

6. Emphasis

The optical center of an ad is in the center and two-thirds up from the bottom. This should be the ad's focal point.

Proportional use of spaceThe proportional use of space in an ad is dependent upon the product and market target. Product ads that try to communicate an image (perfume, jewelry, etc.) will have a greater proportion of illustration and little copy. Conversely, an ad for a technical product will have more copy.

7. White Space

At least 20 % of an ad should be blank (white space). Ample white space helps gain attention, create contrast, and unify the ad.

Principles of Layout

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A good layout takes into consideration the principles of balance, proportion, movement, unity, mood, photography drawing, colour, typography.

1. Balance Balance may be defined as a matter of weight distribution. In layout, it is related to the optical center of an advertisement. All the elements must be in equilibrium and this can be achieved through balance.

2. Proportion Proportion is related to balance but is concerned primarily with the division of the space and the emphasis that need to be accorded to each element. Proportion also involve the tone of the advertisement, that is, the amount of light area in relation to the dark area, the amount of colour required or the decision to avoid colour.

3. Movement The eyes follow a particular movement. While designing, the designer must take care of the element of movement in a deliberate manner. For example, if a character in the advertisement is gazing in a particular direction, the possibility is that the reader will follow the movement of the gaze. This ensures that the reader will follow of being read.

4. Unity The term unity means the unification of the layout. All the elements in the advertisement must be united to form a composite whole. This is achieved when the elements tie into one another by making use of the same basic shapes. Unity can be achieved by grouping the elements, by encasing the advertisement in a border, by aligning one element with another, or by the overlapping of elements.

5. Mood Size, textures, colours, and the type all contributes towards creating a mood for the advertisement. It is always ideal to choose type from one family create the right harmony and mood. Similarly, the use of white space also creates the appropriate mood.

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6. Photography Pictures in advertisements create a feeling of immediacy, live action, speed, empathy, association, and flexibility. The pictures encompass a variety of subjects and objects. These are selected on the basis of the aim of the advertisement.

7. Drawings Drawings are used in advertisements when the visualiser feels that their impact will be more then that of photographs.

8. Colour psychology Advertising cannot be complete without role of colour. Colour adds realism, apart from beauty and distinctiveness. The right blend of colours adds a dash of magic to the advertisement. Colours have a psychology of their own and various colours depict various moods.

What Are the Best Colors for Advertising?

The best colors for advertising are those that make people comfortable or stimulate their senses. A color scheme that incorporates warm colors encourages people to linger, leading restaurants to choose deep burgundy, burnt orange and similar colors. They stimulate warmth and comfort, and when people relax over dinner, they are more likely to enjoy a leisurely dessert or a nice cup of coffee, thus spending more money.

Hot colors are some of the best colors for advertising when it comes to products like fast food. Bright red and yellow are hot colors, indicative of fire, and they stimulate excitement. Warm and hot colors will encourage people to eat more, which translate to revenue.

Cool colors have their own niche. Colors like green and blue are some of the best colors for advertising when it comes to over-the-counter medicines and other health products. Blue is associated with tranquility, and also represents water, a life force.

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Colors like sky blue and certain shades of green can also be effective, since they evoke the feeling of being outdoors.

According to research, black and white can be two of the best colors for advertising. They are used to signify power and create a sense that the company is highly professional. Often a splash of color, such as red, is included to accent the starkness.

9. Typography

Typography is another area that requires careful consideration, especially in print advertising material. It involves various types, which convey specific moods and ambience. Type styles are chosen keeping in view the objectives and strategy of the campaign.

USP or Unique Selling Proportion

The Unique Selling Proposition (a.k.a. Unique Selling Point or USP) is a marketing concept that was first proposed as a theory to explain a pattern among successful advertising campaigns of the early 1940s. It states that such campaigns made unique propositions to the customer and that this convinced them to switch brands. The term was invented by Rosser Reeves of Ted Bates & Company.

A number of businesses currently use USPs as a basis for their marketing campaigns. Contents

1. Definition2. Examples

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1. Definition

In Reality in Advertising (Reeves 1961, pp. 46–48) Reeves laments that the U.S.P. is widely misunderstood and gives a precise definition in three parts:

i. Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. Not just words, not just product puffery, not just show-window advertising. Each advertisement must say to each reader: "Buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit.

ii. The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer. It must be unique—either a uniqueness of the brand or a claim not otherwise made in that particular field of advertising.

iii. The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions, i.e., pull over new customers to your product.

