Marketing is the overriding discipline, as it encompasses all avenues of communication and promotion . . . to and often through the user relationship.

There's a lot to get right. And funders and investors tend to want to get it (and set it) right early. It's often the difference between folding your tent -- or growing, often on the strength of early strategies, and operating on a larger front.

There are LOTS of ways to strategize campaign advertising. The easy way is to just pretend that the flavor of the day is valid, and that the newest product, or the newest benefit should draw the focus. Stringing flavor-of-the-day ads together and calling it a "campaign" is what pretenders often do. Don't fall into that trap.

Instead, consider one of these two routes: One way is to start with your USP -- what you know to be your "Unique Selling Proposition." And using a one-subject-per-ad approach, develop the series based on different ways (albeit highly creative ways) to to convey or manifest (or provide examples of) how you deliver this USP.

Another way is to start with the proceeds of primary research -- where the research objectives would have been to A) identify the Components of the Buying Decision in in your category (if in fact you're in an already established category), because as an entrepreneur, it may be entirely new; and B) to determine the relativity of importance, perhaps with a specific ranking of the top components.

Do the research first, and you'll KNOW what should be the subjects of your ads; the order in which they should run; and the two or three ads in the series that should run most OFTEN.

Building an ad strategy around the "USP" or the "Components" is something that should be done EARLY in a marketing cycle -- which is why it's such an appropriate strategy for entrepreneurs.

Here are some additional considerations:

Strategically, as a relatively new entry in your market (if you're an entrepreneuer) -- your aim may be purely "Awareness" short-term, inducing "Trial" medium term, and moving toward "Loyalty" and repeat patronage strategies in the longer term.

Creatively, entrepreneurs often enter their markets somewhere in the "Sporty" and Lower-than-average cost quadrant. See our Research section about Perceptual Maps, if you're drawing a blank on quadrants). Later, as entrepreneurial brands entrench, gain both awareness and credence, etc. -- entrepreneurs can opt for the more "Conservative," Higher-than-average cost image perceptions.

Effectively, you'll want to "pulse" your advertising -- but pulse it regularly -- to create the illusion you're "always there." Plans for creating and running media-based advertising will depend on your category (if you're in an established one), the seasonality of your category, and to some degree -- category trade show timing, depending on your channels of distribution and Marketing Plan.

Financially, you'll want to budget and monitor your advertising carefully -- by month -- by quarter -- by product -- by target market -- and possibly by geographic area. See our Planning section for more on setting budgets.

So . . . how will you know whether your advertising works?

Look to measure advertising success carefully, too. You can do it at the cash register, or by measuring the hits to specific landing pages on your website, or by counting the heads at your function or show booth. You can also measure (and refine) advertising effectiveness with Primary Research -- gathering target audience demographics and hugely important media habits information along the way.

Click below to see examples of Day One advertising work: