The Nokia 2011 television advertisement is a great example of innovative branding. It is life affirming, targets several demographic groups, and presents technology in a way that is easy to understand. Viewers feel good after watching this, and develop an attachment to the product. That is exactly what marketing experts are striving to do. They didn't miss and hit the wall with this campaign.

The advertisement opens with the line 'Tomorrow, the sun will rise and set – the rest is up for grabs'. It features ordinary people doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways. There is a man running backwards; a group of colleagues performing synchronised movements with their swivel chairs; and a man smiling out a window holding a handwritten sign with the words: 'Smile, it's Tuesday'. There is a man with a cartoon light bulb shaved into the back of his head; and a group of young women riding their glitter festooned bikes at night. These video images are arranged beside each other, just like the Windows software their new mobile telephone features. The soundtrack to the advertisement is a catchy electronic dance beat, and clearly portrays youth, technology and innovation.

The opening line suggests to the viewer that anything is possible, and that we can achieve anything, as long as we reach out to get it. This is a fantastically positive, feel good message. Before we've seen anything else, we want to associate ourselves with what's coming next. The snapshots of ordinary people behaving in eccentric ways look like a lot of fun, and as viewers, we want to experience this too. Those people could be us, and we could be embracing all the world has to offer. What could help us with this, the subconscious mind wonders. Then like magic, we know the answer: it's this great new piece of technology from Nokia. The way the images are arranged clearly conveys the Windows format, with which most people are familiar and which is visually appealing. The soundtrack is electronic for a reason: the marketer wants to convey that this is a new and exciting piece of technology. This kind of music is generally appealing to young people, and young people are the most voracious consumers of mobile technology.

Historically, there are several advertisements that have changed the way people think. These include a campaign by De Beers, one from Volkswagen and advertising by Marlboro. These advertisements took a traditionally held idea and turned it on its head, changing people's perceptions. Not only did this result in people buying the products advertised, but it changed their behaviour. Branding that changes people's behaviour is very powerful indeed.

In 1948, De Beers launched one the most successful advertising campaigns ever created. It was entitled 'A Diamond is Forever'. Prior to this, diamond rings were not considered part of engagement and marriage. The firm capitalised on the fact that diamonds are the hardest material you can find, and linked that to the notion of eternity in terms of love and marriage. This campaign precipitated a change in our culture, by which we are still influenced today. Most of us associate engagement and marriage with diamonds, and millions of diamond rings are bought every day all over the world for that very reason.

When Volkswagen started a campaign in the United States, they were hindered by the fact that their cars were so different to American models. The trend was for large, showy vehicles, and Americans didn't want to drive a Volkswagen. They considered it too small to meet their requirements. Instead of trying to gloss over this perceived problem with the product, Volkswagen used it to sell. They used the phrase 'Think Small' to capitalise on the difference between their car and others on the market. This is a great example of how clever advertising can turn a problem into a selling point.

The Marlboro man is considered one of the most iconic figures in advertising. Prior to his appearance, Marlboro cigarettes were considered mild choices for women. The Marlboro man's tough image as a rugged, masculine cowboy changed all that. Men wanted to emulate this character, they wanted to be as macho and tough as Marlboro man, so they bought the product. Sales went up by 300 % in the two years after the cowboy entered the public consciousness in 1955. The success of this campaign is even more impressive when you consider that it worked at a time when people were finding out that smoking was bad for their health. Despite this, men wanted the tough iconic image that came with the brand.

You might think print advertising is just a matter of putting a picture of your product or service in a newspaper with your company name. There are many ways to take an innovative approach to attracting customers through the medium of print, including a minimalist style; using figures instead of people; and linking real life with films or television programmes.

Taking a minimalist approach to print advertising can be a great way of creating an impact. Using a block colour with small print can compel the reader to inspect your advertisement. Making it look simple can mean it is easier for the viewer to remember, and thus increase your prospective sales.

You can use tiny print in your advertisement, so that viewers struggle to read it at first glance. They are driven to take a second glance, and read your message. This is when your product or service gets stored in the memory, ready for when the individual is deciding to make a purchase. A jumbled up slogan that is initially incomprehensible can have a similar impact.

A fake headline is a great way of grabbing attention in print. If you design your ad or part of it to look like a newspaper headline, viewers will read it as a point of interest. It is up to you to create a 'problem' that only your product or service can solve. If you can do this, you'll increase your market share.

Linking real life with films or television is a great way to get customers to identify with your product and company ethos. Many people want to be like the people they see on screen, and if they think they can use your product to do that, they'll buy it again and again. Celebrity endorsements can be equally powerful in inspiring readers to buy.

Using stark imagery with no words can be a great means of advertising your product in print. Using a simple picture to connect your product with your customer can create much more of an impact than swathes of detailed description.

