Theory In A Nutshell

      The word "advertising" is quite powerful. Some people love it. Other people call it the Devil's work. Almost everyone has an opinion about it. While some in its employ view their practice as art for art's sake, the demands of clients and a successful bottom line necessitate that advertisers develop their product messages with strategic preciseness.

     Once it has been established that strategic thinking is necessary for effective advertising to occur, the question then becomes, "What constitutes "effective" advertising?". While a multitude of micro-level answers to this question exist, I believe that the best answer lies in a more general, macro-level solution. Effective ads are ultimately deemed such by the consumer, so the path to making advertising work is found by (get ready, I'm about to give away the farm here)...understanding the consumer. This is also the basis of the area of advertising I am most interested in pursuing, Account Planning.

     In too many cases, advertising is created by urban, professional, mostly-Anglo men whose life experiences do not prepare them for an automatic understanding how African-American girls relate to ethnic variations of baby dolls or how mothers use products as tools to cope with working women's guilt. One need not look further than Chevrolet's Nova model to understand the importance of grasping the intracacies of the consumer and his/her culture. These examples may seem extreme, but they do much to illustrate the point that advertising works when those who create it practice their craft according to the old adage, "I am not my target market".

     All hope is not lost. Smart advertisers also know how to ask questions. What will get the attention of my consumer? Is this product of great or little importance to my consumer? What does my consumer believe about by product? In what context should I place my advertisement? The answers to these questions and many more will go far to insure that the advertising we develop will resonate with our customer and in turn, generate results for the client.