Month: July 2020

Concept Testing

Concept testing (to be distinguished from pre-test markets and test markets which may be used at a later stage of product development research) is the process of using surveys (and sometimes qualitative methods) to evaluate consumer acceptance of a new product idea prior to the introduction of a product to the market. It is important not to confuse concept testing with advertising testing, brand testing and packaging testing, as is sometimes done. Concept testing focuses on the basic product idea, without the embellishments and puffery inherent in advertising.

It is important that the instruments (questionnaires) to test the product have a high quality themselves. Otherwise, results from data gathered surveys may be biased by measurement error. That makes the design of the testing procedure more complex. Empirical tests provide insight into the quality of the questionnaire. This can be done by:

• Conducting cognitive interviewing. By asking a faction of potential-respondents about their interpretation of the questions and use of the questionnaire, a researcher can verify the viability of the cognitive interviewing.
• Carrying out a small pretest of the questionnaire, using a small subset of target respondents. Results can inform a researcher of errors such as missing questions, or logical and procedural errors.
• Estimating the measurement quality of the questions. This can be done for instance using test-retest, quasi-simplex, or mutlitrait-multimethod models.
• Predicting the measurement quality of the question. This can be done using the software Survey Quality Predictor (SQP).

Concept testing in the new product development (NPD) process is the concept generation stage. The concept generation stage of concept testing can take on many forms. Sometimes concepts are generated incidentally, as the result of technological advances. At other times concept generation is deliberate: examples include brain-storming sessions, problem detection surveys and qualitative research. While qualitative research can provide insights into the range of reactions consumers may have, it cannot provide an indication of the likely success of the new concept; this is better left to quantitative concept-test surveys.

In the early stages of concept testing, a large field of alternative concepts might exist, requiring concept-screening surveys. Concept-screening surveys provide a quick means to narrow the field of options; however they provide little depth of insight and cannot be compared to a normative database due to interactions between concepts. For greater insight and to reach decisions on whether or not pursue further product development, monadic concept-testing surveys must be conducted.

Frequently concept testing surveys are described as either monadic, sequential monadic or comparative. The terms mainly refer to how the concepts are displayed:

1.) Monadic. The concept is evaluated in isolation.

2.) Sequential monadic. Multiple concepts are evaluated in sequence (often randomized order).

3.) Comparative. Concepts are shown next to each other.

4.) Proto-monadic. Concepts are first shown in sequence, and then next to each other.

“Monadic testing is the recommended method for most concept testing. Interaction effects and biases are avoided. Results from one test can be compared to results from previous monadic tests. A normative database can be constructed.” However, each has its specific uses and it depends on the research objectives. The decision as to which method to use is best left to experience research professionals to decide, as there are numerous implications in terms of how the results are interpreted.

Copy Testing

Copy testing is a specialized field of marketing research that determines an advertisement’s effectiveness based on consumer responses, feedback, and behavior. Also known as pre-testing, it might address all media channels including television, print, radio, outdoor signage, internet, and social media.

Automated Copy Testing is a specialized type of digital marketing specifically related to digital advertising. This involves using software to deploy copy variations of digital advertisements to a live environment and collecting data from real users. These automated copy tests will generally use a Z-test to determine the statistical significance of results. If a specific ad variation out performs the baseline in the copy test, to a desired level of statistical significance, this new copy variation should be used by the marketer.

Features

In 1982, a consortium of 21 leading advertising agencies — including N. W. Ayer, D’Arcy, Grey, McCann Erickson, Needham Harper & Steers, Ogilvy & Mather, J. Walter Thompson, and Young & Rubicam released a public document laying out the PACT (Positioning Advertising Copy Testing) Principles that constitute a good copy testing system. PACT states a good copy testing system must meet the following criteria:

• Provides measurements which are relevant to the objectives of the advertising.
• Requires agreement about how the results will be used in advance of each specific test.
• Provides multiple measurements, because single measurements are generally inadequate to assess the performance of an advertisement.
• Based on a model of human response to communications – the reception of a stimulus, the comprehension of the stimulus, and the response to the stimulus.
• Allows for consideration of whether the advertising stimulus should be exposed more than once.
• Recognizes that the more finished a piece of copy is, the more soundly it can be evaluated and requires, as a minimum, that alternative executions be tested in the same degree of finish.
• Provides controls to avoid the biasing effects of the exposure context.
• Takes into account basic considerations of sample definition.
• Demonstrates reliability and validity.

Types of copy testing measurements

Recall

The predominant copy testing measure of the 1950s and 1960s, Burke’s Day-After Recall (DAR) was interpreted to measure an ad’s ability to “break through” into the mind of the consumer and register a message from the brand in long-term memory. Once this measure was adopted by Procter and Gamble, it became a research staple.

In the 70s, 80s, and 90s, validation efforts found no link between recall scores and actual sales (Adams & Blair; Blair; Blair & Kuse; Blair & Rabuck; Jones; Jones & Blair; MASB; Mondello; Stewart). For example, Procter and Gamble reviewed 10 year’s worth of split-cable tests (100 total) and found no significant relationship between recall scores and sales (Young, pp. 3–30). In addition, Wharton University’s Leonard Lodish conducted an even more extensive review of test market results and also failed to find a relationship between recall and sales.

The 1970s also saw a re-examination of the “breakthrough” measure. As a result, an important distinction was made between the attention-getting power of the creative execution and how well “branded” the ad was. Thus, the separate measures of attention and branding were born.

Persuasion

In the 1970s and 1980s, after DAR was determined to be a poor predictor of sales, the research industry began to depend on a measure of persuasion as an accurate predictor of sales. This shift was led, in part, by researcher Horace Schwerin who pointed out, “the obvious truth is that a claim can be well remembered but completely unimportant to the prospective buyer of the product the solution the marketer offers is addressed to the wrong need”). As with DAR, it was Procter and Gamble’s acceptance of the ARS Persuasion measure (also known as brand preference) that made it an industry standard. Recall scores were still provided in copy testing reports with the understanding that persuasion was the measure that mattered.

Diagnostic

The main purpose of diagnostic measures is optimization. Understanding diagnostic measures can help advertisers identify creative opportunities to improve executions.

Non-Verbal

Non-verbal measures were developed in response to the belief that much of a commercial’s effects e.g. the emotional impact may be difficult for respondents to put into words or scale on verbal rating statements. In fact, many believe the commercial’s effects may be operating below the level of consciousness. According to researcher Chuck Young, “There is something in the lovely sounds of our favorite music that we cannot verbalize and it moves us in ways we cannot express”.

