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Advertising is an audio or visual form of marketing communication that employs an openly sponsored, nonpersonal message to promote or sell a product, service or idea.Sponsors of advertising are often businesses who wish to promote their products or services. Advertising is differentiated from public relations in that an advertiser usually pays for and has control over the message. It is differentiated from personal selling in that the message is nonpersonal, i.e., not directed to a particular individual.  Advertising is communicated through various mass media, including old media such as newspapers, magazines, Television, Radio, outdoor advertising or direct mail; or new media such as search results, blogs, websites or text messages. The actual presentation of the message in a medium is referred to as an advertisement or “ad”.

Commercial ads often seek to generate increased consumption of their products or services through “branding,” which associates a product name or image with certain qualities in the minds of consumers. On the other hand, ads that intend to elicit an immediate sale are known as direct response advertising. Non-commercial advertisers who spend money to advertise items other than a consumer product or service include political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies. Non-profit organizations may use free modes of persuasion, such as a public service announcement. Advertising may also be used to reassure employees or shareholders that a company is viable or successful.

Modern advertising was created with the techniques introduced with tobacco advertising in the 1920s, most significantly with the campaigns of Edward Bernays, considered the founder of modern, “Madison Avenue” advertising.

 In 2015, the world spent an estimate of US$592.43 billion on advertising.Its projected distribution for 2017 is 40.4% on TV, 33.3% on digital, 9% on newspapers, 6.9% on magazines, 5.8% on outdoor and 4.3% on radio. Internationally, the largest (“big four”) advertising conglomerates are Interpublic, Omnicom, Publicis, and WPP.

Advertising is a means of communication with the users of a product or service. Advertisements are messages paid for by those who send them and are intended to inform or influence people who receive them, as defined by the Advertising Association of the UK.

Advertising is always present, though people may not be aware of it. In today’s world, advertising uses every possible media to get its message through. It does this via television, print (newspapers, magazines, journals etc), radio, press, internet, direct selling, hoardings, mailers, contests, sponsorships, posters, clothes, events, colours, sounds, visuals and even people (endorsements).

The advertising industry is made of companies that advertise, agencies that create the advertisements, media that carries the ads, and a host of people like copy editors, visualizers, brand managers, researchers, creative heads and designers who take it the last mile to the customer or receiver. A company that needs to advertise itself and/or its products hires an advertising agency. The company briefs the agency on the brand, its imagery, the ideals and values behind it, the target segments and so on. The agencies convert the ideas and concepts to create the visuals, text, layouts and themes to communicate with the user. After approval from the client, the ads go on air, as per the bookings done by the agency’s media buying unit.

IMPORTANCE OF ADVERTISEMENT:

Advertising plays a very important role in today’s age of competition. Advertising is one thing which has become a necessity for everybody in today’s day to day life, be it the producer, the traders, or the customer. Advertising is an important part. Lets have a look on how and where is advertising important:

Promotion

The primary objective of advertising is to get the word out that you have something exciting to offer, says George Felton, author of “Advertising: Concept and Copy.” It can be anything from an upcoming entertainment event you’re promoting, a new product line you’re selling, a political campaign you’re managing, the expansion of an existing platform of services or officially hanging out a shingle for your first business. Whether your promotion takes the form of print ads, commercials, billboards or handbills, the content adheres to the rules of journalism by identifying who, what, when, where and why.

Awareness

Advertising helps to raise your target demographic’s awareness of issues with which they may be unfamiliar as well as educate them on the related benefits of your product or service. A popular example of this is the health care industry. If, for instance, a consumer watches a television commercial in which someone describes aches and pains that are similar to those experienced by the viewer, the ad not only identifies a probable cause but suggests a potential remedy or treatment option to discuss with her doctor.

Comparisons

Advertising invites your target audience to evaluate how your product or service measures up against your competitors, says Gerard Tellis, author of “Effective Advertising: Understanding When, How, and Why Advertising Works.” Demonstrations of household cleaning products are a good example of this because they provide compelling visual evidence of which product does a faster and more effective job of tackling stubborn stains. Political ads are another example of how advertising serves up side-by-side comparisons of the candidates’ qualifications and voting records for readers and viewers to make informed choices at the polls.

Retention

An ongoing advertising campaign is essential in reminding your existing customers that you’re still around, say Kenneth Roman and Jane Maas, authors of “How to Advertise.” In a troubled economy where so many shops, restaurants and companies are going out of business, maintaining a strong presence through regular ads, fliers, postcards, events and a dynamic website is invaluable for long-term relationships. This also serves to attract new customers who may not have been in need of your products or services when you first opened but are now pleased to have their memories jogged.

