Advertising, marketing, and public relations work together like a finely tuned machine. In each approach are different tools; they can be used all together, interchangeably, or not at all. The key is to determine what tools your brand needs to implement.
This is where research comes in. You have a product or message that needs to be communicated and you know who your target audience is – but what is the most effective way of reaching them?
Research it. Start with the secondary research; look at previously completed reports that are relevant to your target audience. Going deeper than the demographics is what yields the best results: psychographics and socioeconomic measurements reveal much more about where a target audience gets the news, where they invest their money, and where your brand can reach them. Primary research, like surveys, questionnaires, and focus groups, will complement your secondary research. With these methods, personal preferences are revealed and the opinions that you don’t get from statistics can lend more insight into where your message should be placed.
Our favorite well-targeted ad du jour is, much to our surprise, for Hooters! In Guatemala, they have “disguised” their ads so only the target audience (men) would be attracted to the ad before they realize what it is promoting!