1. First there must be a strategic business plan that deals with the broadest decisions made by the organization.
2. Next advertisers have marketing strategies that will identify key advantages for the product or firm in the marketplace.
3. Lastly there are advertising strategy decisions that are made which are crucial to all advertising situations.
4. Advertisers must set objectives and identify the target audience.
5. The advertising product must be compared to competing products features.
6. The product must be positioned so that it is welcomed in the marketplace by consumers.
7. Finally the advertisers must create a brand image and personality for the product.

These are all key considerations for the advertising strategy. Targeting an audience for the product is the most important. These audiences are equivalent to a target market, but often includes people other than prospects, such as those who influence the purchase. Once the target audience is defined this lets the advertising planner zero in on the most responsive audience

Components of an Advertising Plan

The components of Advertising Plan are :

1. Setting up Advertising Objectives

2.  Advertising Budget

3. Message Strategy

4. Media Strategy
 

The following should be considered in setting advertising objectives:

Market Segmentation:

Only through careful market segmentation can the target audience for advertising be identified and defined. The process has to be continuous so that the changes in consumer type, buyer behavior and socio-economic and other environmental parameters can be kept under the preview. This provides the advertiser with an informational base to expand, limit or reduce creative advertising campaigns and media plans to react to different markets effectively.

Buyer Behavior:

Advertising communications must take cognizance of the underlying patterns of buying behavior in setting objectives so that strategies and messages may be accordingly devised. Needs and motivations of decision makers may be assessed through the use of various quantitative and qualitative marketing and advertising research methods.

Product personality and perception:

A mere advertisement demonstrating the characteristic features and special properties does not contribute towards sales because these can be copied by the competitors. But the perception of the brand in the minds of the consumers is what moulds product personality and can transcend mere physical properties and perpetuate itself despite changes in the product itself.

Situational factors:

Advertising objectives will be derived from marketing objectives which will be an ongoing assessment of the market situation, competition, price position, distribution channel and their incentives and so forth. In setting up the advertising objectives due consideration should be given to the time period to which these objectives are confined. In coherence with marketing objectives, it may relate to short-term and long-term objectives.

Advertising can reach huge audiences with simple messages that present opportunities to allow receivers to understand what a product is, what its primary function is and how it relates to all the other similar products.  This is the main function of advertising: to communicate with specific audiences. These audiences may be consumer- or organisation-based, but wherever they are located, the prime objective is to build or maintain awareness of a product or an organisation. Management’s control over advertising messages is strong; indeed, of all the elements in the promotional mix, advertising has the greatest level of control. The message, once generated and signed off by the client, can be transmitted in an agreed manner and style and at times that match management’s requirements. This means that, should the environment change unexpectedly, advertising messages can be ‘pulled’ immediately.

Asian Paints campaign- “Waa, Sunil Babu badhiya hai”, words “ nayi Gadi”  were edited later, as a result of objection raised by Maruti.