Morale

When people ask your employees where they’re working, the latter will likely feel better about their jobs if the reaction to their reply is, “Wow! I’ve heard a lot of great things about that store” instead of “Nope, never heard of it” or “Oh, are they still around?” Investing in an advertising plan keeps your business an active part of the conversational vocabulary and community buzz. This, in turn, gives your workers a sense of pride and emotional ownership in an enterprise that’s generating positive feelings and name recognition.

Advertising is the action of calling public attention to an idea, good, or service through paid announcements by an identified sponsor.

According to Kotler –

Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation & promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.

According to the Advertising Association of the UK –

Advertising is any communication, usually paid-for, specifically intended to inform and/or influence one or more people.

A simpler (and modern) definition of advertising can be – A paid communication message intended to inform people about something or to influence them to buy or try something.

Characteristics Of Advertising

• Paid Form: Advertising requires the advertiser (also called sponsor) to pay to create an advertising message, to buy advertising media slot, and to monitor advertising efforts.
• Tool For Promotion: Advertising is an element of the promotion mix of an organization.
• One Way Communication: Advertising is a one-way communication where brands communicate to the customers through different mediums.
• Personal Or Non-Personal: Advertising can be non-personal as in the case of TV, radio, or newspaper advertisements, or highly personal as in the case of social media and other cookie-based advertisements.

TYPES OF ADVERTISING

Advertising activities can be categorized into above the line, below the line, and through the line advertising according to their level of penetration.

• Above the line advertising include activities that are largely non-targeted and have a wide reach. Examples of above the line advertising are TV, radio, & newspaper advertisements.
• Below the line advertising include conversion focused activities which are directed towards a specific target group. Examples of below the line advertising are billboards, sponsorships, in-store advertising, etc.
• Through the line advertising include activities which involve the use of both ATL & BTL strategies simultaneously. These are directed towards brand building and conversions and make use of targeted (personalized) advertisement strategies. Examples of through the line advertising are cookie based advertising, digital marketing strategies, etc.

Advertising activities can also be categorized into 5 types based on the advertisement medium used. These types of advertisements are:

• Print Advertising: Newspaper, magazines, & brochure advertisements, etc.
• Broadcast Advertising: Television and radio advertisements.
• Outdoor Advertising: Hoardings, banners, flags, wraps, etc.
• Digital Advertising: Advertisements displayed over the internet and digital devices.
• Product/Brand Integration: Product placements in entertainment media like TV show, YouTube video, etc.
  
  

OBJECTIVES OF ADVERTISING

There are 3 main objectives of advertising. These are:

1.      To Inform

Advertisements are used to increase brand awareness and brand exposure in the target market. Informing potential customers about the brand and its products is the first step towards attaining business goals.

•   To Persuade

Persuading customers to perform a particular task is a prominent objective of advertising. The tasks may involve buying or trying the products and services offered, to form a brand image, develop a favourable attitude towards the brand etc.

3.      To Remind

Another objective of advertising is to reinforce the brand message and to reassure the existing and potential customers about the brand vision. Advertising helps the brand to maintain top of mind awareness and to avoid competitors stealing the customers. This also helps in the word of mouth marketing.

Other objectives of advertising are subsets of these three objectives. These subsets are:

• Brand Building
• Increasing Sales
• Creating Demand
• Engagement
• Expanding Customer Base
• Changing Customers’ attitudes, etc.
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Importance Of Advertising

To The Customers

• Convenience: Targeted informative advertisements make the customer’s decision making process easier as they get to know what suits their requirements and budget.
• Awareness: Advertising educates the customers about different products available in the market and their features. This knowledge helps customers compare different products and choose the best product for them.
• Better Quality: Only brands advertise themselves and their products. There are no advertisements for unbranded products. This ensures better quality to the customers as no brand wants to waste money on false advertising.

To The Business

• Awareness: Advertising increases the brand and product awareness among the people belonging to the target market.
• Brand Image: Clever advertising helps the business to form the desired brand image and brand personality in the minds of the customers.
• Product Differentiation: Advertising helps the business to differentiate its product from those of competitors’ and communicate its features and advantages to the target audience.
• Increases Goodwill: Advertising reiterates brand vision and increases the goodwill of the brand among its customers.
• Value For Money: Advertising delivers the message to a wide audience and tends to be value for money when compared to other elements of the promotion mix.

ADVANTAGES OF ADVERTISEMENT:

This is beneficial to manufacturers, traders, consumers and society as a whole. Advertising offers the following advantages.

(1) Introduces a New Product in the Market:

Advertising plays significant role in the introduction of a new product in the market. It stimulates the people to purchase the product.

(2) Expansion of the Market:

It enables the manufacturer to expand his market. It helps in exploring new markets for the product and retaining the existing markets. It plays a sheet anchor role in widening the marketing for the manufacturer’s products even by conveying the customers living at the far flung and remote areas.