2. Examples

Some good current examples of products with a clear USP are:

1. Head & Shoulders: "You get rid of dandruff"

2. Some unique propositions that were pioneers when they were introduced:

Domino's Pizza: "You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less -- or it's free."

FedEx: "When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight"

M&M's: "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand" Wonder Bread: "Wonder Bread Helps Build Strong Bodies 12 Ways"

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But their "uniqueness" is debatable (for example Head & Shoulders is hardly unique in its claim) and it's not entirely clear what a 'proposition' actually is. It is simply an assertion of a product benefit? By these standards any assertion about a product could be called a USP.

Copy Testing

Constant and periodic evaluation or testing of the ad campaign or copy at various stages is required to judge the effectiveness of the campaign.

Testing of an advertising copy is conducted by three strategies:

1. Pre-testing2. Concurrent testing3. Post-testing.

1. Pre-testing

This is conducted after the creative execution is over and before the advertisements are placed in the media.

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The prepared ads are shown to a cross section of the largest audience. If they like the ads then they are released to be placed in the various media otherwise the ads are changed accordingly

Pre-testing of advertising copy take the following steps:

i. Concept Testing:

It is the basic communication concept around which a campaign or copy may be developed. The objective of concept testing is to explore consumers’ responses to ad concepts. It expressed in words, pictures, or symbols.

A. Method Alternatives are exposed to consumers who match

the target audience.Reaction and evaluations are sought through focus

groups, direct questioning, surveys, etc.Sample sizes depend on the number of concepts and

the consensus of responses.

B. Output

Pre-Testing

i. Concept Testing ii. Rough Testingiii. Finished Art or

Commercial Testing

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Qualitative and quantitative data evaluating and comparing alternative concepts.

ii. Rough Testing:

Rough testing is based on the early stage testing. These tests indicate how the finished advertisement would perform.

A rough ad unfinished execution that may fall into three broad categories:

A. Animatic Rough Succession of drawings/ cartoons. Rendered art work. Still frames. Simulated movement: planning/ zooming of

frames/ rapid sequence.

B. Photomatic Rough Succession of photographs. Real people/ scenary. Still frames. Simulated movement: planning/ zooming of

frames/ rapid sequence

C. Live Action Rough Live motion. Stand-in/ non-union talent. Non-union crew. Limited props/ minimal optical. Local settings.

iii. Finished Art or Commercial Testing:

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The basic purpose of finished art or copy testing is to establish whether the message content and presentation are likely to perform their allocated task efficiently and what changes and improvement may be helpful. Finished art/copy testing involves the following tests:

1). Laboratory Consumer Juries

Physiological Measures (eye tracking, awareness and recall measures)

Portfolio Test (respondents are exposed to a portfolio consisting of both control and test ads.)

Theater Tests (respondents are invited by telephone, mail or tickets.)

Comprehension and Reaction Tests (personal interviews/ surveys to measure respondents’ comprehension of the ad.)

2). Field

Dummy Ad Vehicles (e.g., an ad is placed in “dummy” magazines developed by an agency or research firm. Recall, readership and interest of the ads are assessed.)

On-air Tests [inserting the commercials into actual TV programme. Then, on air testing is carried out (e.g., Nielsen is well known provider of on-air tests).]

2. Concurrent testing

This is done while the campaign is running i.e. when the ads have been placed in the media. The reaction of the target audience to the ads (including the recognition, recall, etc.) is collected through research. If the ads are being liked by the target audience and doing well in terms of

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increasing sales, then no changes are required otherwise the necessary change are brought about to make the ads more attractive, appealing and acceptable.

3. Post-testing

This is done after the campaign is over i.e., after the ads have been published aired or broadcast for the duration decided. The results are matched with the original objectives (both advertising and marketing objectives).

The main purpose of post- testing is to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign and to learn lesson for future campaigns. This way one can repeat effective and successful practices and avoid or change ineffective practices.

