Like the rest of the nation, Texas residents tune into the Super Bowl every year as much to view the advertising as to watch the football game. It is an interesting development that advertising has become a form of entertainment with commercials for the Super Bowl and other high profile events being analyzed and critiqued in much the same way as movies and plays. However, one analysis that seems to be missing is whether or not the ads are effective advertising in addition to clever entertainment.

Whether advertising is national, appears only in Texas, or is limited to a local market, if it does not influence buying, it is ineffective advertising regardless of how clever, visually appealing, or widespread it may be. Effective advertising gives the consumer a reason to purchase a particular product or service among all of the options available for that type of product or service. This principle applies to all forms of advertising, not simply televised ads. Whether in print media, social networking, outdoor advertising, or TV and radio, advertising must influence buying or it is ineffective. That is the bottom line.

Businesses in Texas can spend a good portion of their budgets on advertising, but they will understandably become dissatisfied if that expense does not yield results. That is why any Texas company that is considering a marketing or Texas advertising campaign needs to seriously scrutinize how their advertising agency plans to measure the success of the advertising campaign. Any campaign that cannot produce measurable, quantifiable results is one that should make Texas business owners hesitant to jump on board.

An effective advertising campaign has to have an end goal and the end goal, regardless of the product or service that is the subject of the advertising, is to move the target audience to purchase the product or service. The goal cannot merely be to make consumers aware of the product or service, though that is an important facet of advertising. And though it is important for advertising to create a particular image for the business, that is not the final goal, either. The ultimate gauge as to whether or not an advertising campaign has succeeded is whether or not more people are purchasing the product or service when the campaign has concluded than were before the advertising campaign began.

If you own a business in Texas and you want to get the most for your advertising dollar, contract with an advertising agency that always keeps the ultimate purpose of advertising in the forefront. When looking at their past advertising projects, try to look beyond the clever approaches or colorful layouts and determine what about the ad has influenced the purchasing habits of consumers and then ask how the advertising firm will accomplish the same thing for you.