Advertising has three main objectives: to inform, persuade, and remind. Informative advertising raises awareness about brands, products, services and ideas. It introduces new products and programs and educate people about the features and benefits of both new and established products. Advertising is undertaken to achieve certain objectives such as:
Release a Product
The most common reason for using advertising is to introduce a new product to the market. This can be done by both existing and new brands. For instance, when looking at the latest iphone or the nothing phone 1, you will see numerous advertisements for these new products. This goal of this advertising is to inform customers, “Here is the new product we have launched”
Debut a New Brand
Many startups in the market today are service based. These services are typically marketed as brands rather than focusing on a single product. For example, Uber promotes its brands and announces its service availability in new markets. Similarly, companies like Oracle and Accenture market their brand and presence in the market instead of individual products.
Influence a Customer
The primary objectives of advertising is to persuade customers to take a specific action. This may include purchasing or trying products and services, forming a brand image, and developing a favorable attitude towards the brand.
Customer Loyalty
This targets companies seeking to win back former customers who have switched to other brands. Advertisers use various strategies to retain customers, such as offering discounts, launching new advertising campaigns, and improving packaging.
Read more : Functions and Effects of Advertising
Promote Awareness
According to the AIDA model, the primary role of advertising is to capture attention, which essentially means raising awareness. Advertising must attract people’s attention and inform them about the products or their features in the market.
For example, most bank advertisements are awareness campaigns. Ads promoting the benefits of savings accounts, mutual funds, or credit and debit cards are all aimed at raising awareness.
Changing Brands
One of the primary objectives of advertising, and often the initial goal of many advertising campaigns, is to acquire more customers. This process, known as brand switching, involves delivering a compelling message that persuade potential customers to leave their current brand and choose yours instead.
For example, most telecom companies develop plans and strategies to attract new customers and then advertise these strategies to encourage brand switching. Since there is little differentiation in the telecom market, advertising plays a crucial role in acquiring customers.
Differentiating the offering
A crucial aspect of advertising is to differentiate a product or service from competitors by highlighting its unique selling proposition.(USP) Customers can distinguish between services based on the value a firm offers over its competitors.
For instance, if a competitor advertises specific features while your firm focuses on promises and commitments, customers are more likely to trust the competitor’s brand. This is why advertising is often used to create value and differentiate one brand from another. Brands like Coca-Cola, Toyota, and Amazon are among the most trusted in the market, and they are also top advertisers in their respective segments. These brands aims to create value and differentiate themselves through their advertising campaigns.
Establishing a Brand
When a brand consistently advertises, delivers quality products, and fulfils its promises., its value is naturally enhanced. However, brand building involves more than just these elements. One of the initial steps in brand building is advertising through Above the Line (ATL) and Below the Line (BTL) campaigns.
Brands have various objectives for advertising. Companies like P&G and HUL regularly invest in building strong brand value for their parent brands. This strategy ensures that even if one brand faces challenges, the parent brand remains unaffected.
For instance, when Maggi faced a ban in India due to high lead content, Nestle’s parent brand and other brands like Nescafe remained unaffected. This resilience was due to their strong brand building through quality products and consistent advertising, which established brand equity and a strong connection with the audience.
Recollecting Product and Brand Details
One of the critical factors in a customer’s decision to purchase a product is the recall of the product and brand at the time of purchase. Among the objectives of advertising, a key goal is to position the brand correctly in the customer’s mind.
For example, a premium brands like Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Hermes are positioned as high-end. This positioning is achieved not only through a premium product line with high prices but also through premium advertising and placements in high-end media outlets. Besides, premium marketing, niche marketing also plays a crucial role. Kent, a company that focuses all its advertising on its purification capabilities, claims to be the leader in water purifiers. Their consistent advertising creates strong product and brand recall in customer’s minds, positioning Kent as the top brand in the water purifier segment.
Grow Sales
Naturally, with numerous efforts put into advertising a product, it is clear that one of the main objectives of advertising is to grow sales. This objective is often achieved through effective advertising. However, if the campaign is poorly executed or the audience is not correctly targeted, advertising can fail to meet its goal.
There are many seasonal products where an immediate increase in sales is observed due to advertising. For example, ice cream brands heavily advertise during the summer months because they know it will directly impact sales. They do not spend money on advertising during the winter.
Similarly, you will see many ads for raincoats during the rainy season and winter wear during the winter. These ads are strategically placed to immediately increase product sales.
Boost Profits
By communicating value, differentiating the brand, and increasing sales, advertising can significantly boost profits. Advertising should not be viewed as an expense or liability but as an investment for a firm, much like building a brand.
Consider companies like Siemens or Bosch brands that have heavily invested in positioning themselves based on their German engineering. Consequently, they command high profits in whatever segments they operate and with whichever products they sell.
Read more : Symbolic Undertones in Ads
Induce Desire
Referring to the AIDA model, one of the main goals of advertising is to generate desire for a product so that customers want it, even if they don’t necessarily need it. Brands like BMW, Audi, Harley Davidson, and Adidas excel at this. Their advertising creates such strong desire that customers are driven to acquire their products.
There are many stories about Harley Davidson where customers have saved money for years to buy a specific bike. Similar stories can be found about Audi and BMW. A unique example is Absolut Vodka, known for its distinctive bottles. Collectors are eager to collect every different bottle type of Absolute Vodka. This desire is a result of effective advertising, brand building, and a loyal fan base developed over time.
Motivate Action
One of the most common objectives of digital advertising and marketing is to prompt customers to take action. Brands invests in banner ads, link ads, and social media ads to encourage potential customers to act. This action can include filling out an email form, clicking on a link, watching a video, or completing a survey.
Some brands use ATL advertising to show part of their ads and then direct customers to their YouTube Channel, enabling them to track viewers and encourage further action. A call to action is a key objective of advertising, with the specific actions varying based on the marketer’s goal.
