Kellogg on Marketing, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER 14Managing Advertising: From Strategic Planning to Creative Review

Derek D. Rucker

Advertising is a powerful means to establish, maintain, and grow one's brand. Great advertising can, among other functions, bring value to a brand by helping to attract new users, stealing users from competitors, and increasing the premium a brand can charge. Indeed, throughout this chapter, I will share real‐world examples in which great advertising meaningfully contributed to brand success. However, not all advertising is great, and some brand managers have lamented the failure of a costly campaign. Brands have even spent money on advertising that ultimately upset consumers or even dampened sales.

Why does some advertising succeed where other advertising fails? Successful advertising, in its most realized form, can be likened to a fine Swiss watch: An intricate series of mechanisms working in unison result in an accurate and precise forward movement. In the same way, successful brands carefully coordinate their advertising and communication efforts to move the needle of their businesses forward. Just as a loosened screw, an incorrect winding mechanism, or a bit of dirt or water damage can stop the movement of a watch, an advertising campaign can derail if problems are not detected and resolved before it is launched. Advertising that cannot aid business objectives is no better than a timepiece that cannot keep time. How can brand managers shift the curve of their advertising efforts ...