Business is like a pack of popping candy. It promises a lot to its consumers. And unless consumers find those promises worth the penny, the pack of popping candy remains in the shelf. Because it’s inanimate, it has no voice. But it’s packed in loud colours and texts that collectively send out the message.
Business firms or organisations entrust a specific department to do the job of distributing thatmessage: its Advertising unit. For starters, advertising would naturally remind them of the physical ads – billboard ads on the streets, and the like inside malls and other retailer shops.
And with the advent of tablets and Smartphones, digital advertising is the game. Before you delve deeper in the recesses of advertising’s vast world, grapple first with its three missions:
- Persuasion
To persuade the target into making a purchase – this is already known to a lot. But not everyone knows how it works. Not everyone knows that at the heart of advertising is science – psychology.
Indeed, a specific branch of this science works to know what makes common consumers tick. Ladies and gentleman – introducing the concept called “consumer behaviour.”
Now, to bring consumers closer to the product, the message is required to accommodate all these:
- Its pronounced action needs to be clear and specific.
- It should take a form that’s more than acceptable to consumers – it should be palatable to the tastes, catchy for the sense’s sake, and easy to remember.
In short, to effectively persuade prospective buyers, the message needs to be wrapped in persuasion. Considering that some buyers happen to be averse in this persuasive campaign, the advertising unit needs to produce another trick from its long hat.
- Content
Based on prior discussions about ‘the message,’ it is clear that this aspect is embedded in a catchment of words. This catchment is referred to as content.
Content, in the context of advertising, used to rely in few words or phrases. Now, in an era characteristic of receptiveness to information, advertising’s content had expanded. Sometimes, to convince a consumer, the message needs to be embedded in a story, a video, or a real-life scenario.
Furthermore, not all the magic has to be sprinkled on the message. The content equally demands the same amount of attention, maybe more attention.
- Conversation
Finally, all the persuasion and content distribution cannot proceed further unless the consumer permits it. This is called a dialogue or exchange. However, this doesn’t mean advertisers or organisations can’t rev up their ads towards a conversation. As a matter of fact, they can.
Initiating this conversation will naturally be tough – simply because not every single target is responsive of a single message or content.
Advertising is an extremely important aspect of business. Without it, getting products and services into consumers is difficult and costly. Even in the consumer’s perspective, such lack of connection is harmful.
Hence, give advertising its proper credit. Let it thrive with its three crucial essentials. Improvement on all three carries greater benefit to consumers, and not just profit for businesses.
About The Author
I am an ardent advocate of mentoring young people. I do mentoring activities myself in the field of academics, writing, socio-civic, citizenship and leadership.
