What's the Role of Advertising?

by Steve Fodor

I was participating in a discussion group on one of the social networks recently. The discussion was on B2B print advertising and a lot of good comments and points of view were shared. One participant’s question, though, kind of stuck out to me.

This participant was lamenting over the fact of how he never sees any good examples of print advertising in trade journals. He followed his comment with this question: “Is the purpose of a good ad to drive sales or increase brand awareness?”

Now, the reason I say this kind of “stuck with me” is because I would respond to that question with this question: Aren’t sales pretty much dependent on brand awareness? If your brand awareness is low or nothing, how can you expect to drive sales? Or, more specifically, how can you expect to drive sales that deliver a higher margin if your brand has no perceived value other than price, especially in B2B marketing where the purchase decisions are not simple “impulse” buys? And I would say this applies to any medium, not just print advertising.

What’s the role of advertising? I don’t even like that question. I’d rather ask, what’s the role of marketing? Because if you’re only looking at your marketing situation in terms of a medium, or a tactic, I’d suggest that you may not have a grasp on your brand’s position in the marketplace. How is your brand perceived? What is your brand’s awareness? What is your brand awareness and understanding relative to your competition? How does your target audience gather information to make decisions? What information sources do they trust? What branded content solutions can you develop to fulfill the unmet information needs of your target audience?

So, is the purpose of a good ad to drive sales or increase brand awareness? Yes to both. And I would also suggest that you better go back and do some homework on your marketing situation and your brand’s marketing and message strategy. Advertising alone is not a marketing strategy. It’s only a medium to deliver a message.

Flickr Photo Credit:Beverly & Pack

B2B versus B2C?

by Steve Fodor

Having worked in both worlds, I get asked this question a lot: What’s different about business-to-business marketing communications versus business-to-consumer?

Well, “nothing and everything” is usually my reply.

By “everything is different,” I mean that B2B usually means shaping your selling proposition into a business case. What kind of cost savings? What kind of productivity is achieved? B2B also requires a more in-depth understanding of selling scenarios. Selling through channel members or distributors and the need for push strategies, pull strategies…or usually a combination of both. And creating B2B marketing communications, I’ve found, requires a greater understanding of a product’s technical aspects.

Business-to-consumer marketing communications are generally more life-style appeal. Personal gratification is often at the root of a B2C selling proposition. How will this product make you feel? Will this make you the “hero” to your friends and family?

What’s the same about B2B and B2C marketing communications? To be effective and memorable, both recognize that you’re speaking first to people. Industrial buyers do not stop being people with emotions between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. They still must be drawn in by an emotional appeal, and then presented a rational case for considering your product or service. The same is true when talking to private consumers.

Whether you’re marketing to housewives, product engineers, home improvement DIY folks, or chief financial officers, you need to understand how your product impacts their lives – be they private lives or professional lives. If you don’t understand how to connect with the emotional drivers, your brand will be “replaceable” when price is equal.

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/glasgows/

The Twouble With Twitter

by Steve Badertscher

First off, let me say that I agree with everything in Steve Fodor's blog post yesterday, especially the title (I kid, I kid). Actually I do concur with his views about Twitter as a B2B marketing tool, especially the fact that the verdict is still out. Truth be told, the "real" reason I have a little smirk on my face every time he mentions Twitter is because images from this YouTube video start running through my head. Oh, that and the fact that his cat has over 200 followers.