So you’ve meticulously done your research by carefully looking into the demographics, statistics, and successfully identified your target group or groups. You’ve even engaged your product extensively, establishing its unique selling points and figuring out the most desirable approach to market it.
So what comes next?
How do we tie it all together and end up with a killer ad campaign that rakes in millions of dollars?
The answer is clear: You need to formulate a goal, which means that all the ideas you’ve brainstormed up to this stage have to be condensed into a single-minded proposition that can be easily understood by your target audience within a few seconds. A clearly formulated goal prevents time-wasting discussions (may I mention meeting marathons that could potentially stretch up to 20 hours with minimal breaks in between?) and ensures that everyone on your team works towards the same marketing objective and communicates a clear message at the end of the day.
In my line of work, goals are asked in the form of a question that focuses on a single-minded proposition – there are no “ands”. Here are just some of the questions I often ask myself over different project scenarios that have inspired me to create the best results in my work.
Advertising a product or service through a specific medium
How could a viral online campaign demonstrate that my product is able to make a positive difference in the lives of people through self-improvement?
Advertising a product or service through visual campaigns
How could a graphic spotlight the benefits of my product as a life-changing tool that improves lives around the globe?
Advertising a product or service by highlighting a specific benefit
How could a series of email teasers show that the company I work for is the fastest growing technology firm in Asia?
Notice that in all of my goals, the proposition is always concise, single-minded, and formulated in a way that even ordinary people can understand.
In the next of my “goal-setting” series, I’ll show you how to formulate a goal that will help you create overwhelmingly positive results in your advertising campaign. Click here to read the article.

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