Definition
of Advertisement
According
to merriam-webster.com, advertisement is something (such as a short film, or a
writen notice) that is shown or presented to the public to help sell a product
or to make an announcement.
While
economictimes.indiatimes.com wrote, advertisement 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.
Function of Advertisement
There are lots functions in Advertisement, such as :
·
Promotion of Sales:
Advertising promotes the sale of
goods and services by informing and persuading the people to buy them. A good
advertising campaign helps in winning customers and generating revenues.
·
Introduction of New Products:
Advertising helps in the
introduction of new products in the market. A business enterprise can introduce
itself and its products to the public through advertising. Advertising enables
quick publicity in the market.
·
Support to Production System:
Advertising facilitates large-scale
production. The business firm knows that it will be able to sell on a
large-scale with the help of advertising. Mass production will reduce the cost
of production per unit by making possible the economical use of various factors
of production.
·
Increasing Standard of Living:
Advertising educates the people
about the products and their uses. It is advertising which has helped people in
adopting new ways of life and giving up old habits. It has contributed a lot
towards the betterment of the standard of living of the society.
·
Public Image
Advertising builds up the reputation
of the advertiser. Advertising enables a business firm to communicate its
achievements and its efforts to satisfy the customers’ needs to the public.
This increases the goodwill and reputation of the firm.
·
Support to Media
Advertising sustains press.
Advertising provides an important source of revenue to the publishers of
newspapers and magazines and the producers of T.V. programmes.
Types of Advertising
Advertising, according to
it’s purpose is to convince customers that a
company's services or products are the best, enhance the image of the company,
point out and create a need for products or services, demonstrate new uses for
established products, announce new products and programs, reinforce the
salespeople's individual messages, draw customers to the business, and to hold
existing customers.
Advertising
is also at the front of delivering the proper message to customers and
prospective customers.
We
can post advertisement in lots of media, such as :
·
Newspaper
Newspaper advertising can promote
your business to a wide range of customers. Display advertisements are placed
throughout the paper, while classified listings are under subject headings in a
specific section.
You
may find that a combination of advertising in your state/metropolitan newspaper
and your local paper gives you the best results.
·
Magazine
Advertising in a specialist magazine
can reach your target market quickly and easily. Readers (your potential
customers) tend to read magazines at their leisure and keep them for longer,
giving your advertisement multiple chances to attract attention. Magazines
generally serve consumers (by interest group e.g. women) and trade
(industry/business type e.g. hospitality).
If your products need to be
displayed in colour then glossy advertisements in a magazine can be ideal -
although they are generally more expensive than newspaper advertisements.
Magazines do not usually serve a
small area such as a specific town. If your target market is only a small
percentage of the circulation, then advertising may not be cost-effective.
·
Radio
Advertising on the radio is a great
way to reach your target audience. If your target market listens to a
particular station, then regular advertising can attract new customers.
However, sound has its limitations.
Listeners can find it difficult to remember what they have heard and sometimes
the impact of radio advertising is lost. The best way to overcome this is to
repeat your message regularly - which increases your costs significantly. If
you cannot afford to play your advertisement regularly, you may find that radio
advertising does not generate strong results.
·
Television
Television has an extensive reach
and advertising this way is ideal if you cater to a large market in a large
area. Television advertisements have the advantage of sight, sound, movement
and colour to persuade a customer to buy from you. They are particularly useful
if you need to demonstrate how your product or service works.
Producing a television advertisement
and then buying an advertising slot is generally expensive. Advertising is sold
in units (e.g. 20, 30, 60 seconds) and costs vary according to:
(a)
the
time slot
(b)
the
television programme, whether it is metro or regional
(c)
if you want to buy spots on multiple networks
· Directories
List businesses by name or category (e.g.
Yellow Pages phone directories). Customers who refer to directories have often
already made up their mind to buy - they just need to decide who to buy from.