Competition in big business is heated, and often gets personal, as companies often drive each other crazy with their advertisements and sugar wrapped insults. They are always trying to put the other down in the most convoluted of ways. You only have to watch a Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's or M&S advert to know that they are trying to put each down. But sometimes driving your competition crazy is the most rational tactic in marketing. There is one example in Colorado Pizza chain, which gave discounts to customers if they brought in clippings of competitors ads from the Yellow Pages.

As Guy Kawasaki said: "It's hard to call other pizza places when their ads are ripped out of the phone book" who approves of such Machiavellian plots to undercut the competitor. And Guy Kawasaki should know something about this as the former head of software product management for Apple Computer, and he has now joined back with the company to help Apple fight Microsoft's monopolisation of the software and personal computer market.

Kawasaki is an expert of finding new ways to infuriate rivals and give his clients the edge. One of the things he has learnt in the business after 10 years is this: "Little companies have a huge advantage. They can drive their competition crazy." Big companies however succeed "only in driving themselves crazy."

When asked why it is positive to drive your competition around the bend, he said: “Because beating your competition is a powerful instinct that can be used to psych up your employees and scare the crap out of anyone in your way. Nothing works better to get your troops moving rapidly in the same direction.”

But you have to pick you battles carefully says Kawasaki: “Because who you pick is like a mirror: It defines your image. If you pick a wimpy competitor, you'll never know how great you can be--and God help you if you fail, because everyone expected you to win.”

We've all seen poor advertising in our time. It's either irritated us so much that we've resolved never to purchase the product advertised out of sheer retaliation. Or we've watched the advert and been completely incapable of determining what product it was trying to persuade us to buy. But these are fairly simple advertising mistakes really, in comparison to what can go wrong. Here are some ads which are memorable for all the wrong reasons.

A new anti-drugs campaign was pulled after a problem came to light with the pencils they had been handing out. The pencils had been printed with the slogan: “It's not cool to do drugs.” Unfortunately, it had become obvious that as the pencils were sharpened, the slogan became “cool to do drugs”, and then even more depressingly, just “do drugs”. Naturally, this wasn't quite the impact that the drugs campaign had in mind.

We all love it when a major company make a serious advertising error. McDonalds once thought that they'd try ‘street language' for one of their promotions, using the sentence ‘I'd hit that' in relation to a burger. Obviously, nobody on the advertising team had spoken to anyone under the age of thirty, as the overall effect of the ad was one of ‘I'd have sexual relations with that burger.'

But one of the most infamous advertising foul-up was made by Sony during their PSP promotion. They had resolved to set up a separate website – without using the Sony name – which looked and claimed to be entirely fan-made. The overall premise was to have an opening post from ‘John' who said that his friend ‘Stuart' really wanted a PSP for Christmas (because apparently, they are awesome). Here was a place for people like ‘Stuart' to tell their parents that they wanted a PSP for Christmas.

Every now and then, a brand must reinvent its image to prevent it from stagnating and losing ground to up and coming competitors. Nobody wants to be left behind, so companies must challenge themselves to engage with the consumer with new colours, new products and new ideas.

One brand who achieved this feat and emerged out of a troubled period, was McDonalds. In the aftermath of the Super-Size Me documentary, McDonalds received extremely negative press for its unhealthy fast food options. The head office made a decision, it was time to turn things around and stop the decline in global profits. In essence, they were losing customers to healthier options. McDonalds had to act, and fast.

There was a whole re-branding exercise, and the old red and white interiors of McDonald's stores were ripped out and replaced. Real wood and fresh colours were introduced, such as green and yellow, to give McDonalds a classy restaurant visage. There was also a brand new staff uniform and the packaging changed, which included calorie information.

They moved away from the child like associations of Ronald McDonald and targeted the teen market, who were ironically McDonald's original fans. In the UK the golden arches were replaced by a golden question mark which came with the tagline “McDonald's. But not as you know it.” Prints and outdoor posters were cleaned up, there was lots of space and white canvas in the ads which offered an uncluttered message that was striking to the eye.

These days, it is completely and utterly impossible to avoid advertising. They'll get you. Unless you lock yourself in an empty room at the back of your house and close all the curtains, and we don't recommend doing this because of developing agoraphobia (amongst other things). With new things requiring adverts all the time, and with new mediums coming out to create adverts on, here are some of the most prominent of our age.

Everyone has a mobile phone app if they have a smart phone. A large number of these apps now contain drop-down adverts at the top of the page, carrying a banner or link to a product. As of now, this product advertising is relatively passive in most apps – the adverts can be switched off, although many of the apps contain kindly messages asking users not to do this as it costs them revenue. Out of respect, therefore, many of the users keep the adverts on, and simply ignore them.

