Brand Advertising vs Promotional Marketing - How Designs Affect The Way Ads Are Targeted

For the audience, a good design represents the creativity and hard work that a designer puts into creating the art. But for graphic design companies, design is not merely the act of making attractive visuals to look at. Every design project has its own set of goals on how it should be portrayed so that it can convey the intended message to the audience in the best possible way.

This article provides information on the types of advertising that are followed by most graphic design companies:

Brand Advertising

The key to brand advertising is to make people understand exactly what makes up a brand. A brand is not limited to what most people think- catchy fonts, colorful graphics and pictures. The main goal of such ads is to create ‘brand awareness’.

The primary idea of brand awareness is to expand the brand identity and how it can make a difference in peoples’ lives. Graphics designed for brand advertising don’t necessarily try to get people to buy their products. They focus on connecting with viewers on a personal level.

One company that focuses mostly on ‘brand advertising’ graphics and ads is Coca Cola. A quick trip to YouTube will tell you how Coca Cola cleverly targets customers on an emotional level, aiming to increase its brand awareness instead of trying to sell more products. No wonder Coca Cola is the 4^th most recognizable brand in the world according to Forbes.

This clever marketing technique works wonders when executed correctly, as evident from several big companies whose success has been built around these type of ads as better brand awareness can result directly in more sales.

Promotional Marketing

Promotional marketing is starkly different from brand advertising as it is aimed at convincing consumers to buy a specific product. A classic promotional marketing poster/TV ad will directly state what advantages the product has, how much it costs and is entirely product-focused. Sometimes, promotional offers such as discounts or freebies are thrown in the mix to draw in maximum consumers.

These ads have one aim: Convince the consumer to buy the product, regardless of brand value. The success of the ad ultimately depends on how attractive the ad looks, and how it is promoted.

Effect on Graphic Design

The information stated above might sound like a lesson in marketing, but is directly related to graphic designers. The two different marketing strategies involve different approaches while creating a poster or an ad for companies. The designs should be based entirely on the kind of ad the client needs and how you can add your creativity and skills to create a finished product that conveys the right message to consumers.