In the 1970s, researchers sought to measure these non-verbal measures biologically by tracking brain wave activities as respondents watched commercials (Krugman). Others experimented with galvanic skin response, voice pitch analysis, and eye-tracking. These efforts were not popularly adopted, in part because of the limitations of the technology as well as the poor cost-effectiveness of what was widely perceived as academic, not actionable research.

In the early 1980s the shift in analytical perspective from thinking of a commercial as the fundamental unit of measurement to be rated in its entirety, to thinking of it as a structured flow of experience, gave rise to experimentation with moment-by-moment systems. The most popular of these was the dial-a-meter response which required respondents to turn a meter, in degrees, toward one end of a scale or another to reflect their opinion of what was on screen at that moment.

More recently, research companies have started to use psychological tests, such as the Stroop effect, to measure the emotional impact of copy. These techniques exploit the notion that viewers do not know why they react to a product, image, or ad in a certain way (or that they reacted at all) because such reactions occur outside of awareness, through changes in networks of thoughts, ideas, and images.

Rural advertising

Rural advertising is increasingly evident throughout the countryside. The majority of advertisements and hoardings are for fertilizers, hybrid seeds, diesel pumps and pesticides, not to men­tion the message of family planning.

Therefore, advertising in the Indian rural context must be seen as consisting of techniques for improving economic mobility within the country. The emergence of an active cash economy is bound to create a strong rural demand and promote consumption.

The traditional growth and dominance of urban industrial centres is undergoing rapid changes. A more equit­able distribution in rural areas would also help in slowing down the rapidly increasing influx of people from rural into urban centres.

Literacy and Media Habits:

Despite the low level of literacy in rural areas, the growth between 1971 and 1981 is significant. Five crore more people have become literate in the course of the last decade, a figure almost equal to the entire population of France. Growth in literacy levels is expec­ted to continue, and this, in turn, will lead to greater awareness of products on the part of the rural people.

Some market research studies on the media habits of farmers in Andhra, Haryana and Punjab are quite revealing they clearly show that, contrary to popular belief, organized media play a signi­ficant role in supplementing the efforts to reach rural consumers.

Other 70 per cent of the population listens to the radio; about 65 per cent in Andhra goes to the cinema. The corresponding figure for Punjab and Haryana is 26 per cent. In both these areas, over 30 per cent read newspapers regularly.

In rural India, the role that advertising plays is minor. It will enhance demand only when favourable environmental conditions have been created. Advertising does not create immediate demand. There is always an information gap.

Rural India is a set of regional markets where cultural factors play a very important role. The raw materials come from the soil; and the relatively low productivity of Indian forms is reflected in the low purchasing power of the rural buyer.

The rural advertising problem in a country like India is related to political, social and economic problems. With low incomes from farms the question that arises is- Can we afford the infrastructure of the mass media for the rural markets? The Indian rural market is very heterogeneous.

Nevertheless, public advertising is an important pre-condition for the creation of demand. The problem of the rural consumer in our country is that he is traditional; to some extent, there is homogeneity, and there are high resistance and low resistance pro­ducts amongst the rural buyers.

Rural buyers show a great many cont­radictions; and the advertising man has to understand them. For exa­mple, the poor spend lavishly on marriages; in certain parts, a rigid caste system still exists; the community is more contented with what­ever little it has. Many preach non-violence and practice violence.

For mass media men to motivate rural buyers to change their life-style is not therefore that easy. The concept of sufficiency is a hurdle to deve­lopment; and the problem of huge distances and inadequate outlets is quite considerable.

Within a rural market, there are many mini-markets based on caste, religion,’ language or other differences. All the people living in and around these markets have distinctly different life-styles. The marketing men know that the cost of distribution increases as the town gets smaller; and it is not economical to serve very small villages.

In rural areas, the effective approach to be employed to reach the buyers is to establish contact with local educators who can influ­ence them by word of mouth. Such local educators are government officials, Block Development & Extension Officers, Village Pardhans and school teachers.

Rural markets are no longer a seller’s market now. Many people have underrated the strength of the market on the assumption that India’s rural poverty restricts rural purchases only to those items which are basic necessities. This has turned out to be a myth now.

The social status, needs, expenditure on weddings, religious ceremonies and the farmers’ need for excitement, travelling and entertainment, have influenced the operations of the rural market. Many farmers travel to weekly markets to buy vegetables that they can themselves grow; but they go in order to have news, stimulation and for socialisation.

The bumper crops and the upturn in agricultural production have resulted in a considerable increase in the incomes of farmers and in their purchasing power. The increase in purchasing power in rural areas has generated vast potential markets for manufactured goods because the people want to raise their standard of living.

New appro­aches must be evolved to awaken the rural population to the range of consumption possibilities open to them. Advertising and consumer research is essential for this purpose; for it must be determined not only what the villager wants but what would motivate him to buy.

Market research and consumer surveys are essential and should cover a fairly wide area of rural life, including the attitudes and aspirations of the rural buyer.

The different approaches to reach rural buyers which may be profitably utilised include mobile publicity-cum-sales stalls, sales and cinema vans, participation in rural fairs and festivals.

The villagers are slightly hesitant about going to smart-looking shops. The relatively prosperous families generally become the pace setter group in the village; and these must initially receive the adverti­ser’s attention.

Advertising research may focus on the sources of awareness in the rural sector the media influencing the villages. It must concentrate on determining the different influences that the villager is being exposed to, either in the village or in his visits to the towns.

A villager normally makes his household purchases in a near­by small town or a fair, but visits either a district, town or a still larger market for his requirements of consumer durables. It would be useful to ascertain his motivation in selecting different markets for different purposes.

Seasonality figures prominently in rural buying habits on account of harvesting seasons, fairs, festivals and marriage, etc. These things should be plotted in advance for sales promotion; and advertising information on the styles of the rural buyer, his attitudes towards pro­cesses, durability, and the incidence of impulse buying these should be checked.

The rural buyer in general is price conscious. Cheaper and sophisticated models of agricultural machinery, sewing machines, etc., should therefore be more acceptable to the village consumer.

The goods should be made available to the rural consumer at places which are most convenient to him. Ideally, it would be desi­rable to get right down to the villages, and combine the sales and advertising effort at that level. But, practically, this would be very difficult because the selling cost would be too high if we follow this approach.

To expand sales in rural markets, hire-purchase facilities should be extended. Effective after-sales service should be extended where a distributor/dealer has been appointed. Some incentive should be given to dealers to open bank accounts in nearby banking towns.

Eighty per cent of the total population is in villages and about 60 per cent of the national income comes from rural areas. There is an inequitable distribution of this rural income amongst the rural folk.

There are two sections of the rural population: a large portion have a low income and low consumption levels; the rest are the rural rich.

