Advertising communication

THE HISTORY OF ADVERTISING

No one knows exactly when companies started using advertising to stand out
from others. What makes sense and what is known for sure is that the earliest forms of
advertising were verbal. In ancient markets, the way vendors advertised their products
and services was by voice.

The term ‘advertising’ came up in the decade of the 1630s, but advertising is as
old as commerce. The history of advertising tells us that the earliest known forms date
back to the old ages.

The first advertisement in history was a papyrus created in Thebes (Tebas) in

3000 B.C. on behalf of a slave owner who was trying to find one of his slaves. “The man-
slave, Shem, has run out from his good owner, Hapu the Weaver, all the goof citizens of
Thebes are happy to help return him. He is tall, with a reddish face and brown eyes. For
his return to the shop of Hapu the Weaver, where the best cloth is woven for your
desires, a gold coin is offered”. The earliest manifestations that have been identified are
simple images found in ancient Babylonia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome identified as
business, manufacturer, or stores.

This method of communication changed somewhat in the Middle Age (5th-15th

Centuries). Since at that time the first merchants went from town to town selling their
products and, in addition, the population was mostly illiterate, advertising was mainly
done orally. Town criers were in charge of distributing the royal orders and, from 1415,
the commercial offers.

Moreover, marketers came up with original posters and banners to describe

their business and catch people’s attention. In 1439, Gutenberg’s movable type
mechanized printing leading to mass communication. It was then that the serial
distribution of the first advertisements was born and began to multiply to the point that
advertising posters could be seen on the walls of the city.

The next stage in the history of advertising was the Industrial Revolution and the
advent of the printing press in the 17th Century. Along with books, people all over Europe
had the opportunity to read newspapers, magazines, and journals. Merchants and
manufacturers began to mass-produce brochures and trade cards. The world’s first
newspaper was published in Strasbourg in 1605. In 1841, the first advertising agency in
the United States was found by Robert Palmer, the son of a newspaper publisher who
considered himself an advertising agent. In 1842, Palmer bought large amounts of space
in various newspapers at a reduced price and then resold them at higher prices to
advertisers.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, advertising was already present

everywhere, with the first advertising agencies fully responsible for its content. Print
advertising, thus, became a multimillion-dollar business. In the 1920s, commercial radio
stations became the first media for national advertisers, small businesses, and large
companies. The first radio advertising was broadcasted on WEAF in New York on August
28th, 1922. Since direct selling was forbidden, the ad was a 10-minutes broadcast on the
theme of suburban living at the Hawthorne Court Apartments in Jackson Heights,
Queens. The Queens Corporation paid WEAF 50$ to air it.

After World War II, television became the main source for promoting products
and services to the masses. The first commercial in the history of television advertising
was broadcast on July 1st, 1941, and lasted almost 10 seconds. Produced by the Biow
Company, the video promoted to a Bulova watch. The message was “America runs on
Bulova time”.

The Golden Age of advertising was between the 1960s and the 1980s.
Professionals began to think big ideas, rely on psychology and data and, of course,
allocate big budgets. In the 1960s, advertising became a real science with teams of
psychologists, focus groups and researchers. The great legend in advertising is David
Ogilvy, the “Father of Advertising”.

DEFINITION AND POSITIONING IN ADVERTISING

Advertising is the art of convincing consumers. Advertising is the art of

convincing people to spend money they don’t have on something they don’t need.
Advertising can make you buy something you don’t need, but never something you don’t
want. Advertising doesn’t sell but makes you want to buy.

Advertising has multiple definitions:

- To set an idea about a product into someone’s mind through promotion.
- Promotion of your product or brand in order to make consumers acquire based
on different values.
- Advertising is promoting a product, a brand in the aim of increasing sales, attract
interest.
- The act of communication that promotes a product to increase sales.
- It is what makes consumers want things they don’t need by appealing to their
needs and desires.
- A set of techniques that companies use to make people believe that they need
and want something.
- Advertisement is used to convince the public to buy a product and create a need
by selling the idea that it will make your life happier.
- It’s the strategy of creating a need that Will convince the consumer to buy.

