Advertising & Promoting

ONLINE COURSE IN ADVERTISING

Study PR at Home and learn to Write an Advertisement and Organise a PR Campaign

One of the biggest challenges for any business is Getting a Product Known!

• Businesses flourish or fail according to awareness.
• You can be providing the greatest service or product known to mankind; but if no one knows about it, you can still fail miserably in business

This course shows you how to raise product awareness, and helps you understand that it's not just about how many people are aware; but also making sure the right people are aware.

Do this course:

• To make your own business perform better
• As a step toward working as a PR consultant or Marketing Officer
  

Lesson Structure

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Analysing the Market
   • Scope and nature of Promotions and Marketing
   • Role of Marketing
   • Approaches to Marketing (The Production Approach: 1820sto 1910s, The Sales Approach: 1920s to 1960s, The Marketing Approach: Stage One -1960s to 1980s, The Marketing Approach: Stage Two - 1980s to Present)
   • Goals of Marketing
   • What makes people buy (Attitude, Defining attitudes, How attitudes form, Changing attitudes)
   • Practical Applications
   • Strengthen an existing attitude
   • Develop a change in attitude
   • Increase involvement
   • Focus on changing several different attitudes toward a product
   • Message Evaluation & Selection
   • Message execution
   • What words sell
   • Deciding to Buy
   • Rational Decisions
   • Heuristic Procedures
   • Decision Making Process (Recognising a Problem, Seeking Information, Evaluating Alternatives, Purchase Processes)
   • Understanding Communication (Types, Methods, Channels, etc)
   • Managing the Marketing Process (Organising, Analysing, Select Targets, Develop the Mix, Managing the marketing Effort)
   • Market Research (Types of research, Gathering data)
   • Managing the Marketing Plan
2. Target Marketing
   • The Process of Identifying a Target Market
   • Micro marketing
   • Developing a Marketing Plan
   • Organising a Planning Process
   • Reviewing (Mission statement, Goals & Objectives)
   • Establishing Market Objectives
   • Increasing Market Share
   • Expanding Product Mix
   • Broadening Geographic Range
   • Expansion through Export
   • Maximising Customer Service
   • Develop Objective Focused Strategies
   • Increasing Market Share
   • Analysing Opportunities
   • External Influences (General economy, Government, Overseas, Demographics, Technology, Changing customer values, Competitor activity, Alternative marketing methods)
   • Internal Influences (Resources, Market Share, Product characteristics, Advertising, Price, Financial capacity, Innovative potential)
   • Selecting Target Markets
   • Market Segmentation
   • Mass Marketing
   • Concentrated or Niche Markets
   • Differentiated Markets
   • Physical Basis for Segmentation
   • Behavioural basis for Segmentation
   • Developing a Marketing Mix (Product, Price, Promotion, Distribution)
   • Brand Names, Symbols, Logos
   • Packaging
   • Positioning and Image
   • Providing warranties
   • Price (Pricing Objectives, Pricing Methods, Cost-Price margin, Competition based Pricing, List and Discount Pricing)
3. Display and Display Techniques
   • Channels of Distribution
   • Market Coverage (Intensive, Selective, Exclusive Distribution)
   • Warehousing
   • Physical Distribution and Coverage
   • Inventory Control
   • Determining Emphasis within Marketing Mix
   • Product Life Cycle
   • Product Strategy
   • Shop Layout
   • Fixtures and Fittings
   • Space Available
   • Displaying Products for Sale
   • What Sells Best
   • Spacing
   • Quantity Displayed
   • Merchandising Suggestions
   • Stock Control
   • Merchandising Program
   • Signs, Signposting.
4. Advertising and Promotions Strategy
   • Promotional Element
   • Publicity
   • Public Relations
   • Forms of Advertising
   • Sales Promotion
   • Personal Selling Method
   • Promotion Principles
   • Scope of PR
   • Steps in Designing a PR Strategy (Set Advertising Objectives, Decide Advertising Budget, Decide Advertising Message, Decide Media to Use, Evaluate Advertising Effectiveness).
5. New Product Development
   • Product Line Decisions
   • New Products
   • Tracking Trends
   • Knowing Your Customers
   • Packaging
   • Cost-Benefit Analysis
   • Financial Forecasting
   • Project Revenues and Costs
   • Expenditure Breakdown
   • Revenue Breakdown.
6. Sales Techniques
   • Promotion and Sales
   • Steps in the Sales Order
   • Understanding Persuasion
   • Materials of Persuasion (Know the Audience, Subject and Yourself, Influencing Opponents, Influencing Neutrals, Handling Criticism, Logical Persuasion)
   • Questioning
   • Sales Staff Training
   • Theory of Helping
   • Strategies (Traditional Approach, Task Approach)
   • Common Strategies for Staff Training and Teaching
7. Writing Advertisement
   • Purpose of Advertising
   • Writing an Effective Advertisement
   • Structure of an Ad
   • Importance of Colour and Size
   • Advertisement Creation (Develop Product Awareness, Provide Information, Develop a Desire, Develop Conviction, Differentiate Brand, Make a Decision)
   • The Advertising Message
   • Message Generation
   • Combining Rewards and Experiences to design a message
   • Delivering the Message
   • Advertisement Creation Checklist
   • Verification and Proofing
8. Electronic Marketing -Telephone & Email
   • Telephone Manner
   • Managing an Unmanned Phone
   • Internet Promotions ( Larger audience, Lower Conversion Factor, Different Etiquette, Different Cost Structures, etc)
   • Netiquitte
   • Ways of Using Web
   • Web sites
   • Site Construction
   • Site Use
   • Emails
9. Direct Mailing
   • Types of Direct Mailing (The Direct, The Informative. The Reminder, The Utility)
   • Advantages, Disadvantages, Appropriateness
10. Exhibitions & Shows
    • Types of Exhibitions
    • Judging it’s Value
    • What can go Wrong
    • Catering for People Overload
    • Measuring Success
    • Organising an Event
    • Planning a Display

