What Makes an Ad Effective in Selling a Product?

When a company produces a product, then it necessarily must engage in some sort of marketing to engender the product's sale. This marketing can be as simple as a phone call, a label or a sign. However, many companies invest in advertising campaigns. These ads are designed to explain to potential consumers why they should purchase the product. Some ads are more effective than others because of a number of variables.

Explanation of Product

Sometimes the main purpose of an ad is to explain to a consumer what the product is and what function it serves. In some cases, a minimum of explanation is necessary. However, if the product is new, it is incumbent on the advertiser to make it clear to the viewer what reason he has to purchase the product. The most effective ads are the most effective at communicating this.

Differentiation from Competition

While some products are rare or unusual, others are nearly identical to their competitors. In such a case, a good ad provides the consumer with a reason why the product being advertised is superior to the other, similar products. This explanation can take many forms and consist of many arguments. Often, it is as simple as informing the consumer that the advertised product costs less than the others.

Targeting

An ad is only effective if it finds its target audience. If an ad is not shown to the right audience -- the audience that would be interested in buying the advertised product -- then the ad will not work. Therefore, ads need to be targeted to a specific group of people. For example, a company that makes fishing lures will place its ads in trout fishing magazines, not fashion magazines.

Brand

In some cases, an ad must also convince the consumer that he can trust the company that is being advertised. A big part of many advertisement campaigns is building the company's brand -- the set of qualities that the consumer attributes to the company being advertised. Depending on the content of the ad, the consumer could make positive or negative assumptions about the company. Effective ads create positive assumptions.

References

• "Marketing: An Introduction"; Gary Armstrong, Michael Harker, and Philip Kotler; 2009