Action Objectives

Action objectives describe actions you would like to see the target customer take as a result of your advertising. This might include product trial, brand trial, brand shift, repurchase, increase usage, or model shift. Action objectives for an advertising campaign are important because they are directly related to your business objectives. Each action objective has an impact on one of the components of profit (Exhibit 19.3).

In developing any advertising strategy, you first should determine your action objectives. For example, if your primary business objective is to increase market share for your tax advising business, then your advertising action objective might be to persuade your target customers to try your services; this is known as a brand trial. If your main business objective for your restaurant is to persuade your target customers to visit your restaurant more often, then your communications action objective would be to persuade your target customers to eat out at your restaurant more often; this is known as an increase usage objective.

Each action objective typically requires a different kind of message or argument to persuade the customer to take action. For example, if you are attempting to persuade a physician to consider an entirely new medication for his or her patients, then you would likely use a brochure that would compare the efficacy of that product with that of other types of medication that the physician is currently using to treat a particular ailment. However, if you are attempting to persuade a physician to consider your brand of a medication, which is similar to ones already on the market, then you would likely want a brochure that would compare the specific benefits of your own version of that medication, such as easier dosage or fewer side effects, with those of the comparable products.

Generally, your action objectives need to be reviewed regularly because they may need to be changed over time. When you are introducing a new product, then you would likely want your target customers to try the product.

However, for mature products, the advertising action objective might be to persuade your target customers to increase their usage rate of the product. For example, an insurance agent, new to an area, will be trying to persuade target customers to try or shift to a specific brand of insurance. However, later she might suggest to her long-time customers that they need to increase the insurance coverage on their home—an increased usage objective.

Continue reading here: Sales Objectives

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