When it comes to advertising in the Spanish General Law, we must look for Article
2. “Advertising: any form of communication made by a natural or legal person, public or
private, in the exercise of a commercial, industrial, artisan or professional activity, for
the purpose of directly or indirectly promoting properties, services, or rights…

An advertising message can:

 - Add a brand/product knowledge and value.
- Increase brand awareness and acceptance.
- Provide brand/product news/information.
- Enhance product differentiation.
- Provide brand reminder.
- Reinforce past purchases and brand experiences.
- Create, develop, or change a brand image.
- Create, reinforce, or change attitudes and positioning.
- Persuade people, provide incentives to take action, induce purchase.

Advertising is a complex form of communication about the benefits and values of

goods (products and services) that uses objectives and strategies to impact and
influence consumers thoughts, attitudes, behaviors, feelings, and actions.

Influence consumers attitudes:

- If the attitude is not favorable: slow and subtle change.
- If the attitude is positive: reinforce it.
- If there is no attitude at all: create it.

The decision to buy process goes through the following phases:

- Thought: “I need or want something”.
- How do we choose from the options?
- Decision to buy process: sales/convention funnel: model which describes the
theoretical customer journey from the moment of first contact with your brand
to the ultimate goal of a purchase. This model is important when marketing your
business as it provides a method of understanding and tracking the behavior of
a customer throughout the sales process. First, to impact potential consumers
through communication/advertising to let them know the brand exists. We must
take into consideration that the potential customer has decided they want or
need a product similar to yours. They are likely to start reviews, learning the
features, making comparisons, asking for opinions, and using the internet to
research their options in detail. This phase of the process can be lengthened or
shortened depending on the value of the product. The decision will be made on
the most likely purchases, this could be in the form of a written list, a mental
note, or bookmarked websites. Deciding between the most likely purchases,
taking test-drives, going to a product demonstration, asking the opinion of
people who have already purchased. (Final decision on the brand and product
and whether they can afford it):
• Awareness/Knowledge
• Consideration
• Decision
• Action
• Loyalty
Customer’s decision process:
• Problem awareness/need recognition.
• Information research.
• Evaluation of alternatives.
 • Purchase decision.
• Post-purchase evaluation.
- The decision to buy process is made by the AIDA Model:
• Attention.
• Interest.
• Desire.
• Action.
- How do we choose a product?
• Emotional connection.
• Rational connection.

The key ingredients to make a good advertisement are:

- Creativity: the best and most original.
- Media: delivered through the right source.
Creativity and media planning are the two main axis of the advertising business.

“Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to
read” (Leo Burnett). We must use:
- Simplicity.
- Seduction.
- Appropriate and coherent tone of communication.

There are words or messages that are forgotten with time, but the memory of the
tone endures. Because it is important what is said and how it is said (life itself; it is not
the same to shout to say something than to say it softly). The personality of the brand
has a lot to do with the tone of its communication. There are stories that when they are
told, they reach, either because they use sensitivity, or because they are told through
other media, or because of a mixture of all of them together.

We must choose the proper tone when attempting to influence in others

attitudes and actions you have to choose between different possible communication
tones…

There are many possible styles called “creative paths”:

- Rational:
• Testimonial
• Informative
• Comparative
• Demonstrative
• Slices of life
• Problem/solution
• Origins
• Prescriber
- Emotional:
• Pure emotion
• Violence
 • Sex
• Humor
• Cinema
• Music

EMOTIONAL PUBLICITY

As mentioned before, it is crucial to choose the proper tone to make a good

advertisement, and to get there, there are two ways: emotional and rational.
“Consumers attention is not caught with rational arguments, but by emotions that move
them. The more intense that emotion is, the deepest the neurological connection
achieved in the prospects brain. Therefore, advertising campaigns should reinforce
these neural networks that are finally going to encourage consumers to the impulsive
purchase of specific products” (Ana Alonso, Strategic Planner, JWT).