Under post-testing, the following techniques or method or tests are employed for measuring the effectiveness of the advertisement copy.

1. Recall Test

Post-Testing Method

Recall Test Recognition Test

Association Test

Attention Test

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Under this technique, the reader is shown a magazine covered is asked whether he has read that issue. If answer is yes, he asked to describe anything he remembers after seeing that issue.

2. Recognition Test

In the recognition test, the reader is merely required to say whether he has or has not seen or heard about the advertisement copy. If the answer is yes, it is presumed that the advertisement is effective. This test is conduct by personal interviews with readers or magazines or newspapers.

3. Association Test

This test measures the degree of brand name learning among its users. The advertiser attempts to know consumer’s association of brands with some benefits or the other. In the association test, the reader is pr ovided with clues or ideas with which he is asked to associate a brand name.

4. Attention Tests

How the advertiser recogise is that in order to present their message effectively, they must secure the attention of prospective customers whom they want to influence. Measurements of attention tests are, thus, of considerable importance.

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Plagiarism Plagiarism, in its simplest sense, means copying. Plagiarism could be called conceptual larceny. It appropriates the creative platform of another ad. In India, sometimes we find that our ads are Xeroxes of some popular western campaigns. Creative people in the ad agencies refer to one show (for film/ print ads), black book (for photography), design and art direction and the creative circle award for films. Plagiarism affects the creative process adversely.

Advertising Agencies Association of India should address itself to the problem of plagiarism. It is necessary to lay down guidelines for deciding which ad must go off the media, if two of them are found to be similar. Recently, Cadbury milk chocolate and Pepsi food’s Lehar namkin ads were

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similar. Both of these depict a girl with henna-covered hands making a series of contortions to get a bite of the respective products. It is true that Cadbury’s dairy milk ad appeared first. However, the agency that created Lehar nankeens ad claims that it was working on the theme for quite sometime, and it has not been inspired by the Cadbury’s dairy milk ad. The similarity could be just a co-incidence. But withdrawl of one them was necessary to avoid the confusion in consumer’s mind. Norms related to such controversies must be drawn up urgently.

Case Study

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Temptation CampaignAgency: Contract

Background The current state of market. The need gap analysis.

Campaign Objective To create a new premium category in the chocolate market. To communicate to the chocolate lover segment the availability of a

truly international chocolate eating experience. The target audience

Going beyond demographics and understanding the real chocolate lover

The importance of taste, the eating experience- what it should be, what it means

Creative strategy Brand positioning The brand proposition The communication objective Challenges faced while developing communication

Bringing It Alive in Media The strategy

Conventional Media supported by Innovation For example:- TV, Outdoor, PressInnovations

Web site- www.temptationsworld.com Contest linked to purchase Advertising at ATM kiosks sampling exercise at restaurants Week- Long Promotion at Crossword Book Store Cinema Slide- before the movie

Evidence of Result

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Objective Achieved Sales Market share Brand awareness

Kinetic style

Agency: Mundra

Upsetting the applecart in the scooterette category. In Style!

Circa 1994, TVS launches Scooty, thereby creating a new category- The scooterette. It picks up market share and dominates the category with over 70% market share since launch. The strength of Scooty being lower cost, the key segment that used it was the college going teenagers in India, although it carried a disadvantage of a lower powered engine (60cc.). It was preferred gearless scooter for those who could not afford a Kinetic.

Kinetic perceived immense opportunity to supplement its brand equity in the lower segment. To take the bull by the horns, Kinetic launched Style in 1999.

Style was functionally superior in many aspects. Firstly, it came with a 75cc power packed engine complemented with wider plusher seats and more storage space. A better product spiced with the right kind of communication might just about be enough to wrest market share from the leader it was reckoned.

The whole strategy was distilled to the following objectives. Communicate functional superiority of Kinetic Style with regard the space and power, there by reposition TVS Scooty and eat into its sales.

Who should Style speak to?

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In this non-aspiration category given the propensity to switch to motorcycles, targeting female collegians would make the Style effeminate. Working executives were more rational in their purchase decisions and were sold out to motorcycles for want to economy.

