Comprising of various Steps, the fundamentals of advertising can be broken down to 8 steps. Followed by an intense customer & competitor analysis, the STP strategies are set which becomes the foundation of the Advertising Campaign.

1. Customer & Competitor Analysis and STP Strategies
Ms.Anubha Rastogi
Asst. Professor
Vidya School Of Business

2. • Also called Background Review
• It’s a Summation of current knowledge:
– Current Users
– Seasonality
– Geography
– Creative Requirements
– Purchase Cycle
– Competitive Review
1. Situation Analysis
And anything else that might help you
understand your situation.

3. • You do Secondary Research first
• You do Primary Research second
• Research is usually in these three areas:
– Target Audience
• Improve Understanding, Gain Insight
– Factors That Motivate Purchase Behavior
• Improve Effectiveness, Gain Insight
– Unique Brand Characteristics
• Look for key point of difference
2. Research

4. • Also known as a “SWOT” Analysis
– Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
• “For every problem there is an opportunity”
• Understanding problems is a critical skill
• Identify the right problem and you’re on the road to the solution
• And, whatever you do…
3. Problems & Opportunities
 Don’t solve the wrong problem!

5. • The Marketing Objective is a number
4. The Objective
 It is the goal of your marketing activities
 Usually, it is a sales or volume goal
 It may be difficult to get to, but the final answer is simple and
measurable.
 Identifying target market(s) [STP]

6. 5. Developing Campaign Objectives
– 25% unprompted recall of Vegetale in your target
market, by the end of a 3-month media campaign
6.Planning And Budgeting
– The Channels To Be Used (E.G. Newspaper And
Television Adverts, In-store Promotions);
– The Timescale Of The Campaign;

7. 7. Drafting Material – Key Messages
e.g. your key messages might be that Vegetale is a new, nutritious, low-fat product,
derived entirely from natural vegetable ingredients, which can be prepared much like
meat and which has a similar texture to veal.
 Creating The Advertising Message:
• A Sample Creative Strategy Template:
– To convince: ___________________
– To use: ___________________
– Instead of: ___________________
– Because: ___________________
Target Audience
Brand/Product
Competition
Factors that influence purchase
behavior + (Target Audience Insight)

8. • A good Media Plan considers these important
factors:
8. Advertising Media
 Media Cost-Effectiveness:
 GRP (TRP) - Gross & Total Rating Points
 Reach
 Frequency
 Media Cost-Efficiency:
 CPM - Cost per thousand
 CPP - Cost per point

9. Customer Analysis
Objective:
• It identifies target customers
• Ascertains the needs of these customers
• And then specifies how the product satisfies these needs.
A customer analysis can be broken down into:
# Behavioral Profile (why your product matches a customer's lifestyle)
# Demographic Profile (describing a customer's demographic attributes).

10. Behavioral Analysis (Customer Buying Criteria)
• Identify And Weigh Factors Consumers Use To Choose One Product
Over Another. (Buying Criteria)
• Four major criteria includes: Price, Quality, Convenience
And Prestige.
• In business-to-business (B2B) transactions (also called industrial
marketing), service issues such as Reliability, Payment Terms, and
Delivery Schedule become much more important.

11. Behavioral Analysis (Purchase Process and Patterns)
• Customer Behavior Analysis Requires A More In-depth Understanding
* What steps are involved in the decision-making process?
* What sources of information are sought?
* What is a timeline for a purchase (e.g., impulse vs. extended decision-making)?
* Will the customer consult others in their organization/family before making a decision?
* Who has the authority to make the final decision?
* Will the customer seek multiple bids?
* Will the product/service require significant modifications?
• To understand the buying habits and patterns of your customers, answer the following
questions:
* Reason/occasion for purchase?
* Number of times they'll purchase?
* Timetable of purchase, every week, month, quarter, etc.?
* Amount of product/service purchased?
* How long to make a decision to purchase?
* Where does the customer purchase and/or use the product/service?

12. Customer Demographics
Typical questions to ask when determining the demographics of the target market include:
* What is the age range of the customer who wants my product or service?
* Which gender would be most interested in this product or service?
* What is the income level of my potential customers?
* What level of education do they have?
* What is their marital or family status: Are they married, single, divorced?
Do they have kids, grandkids?
* What are the hobbies of my target customers?

13. Competitor Analysis

14. Comparative Size & Growth (BCG)
Growth of industry
Comparative market share
Company A
Company B
Company C
Company E
Company D
= sales
High
Low
High
Low

15. Determining the “Marketing Mix”
Product Price Promotion Distribution
Company A hi quality hi price extensive specialty
TV, net stores
Company B hi quality medium limited specialty
hi service price TV, hi net stores
Company C lo quality lo price heavy net mass
lo service promos market
Hi = HIGH
Lo= LOW

16. Critical Success Factors Comparison
Critical Success Company A Company B Company C US
Factors
1. Hot Design
2. Internet Hype
3. Trained Sales Reps
4. Liberal Return Policy
5. Mass Distribution
Overall rating
(1 = low, 10= high)

17. What now?
• What will be competitors’ strategies?
1. continue as is
2. change due to
– Changes in marketplace
– Changes in management
– Changes in financial goals
• How to determine new direction?
– Management judgment
– Simulation
• What will be competitors’ reaction to our strategy?

18. Some Popular Advertising Formats
Slice of Life This traditional format has been commonly used on television adverts for fast-
moving consumer goods and domestic appliances such as washing machines.
Humorous Visual and verbal humour which is used for all kinds of products.
Aspirational Imagery is used, either to enhance a brand identity, or to suggest that
consumers can obtain some element of fantasy lifestyle by purchasing the
product.

19. Beyond STP—Regular Assessment
1. Reassess segmentation strategy:
 Exam the current target segment to develop new and better ways of meeting
its needs.
 Change the target and reposition the brand to a new segment.
2. Pursue product differentiation strategy:
 Emphasize or create differences in brands to distinguish them from
competitors.
 Advertising plays a critical role because the consumer will have to be convinced
that the difference is meaningful.
Advertising and promotion targeted to:
 Heavy users
 Nonusers
 Brand-loyal users
 Switchers/Variety seekers
 Emergent Consumers
– Point of entry marketing strategy

20. Positioning
1. By attributes - shampoo (Pantene Pro V)
2. By price - Zeller’s “lowest price is the law”
3. By competitor- Snapple, “We’re #3”
4. By application - Nutrigrain - until we get beamed to work!
5. By product user - consumer, industry, govt
6. By product class - convenience, shopping, specialty goods
 Benefit Positioning
 User Positioning
 Competitive Positioning
Fundamental Positioning Themes

21. Repositioning
 Used to revive an ailing brand or fix a lackluster new
market entry
 Advertising themes and positioning can be trendy and
become outdated
 The challenge: Changing perceptions of a brand
forged over years of advertising.

22. Common Mistakes in Developing
Advertising
• Failure to distinguish ad positioning (what you say) from ad creative
(how you say it)
• Mistaken assumptions about consumer knowledge
• Improperly positioned
• Failure to break through the clutter
• Distracting, overpowering creative in ads
• Under-branded ads
• Failure to use supporting media
• Changing campaigns too frequently
• Substituting ad frequency for ad quality