The most powerful emotions are love and fear. “Powerful emotional currents
exist as a part of the human condition. Big brands find relevant way to exploit and make
the most of the emotional springs that already reside in the deepest of each one of us”.
The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action
while reason leads to conclusions. “Don’t sell a product, sell a quality, an experience or
a convenience that we can all relate to as desirable and invaluable or “priceless””
(MacCann Erickson).

Emotional branding is really important because:

- Consumer-person: consumers buy>people live.
- Product-experience: products fulfill needs>experiences fulfill wishes.
- Quality-preference: quality exists>preference is created.
- Identity-personality: to be recognizable>to have charisma.
- Function-feeling: function=shallow qualities>feelings=are part of the consumer.
- Communication-dialogue: communicate=to say what I offer>dialogue=to share.
- Service-relationship: service is sold>relationships generate fidelity and loyalty.

Emotional advertising:
- It aspires to connect brands/products with consumers.
- It focuses on the desire to transcend the mere material satisfaction.
- Brands try to access the aspirational urges that underline human drives
(customer insights).
- It focuses on the long-term relationships with consumers, and it favors intimacy
and connectivity.
- The advertising message engages with consumers through intimate connections
that activate a positive attitude towards the brand.

The consumer will forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made
them feel… but be careful, advertising shouldn’t attempt to make consumers fall in love
with ads, but with the product showcased in them.
 The way to become a lovemark is:
- From rational decision that makes consumers choose a brand to an irrational and
passionate decision that makes consumers love a brand and become loyal to it.
- Benefits: lovemarks conquer your heart as well as your mind.
- The concept of lovemarks was created by Kevin Roberts:
• Gain trust and respect from the consumers.
• Establish an emotional connection and long-lasting relationship between
brand/consumer.
• What drives human beings is emotion, not reason.
- The recipe to be a lovemark is:
• To put yourself in the customer’s shoes (insight).
• Do things with emotion.
• Use mystery, sensuality, without forgetting sound and movement. Take
advantage of the five senses.

Love and respect make up a lovemark, the perfect theory of Kevin Roberts,
consultant in creativity and emotional advertising. It is the difference between a
relationship and a transaction. The consumer has a life he wants to make better; he
wants to laugh. Humor gives us life, although psychologists say the best way to activate
the memory is emotion.

The world is overloaded with messages and information. Nothing catches our
attention, that’s why we must think about things that excite us, that surprise us; and the
way to achieve that is emotion. CocaCola is the perfect icon of emotional advertising.

INSIGHT

A customer insight is a deep reflection that reveals what people expect and want.
What is really relevant to them. It is the ability to put ourselves in their shoes. A deep
truth about the customer based in their behavior, beliefs, needs or desires that are
relevant to enable the identification with our target market. Deep observation about
the customers behavior that provide a sort of revelation or truth about them that might
inspire a creative strategy.

At the heart of an effective creative philosophy is the belief that nothing is so

powerful as an insight. What compulsions drive a person; what instincts dominate their
action. If you know these things about someone, you can touch them at the core of their
being.

To know about our consumer in a deep way favors the empathy of the audience
with an advertising campaign, activates the identification and knowledge of the target
audience. In this way, the advertising actions communicate, inspire, and become
unforgettable.

An insight is a relevant emotional truth the target audience recognizes,

generating familiarity and a positive perception of the advertising storytelling. It makes
consumers connect with the brand, because the insight stimulates them, makes them
feel well, they feel understood, and it even reinforces their self-esteem. Insights become
relevant pieces of information on consumers that allow a certain brand to matter to
them.

Insights have to be lasting in time. Otherwise, if in every communication action,

the brand would be announcing a new insight, we would confuse people. They also have
to be adaptable to the communication action to be carried out and the media to be
used. Insights are finally translated into creative executions adapted to the differ
supports or media used in campaign.

