What is ATL, BTL and TTL Advertising?

If you are into Marketing, then you will surely come across the 3 terms ATL, BTL and TTL advertising. Do you know what exactly these 3 terms are and how they work?

By the way, these three terms were initially introduced by Proctor and Gamble (P&G) in the 1950s when they started paying differential rates to their marketing agencies based on the different categories of advertising being undertaken. 

In this post, we shall discover these three categories or strategies for advertising.


Marketing Image by Freepik


1. Above the Line (ATL)

Above the Line strategy primarily involves promotional communications which are broader in nature and have a large reach. The goal of this approach is widespread brand awareness in order to build a good Brand image and Goodwill in the market. Since it is done on a large scale, It is usually not targeted or focussed on any particular market segment.

This strategy may not generate any kind of instant sale or an instant intent to buy among the consumers but may generate awareness and interest over time.

Some of the examples of this strategy include Nationwide broadcasts on TV, Newspapers, Radio, Magazines, etc.


2. Below the Line (BTL)

Below the Line (BTL) promotional approach is more focussed and is targeted towards a particular segment. This strategy is used when the primary goal of advertising is to increase conversion. This is more aligned with a direct approach to marketing.

Some of the examples of this approach include Geo Localized Ads, Direct Marketing, PR, etc.

Here, Geo Localized Ads may include Billboards, Fliers, etc. In the case of Direct Marketing, it may include Targeted Email Marketing, Social Media Ads, SMS, Telecalling, Pamphlets, etc. 

PR may also be adopted in this case, but it has to be targeted and focussed Press releases.

In addition to the above examples, Sampling, In-store promotions, Visual Merchandising is also widely practiced. 


3. Through the Line (TTL)

Through the Line (TTL) approach is more of an integrated approach. In this approach, both ATL and BTL strategies are combined to generate interest and drive conversions. This strategy aims for 360-degree marketing. The brand tries to be present at every touchpoint in the customer's journey throughout their buying process..

Some of the examples of this strategy include TV, Newspaper, Social media posts, Contextual ads, emails, etc.

Hope this post will help you plan out your advertising strategy. Do let me know your thoughts.


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What is AIDA model in Marketing?

AIDA is one of the well-known advertising models in Marketing which identifies the journey of the buyer across different stages of the buying process before he or she actually becomes your customer.

AIDA stands for

A - Awareness

I - Interest

D - Desire

A - Action.

AIDA model


Let us explore all these 4 stages in detail:

1. Awareness

In this initial stage, the brand's goal is to create awareness about its product or service among its target audience in order to generate potential interest in the future. In practice, it may involve exposing your brands, multiple times in front of the target audience. This is because nowadays consumers are exposed to a lot of content, so in order to generate interest, a brand may have to retarget its audience with multiple touchpoints in order to be able to generate qualified interest.


2. Interest

At this stage of the buyer's journey, brands try to create an interest in the benefits of the products & services they offer. The goal in this stage is to generate sufficient interest among the customer so that can get started with researching further about the line of product or services you are offering.


3. Desire

During this stage of the buyer's journey, the buyer has already done some amount of research on the similar products or services available in your line of business. In this stage, they express a desire towards your brand and they express an intent to engage with you. This may be the result of your unique brand personality with which they are able to connect. This is usually due to a combination of multiple factors such as your product features, unique selling point, brand positioning, past credibility, etc.


4. Action

At this stage, the buyer is ready to take an action leading to the purchase. In this stage, the buyer is also considered to be a HOT lead. The buyer usually takes the next step such as the purchase of your product (in case it is a standalone product available for outright purchase without any help), or they may connect with you for a callback, meeting, demo, etc.


I hope this article makes the AIDA model clear to you. 

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See you in the next post!



Attention Grabbing Advertising - Huawei Style
With so many similar products down in the market, it's difficult for Sales and Marketing Managers to grab customer's attention. Time demands innovative and attention-grabbing advertising approaches to get a share of customer's attention.

One such strategy can be learned from Huawei where it bumped in front of Apple store in Singapore and created an everlasting memory in the minds of the people there and everywhere in the world because of the news going viral.