One of the most fundamental goals a brand marketer has is to lead consumers to the point of sale (POS) — that is, a location or moment during the customer journey in which a retail transaction can occur. Guiding shoppers to these critical POS moments is often accomplished — at least in part — through awareness advertising, which helps drive overall consumer recognition of a particular brand and the products that brand offers. Awareness advertising — whether delivered through TV spots, print pieces, online banners, social posts or mobile ads — is a key component of many successful brand marketing strategies. It often generates interest or curiosity among consumers, motivates them to learn more through product research and can play a key role in pushing them closer to a POS situation. Conversely, if a shopper’s familiarity level with a particular brand or product remains low, it’s reasonable to assume the degree of friction along the path to purchase will be relatively high. Awareness advertising in the digital age Awareness advertising comes in many forms. Today, more traditional methods like television commercials, radio spots and billboard ads have given way to digital counterparts. And one-off ads with a single message have been replaced with fully integrated, multitouch digital campaigns. For example, in years past, a consumer might see a billboard ad for a particular cosmetics brand while driving to work — and take action or not. But today, after they click on a similar digital ad on a webpage, they later see ads in their Facebook feed and on other webpages for the same product as a result of retargeting. Distributing content through social media platforms is another popular and often highly successful way to generate awareness with audiences. Four years ago, the restaurant chain Denny’s increased its Twitter follower […]

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Source:  MarketingLand