BRIEFING

An advertising brief is a written document that contains the necessary and basic
information for the creation and execution of the advertising campaign. It provides the
fundamental guidelines for the advertising agency to develop the creative strategy and
the media strategy.

A brief should include:

- Description of the current situation and brand’s background:
• Company trademark
• Position in marketplace
• Size and market assets
• Description of the product or service, including benefits or attributes
• Distribution channels
• SWOT Report…
- Marketplace competition
- Antecedents in advertising (current and previous campaigns)

The advertising goals within the marketing plan are clear and measurable objectives:
- Launch of a new product/modified product.
- Recall/reinforce a product/keep the level of notoriety of the trademark/product.
- Change or improvement of the positioning/awareness or image of the
brand/product.
- Increase sales/market share.
- Increase the profitability or the use of the product.
- Increase of the value of shares.
- …

Fitting the general marketing strategy and coherent with our positioning define
clearly what we want to communicate:
- Copy strategy (axis of communication). Establish our promise.
- Arguments to back up our promise (reason why): support or warrant for our key
benefit.

Define clearly to whom we want to communicate and address our messages:

 - Know our Target Market very well: real current customers and prospects define
it in the most accurate way possible, through demographic data, style of life,
product usage, attitudes, etc… (socioeconomic, demographic, and psychological
variables).
- Customer insights.

A brief should include practical and binding aspects:

- Conditions in the execution, budget.
- Schedule, timetable for actions and deadlines of presentations and launching of
the campaign.
- Legal and corporate considerations…

The brief is the most important bit of information used by a client to an agency. A
good brief provides better results, saves money, and allows fair and agreed fees.

The advertising campaign steps are:

- The advertiser must ask why, what, to whom.
- Client brief
- The agency must ask how, when, where.

AXIS OF COMMUNICATION

The axis of communication is the chosen differentiation, the differential

advantage of the product to be communicated in the Advertising Action. Other
terms used are sales argument, competitive advantage, or consumer benefit. It
allows the advertiser to answer why consumers should choose their products
instead of those of the competition. The axis should consider these possible angles:
- Does no other brand in the industry have it?
- Another brand has the same advantage but has not communicated it before.
- No other brand has communicated the advantage this way.

CREATIVE STRATEGY

The creative strategy provides continuity to the brand’s advertising and must consist
in:
- Convincing (target market)
- That buying (the product)
- They will obtain (promise-key benefit)
- Due to (reason why)

In the creative strategy, it must be said that “me (advertiser) assure you (target
market) that if you buy this (product) with this special feature (advantage/key benefit)
you will obtain something (promise) due to this objective argument (reason why)”.
 The promise is what the brand says it offers consumers (advantages or benefits)
related to the use of the product.

The key benefit is the main characteristic that makes the product do what it does
and makes the brand competitive. The most convincing, credible, distinctive, and
significant advantage that the product reports.

The reason(s) why are arguments that provide credibility to the promise. It is not
the reason why consumers should buy the product, but the reason that explains why
the key benefit is going to produce the expected effect. It is the set of supported
arguments that back up the promise made to the consumer.

CREATIVE AGENCY

An advertising agency is a specialized organization that helps clients promote their