(3) Increased Sales:

Advertisement facilitates mass production to goods and increases the volume of sales. In other words, sales can be increased with additional expenditure on advertising with every increase in sale, selling expenses will decrease.

(4) Fights Competition:

Advertising is greatly helpful in meeting the forces of competition prevalent in the market. Continuous advertising is very essential in order to save the product from the clutches of the competitors.

(5) Enhances Good-Will:

Advertising is instrumental in increasing goodwill of the concern. It introduces the manufacturer and his product to the people. Repeated advertising and better quality of products brings more reputation for the manufacturer and enhances goodwill for the concern.

(6) Educates The Consumers:

Advertising is educational and dynamic in nature. It familiarises the customers with the new products and their diverse uses and also educates them about the new uses of existing products.

(7) Elimination of Middlemen:

It aims at establishing a direct link between the manufacturer and the consumer, thereby eliminating the marketing intermediaries. This increases the profits of the manufacturer and the consumer gets the products at lower prices.

(8) Better Quality Products:

Different goods are advertised under different brand names. A branded product assures a standard quality to the consumers. The manufacturer provides quality goods to the consumers and tries to win their confidence in his product.

(9) Supports The Salesmanship:

Advertising greatly facilitates the work of a salesman. The customers are already familiar with the product which the salesman sells. The selling efforts of a salesman are greatly supplemented by advertising. It has been rightly pointed out that “selling and advertising are cup and saucer, hook and eye, or key and lock wards.”

(10) More Employment Opportunities:

Advertising provides and creates more employment opportunities for many talented people like painters, photographers, singers, cartoonists, musicians, models and people working in different advertising agencies.

(11) Reduction in the Prices of Newspapers and Magazines Etc:

Advertising is immensely helpful in reducing the cost of the newspapers and magazines etc. The cost of bringing out a newspaper is largely met by the advertisements published therein.

(12) Higher Standard of Living:

The experience of the advanced nations shows that advertising is greatly responsible for raising the living standards of the people. In the words of Winston Churchil “advertising nourishes the consuming power of men and creates wants for better standard of living.” By bringing to the knowledge of the consumers different variety and better quality products, it has helped a lot in increasing the standard of living in a developing economy like India.

USES OF ADVERTISEMENT:

Companies use advertisements as part of a marketing program to increase sales of their products and services. Advertising plays a different role at different stages of the marketing process — helping to raise awareness of a product or service, generating leads for a sales force or selling directly. Companies with retail outlets use advertising to make consumers aware of product availability and increase sales through the outlets.

Awareness

Companies use advertising to make customers and prospects aware of the features and benefits of their products. If customers are not aware of your product, they will not consider it when they next make a purchasing decision for the type of product you offer. Advertising puts your product into the consumer’s set of choices.

Brand Preference

Advertising can build a preference for your product over competitors’ offerings. Your advertising messages must reflect the information that customers feel is important when choosing a product. It must also stress the quality of your product. By advertising regularly, you can reinforce the brand messages so that your product becomes first choice when the consumer next makes a purchase.

Direct Sales

Use direct response advertising to sell products directly to customers. The advertisement includes details of the product and its price together with a telephone number or website address where customers can order the product.

Retail Development

Advertising details of retailers or distributors that stock your products builds sales by driving traffic to the outlets. The advertisements can provide information on retail outlets or promote special offers available at those outlets. This type of advertising can also help you promote your products to distributors and retailers.

Lead Generation

If you market products and services through a sales force, you can use advertisements to generate leads for the team to follow up. Include a response mechanism in the advertisement such as a reply coupon, telephone number or email address so that customers can register their details in return for an incentive offer. Examples of incentives include free copies of special reports for business customers or gifts for consumers.

Reputation

When a prospect is selecting a supplier for a major purchase, company reputation is an important factor in the decision. Use advertising to build a positive perception of your company. Reputation or corporate advertising communicates messages about factors such as your company’s achievements, financial stability, market success and innovation record.

Disadvantages Of Advertising

• Increases The Costs: Advertising is an expense to the business and is added to the cost of the product. This cost is eventually borne by the end consumer.
• Confuses The Buyer: Too many advertisements with similar claims often confuses the buyer in what to buy and should he buy the product or not.
• Is Sometimes Misleading: Some advertisements use smart strategies to mislead the customers.
• Only For Big Businesses: Advertising is a costly affair and only big businesses can afford it. This makes small businesses out of competition with big businesses who get to enjoy a monopoly in the market.
• Encourages The Sale Of Inferior Products: Effective advertisements even lead to the sale of inferior products which aren’t good for the consumers.

ADVERTISING EXAMPLES:

We are surrounded by advertisements. From TV to our mobile phones, we encounter advertisements everywhere. Following are a few examples of advertising.

TV Advertisements Example

Coca-Cola’s ‘I’d like to buy the world a Coke’, aired in 1971, is the world’s most famous TV advertisement.