What is the purpose of advertising? As a marketer, you must ask yourself that question and understand what the answer is. There are many different interpretations of this question and strong arguments can be made every which way a person may look at it.
But, the question remains, what really is the purpose?
Shots In the Dark
Is it to boost sales? Is it to expand brand awareness? Is it to stay competitive in the marketplace? The answer to all of those is technically “yes,” but philosophically many miss the mark. Some think that selling their products or services is the number one goal for their advertising. Others think that just getting their name out there is the priority. And some think that they have to knock down the competition and prove that they are superior.
But, those lines of thinking are like going the wrong way down a one-way street. It’s narrow-minded and has blinders on the side of its eyes.
The Real Purpose of Advertising
The real purpose of advertising is to tell a story. Every product, every service, every brand has something unique about it. Every advertisement should be set up as a fantastical world where a viewer can get lost in and use their imagination.
The mind and imagination are powerful tools for you. By allowing viewers to think and create their own interpretation of the ad, it creates more engagement. Engagement that you can use to your advantage to then achieve what you may have originally thought advertising’s purpose was.
Tell Me a Story
With a story, you can expand sales because when viewers are engaged with a brand, they’ll buy your product or services. A story can expand brand awareness because truly amazing things go viral in this day and age. You can reach more people in more places by having a story to tell rather than just something to show. Lastly, a story can certainly keep your company competitive in the market place because you’ll engage more consumers and interact with them more than the guy next door, which will in turn increase your market share.
It certainly isn’t easy to tell stories with every advertisement and it takes true creativity to think in that manner. So, if you ever need some help with your next “best-seller,” give us a call. We’d be happy to help you craft your next campaign or advertising work into something beautiful and memorable.