products and services by creating and executing effective advertising campaigns. The
structure of the creative agency is the following:
- Account Management: this department is responsible for maintaining
relationships with clients, managing projects, and overseeing the agency’s
operations. Account managers serve as the main point of contact between the
agency and the client, ensuring that projects are completed on time and within
budget.
- Research and strategy: this department is responsible for conducting market
research, analyzing consumer behavior, and developing strategies for advertising
campaigns. This department provides valuable insights and data to guide the
creative and media planning teams in their work.
- Creative: this department is responsible for developing the concepts, ideas, and
designs for advertising campaigns. This department includes copywriters, art
directors, and graphic designers, who work together to create visually
compelling and persuasive advertising materials.
- Production: this department is responsible for producing and executing
advertising campaigns, including shooting TV commercials, producing printed
material, and designing digital ads. This department includes producers,
directors, and other technical professionals who bring the creative ideas to life.
- Digital/Social: the digital marketing department is responsible for developing
and executing online advertising campaigns, including social media advertising,
search engine marketing, and mobile advertising. This department includes
specialists in digital strategy, web design, and online analytics.
- Media planning and buying: this department is responsible for identifying the
most effective media channels for advertising campaigns and negotiating media
rates with publishers and broadcasters. The media planning and buying team
works closely with the creative team to ensure that advertising messages are
delivered to the target audience in the most efficient and effective way possible.
 The role of the advertising agency in the development of an advertising campaign
consists of answering the how through the creative strategy, and the when and the
where through the media strategy. After going through the client’s brief:
- Account department: client’s relation and organization. Account team:
• Director and executives
- Strategy department: insights and sometimes axis of communication.
- Creative department: how. Creative team:
• Copywriter
• Art director
- Media department: when and where. Media team:
• Media planner
• Media strategy

STRATEGIC PLANNER

The strategic planner, also known as “the insight miner”, introduces and reads
consumer insights, the perspective an attitude of consumers in advertising process,
strategy and creative development. It explores data and research to find entries and
keys to boost the strategic planning.

The planner is the voice of the consumer within the agency, understanding their
needs, social values and meanings. To do this, they don’t only analyze the brand, the
product and the market, but also, from an anthropological approach, studies the target
audience of the communication in depth. Baskin and Pickton define the planner as an
insight miner and define their main function as the search for insights.

Looks for these “truths”, that should be:

- Real, intimate, familiar
- Universal
- Useful
- Authentic
- Strategical
- Long-lasting
They show how similar we all are when it comes to what makes us feel confused or
excited, suffer, laugh, feel sympathy, love, disagree, misunderstand things…

CREATIVE STRATEGY

Consumer insights, deep observations of our consumer behavior that offer some
kind of revelation/truth about them that can inspire our advertising proposal… those
are the keys that activate the creative process.

Data is not enough. In the client’s brief, the advertiser describes the target, but in
the advertising agency the account planner searches for the right insight. If you think
you know people, if you think you know your customers, if you think your opinion,
intuition or gut feeling can be the foundation of a good story, you are wrong. The basis
to get to know the customers is market research that will help us identify insights and
raise communicative solutions.

When the differential advantage (axis of communication) is identified, insights go

into action. One of the most efficient resources when it comes to the conceptualization
of the axis of communication and the definition of the advertising concept. The agency
devises the creative concept that will communicate the axis of communication while
connecting with the audience in a meaningful way, leading to the intended reaction
from an attitudinal point of view.

The creative strategy is the solution proposed within the advertising agency by the
strategic and creative team. It is their duty.

The role of the strategic and creative team in the agency goes through the following
process:
- Rhetoric codification of the communication axis and advertising concept.
- Elaboration of the actual messages (execution of the persuasive ideas) according
to the goals and positioning the client wants to achieve.
- Translation of the communication content into messages by combining image
and copy.

The creative department in the advertising agency is the responsible of making the
decisions concerning the content of the advertising messages. They have to jump from
the strategy statement (axis of communication) to an original idea that conveys the
strategy in an interesting, memorable and relevant way.

Creativity without strategy is called art, creativity with strategy is called advertising.
Creativity is what agencies and advertisers look for. It is the key to the advertising
business because, through creativity, the brand stands out from other brands.
Advertising creativity is conditioned by timing, budget, the client’s guidelines, the
chosen media and the efficiency of the results.

