" Final Stop: Chamonix, France! Chamonix is a small mountain town which makes most of its money from attracting tourists. It has the quaint, peaceful feeling of a small village. I'm here in the summer, but anyone could tell you that this is a winter town. Situated beneath the glaciers and massive peaks of the Alps, this is a skier/snowboarder/snowshoer/winter sports enthusiast's dream town. And hiking, mountain biking, and climbing are all popular sports in the sunshine. I couldn't ask for a better place to end my European adventure. For my cousin, this is one of the most important legs of his review tour. The ads here have had only a few seasons to promote the area, but it's time to do the math. Since the ads all prominently feature winter sports (see the featured photo), it is easy to evaluate them. By looking at the number of winter sports participants Chamonix has seen this year, and looking at things like where they actually skied or did their respective sport, we can make a guess as to the success of the ads. Of course, higher numbers don't necessarily mean that his ad inspired those people to ski, but we can assume they had some effect. For example, in downtown Chamonix, there are hundreds of posters designed by my cousin advocating a particular ski hill, which is reached by taking an express train. The number of people admitted onto the train this year? 4 million! Of these people, half had come with a specific ski tour in mind. That leaves 2 million who came to Chamonix for another reason but were drawn to the train and ski hill. The hotel admission numbers in Chamonix are just under 2 million, so this further purports the idea that tourists may have seen the prominently displayed posters. By doing just this simple mathematical comparison, one can assume that the posters did their job. All it took to calculate their success was a little research and some time."
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The final lesson of the review tour was surprisingly simple: It's all in the equation. By considering your target audience, you also consider where they might stay and what their interests might be. How can you act on these interests? If your target audience is staying in countryside hotels, place advertisements in the countryside. Paint it on the road if you have to, or cut it into the grass on the hills. Find a way to reach them. Then, command their attention. Use local art, bright colors, and famous symbols to draw them in. Make them look. Once you have their attention, then appeal to their interests. Market your product in a way that plays on their interests. If they are staying at a ski resort, incorporate winter scenery into the advertisement, so it seems like the winter experience is not complete without the product. And finally, gauge the success of your work. Plug the variables into the equation by gathering information from the consumer themself, and from other interactions in your area. Hiking boots and poles + rainy season - protection for a backpack = raincovers for their backpacks. Darkshade sunglasses + an equally indoor/outdoor resort - another pair = removable lenses for inside and outside, respectively. By following these five simple steps, anyone can create a successful advertisement, and this is what Europe taught me. Remember, its not about the ad, its about the consumer.
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Step 1: Identify your target audience. Who are they? Where are they from? What ages? Step 2: How can you reach them? Where should your ad be located? Where are they located? Step 3: How can you capture their attention? What can you, the designer, do to ensure that you catch their eye? Step 4: How can you best market "it"? Is it a stand alone product? Does it need accessories? In what environment is it best presented? Step 5: Gauge your success. How you can you measure the profit of your advertisement? Mathematically? Visually? Contextually (In the context of your other ads)?
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