Marketo-DG2DA

PART II: DIGITAL AD STRATEGY
DEVELOPING YOUR
ADVERTISING FOUNDATION
Whether you’re working in a B2B or B2C company, before you move forward with developing and
placing digital ads, you must first come up with a viable ad strategy.
According to Demand Media, an ad
strategy is the blueprint of how you
sell your product or service to
consumers. But, since your
company likely has multiple
products and audiences, you might
have multiple ad strategies.
But don’t fret if that sounds like a lot
of work! Most ad strategies follow a
handful of common guidelines that
we’ll cover in the following sections.
Determine the State of
the Market
Before you set out on your
advertising journey, take a close
look at your current market.
Ask yourself:
• Who is most likely to purchase
your product?
• How much of that market is
interested in your product?
• Are there other companies
selling similar products?
• What do your competitors’
advertising strategies look like?
In this step it’s also important to
consider the current economic
climate and understand its impact
on your business—not all
businesses or products are
recession-proof. Make sure to
investigate the history and the
major trends in the market that
surround your product or service,
as well as the correlating risks
and opportunities.
Finally, do a full review of what the
future predictions are for your
product or service in the
marketplace. Depending on the
state of the market, you could
choose to go in a completely
different direction with your ad
strategy—or even nix advertising of
the product or service altogether
until conditions improve.
By having an overview of your
marketing state—buyer profiles,
economic climate, trends, and
risks, you are in a much better
place to create an ad strategy that
reflects these elements and is
positioned to succeed.
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