Rural Advertising Mix

In rural areas, advertising in the form of outdoor publicity will- prove more effective. The use of mobile vans and audiovisual meth­ods would hold and attract the attention of the rural folk. The use of switch lights, wall writings, cars and other vehicles fitted with loud­speakers and musical instruments would boost sales in rural areas.

Demonstrations and seminars may be profitably used. A few indi­viduals are very prominent in rural areas and their word is honoured by the villagers.’ Convincing such individuals about the utility of the products will go a long way in stimulating their sales in the villages.

There is a considerable scope for outdoor publicity inside and outside the public carriers. On truck routes, hoardings may prove to be the most effective method of advertising. This type of advertising, moreover, has a definite reminder value.

What is required is the use of appro­priate colours, signs and pictures which are liked by the rural folk. Outdoor advertising in rural areas, however, should not only introduce new commodities to the market but also explain their uses and extol their virtues.

The services of commercial broadcasting too, may be profitably utilized in view of the growing popularity of radios, transistors and TV sets. In a country like ours, where 75 per cent of the people are illiterate, the importance of radios and TV sales as a means of mass communication needs hardly to be over-emphasized.

The point of purchase for most of the items is usually the weekly “haat” or market outside the village. For certain produ­cts, the point-of-purchase display that relies heavily on pictorial representation would prove very effective.

As the retailer is the final- link in the chain of communication with the consumer, retail displays would be extremely effective if the material is well planned. What is imperative for the manufacturer is to design a display that will suit the small retail shop in rural areas.

This is of crucial importance because the biggest problem of the retailer is to mar age the mass material in the limited space available. Whatever may be the medium of advertising, the largest audience in rural areas should be the growing number of literate youth.

The written word, whether it is used for advertising in the press or on a hoarding, on merchandising materials or on the container, would have to be addressed largely to the younger generation with their expectations and their aspirations.

With growing literacy in rural areas, another possible break­through in rural marketing may be achieved by the use of the mail? Order channel of communication. India’s postal network serves more than one and half lakh towns and villages.

Mail orders may be used as an ideal tool with a view to sending out goods to consumers but also as a means of promoting product messages. A recent study of advertising media, as used in the family planning campaign, has revealed that, by far, the most effective publicity medium for village audiences were the mailings to village panchayats.

The most serious difficulty in mail order business, however, is the high cost of postal parcels and the uncertainties regarding prompt and secure delivery.

Co-operatives have played a very important role in popularising the use of various agricultural inputs, such as fertilizers, improved seeds, new implements, pesticides etc. The public distribution system has rightly recognized the importance of the role of co-operatives in rural areas.

For the sale of engineering goods and agricultural equipment, it is necessary to provide, for their service and repairs, facilities at a nearby place where the rural buyers are located. The demonstration and the use of the items should also be explained at this centre.

Rural Advertising – Problems of Marketing Products in Rural Areas

Problems of Marketing Agricultural Products:

There is a need for coordinating production and marketing:

(i) If production increases, the increased output must be marketed. The structural interdependence of the industrial and rural sectors and lack of co-ordination generate prob­lems which depress prices and discourage production.

(ii) Difficulties of transport and communication limit the range of physical distribution; therefore, an efficient and coordinated transport system is needed.

(iii) By their very nature agricultural products are grown in a few places and certain seasons. For a continuous supply and fair prices, therefore, storage facilities are necessary.

(iv) Cereals, vegetables, etc., last longer if packed in polythene.

(v) Market information is vital.

(vi) Poor farmers are fleeced by moneylenders. Extended credit facilities should therefore be created.

Problems of Marketing Consumer Goods in Rural Areas:

The creation of primary demand is essential. Advertising is mainly done to create awareness. That is why the radio and TV have become very popular in more than 500,000 villages. Providing goods at the retail outlets is a great challenge, therefore an intimate know­ledge of the consumer wants is essential.

The pre-eminent position of the rural sector in our economy is nothing new. Four-fifths of our people live there, and half of our national income is generated in this sector. Anyone interested in marketing has for long been conscious of the vast potential in rural India. This potential is now beginning to be seen not as a remote promise, but perhaps an immediate opportunity.

There is little doubt that the record agricultural production of the last two years, in contrast with the sharp decline which occurred two years earlier, has changed attitudes a great deal. Optimism has been encouraged by the first signs of a genuine breakthrough in agriculture.

The intelligent use of fertilizers, pesticides and better seeds has had a dramatic impact on yields, wherever they have been applied. That the agricultural yield would rise sharply, given proper inputs, has been known for decades.

What has come as surprise to the country as a whole is the enthusiasm and extent to which these new practices have been accepted. With the right products presented in the right way to the farmer an immense change can be brought about; and the image of the farmer as a tradition-bound, unenterprising individual reconciled to his poverty-stricken existence will begin to fade.

While it is wrong to overlook the fact that the change is most significant amongst the larger and more enlightened farmers in areas under irrigation or assured rainfall, it would seem reasonable to assume that it must, in the course of time, sweep over the bulk of the rural sector.

Urban Advertising

Advertising or propaganda is a show that presented by a person or institute by purpose of influence on the thoughts and acts of people. All of the urban elements side the correct signs can help to enforce the identity and economic vitality and change it to an active and strenuous place.

Although many known the emerge of advertisement simultaneously with the advent of the mass media, but since the industrial revolution advertising as a marketing communication tool evolved to become an art and a science.

According to the importance of advertising in economic and social affairs, to introduce a variety of promotions for goods and products used by companies and producers. Citizens in neighborhood and life environment are faced to urban advertising. These kinds of advertising consists of graffiti, painting, design and installation poster, announcements and notices, statues and inscriptions and various topics in the field of cultural, social, political, economic and commercial that happened in the city by state organs, public institutions, associations and companies as well as citizens can be done. Urban advertising divided to two categories: fixed and fixed. Signs, billboards and graffiti are part of urban fixed advertising and example of an urban mobile ads is bus ads. Totally signs and urban status are used as making relation. The main goals of signs and symptoms, regulation and classification and foster understanding in the urban environment. The establishment of operational rules adopted by the municipality beautify the city of Urmia generally the symptoms can be divided into six main groups: orientate, inform, guide, identify, express or terms and beauty. To be effective urban advertising medium must have certain characteristics to be considered in designing or evaluating them. Some features must be considered in designing or evaluating them. Readability, strengthening face and urban identity, harmony and respect for hierarchy and are included in the balance (table1).
Table 1: The features expected of an urban advertising

Digital advertising is the practice of delivering promotional content to users through various online and digital channels.

Digital advertising leverages mediums such as social media, email, search engines, mobile apps, affiliate programs and websites to show advertisements and messages to audiences. 

