Our goal as advertising students is to land a job promoting brands and launching campaigns for various companies. First, however, we are tasked with executing the ultimate campaign: selling ourselves. Just as a campaign consists of multiple advertisements, we must present ourselves as the entire package: a package full of invaluable skills that companies cannot afford to reject.
The advertising industry is crazy-competitive, and personally, I am scared to death about getting a job after college. Nothing guarantees a job: not a spotless GPA, not a multitude of extracurricular involvement, not even a collection of career-related internships. That is why it is essential to approach opportunities with the right attitude and a strong work ethic. Gaining career-related experience through clubs and internships is necessary to getting a job. Because so many people do this, however, it may be difficult to stand out from the crowd. This is where personality comes into play. Besides having natural talent, be passionate about what you are doing. The advertising industry is filled with passionate people: people who breathe copywriting, eat design, and sleep media. These people are not working – they do not simply have a job. These people are living their dream and doing what they love. Employers seek individuals with similar passion. Advertising students should be dedicated to their studies and take pride in their work. They should not simply try to pass a class but rather try to enhance their knowledge and fill their desire for advertising-related activities. Do not look for a job; look for a position to free your passion. In addition to passion, you should have a strong work ethic. Do not shy away from challenges, reject intimidating tasks, or half-ass what you do. My cousin told me, “Never accept a job where you are qualified for more than 60% of the work.” In every position, you should strive to learn and expand your skills. When an assignment needs completing, step up and fulfill it to the best of your abilities. A project is rarely perfect, and you should never stop working until you attain that level of flawlessness. This is something I strive to do in all my work, whether it is designing an ad, making a commercial, or devising clever placements for promotional materials. One of the greatest compliments I have received came from my mom when she said, “Kristin, I don’t think ‘good enough’ is in your vocabulary.” While this statement certainly filled me with pride, it more importantly fueled me with motivation to prove this true. Employers will search for hardworking, passionate people. Although I glossed over experiences earlier, gaining practical knowledge and skills is essential to any job. Join clubs, find internships, and work hard in class. Expand your horizons and take on roles outside of exactly what you want to do; maybe you will love it, maybe you will hate it. No matter what, you will learn the different roles of people with which you will work, and a general understanding of their jobs will help immensely. Secure these positions by building a portfolio of your very best work. Sell your executions by explaining the idea, highlighting the theme, and letting your passion show. Make it memorable, but more importantly, make it you.
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Advertising is all about branding. As one of the four main functions of advertising, building brand involves establishing an image for a company in the minds of consumers. Companies not only want to create favorable impressions, but they also want consumers to associate certain ideas or themes with their brands. For example, Nike brands itself as a company providing sports apparel, equipment, and accessories to hard-working, dedicated athletes. People around the world can match the phrase “Just do it” with the Nike brand, and consumers associate long hours spent practicing, always pushing further and further with Nike. These perceptions are carefully shaped by the Nike organization through the way it presents itself in advertisements. The company has a specific image it wants to maintain, and it uses advertisements to relay this image to consumers. In order to do this effectively, Nike must have continuity through its advertisement campaigns.
