Advertising must boost sales

By Antony Motha

The objective of marketing communication (or advertising) is to make consumers walk into your store and experience your product or service. When several alternative products or services are competing for their share of the customer’s wallet, this is a challenge of fairly daunting proportions. It takes every resource in the marketing manager’s armoury to ensure that advertising works – creativity is certainly one of them.

In typical commercial organisations, the prime criterion for evaluating efficacy of marketing communication is advertising’s ability to drive incremental sales. The secondary motive is to build the brand image of the organization.

In order to entice a consumer to try your product or service offering, creativity in advertising is desirable. Ceteris paribus, a creative and aesthetic advertisement would be more impactful than a staid one. There is much to be said in favour of creativity: Creative advertising would break through the clutter and ensure greater visibility – and can consequently achieve more bang for your media buck. Creativity is the input or the treatment, while effectiveness is the output or the result.

In the business of cinema, a broad categorization exists… ‘Commercial movies’ draw in the masses while ‘Art movies’ attract a more discerning audience. A similar trend has been observed in marketing communication.

As Finance Head of a US$ 170 million retailing enterprise, I allocate my advertising money based on expected results. An advertisement that merely elicits gasps of admiration - or even wins awards without significantly enhancing current or future sales - represents wasted money. If I was compelled to choose, I would want advertising that effectively boosts my sales while simultaneously enhancing my brand’s image.

Advertising agencies have been known to give vent to their creative urges, while the onus is on the client to ensure brand salience and appeal. To ensure alignment of purpose, progressive clients have introduced performance based bonus (linked to sales) or their creative agencies.