Traditional (non-digital) advertising widely followed the spray and pray approach. It reached out to the masses, but the ROI was largely undeterminable. Digital advertising, as we know it today, is heavily data-driven and can give you minute details of your campaigns and outcomes. The availability of user data and rich targeting capabilities makes digital advertising an important tool for businesses to connect with their audience. It is useful to remember that while the connected world offers may ways to reach and engage with customers, there is a distinction between ways that are free or ‘organic’ and paid or ‘inorganic’. Digital advertising is an ‘inorganic’ way to reach and engage with customers and prospects.

Digital advertising encompasses all advertising efforts that use an electronic device or the internet. Businesses leverage digital channels such as search engines, social media, email, and their websites to connect with current and prospective customers.

Advertising has always been about connecting with your audience in the right place and at the right time. Today, that means you need to meet them where they are already spending time: on the internet.

Enter digital advertising in other words, any form of advertising that exists online.

Digital advertising is defined by the use of numerous digital tactics and channels to connect with customers where they spend much of their time: online. From the website itself to a business’s online branding assets digital advertising, email advertising, online brochures, and beyond there’s a spectrum of tactics that fall under the umbrella of “digital advertising.”

The best digital marketers have a clear picture of how each digital advertising campaign supports their overarching goals. And depending on the goals of their advertising strategy, marketers can support a larger campaign through the free and paid channels at their disposal.

A content marketer, for example, can create a series of blog posts that serve to generate leads from a new ebook the business recently created. The company’s social media marketer might then help promote these blog posts through paid and organic posts on the business’s social media accounts. Perhaps the email marketer creates an email campaign to send those who download the ebook more information on the company.

Scope and Importance

Digital Advertising industry is booming not just in India but all parts of the world. The year 2016 took the industry by surprise with over 1.5 lakh job opportunities in the Digital Advertising domain. Well, the following was a bigger surprise when only the first quarter of 2017 marked for 8 lakh job opportunities.

The surveys conducted by several forums have predicted this number to grow with Digitalisation in the nation. Our Prime Minister has been actively promoting the idea of Digital India. PM Modi’s digital India campaign gained massive popularity. The initiative of Government of India is aimed at providing easy services to its natives.

Now imagine when a nation’s government is promoting the digital interaction, what do you think will be the Digital Advertising scope in that nation.

Types of Digital Advertising

We’ve arrived! It’s time to dive head first into 9 types of digital advertising. Types of online digital advertising include:

1. Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization or SEO refers to the process of growing your online visibility in non-paid (organic) search engine results. SERPs or search engine results pages appear to users after they search for a given set of keywords using a search engine like Google or Bing. Each user receives an individualized results page based on keywords, the user’s location at the time of searching, and their browsing history.

Organic search results appear in a list and are ranked using the search engine’s algorithm. As users change the way they search and engage with online content, these algorithms change. The higher you rank on a SERP, the more traffic is directed to your site and the more chances of making a passive visitor an active customer.

2. Search Engine Advertising

Search Engine Advertising or SEM covers the ground SEO ignores, paid traffic from search engines. With SEM you purchase advertisement space that appears on a user’s SERP. The most common paid search platform is Google AdWords. Next, is Bing Ads.

The search engine charges a marketer a predetermined amount to display an advertisement in a number of places on a SERP generated from specific keywords or phrases. One example of SEM is pay-per-click advertising or PPC. PPC refers to a digital advertising method wherein search engines charge a company each time their advertisement is clicked.

3. Social Media Advertising

By now you know that social media is a crucial part of your advertising strategy. But do you know the ins and outs of social media advertising? Social media advertising gives you increased exposure. It allows you to connect with your consumers in a more intimate way. From this interaction, you can gain valuable customer feedback that allows you to improve your customer service, product, or service.

Using social media advertising you’ll gain more reach when you post quality content. Everything you do to increase traffic or business on your social media channels is social media advertising. Whether you’re on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, or LinkedIn these efforts all amount to social media advertising.

Most everyone benefits from social media advertising, but B2C companies stand to gain the most. Pay attention to what your target audience talks about on social media. Engage in the conversation. Use social media advertising as a way to gauge what content you put out does well by monitoring shares and likes.

4. Content Advertising

Content advertising refers to the practice of delivering a quality piece of content to your users to generate sales and leads. This content can live anywhere online. Tweets, a YouTube video, and blogs on your website all comprise content advertising. Content Advertising works because it melds together exceptional content with other types of digital advertising like SEO and Social Media Advertising.

5. Affiliate Advertising

Affiliate advertising refers to the process of paying for conversions. Think of it like hiring a sales person for your product or service. That affiliate earns a commission. You determine the rate for affiliate advertising.  You only pay for conversions. This means there is no upfront cost to affiliate advertising. Many bloggers or e-commerce websites use affiliate advertising.

When you choose to use affiliate advertising ensure that all of your terms and boundaries are discussed beforehand. The affiliate represents your brand, so you want them to carry your brand’s message close to them. Think about the kinds of words you want the affiliate to use. Of course, you need to make the deal work for the affiliate, too.

6. Influencer Advertising

Influencer advertising is among the newer types of digital advertising. Influencer advertising uses people with an enormous online reach considered experts by your target market to drive traffic and sales.

Influencer advertising is popular on social media channels like Instagram and Snapchat. Companies hire Instagrammers with large followings to promote their brand by posting one or more photos with the product. Companies now engage in Instagram or Snapchat “takeovers” where the hired influence controls the company’s social media platform for a given amount of time, most often a day. These social media takeovers drive the influencer’s following to your social media channels increasing your new followers and unique views.

7. Email Advertising

Email advertising allows you to update your email subscribers on a regular basis about your company. This fosters a relationship unlike any of the other types of digital advertising. Your email updates provide value to your consumer. As a result, you build brand trust and brand loyalty.

The best email advertising campaigns involve a list of subscribers earned by your content and company, not paid for by your company. People who opt-in to your email subscription prove more likely to become active buyers.

8. Viral Advertising

Viral advertising refers to a post of some sort that is trendy, funny, or strange enough to garner a massive amount of shares online. Viral advertising causes an enormous spike in website traffic over a short period of time. This is hard to do but the benefits alone make the effort worth your time.

B2C companies stand to gain the most from viral advertising. B2C companies can use social media to reach an enormous audience across all of their active platforms.

9. Mobile Phone Advertising

Each of the types of digital advertising can happen on a mobile device. Some types of advertising using a mobile phone do not fit the above types of digital advertising.

These include SMS advertising which could prove an asset to local advertising efforts. You can prompt your consumers to use SMS to receive special offers, coupons, and updates from your company.

Promoting a brand is more important than opening a store. It is essential to create brand awareness for the customers to know about the brand’s existence. The retailer must strive hard to communicate the USPs (Unique selling Proposition) of the brand to influence the buying behaviour of the customers. In simpler words, advertisements help the end-users to know to which brand a particular product belongs.