According to Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy, Design, “Continuity within a campaign means the various components of the campaign have enough commonality that the reader/viewer/listener should perceive a common theme and unified message.” This does not mean the same copy is used in every ad nor is the same design repeated across media; rather, all elements of a campaign should work toward a common objective, address a defined target audience, and maintain an overall unified idea. This includes all print ads, radio ads, TV ads, online ads, and out-of-home ads. Additionally, continuity should extend to other elements of a campaign, such as public relations efforts and direct marketing materials. The importance of continuity in campaigns is immense. A series of unrelated ads does little to build brand because consumers are unable to determine what image a company is trying to portray. Often, lack of continuity occurs when the original idea is weak. The overall theme of a campaign must meet two criteria to be truly successful: repeatability and extendability. Repeatability involves creating multiple ad executions for the same media from the same idea. For example, the Got milk? campaign features multiple print ads created from the same theme. Extendability, then, refers to creating ad executions for different media. The Got milk? campaign once again provides examples of this as it was extended to TV, Internet, and out-of-home advertising media. Overall, continuity plays a big role in a company’s brand. It determines what the company can and cannot do. For example, when the well-known toothpaste company Colgate launched a new product line of frozen dinners, consumers were unable to get past the idea of Colgate as a toothpaste company. Because Colgate had branded itself as a toothpaste company, this break in continuity caused the product line to fail. This example highlights how continuity affects not only a campaign, but also the overall brand. It affects product development, marketing, social causes supported by a company, and more. When executed properly, continuity can launch a brand to success. For an advertising enthusiast, few things are more exhilarating than the discovery of a well placed, brilliantly executed out-of-home advertisement. It’s those ads executed from a stroke of creative genius that give you chills and fuel aspirations to someday produce an equally enticing ad. Out-of-home advertisements provide far more potential for creativity than ads in traditional media, and they often achieve better success in standing out from the thousands of other ads we see each day. Defined as all advertising that is seen outside the home but is not in the point-of-sale category, out-of-home advertising can range from billboards to posters at bus stations, signs in airport terminals to 3D displays at a shopping mall. Besides offering plenty of room for creativity, out-of-home advertising has several advantages. First, it can be flexible in regard to location, timing, structure, and dimension. Second, it can create high-impact among viewers. Finally, it is ideal for establishing brand image, building rapid awareness, and reinforcing brand personality. Although billboards hold a special place in my heart, this transit advertisement was the one that really caught my eye. Promoting its animal-themed programming, the National Geographic Channel placed this ad on the side of a public transport bus. Whenever someone boarded the bus, the shark would open its mouth and appear to eat the passenger. By using proper design principles, this ad attracts attention and creates interest among viewers. This ad is highly effective because it capitalizes upon many of the opportunities provided by out-of-home advertising. The large audience it reaches is extended by its ability to move around the city and expose itself to more people. The shocking design makes it even more impactful than typical transit advertisements. Additionally, it follows the rules to keeping copy to a minimum so as to quickly convey the concept. Finally, the ad succeeds in building brand by creating a design highly relevant to the company and by repeating “National Geographic Channel” twice. Overall, this ad perfectly exemplifies the immense creative opportunities provided by out-of-home advertising. If the great execution isn’t enough to give you chills, maybe stepping into the mouth of a giant shark just might do it instead. 11:50 – class ends. Pack up your books, put on your coat, leave class. Pull out your phone to check your email on the way to lunch. Pass by a video monitor announcing the day’s menu. Check Twitter while waiting in line for your food. Grab your plate, sit down. Scroll through Facebook while waiting for friends to join you. Glance at the cafeteria’s TV for the latest update on your favorite sports team…
Today, we live in a world dominated by digital media. Everywhere we go, we have some form of digital media present with us. With so many new and popular outlets, advertising is changing and adapting. Advertising now has chances to be more personal and portable, reaching target audiences in ways that were never possible before new media. In order to capitalize upon the potentials of digital media, advertising must follow a few tips for strategic development. First, digital media enhances a company’s ability to engage in two-way communication with potential customers. Social media sites are particularly strong with this. In advertising, companies must make an effort to use these sites effectively. They can post polls, gather feedback, and respond to customers’ comments. This benefit of new media was not possible with traditional media such as newspaper and TV, which was mainly one-way communication. Second, companies have a chance to coordinate their advertising campaigns and create cross-promotions featured in various media. They can run a commercial or print an ad in traditional media, and then carry over a similar theme on to the Internet. Additionally, they can post their TV commercials online, giving customers another place for viewing. By synchronizing themes across all platforms, companies can create a truly unified advertising campaign that helps to build brand image and position the brand in the minds of customers. Finally, digital media offers advertising at lower costs. This gives small businesses more chances to promote their brands, while allowing large companies to better connect with customers. However, just because the cost of the ads is less expensive does not mean the quality of the ads should be lessened. Companies must make a conscious effort to create ads that are not only appropriate for digital media, but also well planned and well executed. With digital media offering much potential for successful advertising, companies must adjust their strategies to maximize impact. This involves emphasizing two-way communication, coordinating themes across media, and capitalizing upon the low costs of digital advertising. |
Kristin KreherMy happiness comes from meaningful interactions, the outdoors, thrift shops, and saying "thank you." Archives
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