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Analyse a market and understand what prompts people to choose one product or service over another.
• Determine the promotional effort on an identified target market.
• Explain how to organise and/or conduct displays.
• Plan an advertising program.
• Review a promotions campaign.
• Explain how to choose and develop marketing of new products and services.
• Explain how to organise and/or conduct promotions.
• Develop a sales approach for a product or service which has a difficult sales history.
• Plan a sales staff training program
• Develop different advertisements and different promotional leaflets or brochures
• Describe promotional and advertising techniques using electronic media, in particular the phone and the internet.
• Determine an appropriate direct mailing campaign.
• Design a show/exhibition stand
• Explain how to organise or conduct shows

What is Promotion?

Promotion describes the methods used by a business to inform, persuade and remind a target market about its products.

To achieve these objectives, a promotion campaign attempts to:
• attract new customers by heightening their awareness of a particular product
• increase brand loyalty by reinforcing the image of the product
• provide information so customers can make informed decisions
• encourage new and existing customers to purchase new products
• change individual’s behaviour through information or persuasion .

Many of us confuse promotion with advertising because of its visibility and frequency. Advertising, however, is just one of the four elements of the promotion mix. A promotion mix is the various promotion methods a business can use in its promotional campaign.
Businesses can choose from four methods – publicity, advertising, sales promotion and personal selling.

Types of Advertising

Advertising is a paid, non-personal message communicated through a mass medium. Its purpose is to inform, persuade and remind.