Advertisements play a crucial role in promoting a brand and creating its awareness amongst the masses.

They help in creating an image of a particular product or brand in the minds of the potential customers. Such a mechanism is also called Brand Positioning.

Advertising is a medium through which an individual or organization highlights the USPs and benefits of a product or service to influence the buying behaviour of the individuals.

It helps to create a positive image of a particular brand in the minds of the customers and prompts them to buy the same.

Role of Advertising in Retail

• The retailer through various ways of advertising strives hard to promote his brand amongst the masses for them to visit the store more often.
• Advertisements attract the customers into the store. They act as a catalyst in bringing the customers to the stores.

The advertisement must effectively communicate the right message and click on the customers. It should be a visual treat and appeal the end-users.

Advertisements have taglines to create awareness of a product or service in the most effective way.

• The tagline has to be crisp and impressive to create the desired impact.
• The tagline should not be lengthy else the effect gets nullified.
• It has to be catchy.
• It should be simple to memorize.

The moment an individual hears “Just Do it”, he knows he has to visit a “Nike Store”. That’s the importance of a tagline.

Modes of Advertising

1. Nothing works better than promoting a brand through signboards, billboards, hoardings and banners intelligently placed at strategic locations like railway stations, crowded areas, heavy traffic crossings, bus stands, near cinema halls, residential areas and so on. Such advertising is also called as out of home advertising.

Out of home advertising is a way to influence the individuals when they are out of their homes. The hoarding must be installed at a height visible to all even from a distance.

Make sure it catches the attention of the passing individuals and influences them to visit the store.

Keep it simple and make sure it doesn’t confuse the customers; instead it should convey the information in its desired form.

2. Print media is also one of the most effective ways to promote a brand. Newspapers, magazines, catalogues, journals make the brand popular amongst the individuals. Retailers can buy a small space in any of the leading newspapers or magazines; give their ads for the individuals to read and get influenced.
3. Television also helps the brand reach a wider audience. Now a days retailers also use celebrities to endorse their products for that extra zing. Celebrities are shown using the particular brand and thus making it a hit amongst the masses.

Sachin Tendulkar – the famous Indian cricketer endorses Castrol India, MRF tyres, Adidas, Boost etc.A child gets influenced to drink Boost because his favourite cricketer drinks the same.

4. Radio Advertisements also help in creating brand awareness.
5. Social networking sites have also emerged as one of the easiest and economical ways to promote a product or brand.

A lifestyle is a mode of behavior based on a set of interests, activities, ideas, attitudes, opinions and other characteristics that set a particular group of people or culture apart from other groups and cultures.

A lifestyle defines who people are, how they see themselves, or who they aspire to be and gives a sense of meaning and purpose to their lives.

When applied to marketing, lifestyle marketing becomes a marketing approach that where a brand ties itself to and embodies the aspirations, ideals, values, and aesthetics that their target market identifies with.

By doing so, lifestyle brands create the idea that using their products or being associated with their brand takes people closer to the kind of lifestyle they want to live.

Advertising in a Customer-centric World, introduces the idea of Lifestyle Advertising as advertising that allows marketers to respond to consumer feedback in an ongoing and interactive way via continuous dialogue, e.g., online discussion boards, chat rooms, blogs, user-review forums and social networks.

According to the report, when implemented, it should help influence conversations around your brand, drive consumer purchasing behavior and monetize ongoing customer relationships.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the three principles of Lifestyle Advertising are:

1. Be relevant. Marketers have to understand the issues that are important to customers’ lives and build strategies around them.
2. Engage them. Converged media redefines engagement as it combines both brand-level and product-level interactions in the same consumer experience.
3. Build trust. To successfully engender trust with the consumer, efforts must be genuine and transparent, and companies must act on what they hear when listening to consumers.

But be warned: If you’re considering the Lifestyle Advertising path, you’ll need to implement new media strategies and significant organizational changes. Specifically:

Listen to the Market. You will need to view your audience not as a collection of consumers or a portfolio of demographic profiles but rather as individual customers.

Change and Respond. To maximize and monetize Lifestyle Advertising potential, you’ll have to be more open, have real-time flexibility and enable informed risk-taking. You must organize around the ongoing conversations in which you participate.

Consumer audiences now have the ability to talk directly to you as well as about you. If you engage them in a worldwide forum, consumers can very publicly impact brands, products and services. They can skip, ignore or avoid whatever they don’t want to view or engage. This new consumer empowerment can dramatically affect the programming and media distribution channels that rely on advertising support.

Ambush marketing also known as coat-tail marketing or predatory ambushing is the practice of hijacking or coopting another advertiser’s campaign to raise awareness of another company or brand, often in the context of event sponsorships.

Ambush marketing or ambush advertising is a marketing strategy in which an advertiser “ambushes” an event to compete for exposure against other advertisers.

The term was coined by marketing strategist Jerry Welsh, while he was working as the manager of global marketing efforts for American Express in the 1980s. Most ambush marketing campaigns aim to associate a brand with the prominence of a major event, without actually being an “official” partner or sponsor of said event. An advertiser may indirectly ambush an event by alluding to its imagery and themes without referencing any specific trademarks associated with it, or in “direct” and “predatory” means where an advertiser engages in the fraudulent use of official names and trademarks to deliberately mislead consumers.

Actions against ambush advertising are most common in sport (where major events such as the FIFA World Cup, Olympic Games, and the Super Bowl are prominent targets), as the practice can devalue and dilute exclusive sponsorship rights, and in some cases, infringe upon the organizers’ intellectual property rights. Such actions may include restricting advertising in “clean zones” around an event site, removing or obscuring references to non-sponsors at venues, and requiring host countries to pass laws to grant the organizer legal rights to enforce clean zones, and to restrict the use of specific words and concepts to create unofficial associations with the event.

Anti-ambush marketing regulations have attracted controversy for limiting freedom of speech, and for preventing companies from factually promoting themselves in the context of an event.

One of the earliest known examples of ambush marketing is the bitter feud that erupted between MasterCard and Visa during the 1992 Winter Olympics, which was held in the town of Albertville in southeastern France.

Ambush Marketing is a marketing technique which involves riding on the coattails of a major event or campaign without actually paying for or participating in the sponsorship or event.

It is a tactic that many vendors use to get free promotion and compete with those vendors actually paying for the sponsorships and/or event without having to dish out the big bucks themselves.

Direct ambush marketing is an approach where a brand works aggressively to associate itself with an event or property, when that brand has not purchased rights as the official sponsor. Indirect ambush marketing, on the other hand, doesn’t force the association, but seeks to align a brand through suggestion or reference to an event or property.