The steps of the creative process are:

- Creative brief: the starting point.
- Creative thinking: strategic planner and creative team strategy. Something
original, different, and better, must be done and made the new role model of
doing things. To get it, the following questions must be answered:
• What is the problem?
• What are the causes of the problem?
• What are the possible solutions?
• Which is the best solution?
There are several techniques to get there such as min mapping or six thinking
hats. But the most famous and the most used in advertising is brainstorming.
Brainstorming is a collaborative and dynamic process that triggers and reveals
new ideas, where a group of people try to find a solution to a particular problem
 by accumulating spontaneous ideas from its members. The rules to
brainstorming are:
• Set a clear goal.
• Diverse group.
• Encourage free-flowing ideas.
• Build on each other’s ideas.
• Evaluate and refine ideas.
- Creative concept: coming up with the Big Idea. The creative concept is the central
idea that communicates the differential advantage and key message of an
advertising campaign to the target audience in an engaging and memorable way.
It’s the foundation of any successful advertising and is the result of collaboration
between the creative and strategic teams. Inspiration for our advertising
proposal might come from the market, the brand. The product and from the
consumers. The creative concept must be coherent with the brand and must be
useful for the brand and the campaign’s goals. A creative concept is a unique and
original approach to communicating a product or service’s benefits and features.
It’s the essence of the advertising message and is what sets the campaign apart
from its competitors. A great creative concept is one that resonates with the
target audience, captures their attention, and motivates them to take action. The
creative concept is developed based on the insights and understanding of the
target audience’s needs, wants, and behaviors. It’s the result of the collaboration
between the creative team, including copywriters, art directors, and designers,
and the strategic team, including planners and account managers. Once the
creative concept is developed, it’s executed across various channels. The
creative concept is the driving force behind the entire advertising campaign and
is critical to the success of the campaign.
- Creative solution: the creative concept and actual message expressed visually
(image) and verbally (copy).

THE 21ST CENTURY CONSUMER

The First Media Revolution consisted of type letters and printing press. The Second
Media Revolution was the electronic media. The Third Media Revolution, the current
one, is all about web media.

To find something comparable to the Third Media Revolution, or Web revolution,

you have to go back 500 years, to the printing press and, therefore, the birth of mass
media. Technology is shifting the power away from editors, publishers… Now it is the
people who are taking control. Internet is not only a communication media, but also a
return and distribution channel, and a space for interaction. “We are not in the era of
changes; we are in a change of era”.

Today, Internet penetration has reached unprecedented levels, with over 4.9 billion
people, or 63% of the global population, using the Internet regularly. This has opened
up a world of opportunities for businesses, advertisers, and marketers, who can now
reach audiences on a global scale and target them with more precision than ever before.
This includes social networks, and new worlds and technologies such as the Metaverse.

METAVERSE

The Metaverse is a virtual world that is created by the convergence of multiple

virtual and augmented reality technologies. The metaverse is a shared space that users
can access through virtual reality headsets or other devices, and it offers a wide range
of possibilities for social interaction, gaming, and commerce.

In advertising, the Metaverse offers a new frontier for immersive advertising

experiences that can create deeper engagement with consumers. For example, brands
can create virtual showrooms or events within the Metaverse where users can interact
with their products or services in a realistic and engaging way.

The first ad in the Metaverse was carried out by First Choice and Leo Burnett. They
conducted a spot that seeks to communicate a credit card among young people with an
advert shot in the Metaverse. The creativity stands out from the usual serialized tone
associated with financial products. Featuring Mario and Pattie, two TV stars and
Metaverrrrrrrr protagonists, the spot parodies the idea that this is the first advert to be
shot in the Metaverse. The two characters are constantly interrupted by First Choice’s
marketing team, who make demands on the brand’s debut in the virtual environment:
from eye color to dances to more corporate references. From then on, many brands
have also created advertising campaigns in the Metaverse, such as Gucci, Nike, Wendy’s,
Coca Cola, Samsung, Carrefour…

The pros of advertising in the Metaverse are:

- Potential for brands to establish a meaningful presence and engage with
consumers in a unique and innovative way.
- Allows the brands to tap into a growing community of users who are already
immersed in virtual worlds and looking for new experiences.
- Brands can create their own virtual spaces within the Metaverse, such as
branded stores, showrooms, or even virtual events. These spaces can be
customized to reflect the brand’s personality and values and provide consumers
with a unique and memorable experience.

