Gathering Materials for an Advertising Campaign

The blank screen

You have an advertising assignment of some sort.  If you're sitting with a blank computer screen and struggling about what to do, stop.  There's a better way. 

To start with, forget that daunting assignment for a while.  Instead, gather facts that will interest and inform your audience.  And hey, take it easy.  This gathering process won't stress you at all.  Rather than grappling for the right words, you can turn the radio on, muse about good things, and -- oh, yeah -- collect information. 

Best of all, fact-finding is the right thing to do at this stage.  Ultimately, delivering advantages to the audience will produce more than pulling everything out of your head...or somewhere else.

FYI:  Gathering is seen as a low-level chore, but that's not true.  Getting the nitty-gritty... 

* Makes you knowledgeable, and this is essential to success

* Could give you the right strategy, appeal, idea -- everything

The makings of a wonder worker

You're probably told to generate stunning results on a small budget.  And do it instantly.

It's tempting to quit before you start.  You think, "Nobody else has been able to advertise this product right.  And now they want me to pull off a miracle in two months!"  

On the contrary:  You can put everything on the right course.  You can deliver solid advertising that pulls in more responses, builds the image, and does more over the long term.  But there are few miracles in the process.  You have to mastermind and follow a creative advertising program that changes with necessity.

Where you are gathering from

In the dream world, you have researchers giving you jaw-dropping data about whatever you want.  Needless to say, you can forget that.  In the real world, it's you, a pile of old product literature, some Websites, and a five-day deadline.  But that's fine.  You're a resourceful person, so you'll rapidly uncover useful points that will help you create spellbinding ads.  

Look through past company materials

This is the pile just mentioned, and it's a tiptop source for product specifics.  Cut and paste like crazy.  Place "features" into one group, "specifications" into another, "company background" into yet another, etc.  Put together similar items, and if that group gets large, it will be worth considering.  You'll think of a category name for it.

In short, you tear apart the old, examine it, and reconstruct it the right way.  

Notable:  There are content experts in your organization.  Don't ask them to tell you everything you need, because they are too busy and valuable for that.  Rather, ask them if they have any documentation you can read.  They will say, "Sure!" and pile you up.

History of past campaigns

Your company's previous marketing campaigns will help you a lot.  Dig into the files of every significant marketing effort that took place within the last couple of years.  Also, talk with those who were there.  You can even contact former employees, because everyone remembers how well a campaign performed.  They will be happy to help you, and they can lead you through the minefields.

When you look at an old campaign, you're interested in the main points.  For examples:  Who was getting it?  What was the message?  What was the outcome?  Campaigns rise or fall for profound reasons, not small ones.  

What are you looking for?

You want anything interesting.  This includes stuff that is relevant to the...

> Product's

>> Value

>> Features

>> Benefits

> Market's

>> Needs

>> Characteristics

Keep theorizing as you go

Don't reserve your judgment until the end of the collecting process.  Keep thinking about what ad to create (this is what you're ultimately doing, by the way) as you sift through the piles of everythings.  Modify your assessments as you learn more.

Understanding the un-understandable

Let's say you're reading gobbledygook technical literature, and you have to get features and benefits out of it.  If the text is in English (as opposed to chemical formulas, numeric tables or other confusifiers), there has to be something you can glean.  

* Go word by word if you must.  

* Go into your online dictionary and look up words.

There's always a process, and it's usually logical.  Here are two examples of procedures you can look for:

Something goes into the product.  That something is changed.  And something else comes out.

The service they provide has a beginning, middle, and end to it. 

You won't figure everything out, but you'll advance in the assignment.  Then, when you talk with a content expert, you can say, "I learned the product does ABC.  What I don't get is XYZ.  Could you explain XYZ to me?"  It's likely she'll respond, "That's a good question," or, "We ask that question ourselves."  You arrived!

Also:  When you learn many complex particulars, be happy.  Few others will want to get as far as you.