When advertising, know thy audience

By Thomas Becher, APR

Good advertising is all about great strategy.

Anyone can create a pretty ad or write a clever headline. But it’s understanding a the audience and what makes them tick that’s crucial to a successful advertising.

After all, why invest in advertising – and it is an investment -- if you don’t know your audience, their demographics, their habits, and where they’re getting their information?

With today’s changing media landscape (and more diverse choices than ever before to advertise), it’s important to ask a number of questions to best match your target with the right medium for maximum results. For instance:

• How old are your target customers?


• How many of them are there?


• Where do they live?


• How much income do they have?


• What do they spend on your type product or service?


• Are the decision makers male or female?


• What are they reading, watching or listening to?

Spend some time getting to know your audience. It’ll make it easier and less costly to reach them through advertising.


Click here to see the best newspaper ad of 2008, as determined by the Virginia Press Association.