A Guide in Choosing and Measuring the Effectiveness of Advertising

Advertising and marketing involve s numerous errors, guess works and trials. It takes a bit of experiment to mix and match the media that should be use in carrying a simple advertising campaign. But, before choosing which media to utilize it is important to know that efforts are required in determining their effectiveness.

Luckily, there are various ways in measuring the usefulness of a chosen media before putting it into use. Below is a method in deciding which media to use:

1. Select the type of media to employ:
   
   • Classified Ads
   • Coupon Mailers
   • Direct Mail
   • Internet
   • Magazines
   • Newspapers
   • Outdoor Marketing/Advertising
   • Radio
   • Telemarketing
   • TV
   • Specialty Items
2. Contact the company offering this type of service.
3. Get to know, by talking to an appropriate company or sales representative, which competitors are making use of it and for how long.
4. Gather the competitors’ ads, if obtainable or available, and make a thorough review. Evaluate the contents that are used such as context, offers, toll free numbers, tracking numbers, etc.

Most advertisers are contented after putting the media to use. Most of them do not realize the significance of tracking and knowing the outcome of an advertisement. Those who do not recognize this will end up spending a lot of money to unproductive campaigns. Here are few ways in knowing the results:

• Ask different customers of how and where they know about the advertisement, company, products or services.
• Keep a documentation of advertising or marketing response for analysis and review.
• Make use of 800 phone numbers where consumers can freely call.
• Place a key number or contact information along with the ad.
• Provide demonstration, free trial, samples or special offers.