One of the many tricks of advertising is to put it where it can't be missed. These days, a huge number of the population would be unable to envisage never using Youtube again. It has become a requirement, linked in with other social networking sites. When it was purchased by Google, advertising started cropping up, becoming more and more aggressive. Now it goes on for thirty seconds at the start of a large number of videos. As frustrating as it is, it is very clever.

Product placement is an older form of advertising which has been in use in America for many years. TV programmes receive extra revenue from companies by promoting their products in their TV shows – whether it's having them on the set or mentioning them in a conversation. And now this form of advertising has finally made its way over to the UK, although with very strict guidelines. Programmes have to indicate that product placement will be involved, and there is to be absolutely no use of it on the public-funded British Broadcasting Corporation.

You only have to spend a minute on the Internet, or fifteen in front of the TV to see an advert these days. With the vast amount of advertising being screamed at the population every day – on the tube, in the car, at home – wherever the consumer may be, but how does one stand out? Well, in places such as Britain, America, Australia and many other countries, we are known for our great love of the animal kingdom. All creatures great and small have been known to inhabit our houses; from cats and dogs to fish and snakes to even lions, tigers and penguins for the eccentric pet owner.

So how to play on this in advertising and why does it work so well? It's simple – it's all in the look of the animal. Kittens and puppies are obviously the best options for the ‘cute' factor, with perhaps the most long-running example being the Andrex Puppy, mascot of the company Andrex, which produces toilet paper. This loveable Labrador has been causing viewers to swoon since 1972, and has appeared in over 130 different adverts. Previous campaigns include the golden pup dragging toilet paper around the house in that oh-so-cutesy fashion, as well as having a bath towel dropped on his head, and playing with the shower. The actual bags of toilet roll adorn the shelves of supermarket featuring the puppy's face, and it certainly stands out amongst other brands.

But it doesn't even have to be a real animal in the advertising campaign. It is no surprise that two of the biggest online gift card websites have chosen cartoon animals to represent them on the television – that's Moonpig and Funky Pigeon, if you're wondering. These animals can hardly be called ‘cute', but they are interesting and appealing in other ways, seducing the viewers and precious customers with animations of our animal friends.

Every business owner and marketing manager wishes that there was a miracle answer to the question of how to spend on advertising. Unfortunately, many ignore the question all together and hope it will go away.

New companies are in a difficult position of wanting to expand their clientele, but need to make sure that they retain the valuable customers which they already have. These small businesses should first focus their attention on meeting the needs of their current clients and taking care of them before embarking on costly, and potentially disastrous advertising campaigns.

For every business it is important to note that excellent products and services do not maintain your company. In this day and age, your potential clients are having products and services brought to their front door, so to speak. You cannot expect a client to come looking for your amazing product. Marketing and advertising is more important now than it has ever been before, but the problem is being noticed above your competitors.

As a starting point for your marketing budget, work on allocating a reasonable percentage of your revenue to advertising in a way which will encourage profitability. This percentage can be determined by doing some research on the advertising-to-sales ratio for other businesses in the same field (public companies often provide figures of their marketing spending in their financial statement). If you find it difficult to find a public company in your field, a rule of thumb would be to start at around 5% and adjust your marketing spending up or down from there as need be. If you offer a service, though, try aim for 8% or higher (up to 15%).

The next question you will need to ask yourself will be: “Is my business built to leverage volume or is it built to leverage margin?”

1. If your business is built to leverage volume, you will likely be spending a smaller percentage of your sales on marketing. Because of the type of business you own, large revenues enable those small amounts to add up very quickly and, in competing with other high volume companies, you will be facing margin pressures which will not allow for a greater percentage to be spent on advertising and marketing.

To be successful in the business world, you need a marketing strategy that works and should be continuously implemented. You do not need to spend a lot of money developing a strategy, just follow a few simple steps in order to build a solid foundation. You should define the product or service you will be offering, including the packaging and the specifications, so that the customer knows exactly what they are getting. If you have several products, observe the market trends to know which ones customers are buying and which ones you will need to promote.

Afterwards, you will need to identify the target market. This is the tricky part as everyone is a potential customer and the area covered could be worldwide. What you do not have is time and money to market to the masses, therefore, settle for your ideal customer. This can be defined by several factors such as age, income, industry and geographic location. Then you need to seek out your competition. In addition to this, your product or service may be new to the market and you need to know who will be competing for your customers.

You then need to show the potential customer why your product is different or unique and what benefits it could bring to them. Finding a niche in the market also allows you to dominate it, however small your business. For this to occur, you will need to develop awareness of your product by exposing it constantly to potential customers – they need to see your product advertised a number of times so to remember it. Exposure is not all that is required though, a positive reaction to the product must also be there. How do you do this? By building the product credibility. Let the customer have a sample of the product for free or, in cases of risky purchases, let them feel and touch the product.