On the farm you must evaluate your fields, decide what to plant and where to plant it. For promotion to be effective, you must decide what to say and to whom to say it. Then you must get ready. On the farm, the next step is to prepare the soil. Unless you're a trash farmer, you're going to stir it up well and work it until you have a good seedbed.
Advertising takes some preparation as well.
You need to work your product selection and prices over, select your target customers and line out the media you will use to carry the message. Next you plant your seed. In the field you've got to plant the seed before you reap the harvest. Effective promotion works the same way. You've got to select the right media, purchase enough ads or space to carry the message and then apply the extras such as adequate inventory, good merchandising, customer service and follow-up.