Also, research threw up the fact that for young male collegians, a scooterette served as a surrogate motorcycle- Their ultimate dream. Also, a scooterette was seen to be a grudge purchase since parents were decision makers. A product proposition of better power and comfort would appeal more giving them vicarious pleasures of owning a motorcycle.

Style honed in on the key insight.

“Collegians rarely traveled single. They always moved around in pairs with friends.”

The product strengths of bigger seats, more engine capacity couple with the competitive need gap of underpowered engine gave birth to the creative hook-Twins. While twins fought for comfort all along their childhood trying to fit into spaces like a bathtub and a swing, the moment they find themselves on a Kinetic Style, their fights cease. They now had found a vehicle that was perfectly “Made for two.”

Press and outdoor was used to launch the style regionally, and then TV followed it in a mix of regional and national channels.

Was style successful? Sales of Style picked up by almost 200 %( 1247units p.m. - 3654 units p.m.) gaining directly from Scooty sales (16848 units p.m. – 12112 units p.m.).

Apart from this image perception as per the IMRB research LINKTEST model post communication confirmed the following findings:

Kinetic Style is more powerful and spacious than other scooterette.

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Kinetic Style can seat two people comfortably unlike other scooterette.

Kinetic Style is a ‘scooterette-Made for Two’.

Kinetic thus romped home with more sales and improved brand image……….in Style

Hitachi Air-Conditioners: “Perfect!”

Agency: Leo Burnett

Market Scenario

The market for Room Air- conditioners was small and crowed with entrenched players and multi- product, multi- national brands. The market was largely undifferentiated and besotted by “me-too” functional and cooling claims and category clichés. The presence of a large unorganized sector, the small market size and historically “low involvement” nature of the product ensured that the market was highly price sensitive. Brands rely heavily on dealer push, familiarity and incentives.

Market challenge

To penetrate this market with at least 50% growth without compromising on a price premium of at least 10% (on the assumption, that the market will grow at about 30% which was the reported growth for the previous year).

The role of advertising in this ambitious target was to bring Hitachi into the consideration set of the prospective customer.

To that end it was imperative to- build awareness- create salience for the brand as a superior technology product (in a market where technology had never been driver).

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What was it that the campaign was designed to achieve then

To bring alive the unique and customized features that made Hitachi Logi Cool a superior and premium product offering.

Thereby create a place for Hitachi’s technology in a market that had not seen any significant product improvement for many years.

Who was the most likely target?

Hitachi’s most likely audience, at this stage, was a relatively younger male. A new generation AC buyer, at ease with technology and gizmos. Unafraid to indulge pleasure and comfort. His need to own the latest, and most importantly his need to assert his individuality, formed the stepping stone to the creative.

Creative Strategy

Step 1. Create a brand halo: “Logi Cool”. Logi Cool became both an umbrella and a hook that delivered credibility and value.

Step 2. Bring alive the technology.For those who seek perfection as a creative platform allowed us to deliver the brand’s core proposition, in a manner that not just engaged but appealed to the core target group. It brought to the fore Hitachi’s ability to cater to a very basic insight: the “perfect temperature” is a very personal need. The bald, bearded, fussy protagonist, who ran across communication, delivered an extreme and exaggerated version of the brand’s obsession with “perfection”.

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Television commercials used suitable humour and engaging, unconventional formats to complement the mystery of the Logi Cool technology, making it warmer and more relevant.

Press advertising took the Logi Cool claim further, disseminating information and driving traffic.

Magazine advertising meanwhile delivered the “Brand Hitachi.”

What were the results?

Awareness levels shot up.

Spontaneous awareness grew by about 52%, reflecting the emergence of the brand in the active consideration set.

The brand showed very positive scores on “technology”, among the set of “spontaneously aware consumers”.

The market failed to grow at even a third of its projection, but the brand exceeded its targets.

Most importantly, in a market that saw prices plummeting and brands jostling for a share of the pie, Hitachi maintained its price premium without compromising volume objectives.

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World Search Championship

Yahoo! Launches the World Search Championship in association with Chevrolet

In a unique endeavor Yahoo! Search went on the look out for the World Champion in Search. World Search Championship is aimed at today’s generation that is constantly seeking the 'New' and provides them with a completely new experience on Search. The championship had randomly generated questions thrown up to users and had pre-populated Yahoo! Search bar which was programmed to pick up the relevant query, giving the user an advantage and opportunity to experience the Search.

