The Bigger PictureMany businesses focus too much on individual marketing components and miss the bigger picture?

Most businesses don’t care much about the nuances between graphic design, advertising and marketing — what they want is results. Simply put, when it comes to business, you have to be thinking of the bigger picture and how these elements work as a whole.

Frankly, I’ve stopped caring about titles and designations; all I care about are results. Design, advertising and marketing and even some seo’s are experts in their particular niche, but only because they have proven experience and expertise in other areas like marketing that give them the edge. There are plenty of “design companies” that have more experience launching successful brands and businesses than other competing ad agencies out there. Likewise, there are many design and advertising agencies that specialize in marketing. Similarly, the best SEOs in the business are the best, because they know how to engage and interact with a given community or what I call marketing. If you’re in the creative / marketing business it pays to be well rounded, because with any of these arenas the goal is to help build a successful business.

What Role Does Graphic Design Play?

In graphic design, the designers are able to work with photographed, drawn, or painted, as well as computer-generated pictures. The services of graphic designers are also needed in making TV ads and movies. They cautiously make, select, and systematize the typography, images, and white spaces, in order to deliver the message properly. 

Before graphic design can be helpful, you have to establish a target demographic and perfect your company’s brand message and then design assets around them. It doesn’t stop there; then you have to discover how to reach those people, and engage them to gain their trust. Doesn’t it make sense to research what company can help with all of these aspects since they are so closely intertwined? That’s exactly why we see so many different types of agencies cross the boundaries of individual disciplines in order to bring components together to produce results.

Without thoughtful design you can’t relay your brand image, without effective advertising, it’s impossible for businesses to reach their community, without market research it’s impossible to know who the hell your community is. I’ve seen this business quote plenty,  “A business without a sign is a sign of no business.” Here’s my quote, “A business without a plan is a business that’s going to fail.” Successful entrepreneurs have thought about their business, what makes them special, their audience and the message they want that audience to receive — the elements just need to support that. 

What Role Does Advertising Play?

Advertising is the physical act of reaching out to your audience. Advertising is the mode of delivery for your message. Through advertising you are able to raise awareness, build brand recognition through repetition and reinforce your messages both visually and verbally.

 

Maybe we need an example to illustrate what I’m talking about. . .

Let’s say someone is about to become an entrepreneur and launch a new local boutique-clothing store. This could be a tough sell anyway, so what does one focus on to become successful? When you’re just launching, no one will know about your new shop that features high-end apparel that’s not offered anywhere else in the area. Things this business will need to effectively address are; who am I?, Why am I unique?, and what would make you want to come to me?

Entrepreneurs must take advantage of the power of advertising and marketing to their audience. Today, business owners know very well that visual impact and a strong message will influence their audience. When a company takes all elements into consideration by focusing on how to reach their audience a well-made visual advertisement can:

• Talk less, while leveraging the market
• Promote the product and services easily
• Appeal to a wide scale of consumers
• Voice out the features of the products

 

What are the signs of well-designed advertisements?

• Does the advertisement easily capture the attention of the consumers?
• Does the advertisement make people pay attention not only to the aesthetics of the visual ad, but also to the message?
• Does the advertisement promote feedbacks from the consumers?

 

How to achieve excellent design for your advertising and marketing message:

• First and foremost, entrepreneurs must understand that hiring a highly skilled and knowledgeable graphic designer is a good investment. 
• Always design for your audience’s needs – not your own.
• Simplicity is often times a better way to deliver a memorable message.
• Use your own voice or humor in ads to captivate the interest of consumers.

 

We can see the importance of the individual components and how they work together to build your brand and market your business. I will summarize this post with a short list of items you should work on to define your message for an effective marketing plan.

Step 1: Identify who your target market really is. Knowing who your communicating to will allow you to craft a message that will resonate with them.
Step 2: Identify what problem you can solve for your audience. This step will allow you to create content marketing strategies that will provide information your audience is craving.
Step 3: Identify influencers in your audience in order to deliver your solutions to the masses.

 

Hopefully, I’ve illustrated the importance of all of the components that go into successfully marketing your new business. In case you missed it, the important take away is to get the order right; put the bigger picture first by defining who you are and who your audience is and then design and advertise to those people.