The Power of Advertising
Raphael Avraham Sternberg is a businessman who has seen the advertising power from both sides. Raphael Avraham Sternberg knows firsthand how important marketing can be for building and maintaining a successful business, but he also understands that too much advertising can be detrimental to an organization. In an article dedicated to why it’s so important to know the difference between good and bad marketing, he shares four warning signs that could signal you need an intervention for your advertising campaigns.
The first signs are:
1. Your advertising campaigns have become the focus of your organization. You might have heard the saying that the sun rises and sets with a particular employee or manager. This phrase is especially true for the person in charge of advertising at your organization, who might start to make decisions based on how they think their marketing strategies will be perceived by others rather than on what will work best for your organization overall. Ensure your advertising campaigns focus on promoting your company and your products rather than just ensuring the creative team behind each campaign is delighted.
2. You’re using many tactics that could be considered deceptive. It’s okay for a little white lie to work its way into an ad campaign every once in a while, but you shouldn’t be trying to manipulate people with false claims or sneaky techniques. You could be violating laws or ethical guidelines or making your customers or employees uncomfortable because of what you’re saying or how you’re saying it. For example, an advertisement for a product that claims to help people lose weight faster than they would by exercising would lead to complaints not only from potential customers who wouldn’t buy the product but also from the people who were responsible for creating it, as well as those who had been encouraged to believe the claim.
3. You don’t have enough information. Suppose you’re not using various methods to acquire the information you need to create effective ads, marketing campaigns, and other ways to communicate with your customers, employees, and fans. Then you might miss out on opportunities to find out how customers react to different messages or what strategies work best for different audiences.
4. You’re using too much information. People are brilliant. They’ll be able to tell whether you’re lying even if you try to put your best face forward. So ensure you select the information to help you get what you want without offending people.
While it might feel frustrating to be faced with these warning signs, remember that if your advertising is working, it doesn’t mean every message element has been successful. Instead, Raphael Avraham Sternberg believes that it’s the overall impression you leave on your audience that counts. You’re certainly free to vary your messages and choose different marketing approaches to find the ones that work best, but there are steps that you can take in addition to those you’re already taking.
For example, suppose you want your campaign for an upcoming event or product launch to be slick, professional, and well-produced without making your audience feel like they’re being sold something. In that case, it might be necessary to release an ad with brief but exceptionally animated footage of people using the new product. While the footage might look great and be fun to watch, it might also have the opposite effect on your audience, making them feel like you’re trying to shove a piece of software down their throats. In this situation, you could try adding a sentence with a short explanation of the product before the video. In addition, you could add a natural caption at the top of the ad that provides some background information about your event or product launch.