Chevrolet came on board as the presenting sponsor with its offering Beat, a car that is a powerful call to action in itself. The Beat is radically fresh, it inspires love and just like every Chevrolet, it delivers value without compromise.

Chevrolet, the presenting sponsor, believed in the association. Ankush Arora, Vice President - Sales, Marketing & After-Sales, General Motors, said, "Chevrolet wants to be a pioneer in digital media. And since Yahoo! is a leader in the digital space, the association works well for GM. Chevrolet is constantly looking for engagement platforms and the search championship has given good results in the past. With the company’s focus on the mini segment, our TG core is now the youth and the activity helps address the target audience."

And the platform engaged and how. The Search Championship drew 1.3 MM Unique Users and close to 10 MM Page Views. Also many of the 5

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lakh users, who registered on the site, opted for a Beat Test Drive, delivering its core target audience to Chevrolet.

Coca-Cola "Open Happiness" Campaign

The case is about Atlanta-based beverage giant Coca-Cola Company's (Coca-Cola Company) global integrated advertising campaign "Open Happiness". The campaign was launched in the first half of 2009 in markets around the world with the aim of increasing sales of sparkling beverages of the Coca-Cola Company. At a time when the weakened economy was sapping soft drink sales, the "Open Happiness" campaign invited people around the world to refresh themselves with a Coke and continue to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

The case discuses the various campaigns launched by the Coca-Cola Company over the years and the role played by these campaigns in enhancing the brand image of Coca-Cola.

The case also focuses on the "Coke Side of Life" launched in 2006 to revive sales of Coca-Cola. The "Coke Side of Life" campaign invited people to choose Coke and live positively. The objective of the campaign was to make Coke more relevant to customers by creating a multi-cultural platform in markets across the world. With the global economic recession and with consumers drifting towards non-carbonated drinks, the company was facing many difficulties. In order to boost its sales, the company decided to create a new campaign and roll it out globally.

The case discusses in detail the objectives and various elements of the "Open Happiness" campaign which included new point of sale, promotions, outdoor and print advertising, digital and music components. The case details the launch of the campaign in various countries and how it was adapted in accordance with the tastes and preferences of the people in those countries. The case also discusses the initial reactions to the "Open Happiness" campaign. Some analysts felt that the campaign might

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be successful in achieving its objective as it was able to extend the reach of Coca-Cola to wider markets while others were apprehensive that it would not succeed. The case concludes with thoughts on how the global campaign could be made more effective so that it strikes the right chord with its consumers in different countries.

Nike’s “Just Do It” Advertising Campaign

According to Nike company lore, one of the most famous and easily recognized slogans in advertising history was coined at a 1988 meeting of Nike’s ad agency Wieden and Kennedy and a group of Nike employees. Dan Wieden, speaking admiringly of Nike’s can-do attitude, reportedly said, “You Nike guys, you just do it.” The rest, as they say, is (advertising) history. After stumbling badly against archrival Reebok in the 1980s, Nike rose about as high and fast in the ‘90s as any company can. It took on a new religion of brand consciousness and broke advertising sound barriers with its indelible Swoosh, “Just Do It” slogan and deified sports figures. Nike managed the deftest of marketing tricks: to be both anti-establishment and mass market, to the tune of $9.2 billion dollars in sales in 1997. —Jolie Soloman “When Nike Goes Cold” Newsweek, March 30, 1998 The Nike brand has become so strong as to place it in the rarified air of recession proof consumer branded giants, in the company of Coca- Cola, Gillette and Proctor & Gamble. Brand management is one of Nike’s many strengths. Consumers are willing to pay more for brands that they judge to be superior in quality, style and reliability. A strong brand allows its owner to expand market share, command higher prices and generate more revenue than its competitors. With its “Just Do It” campaign and strong product, Nike was able to increase its share of the domestic sport-shoe business from 18 percent to 43 percent, from $877 million in worldwide sales to $9.2 billion in the ten years between 1988 and 1998. Nike spent $300 million on overseas advertising alone; most of it centered on the “Just Do It” campaign.

