Advertising in a downturn

Today I received an interesting article, it was talking about advertising in a downturn, this is the article that I was reading:

http://www.finditfast.co.zw/article/advertising-in-a-bad-economy.html

It is always interesting when you go out to companies in the same industry and find that they are so varied, some complain that there is no business while others, in the exact same industry, offering the same products and services, will tell you that business is on the rise.

What makes the difference? What is it that they are doing that completely changes the game for them?

After reading that article I thought I would have a quick look through a few more articles and see if this trend has been prominent or if it is just a few lucky companies that have benefited from advertising in a downturn.

Here is a brilliant article that I found that goes into the matter in more depth:

http://hbr.org/2009/04/how-to-market-in-a-downturn/ar/1 - This article is very good and suggests that by reducing your marketing during a downturn you could lose touch through not investing in researching your customers and finding out what their trends are and how to reach them.
"Extract" ---
"Think of your customers as falling into four groups:
The Slam on the Breaks segment. This group includes the hard hit, the unemployed – everyone whose world is upside down. The Pained by Patient segment. The authors call this the largest consumer group in the US right now. Economizing, cutting back, but still doing and going. Carefully investing in whatever they purchase. Probably really looking for bargains. The Comfortably Well Off cohort. Sure, this includes the upper 5%. But more importantly for the arts, this includes the carefully invested retirees who continue to have the resources to go to the arts. The Live for Today group. Hey, they never had any savings anyway, so why change?"

This is one of the best articles I have read on the importance and benefits of marketing in downturns.

Writing your own book

This was sent to me on new years day, and it did make me think that writing a book would be awesome, and if you think of it as a page a day, it really is very achievable too.

Of course after a little more thought on it I have noticed that my blog posts have been rather scarce as it is, so there is room for improvement on here too, after having started to write my book of the year I notice that the more I write, the more I want to write which is very convenient.

My book is a collection of what has happened on a daily basis, as well as thoughts and memories that I have through out the day. I was thinking that this book could be a basis for my memoirs should I one day feel compelled to write them.

This is going to be interesting to see how I get along with this little project.

I was sent a link to an article on cracked.com the other day, and it has made me think a lot more about what I am spending time doing and how important it all is:

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-harsh-truths-that-will-make-you-better-person/

I hope you find that article as interesting and beneficial as I did.

Marketing vs Advertising

There is a great misconception in Zimbabwe that placing an advert or printing some flyers or having a logo updated is marketing.

While all of those do fall under marketing, alone they do not amount to marketing.

Marketing is the head of a group of functions which include:

• Advertising

• Branding

• Corporate Identity

• Promotions

These together make up marketing, and a strong marketing campaign includes each one.

When you just print up some flyers or pay for an advert to be placed in a newsletter, that will fall under a category of marketing, but marketing would include the other functions as well.

When you send out an advert, distribute flyers, organize an event or other similar tasks they should fit into a plan, have an objective and be part of something greater.

 

 Effective marketing includes the 4 P's of marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

While sending out an email offering a discount will boost immediate sales, it does not do much for the long term profitability of your company, after a week it is dead and buried in the recipients inbox's, never to be seen again. The only customers you got where the people who needed the product or service you offered at that precise time.

Using marketing in this scenario would be a little different, you would identify your target market, evaluate the best way, time and location to make contact with them, define what would interest them, find out what calls to action they are likely to follow, design a targeted advert, fill it with statistical information gathering tools, and then implement your campaign.

From the information gathered you improve on your next one.

In conclusion, you would  use advertising for a boost in sales or awareness and you would use marketing to build your company.

Most marketing consultants and companies will meet with you and give you an idea of what you can expect from them, and some will even put forward a proposal for your consideration, this way you can get a good idea of what you could accomplish through effective marketing implementation and not simply advertising.

What is Graphic Design?

"Graphic design is a form of visual communication used to convey a message or information to an audience; it is a visual representation of an idea, relying on the creation, selection, and organization of visual elements. Powerful graphic design imbues a message with greater meaning.

"Graphic design is therefore one of the ways in which creativity takes on a visual reality," according to Professor Alan Robbins (Kean University).

A graphic design solution can persuade, inform, identify, motivate, enhance, organize, brand, rouse, locate, engage, and carry or convey many levels of meaning. A design solution can be so effective that it influences behavior: you may choose a particular brand because you are attracted to the design of its package, or you may donate blood after viewing a public service advertisement."

• Extract from the book titled "Graphic Design Solutions - 4th Edition" - by Robin Landa

With this understanding we can see that graphic design can be used very effectively if used properly, though used poorly would undermine your efforts and may even leave you confused as to why you did not get the expected results.

Graphic design can consist of a variety of visual elements, but the effectiveness of the final graphic design will depend on the use of these elements.

Graphic Design Solutions - 4th Edition is a brilliant book that I am currently working my way through and I recommend you read it if you are interested in graphic design, either as a hobby or even if you are a professional, you can never be too well informed.

Keep in mind that graphic design is not only pictures on a page, but the use and organization of visual elements, and effective graphic design is the use of those elements in such a way as to elicit the desired response.