I prefer working from the ground up. Even if I was given a $20,000 advertising budget, I think the last thing I'd do would be to spend it on ad placement or buying links.. There's a LOT of very effective things that can be done for little to no monetary cost.

There is definitely the level of mass advertising where it pays off to put a big investment into it.. but you need to make sure that you're able to back that investment up AND that its not your "only hope". Advertising campaigns can be done well and they CAN be effective, you just have to know your audience, know them and create your advertising campaign to reach them.. and then make sure you advertise in the right places .

-Jonathan