Pros and Cons of Ambush Marketing

Pros:

• For the company running the Ambush Marketing campaign, it is a much cheaper option to get your brand noticed and in some cases with the same amount of impact if not more.
• Ambush Marketing is a great way to jump-start your business in the beginning because most start-ups don’t have the financial capability to sponsor something as large as the Olympics or Super Bowl.
• Ambush Marketing creates more competition among companies jockeying for market share which is good for consumers; more competition usually means lower prices.

Cons:

• Successful Ambush Marketing diminishes the value of the actual sponsorships and brands who invest.
• Some say that Ambush Marketing is a sneaky and less honest way to market and therefore, in a smaller, more local approach, it may not be a good solution. A smaller local business may not be able to handle the negative media and brand impact surrounding it.
• The word “Ambush” itself carries a negative connotation with it.
• The actual sponsors of events get certain advantages and privileges that the “Ambush” company will never have.

Global advertising or international advertising consists of collecting, processing, analyzing and interpreting information.

There are two main purposes of international advertising research:

(1) To assist business executives to make profitable international advertising decisions for their specific products and services and

(2) To contribute to general knowledge of international advertising that is potentially useful to a variety of business executives, educators, government policy makers, advertising self-regulatory organizations and others interested in understanding the process and effects international advertising.

Common characteristics and cultural differences

Product or Service Offering

In global marketing, a company offers the same products and services across the board, in multiple countries. Think about banks, insurance companies and large retail chains like Wal-Mart.

In international marketing, products and services are tailored to specific countries. Think about Sharia finance products, which are only offered in Islamic countries or to Muslim customers in non-Muslim countries or meat that is banned from Israeli or Muslim diet.

Marketing Staff

Global marketing personnel tend to work at the company’s headquarters and generally are a diverse group of people. They possess various skills that collectively mesh well together, and take a global view of the company’s market.

Conversely, in international marketing, team members tend to hail exclusively from the same country or a country with linguistic or cultural affinity with the primary country.

Marketing Budget

The budget of a global marketing team is managed directly from the corporate headquarters. For example, Nike sets a global marketing budget, which then trickles down to local offices.

In international marketing, however, budget issues are negotiated and handled at the local level, within the subsidiary. Take for example McDonald, which runs local ads, some of which you will never see in another country.

Promotion Tactics

When it comes to promotion tactics, global marketing teams try to run ads and other communication ploys that are in sync with a global audience.

An excellent way to understand is to see ads that were run during the 2014 FIFA World Cup a perfect mix for global marketing: global sports event, billions of viewers, one passion for the game.

In international marketing, commercials and other promotion tactics are tailored for the local market.

Operational Autonomy

Marketing does not mean you sit in a corner office and think about how to sell a product. The typical marketing mix has four components, what experts call the 4Ps: product, price, promotion and place (of distribution).

So in terms of operational autonomy, global marketing teams tend to run everything from A to Z, from the corporate headquarters, whereas international marketing teams handle things domestically.

Social Media

By reviewing their social media pages, you can quickly see which companies favor global marketing over international marketing and vice versa. For example, you will notice that McDonald adopts an international marketing strategy, with Facebook pages as diverse as McDonald’s Malaysia, McDonald’s Brazil, McDonald’s Italia and McDonald’s Polska (Poland).

Conversely, Nike or Caterpillar runs a single page.

Customer Engagement

Customer engagement is more active in international marketing. By setting multiple communication channels, a company can better engage with fans and customers at a local level.

That is not to say that global marketing is less effective when it comes to customer engagement the tactics are just different.

But it is clear that international marketing tends to produce a higher level of engagement than global marketing.

Advertising

In global marketing, commercials are run all over the world, whereas international marketing favors ad airing in the local market exclusively or in similar markets, at most.

Some products lend themselves pretty well to global advertising. We already talked about sport gear; you also have movies and songs as well as technology products.

Other products, conversely, cannot exist in some countries because of cultural prohibition or legal censorship.

Market Research and R&D

Market research and R&D are as deep and broad in global marketing as they are in international marketing.

Sometimes, though, global marketing can produce big flops when market research has not properly conducted or local customs thoroughly studied. Think, for example, of Chevy Nova’s and Mazda LaPuta’s unfortunate stints in the Spanish market (in Spanish, ‘no va’ and ‘la puta’ mean ‘it doesn’t go’ and ‘the whore,’ respectively.).

Other product flops include the Ben-Gay aspirin, McDonald’s Arch Deluxe, and the Cocaine Energy Drink produced by Redux Beverages.

Hybrid Structure

Our number 10 example is not really an example of comparative global marketing vs. international marketing analysis, but an illustration of how a hybrid structure – international and global can help companies succeed.

Coca-Cola used that mixed tactic effectively in the earlier days, and is nowadays followed by every company, from Mercedes Benz to Frito Lay to Procter & Gamble to McDonald’s.

Every culture could benefit from Nike, since shoes are a benefit to everyone with feet (which is virtually everyone). The same is true of Caterpillar, since industrial machinery helps to advance mankind in general through more efficient construction. On the other hand, if it is a product that only serves one sub-set of people, or otherwise excludes certain subsets, then an “international marketing” approach is necessary. Companies with risqué or culturally insensitive products can’t use the same approach everywhere. For example, alcohol and lingerie companies wouldn’t have much fortune in many middle eastern companies where drinking and dressing inappropriately are not widely viewed as acceptable. Cigarette companies would need to modify their message for more socially conscious populations. In these scenarios, international marketing would work better and either no marketing, or specifically tailored marketing would be of greater benefit.

Challenges

Though the world is advancing in terms of information technology, innovative and superior methods of organizing marketing efforts (like horizontal organisation, network organisation, virtual organisation), global efforts for smooth international trades, and so forth, yet international marketing is not that much easy to pursue, it has become a challenge to accept.

1. Tariff Barriers:

Tariff barriers indicate taxes and duties imposed on imports. Marketers of guest countries find it difficult to earn adequate profits while selling products in the host countries. Sometimes, to prevent foreign products and/or promote domestic products, strategically tariff policies are formulated that restricts international marketing activities. Frequent change in tariff rates and variable tariff rates for various categories of products create uncertainty for traders to trade internationally. Antidumping duties levied on imports and defensive strategies create difficulty for exporters.

2. Administrative Policies:

Bureaucratic rules or administrative procedures both in guest countries and host countries make international (export and/or import) marketing harder. Some countries have too lengthy formalities that exporters and importers have to clear. Unjust dealings to get the formalities/ matters cleared create many problems to some international players. International marketers have to accustom with legal formalities of several courtiers where they wants to operate.