The success of the campaign is that much more remarkable when one considers that an estimated 80 percent of the sneakers sold in the U.S. are never used for the activities for which they have been designed. Nike’s marketing tactics in the ‘80s, and in particular its campaign against Reebok, gambled on the idea that the public would accept sneakers as fashion statements. Nike later cashed in on the jogging/fitness craze of the mid

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1980s, during which its “Just Do It” campaign expanded to attract the female and teenage consumer, in addition to the stalwart 18 – 40-year-old male consumer. (Nike was losing ground to Reebok during this time, thanks to the explosion of RES3:990108 2 aerobics.) Phil Knight, the founder and CEO of Nike, suffused his company and ads with the idea of the intense, inwardly focused competitor. The ads rarely focused on the product itself, but on the person wearing the product. Heroes and hero worship abound on the Nike campus in Beaverton, Oregon.

The “Just Do It” campaign seemed to capture the corporate philosophy of grit, determination and passion, but also infused it with something hitherto unknown in Nike ads—humor. Nike had always been known for its “detached, determined, unsentimental” attitude. “In a word, [Nike is] cool.”

The new ads retained that attitude, but several of the original 12 “Just Do It” ads incorporate jokes, explicit and implicit, to make their point. The Bo Jackson ad stands out. Jackson is seen working out at several different activities, joking while on a bike machine, “Now when is that Tour de France thing?” and after slam dunking a basketball contemplates “Air Bo.” “I like the sound of that,” he says. The “Just Do It” campaign received mixed ratings, ranging from “an instant classic” to “sociopathic.” One critic went so far as to say the ads were “an impatient bordering- on-contemptuous exhortation to the masses. Cool is one thing. Poverty of warmth is another.” Eventually the campaign was credited with embracing not just resolve and purpose, but also the “beauty, drama and moral uplift of sport—even, every now and then, fun.”

Linking the Campaign to Consumer Needs Through its “Just Do It” campaign, Nike was able to tap into the fitness craze of the 1980s. Reebok was sweeping the aerobics race and gaining huge market share in the sneaker business. Nike responded to that by releasing a tough, take-no prisoners ad campaign that practically shamed people into exercising, and more importantly, to exercising in Nikes.

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The “Just Do It” campaign was also effective in reassuring consumers that the brand they picked, Nike, was a quality brand. This was most effectively portrayed by celebrity sports figures such as Bo Jackson, John McEnroe and later, Michael Jordon. If Michael Jordan can play an entire NBA season in a pair of Nikes, certainly the average weekend warrior can trust the shoes’ durability. Celebrity endorsements also appealed to the consumers’ sense of belonging and “hipness,” as Nike became a self-fulfilling image prophecy: if you want to be hip, wear Nike; if you are hip, you are probably wearing Nike. The “Just Do It” campaign was able to turn sweaty, pain-ridden, time-consuming exercise in Nike sneakers into something sexy and exciting. Perhaps most importantly, even those who were not in fact exercising in Nikes (the vast majority) still wanted to own them. By focusing on the aura and image conveyed by the fitness culture, Nike was able to attract those who wanted the image without incurring the pain. RES3:990108 3

Linking the Campaign to Strategy

Nike was in a tough spot in the late 1970’s. It was being swamped by Reebok’s quick initiative on designing aerobics shoes and needed to respond dramatically and forcefully. It could be argued that the “Just Do It” campaign was not only about sneakers but about Nike’s own renaissance. No longer content to be the choice running shoe of a few thousand marathoners and exercise nuts, Nike wanted to expand its operation to target every American, regardless of age, gender or physical-fitness level. “Just Do It” succeeded in that it convinced Americans that wearing Nikes for every part of your life was smart (the shoes are designed for comfort) and hip (everyone else is wearing them; you too can belong to this group.) Nike took its own advice and “Just Did It” by directly attacking Reebok in the sport-shoe market.

