Planning an advertising campaign - why prepare your marketing efforts?

An advertising campaign plan is like a recipe in an orderly way, indicating which steps, tools and resources are necessary to create an appetising baked good that will delight the taste buds of consumers. This analogy perfectly captures the essence of promotional campaign design and proves that it is not worth acting instinctively, and that time spent developing a strategy pays off with delicious results.

Why is planning an advertising campaign so important?

In the simplest terms, any marketing campaign is a series of coordinated activities leading to the achievement of a business objective, such as building brand awareness or promoting a new product. These activities may focus on different channels, but currently the most popular are online advertising campaigns. It is worth approaching them holistically and setting both short- and long-term goals. Planning not only allows you to better manage your budget and resources, but also to prioritise and spot potential challenges. It allows you to eliminate some of the problems at an early stage and to avoid so-called budget over-budgeting and to verify the initial assumptions of the advertising campaign.

Where do you start in planning an advertising campaign?

Ordinary advertisement is not enough if it is not properly planned. A comprehensive advertising campaign should be based on analyses and predictions and correspond to reality. This may sound trivial, but it often happens that visionary ideas clash with harsh reality. Before planning your activities, it is worth researching your market and knowing exactly who your message audience is. Depending on who you are targeting, you will need to select an appropriate channel. Different groups of people are active on social media, others are active on forums and still others use traditional media. The strategy may use Google Ads, Facebook or Instagram campaigns or outdoor promotion - it is the identification of the characteristics of the target persona that will determine this. Remember that the target audience of an advertising campaign does not have to coincide with your brand's audience.

In addition to carrying out an analysis and defining your target group, you also need to define your objectives before methodical planning. These may be sales, building recognition or promoting a new product. However, these are all generalities. It will not be possible to act effectively if the objective is unrealistic and unmeasurable. Therefore, think about the specifics and consider how the effectiveness of an advertising campaign on the internet or other media or outdoor will be evaluated.

Step-by-step planning of an advertising campaign

After the initial analyses and definition of the target group, it is time to plan the advertising campaign. A sample breakdown of the individual stages is as follows:

• Set specific objectives and duration for the campaign

At this point, you need to think about what purpose all the activities will serve and what indicators will allow you to assess their effectiveness. The more conscientiously you approach this step, the better. Precise objectives allow you to collect more accurate data and achieve better results. A specific target also means there is less risk of unnecessary budget wastage and is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. This last aspect is also influenced by duration. By estimating it at the outset, communication can be better developed at subsequent stages and the level of achievement of objectives can be determined.

• Select communication channels

There is a lot of choice in this area these days. You can choose to promote yourself through SEO, use Google Ads, invest in outdoor advertising, develop a social media strategy or prepare a mailing or focus on content marketing. Of course, one channel does not exclude another, but it is worth approaching the choice carefully and suggesting above all where the current and active members of the target group are. It is also undoubtedly not worth pulling several strings at the expense of quality.

• Plan your budget and allocate resources

You can have big plans, but if your staff and financial resources don't match them, you won't get anywhere. Be honest about your budget and capacity before you take action. A sample cost estimate for an advertising campaign found on the Internet is of little use here. Company profiles, objectives and capacities vary, so analyse the individual situation of your company and take costs into account first and foremost:

1. placement of advertisements/media,
2. graphic and audiovisual material,
3. contentu,
4. technical tools, e.g. a landing page,
5. the work of specialists, e.g. for campaign handling, graphic designers, programmers, etc,
6. advertising systems - if you opt for paid campaigns such as Google Ads,
7. cooperation with partners - if you want to use influencer marketing, for example.

Of course, this list is just a starting point. There may be more items in the cost estimate - depending on the scope of the campaign and how big your budget is.

• Prepare transfers

You already know who will receive your messages, so it is time to consider what language, what aesthetics and what form will appeal to the addressees. All of these elements should be consistent and tailored not only to your target audience, but also to your chosen channel. If you are addressing young people, you can use more casual language, simple slogans, bright graphics and a modern form. On the other hand, when communicating with mature people, focus more on specific messages, timeless values and popular associations.

• Analyse and draw conclusions

Completing a campaign does not mean you can forget about it - your work should continue. Verify that the objectives were achieved, analyse the challenges and identify the weaknesses. Use the tools at your disposal to extract statistical data and learn lessons for the future. Each subsequent campaign will thus be better and fewer things will be able to surprise you.

Planning an advertising campaign - useful tips

Unfortunately, there is no magic advice to machine-generate advertising campaign designs. Examples found on the internet can provide inspiration and support, but not all advice can be adapted to every plan. Above all, approach the process diligently and conscientiously and take a broad perspective, Not always results will be visible immediately and not all actions will have the desired effect. However, if you analyse your steps, learn lessons and implement optimisations, strategy planning will become easier and easier over time. If you feel that the process is overwhelming you, get support from professionals. It's not worth wasting resources and budget if you don't feel up to implementing a campaign on your own.

Plan your advertising campaign with InPost - what solutions do we offer?

One of your partners in the advertising campaign can be InPost, which will help you reach a wide audience, carry out unique sampling campaigns and increase your brand recognition. Advertising can be placed, for example, on Paczkomat vending machines, which we now encounter almost everywhere. Wrapping the carrier is a great way to attractively mark the presence of your brand on the market - such a promotion is impossible to miss. Especially if you complement it with a display ad on the machine's screen. It is estimated that Parcel Machines are chosen as a delivery option by approximately 4 million consumers per month. Without a doubt, this is a group worth reaching, especially if you are in the e-commerce business.

Do you want to promote a new product and are looking for a modern way to advertise it? Sampling from InPost will be a hit. If free samples of your products are placed in the boxes of Paczkomat machines, you will build a relationship with consumers and spread your offer. Such an innovative solution can be part of a larger sales campaign or cross-selling.

InPost can also help you with web-focused activities - by placing your company's advertisement in the Parcel Manager or by placing a banner on the inpost.pl website, which is visited by thousands of users every day. You can also reach newsletter subscribers and InPost Mobile app users with push notifications and banners! As you can see, there are many ways to support your advertising campaign, which you can tailor to your goals, financial possibilities and needs.