3. Considerable Diversities:

Different countries have their own unique civilization and culture. They pose special problems for international marketers. Global customers exhibit considerable cultural and social diversities in term of needs, preferences, habits, languages, expectations, buying capacities, buying and consumption patterns, and so forth. Social and personal characteristics of customers of different nationalities are real challenges to understand and incorporate. Compared to local and domestic markets, it is more difficult to understand behaviour of customers of other countries.

In the same way, as against domestic markets, to design and modify marketing mix over time for international markets seem more difficult. Market segmentation, product design, pricing, and distribution need more information and efforts. Promoting products in international markets is a formidable task. Message preparation and execution in suitable media in international markets is not easy game to play.

Language and religious diversities are the real challenge for international business players. There are 6000 languages in the world. China (20%) is the largest in term of native speakers, followed by English (6%), and followed by Hindi (5%). Yet English is recognized as global business language.

English speaking countries can contribute the largest share (40%) in global business. Religious diversities seem difficult to cope with as they determine needs and wants of people. At present Christianity is the largest in the world (1.7 billion), followed by Islam (1.0 billion), followed by Hinduism (750 millions), and followed by Buddhism (350 millions).

4. Political Instability or Environment:

Different political systems (democracy or dictatorship), different economics systems (market economy, command economy, and mixed economy), and political instability are some of real challenges that international markers have to face. Political atmosphere in different courtiers offer opportunities or pose challenges to international marketers.

Governments in different nations have their priorities, philosophies, and approaches to the international trades. They may adopt restrictive (protectionist) or liberal approach to international business operations. Especially, political approaches of dominant nations have more influence in international marketing activities.

Long-term trend of global political environment is unpredictable and uncertain. Economic policies of different nations (industrial policies, fiscal policies, agricultural policies, export-import policies, etc.,) do have direct impact on international trade. Drastic change in these policies creates endless difficulties to international traders. While dealing with international markets, international political and legal environment needs a special attention.

5. Place Constraints (Diverse Geography):

Trade in foreign countries of far distance itself practically difficult. In case of perishable products, it is a real challenge. Exporting and importing products via sea route and making arrangements for effective selling involves more time as well risks. Segmenting and selecting international markets require the marketers to be more careful.

6. Variations in Exchange Rates:

Every nation has its currency that is to be exchanged with currencies of other nations. Currencies are traded every day and rates are subject to change. Indian Rupee, European Dollar, US Dollar, Japanese Yen, etc., are appreciated or discounted at national and international markets against other currencies. In case of extraordinary and unexpected moves (ups and downs) in currency/exchange rates between two courtiers create serious settlement problems.

7. Norms and Ethics Challenges:

Ethics refers to moral principles, standards, and norms of conduct governing individual and firm’s behaviour. They are deeply reflected in formal laws and regulations. In different parts of the world, different codes of conduct are specified that every international business player has to observe. However, globalization process has emphasized some common ethics worldwide. Corruption is another issue relating to business ethics.

8. Terrorism and Racism:

Terrorism is a global issue, a worldwide problem. People of the world are living under constant fear of terrorists attracts anywhere in the world. To trade internationally is not economically risky, but there is the threat to life. Racism also restricts international trade activities.

9. Other Difficulties:

Besides these problems, there are many obstacles in international markets, such as:

1. Changing ecological environment and global warming
2. Difference in weathers and natural climates
3. Inappropriate or inadequate role of international agencies supporting and regulating international trades
4. Natural and man-made calamities
5. Difference in currencies, weights, standards, measures, and marketing methods
6. Protectionist approach of some countries
7. Economic crisis across the globe.

Some of the giants in advertising and media planning that most students dream of working with are as follows:

Hindustan Thomson Associates (HTA), McCann Erickson, Leo Burnett, Grey, R K Swamy – BBDO, Bates, Redifussion Dy and R, Lintas India Ltd., Ogilvy & Mather Ltd., and Mudra Communications Ltd..

Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising. – Mark Twain

Advertising is the art of conveying a message to the masses. Advertisements generally persuade people about commercial products, services and even draw attention towards social issues. Advertising is one of the chief divisions of any industry that ensures the industry’s competitiveness in the corporate milieu. Indian advertising industry is on a roll and is all set to provide quality job to thousands of individuals in next few years.

A career in advertising is a lucrative employment option that one can choose in the rapidly growing Indian economy. Advertising agencies generally prefer highly creative and talented individuals who can think independently and at the same time work as excellent team players. If you are interested in pursuing a career in advertising, you must be highly target oriented and willing to work in a pressure cooker like environment. Since this industry is very competitive, you must be willing to give your best at all times to make a successful career.

What would it cost me

Studying at institutes such as the MICA (Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad) could cost you up to Rs.1 lakh per year. But at government and some other private institutions, the fee is much lower.

Step-by-step

Advertising firms employ people with different educational backgrounds in various departments at various levels. Possessing a professional Degree or Diploma in a particular field of study can give you a head start in this industry. Further, flair for language and excellent communication skills are other factors essential for breaking into the realm of the advertising business.

To get into a specific department of an advertisement agency, you could choose from the following courses:
1. Client Servicing: A post graduate diploma or an MBA in marketing
2. Studio: Course in commercial art or fine arts (BFA or MFA)
3. Media: Journalism, Mass Communication or an MBA
4. Finance: CA, ICWA, MBA (Finance)
5. Films: Specialisation in audio visuals
6. Production: A course in printing and pre – press processes.

The best way to get into this field after a course is to get on- the- job training. All good institutions offer internship as part of the curriculum.

Start early

The first and the foremost requisite to take up a position in advertising world is to have a creative spark in one’s life. This creativity can be in any form, be it in language, communication skills, drawing, innovative thinking, and so on.

Eligibility for most of the advertising postgraduate courses is graduation in any discipline with a minimum of 50 percent marks. Admission to most of these courses is based on an entrance exam and/or interview. Some institutions also offer graduate level courses in advertising, for which they admit students who have cleared class XII.

Is it the right career for me?

If you are enthusiastic, naturally driven, creative, optimistic, and have the ability to multi task then advertising is the best career option for you. People skills are a vital requirement for this career as it makes one understand what a client needs and also helps in effective decision making. An institution running advertising related courses can help train and develop students to pick up traits such as:

1. Effective communication
2. Presentation and management
3. Team and leadership skills
4. Stress and pressure management
5. Persuasiveness
6. Confidence
7. Competitiveness

Various domestic and multinational companies in India certainly need highly qualified and experienced manpower for advertising. However, individual creativity and capability for innovation any day counts more than academic degrees in this fast paced business.

Funding/Scholarship

Earning a scholarship may be a difficult task.  In most cases, scholarships are awarded to applicants on the basis of excellent academic performances.