The cons of advertising in the Metaverse are:

- Metaverse is still in its early stages and there are challenges that brands will need
to navigate (issues around privacy and data security).
- Not everybody has access to the technology, so it is not possible to ensure the
virtual experiences.
- It is not for all kind of brands. Brands have to ensure they have something
relevant to do it with quality.

Another technological tool with which brands can create advertising campaigns is
Artificial Intelligence (AI). Brands such as Levi’s, have done so.
 The advantages of advertising with AI are:
- One of the most exciting developments in AI for advertising is machine learning,
which allows algorithms to learn from data and improve their performance over
time. This has led to the rise of programmatic advertising, where machines can
analyze user data in real-time and deliver personalized ads to individual users.
- The capability of image and video recognition. AI can analyze images and videos
to identify objects, people, and scenes, allowing advertisers to create more
targeted and relevant advertising content and save time in the creative process.

The cons of advertising with AI are related to ethical issues such as:
- Is there a way to differentiate between what has been originally created by a
human mind and what has been artificially created?
- Which is more valuable, an ad created by a human being, or one created by AI?
- Is it going to replace employees?

SWOT ANALYSIS

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to identify and analyze the
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of a business or organization. It
helps businesses to identify their internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external
opportunities and threats, which can be used to inform decision-making and develop
strategies for success.

In the Strengths section, the business must ask itself:

- In what areas do I naturally stand out?
- What skills have I worked to develop?
- What are my natural-born gifts?

In the Weaknesses section, the business must ask itself:

- What are my negative work habits and traits?
- Does any part of my education or training need improvement?
- What would other people view as my weaknesses?

In the Opportunities section, the business must ask itself:

- What is the current state of the economy?
- Is my industry growing?
- Is there new technology in my industry to learn?

In the Threats section, the business must ask itself:

- Is my industry contracting or changing direction?
- Is there strong competition for these types of jobs for which I am best suited?
- What is the biggest external danger to my goal?

CDC
 CdC is an event full of activities focused on brands and creativity, culminating in the
presentation of the National Spanish Creativity Awards. CdC is the annual event of the
Club de Creativos, a meeting point for communication and creativity professionals.

The CdC Awards recognize outstanding work in advertising, graphic design, and
visual communication across a wide range of categories. The awards are judged by a
panel of industry experts, including creative directors, art directors, designers, and other
advertising professionals.

Winning a CdC Award is a great honor and can be a significant boost to an advertising
agency’s reputation. It is also a valuable recognition for individual creatives, as winning
a CdC Award can help to further their careers and increase their visibility in the industry.

ROLE OF THE MEDIA AGENCY

The media agency is the responsible of making decisions concerning the

dissemination of the advertising messages:
- Definition of the strategy what they are going to use in order to approach and
reach the target group effectively in a cost-effective manner.
- Analysis, selection, negotiation and booking of the media that will be used to
deliver the ad message.

The planning department is in charge of investigation and planification whilst the

purchase department is in charge of negotiation.

The media plan is a written document that summarizes the objectives and strategies
pertinent to the placement and spread of a company’s advertising messages. It is based
on the decisions made regarding the selection and combination of the best possible
supports to reach the intended number of exposures from our target market within the
limits of the media budget. The media plan is made up by:
- Media type: TV, for instance
- Support: for example, Telecinco, Antena3…
- Format: it can be a spot (30, 20”), tele promotion…
- Reach: number of people exposed to a particular advertising media, or a media
schedule during a specified period of time.
- Frequency: the average number of times a unique user saw your advert a given
time period.
- Rating (GRP): the percentage of universe who saw or heard a program at a given
time.

TYPES OF MEDIA

There are different types of media depending on various characteristics.