Advertising is one of the main forms of promotion used to attract potential customers by creating a demand for the product, informing and communicating essential information. It can be classified into three broad groups, depending on its purpose and message: selective or brand advertising; institutional advertising; or primary demand advertising.
1. Selective or brand advertising. This is used to sell a particular brand of a product and is the most common form of advertising. Business use brand advertising to persuade consumers of the benefits of their products in order to entice the consumer to purchase their product.
2. Institutional advertising. This is used to enhance the image or reputation of a business rather than to sell a particular product.
3. Primary demand advertising. This type of advertising attempts to increase the total consumption of a product without distinguishing between brands. These advertisements promote broad product categories. For example, ‘trim pork’ and milk campaigns. This sort of advertising is often used with overall consumption of a product begins to decline.

Advertising media refers to the many forms of communications used to reach an audience. There are four main types of advertising media: television, radio, newspapers and magazines.

The type of medium selected, will depend on factors such as cost and the advertising budget, the geographic distribution of the product, advertising activities of competitors, expected response rate and the target market. Large businesses often decide to use more than one method so as to reach as large an audience as possible. A business may decide to advertise continuously or in cycles, and should analyse the response to each advertising strategy to determine what is most effective for their product.

What qualification will I achieve for completing this course?

This is an individual module course.  The individual module courses are 100 hour long usually and can be taken on their own or as part of a larger program of study. 

If you wish to take an individual module course as a stand alone course, you can elect to sit an optional exam at the end of it. 

If you successfully pass the exam and all assignments, you will receive a Statement of Attainment. You can take examinations at a time and location to suit you.  If you enrol, you will be sent further information on how to arrange examinations at the end of the course. 

If you do not wish to take the exam, you will receive a Course Completion letter when you have passed all assignments. 

There is an assignment at the end of each lesson. So for example, if an individual module course contains ten lessons, you will need to complete ten assignments. Assignments can be sent to us via email, post or fax.

Other qualifications, such as certificates, diplomas etc may require examinations to be taken as part of the overall assessment process.

You can find further information on the examinations process by clicking on the “Enrolment” link above.

You can find further information on other courses by clicking on the “Courses” link above.

More Information on ACS Distance Education and our courses

Who are our tutors?

Our tutors are all highly experienced and professional, knowledgeable in their field of study.  We have staff from around the world, enabling us to gain a wide variety of perspectives.  We have a school in the UK and in Australia. If you would like to have a look at our tutors, then click on the “About Us” in the boxes above and choose “The Staff” option.

Sample Course Notes

Our courses are all written by highly qualified tutors and writers, who also teach on the courses, so know them well.  We strive to update our courses and improve them with new information, methods and knowledge on an ongoing basis.  If you would like to see examples of some of our courses, then choose the “Enrolment” option above, and then click on “Sample Course Notes”.

What learning method should I choose?

We offer three learning methods – e-learning, correspondence and online. If you are not sure which is the right choose for you, then click on the “Learning” box above, then “Learning Methods.”

How Long will it take to complete the course?

This obviously varies from student to student. Some students will have more time for study than others. Some students may work quicker than others, so it is an individual thing.  We estimate that most students will take, for example, 4 – 6 months to complete a 100 hour individual module, but we allow up to 12 months for you to complete it.

Longer courses will obviously take longer.  You can find more information on the length of time required and so on the “Enrolment” box, then selecting “Terms and Conditions of Enrolment.”

What Do Our Students think of us?

If you would like to read comments from our previous students, then choose the “About Us” option above, then “Student Testimonials”.

I don’t think this is the right course for me.

If you’re not sure about this course, then why not look at our wide range of other courses. Click on the “Courses” box above.

You may also wish to design your own course to fit in with exactly what YOU want. To do so, click on the “Enrolment” box, then “Design your Own Course”.

If you would like more advice on a course, then you can contact us and ask a tutor about the courses. You can contact us by calling 0800 328 4723 or +44(0) 384 442752 or emailing info@acsedu.co.uk

Recognition and Accreditation

For more information on our recognition and accreditation, click on “The School”, then “Recognition”.

Who is ACS Distance Education?

If you want to know more about ACS and our history, then please click on “The School”, then “About us.”