Job prospect

Job opportunities in advertising include openings in private advertising agencies; advertising departments of private and public sector companies. Job seekers can also find openings in newspapers, journals, magazines; commercial section of radio or television; market research organizations and so on. One can also work as a freelancer.

Advertising manager, sales manager, public relations director, creative director, copy writer, and marketing communications manager are some of the major job opportunities in this field.

Market watch

The Indian economy is on the move in spite of the global financial meltdown and the ad market is on a continuous trail of expansion. Growth in businesses has lead to a consecutive boom in the advertising industry as well.
 
Advertising in India is quite superior and the local talent boasts of high production values with interesting ideas and concepts. All this has made India a desirable hub for recruiters within the country as well as internationally.

Positives/Negatives

+ives

• Challenging and satisfying job
• Hefty growth prospects that are one of the best in the country
• Heavy pay packets with dollops of project related incentives
• Chances of meeting the legends of advertising

-ives

• An industry that is known for its extremely long working hours
• High pressure and stress inducing work environment

International focus

The global impact of the Indian aptitude with respect to the advertising industry is not only being noticed but appreciated worldwide. Indian agencies today handle both national and international assignments. This is primarily because of the reason that the industry offers a host of functions to its clients. Some of the offerings include end-to-end solutions that consist of client media planning, servicing, media buying, pre and post campaign analysis, creative conceptualization, market research, marketing, public relation services, and branding. With all these services, there is definitely no looking back for the Indian advertising industry that is all set to win accolades worldwide.

Pay packet

Pay Structure can vary from one agency to another depending on the size and turnover. Accredited agencies have a large set up while small agencies may have just a handful of employees looking after all the various jobs.
Salary is generally not a constraint for the suitable candidate in this industry. This will, of course, depend on the individual’s merit, qualifications, and experience. As a beginner, you get to do the basic stuff but experience enables you to negotiate deals.
You can easily get into an agency at the lowest levels but sheer quality is demanded as you move up the ladder. However, the pay packets get heavier and heavier as the workload and level of experience rises. A beginner in the creative department usually starts with an average monthly salary of 8 to 15 thousand rupees.

Demand and supply

There is ample scope for talented individuals in the advertising industry in India. Those who are qualified in commercial art have great opportunities. MBAs can also play a significant role in client servicing. The advertising industry always has a perennial demand for creative talent. In order to succeed in the advertising arena, one has to have proficiency that is accompanied with varied talents.

Tips for getting hired

1. For many people interested in a career in advertising or public relations, internships are the key to unlocking the door to the industry.
2. The advertising industry has a voracious appetite for creativity and innovative thinking. Though the industry is said to be in its infant stage as compared to the western world it has been receptive to the changing times.
3. Excellent communication skills along with a specialisation in your field of study from a reputed institution give you a cutting edge over fellow job seekers in this industry.

Different roles, different names

Advertising field offers a range of lucrative and interesting careers. The job in this field is categorised into two broad categories, namely, Executive and Creative.

• Executive: The executive side includes: Client Servicing, Market Research and Media Research.
  The executive department understands client requirements, seeks new business opportunities and retains existing business. This department also selects the appropriate media, analyses timing and placement of advertisements, and negotiates the financial aspects of a business deal.
• Creative: The creative team comprises of copywriters, scriptwriters, visualizers, creative directors, photographers, typographers, animators, and so on. The creative department creates the actual advertisement in different media formats. They verbalize and visualize the specific need of the client.
  Since ads are of different kinds depending on the media- print (newspapers, magazines, billboards,etc) and broadcast(radio, television and the internet), you can choose the area of specialisation depending on your interest.

Account executive is a role in advertising, marketing, and finance involving intimate understanding of a client company’s objectives and products and a professional capability to provide effective advice toward creation of successful promotional activities and strategies. The account executive directly works with, and provides services to, one or more delegate officers or executives of the client company.

Marketing and advertising industries

In the marketing and advertising industries, account executives are typically responsible for client servicing and client acquisition. The account executive serves as the direct link between the advertising agency or financial service company and the existing client, managing day-to-day affairs and ensuring customer satisfaction. The account executive is also tasked with bringing more clients into the agency to increase revenue. The account executive will typically have 1-2 assistants and reports to the respective account supervisor/manager and/or to the client service director/account director. This depends on the country and on the account (s)he is working for.

Duties and responsibilities

Account executives have many different duties and responsibilities that they have to fulfill, such as day to day liaising via a contact method which can include email and telephone calls. This job role includes many different responsibilities such as:

• Responsible for existing account management and clients communications and conflict resolution
• Discovering client’s business needs and proposing appropriate solutions
• Track and coordinate all activities occurring for each account
• Preparing regular client reports and attending client meetings
• Analyzing marketing trends and predictions and researching market conditions to develop sales goals and marketing strategies
• Developing plans to target new customers
• Developing company’s account strategies, marketing strategies and promotional communication channels to introduce and promote the products and services to potential markets
• Retaining existing customers
• Negotiating and closing contracts, maintain excellent client relationships, and continually build opportunity pipeline
• Evaluating the financial aspects of business development

Working with clients

Mentioned above are a few of the duties and responsibilities in becoming an Account Executive. One big responsibility would be to help produce a successful campaign for clients as the marketing sector could possibly need some further help. Where the role would be to act as an important link between advertising agency and the clients. They will have a routine and have required tasks that they have to complete for the clients. For example:

• Account planners: Working with account planners to analyse the clients brief and the chosen budget
• Meetings: Having regular meetings to discuss the advertising needs and their requirements
• Deadlines: Agreeing to deadlines for specific tasks with the clients
• Management: Having to manage accounts and different invoicing the clients

The bases of this role is to be able understand what the task the client has set out. From this they will then have to organise the agency’s creative and administrative staff in order for the clients request to be completed to the standard.

Required skills

Working in this field as an Account Executive, there are many skills that they have to have to perform numerous of account executive tasks, where they have to have the ability to demonstrate many different skills in different areas. The skills that are required consist of the following:

• Motivational and Excellent communication skills
• Having the ability to prioritize tasks as well as multitasking
• Have a good understanding of Business processes
• Being organized
• Taking on task independently
• Working well in a team

These skills are a requirement when applying for a position as an Account Executive. For example, good communication skills are needed because the employee will need to be confident in addressing with a variety of clients. Motivational skills are required as they need to motivate junior employees and represent the company as efficient to the general public and the clients.

In any company when working as an Account Executive, each agency will be expecting and looking for different sets of skills from the employees. It is important that they have these skills and have a developed the skills. These include:

• Having a keen eye for detail and an understanding of budgetary constraints
• Self-confidence and trust-building
• Fluency of digital platforms
• The ability to work under pressure

When an employee has developed or enhanced their skills and built a trustworthy reputation within the company, they can then go forward and request for a higher position such as Account Director.