 Media can be:
- Conventional: which itself is divided into:
• Broadcast: TV, radio, music, or movies.
• Print: newspapers, magazines, books, signs, or billboards.
- Non-Conventional: websites, apps, email, vlog, podcasts, smartphones,
streaming videos, blogs, wikis, E-books, social media feeds, social networks,
streaming music.

Media can be:

- Above the Line Advertising: TV, radio, Internet. The characteristics of these are:
• Media: massive
• Cost: high
• Target audience: massive
• Feedback: non-immediate
- Below the Line Advertising: sales promotions, discount coupons… The
characteristics of these are:
• Media: direct
• Cost: quantifiable prospects
• Target audience: segmented
• Feedback: immediate

Media can be:

- Paid media: this refers to any form of media that requires payment to be
featured. Examples include paid social media ads, display ads, sponsored
content, ad paid search, TV, radio, press…
- Earned media: this type of media is created by third parties and is not directly
paid for by the organization. It includes media coverage, reviews, word-of-mouth
referrals, and social media shares.
- Shared media: this content that is created by the organization but is intended to
be shared by others. It includes social media posts, videos, and other types of
shareable content.
- Owned media: any media that is owned and controlled by the organization. It
includes the organization’s website, blog, and social media pages.

INFLUENCER MARKETING

Influencer marketing is a type of marketing that involves partnering with individuals

who have a large number of followers on social media or other online platforms.

The benefits of using influencers are:

- Increased reach: influencers have large and engaging followings, which can help
brands reach new audiences and increase their reach.
- Credibility: influencers are seen as experts in their niche or industry, which can
help brands build credibility and trust with their audience.
 - Authenticity: influencers have a personal relationship with their followers, which
man make their endorsement of a product or service feel more authentic than
traditional advertising.
- Cost-effective: influencer marketing can be a cost-effective way to reach a large
and engaged audience.

The key steps in an influencer marketing strategy are:

- Define your goals: what do you want to achieve with your influencer marketing
campaign? Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or build
brand loyalty? Defining your goals will help you choose the right influencers and
create a strategy that aligns with your overall marketing objectives.
- Identify your target audience: who are you trying to reach with your influencer
marketing campaign? Understanding your target audience will help you choose
the right influencer and create content that resonates with that audience.
- Find the right influencers: there are several ways to find influencers, including
using influencer marketing platforms, searching social media, and working with
influencer marketing agencies. When choosing influencers, it’s important to
consider factors such as their niche, audience demographics, engagement rate,
and authenticity.
- Create a content strategy: once you’ve chosen your influencers, it’s important to
create a content strategy that aligns with your overall marketing objectives. This
might involve creating sponsored posts, product reviews, or social media
takeovers.
- Measure and optimize: it’s important to track the success of your influencer
marketing campaign and optimize your strategy as needed.

The concept of “grandfluencers” comes from the combination of “grand”, the prefix
used to generate the word grandparent, and “influencer”, i.e., people with a certain
popularity on social networks. Without an exact definition, the neologism refers to older
people -aged 60 or over, or old enough to be grandparents- with a large following on
platforms that are especially young people, such as Tik Tok or Instagram. They are one
of the many recent phenomena that are redefining the limits of what an influencer is
supposed to be -traditionally linked to a profile of a young woman linked to fashion or
beauty issues. There is a context of cultural change with a predisposition towards
diversity and inclusion.

BRAND PLACEMENT

Brand placement, also known as a product placement, is a type of advertising where

a brand’s product or service is featured within a TV show, movie, video game, or other
media format. The idea behind brand placement is to integrate a brand’s products or
services into the storyline or setting of the media content, so that it feels like a natural
part of the story.
 This type of advertising is effective because it can create a positive association
between the brand and the characters or storyline of the media content, as well as
providing exposure to a large and diverse audience.

Now, brand placement is also featured in lyrics. Brand placement in songs is a

practice consisting, like product placement, of introducing the name of the brand or
product into the discourse of a musical track in the most organic way possible. The lyrics
of the songs themselves also represent a channel to be taken into account when
associating brands with singers or groups.