Why Was the Campaign Successful? The timing of this campaign could not have been better. Americans were buying exercise equipment at a record pace in the mid 1980s, and body worship was at an all time high. Nike tapped into consumers’ desire for a healthy lifestyle by packaging it into a pair of $80 sneakers. The ads were often humorous, appealing to the cynic in all of us, while imploring

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consumers to take charge of their physical fitness. The ads made starting an exercise regime seem like a necessity, and the way to start exercising was to buy Nike merchandise. More importantly, by owning Nikes you were instantly a member of a desirable group. The campaign was easily identifiable (to the point that Nike eventually did not even bother to display the word “Nike” in commercials—the swoosh was enough) and stayed true to its message

Vodafone Essar's Advertising Strategy The 'Zoozoos' Campaign

The case examines the advertising strategy of Vodafone Essar Limited (Vodafone Essar), the India-based subsidiary of the global mobile network operator, Vodafone. It focuses on the 'Zoozoos' advertising campaign that highlighted the different value added services (VAS) offered by the company.

The campaign introduced new characters called Zoozoos. To convey a specific VAS offered by the company, each ad used a story which was enacted by the Zoozoos. The campaign created the buzz both in the traditional media as well as in social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and video sharing website, YouTube.

Introduction

In April 2009, India-based Vodafone Essar Limited (Vodafone Essar), a subsidiary of mobile network operator Vodafone Group Plc. (Vodafone) based in the UK, launched an innovative advertising campaign that caught the imagination of both the public and advertising experts.

The campaign, focusing on the different value added services (VAS) offered by the company, introduced new characters called the Zoozoos. Several advertisements in which the Zoozoos featured were shown on television during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Season 26. Soon after they were aired on television, the Zoozoos and the ads became really popular.

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Commenting on their popularity, Rajiv Rao (Rao), Executive Creative Director, South Asia, Ogilvy and Mather India (O&M India), the advertising agency which created the ads, said "What makes them [Zoozoos] so endearing is that they are innocent people living in a simple world unlike ours, who laugh loud when they laugh. And who seem to be in an in-between world of animation and reality." Despite the high brand recall that this advertising campaign ensured for Vodafone Essar, not everyone was impressed by the company's ad strategy. Some analysts were doubtful about whether the ads would attract people living in the semi-urban and rural areas of India. They also wondered whether the popularity of the Zoozoos advertising campaign would actually help the company increase its revenues...

Excerpts

Vodafone entered India in December 2005 by acquiring a 10 percent stake in Bharti Ventures Limited (Bharti) which later became Bharti Airtel Limited. However, as Bharti later ruled out further dilution of its stake, Vodafone started considering other options to increase its market share in India...

Vodafone Essar's Advertising Campaigns

After successfully rebranding 'Hutch' as 'Vodafone', Vodafone Essar started expanding its presence in India. The company used almost all media channels to advertise its services.

It not only advertised on television, but also in newspapers, the radio, and on hoardings across the country...

The Making of Zoozoos Campaign

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In November 2008, Vodafone Essar decided to launch an advertising campaign to communicate the VAS offered by the company (Refer to Exhibit IV for Some VAS offered by Vodafone Essar). The company planned to air the ads during IPL-Season 2. It was decided that O&M India, the advertising agency creating campaigns for Vodafone Essar, would create separate ads for each service. During IPL-Season 2, a different ad would be shown each day, to attract the viewers' interest...

The Launch

On April 20, 2009, Vodafone Essar launched the Zoozoos advertising campaign. During the IPL-Season 2, a total of 30 different TVCs including Cricket Alerts, Beauty Alerts, Phone Backup, Chhota Credit, Vodafone Maps, Vodafone Call Filter, Live Games, Musical Greetings, etc. were aired (Refer to Exhibit VI for Screenshots of some of the Advertisements)...

The Response

In April 2009, as the TVCs started being aired on television, they created the necessary buzz both in traditional as well as in social networking sites like Facebook, and Twitter and video sharing website, YouTube.

All the TVCs were available both on YouTube and Twitter. For the week ended April 25, 2009, one ad on fashion tips was viewed 13,000 times on YouTube. On Google.co.in, the word 'Zoozoo,' became the third highest search word on May 04, 2009...

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References

1. Croteau, D., & Hoynes, W. (2003). Media Society. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

2. Khyati Shah, "Zoozoos-The New Ad Icons," http://www.mumbaimirror.com, May 25, 2009.

3. Advertising.indiabizclub.com

4. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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