The major advantage of online directories
over print directories is that if you change your business name, address or
telephone number, you can easily keep it up to date in the directory. You can
also add new services or information about your business.If your target market
uses print and online directories, it may be useful to advertise in both,
although print directories are being used less.
·
Outdoor and transit
There
are many ways to advertise outside and on-the-go. Outdoor billboards can be
signs by the road or hoardings at sport stadiums. Transit advertising can be
posters on buses, taxis and bicycles. Large billboards can get your message
across with a big impact. If the same customers pass your billboard every day
as they travel to work, you are likely to be the first business they think of
when they want to buy a product.
Even the largest of billboards
usually contain a limited amount of information; otherwise, they can be
difficult to read. Including your website address makes it easy for customers
to follow up and find out more about your business. Outdoor advertising can be
very expensive especially for prime locations and supersite billboards.
·
Direct mail, catalogues and leaflets
Direct
mail means writing to customers directly. The more precise your mailing list or
distribution area, the more of your target market you will reach. A direct mail
approach is more personal, as you can select your audience and plan the timing
to suit your business. A cost effective form of direct mail is to send your
newsletters or flyers electronically to an email database. Find out more about direct mail.
Catalogues,
brochures and leaflets can also be distributed to your target area. Including a
brochure with your direct mail is a great way to give an interested customer
more information about your products and services. Learn more about leaflet marketing using letterbox drops
and handouts.
·
Online
Being on the internet can be a
cost-effective way to attract new customers. You can reach a global audience at
a low cost. Many customers research businesses online before deciding whom to
buy from.
A
well-designed website can entice customers to buy from you. There are a number
of ways you can promote your business online via paid advertising or to improve
your search engine rankings. Learn more about doing business online.
Other ways to advertise your business online
include promoting your products or services on social media sites, blogs and
search engines and other websites that your target audience visits.
History of Advertising
The history
of advertising can
be traced to ancient civilizations. It became a major force in capitalist economies
in the mid-19th century, based primarily on newspapers and
magazines. In the 20th century, advertising grew
rapidly with new technologies such as direct
mail, radio, television,
the Internet and smart
phones.
·
Pre Modern History
Egyptians
used papyrus to
make sales messages and wall posters. Commercial
messages and
political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and Arabia. Lost
and found advertising
on papyrus was common in Ancient
Greece and Ancient
Rome. Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another manifestation
of an ancient advertising form, which is present to this day in many parts of
Asia, Africa, and South America. The tradition of wall painting can be traced
back to Indian rock
art paintings
that date back to 4000 BC.
In
ancient China, the earliest advertising known was oral, as recorded in the Classic
of Poetry (11th
to 7th centuries BC) of bamboo flutes played to sell candy. Advertisement
usually takes in the form of calligraphic signboards and inked papers. A copper
printing plate dated back to the Song
dynasty used
to print posters in the form of a square sheet of paper with a rabbit logo with
"Jinan Liu's
Fine Needle Shop" and "We buy high quality steel rods and make fine
quality needles, to be ready for use at home in no time" written above and
below is considered the world's earliest identified printed
advertising medium.
In Europe,
as the towns and cities of the Middle
Ages began
to grow, and the general populace was unable to read, instead of signs that
read "cobbler", "miller", "tailor", or
"blacksmith" would use an image associated with their trade such as a
boot, a suit, a hat, a clock, a diamond, a horse shoe, a candle or even a bag
of flour. Fruits and vegetables were sold in the city square from the backs of
carts and wagons and their proprietors used street callers (town criers) to
announce their whereabouts for the convenience of the customers. The first
compilation of such advertisements was gathered in "Les Crieries de
Paris", a thirteenth-century poem by Guillaume de la Villeneuve. Three
forms of advertising existed during the pre printing period, before 15 century that
forms were trade marks(moon,stars etc),town criers and sign board.
·
19th Century
In the
18th century advertisements started to appear in weekly newspapers in England.
These early print advertisements were used mainly to promote books and
newspapers, which became increasingly affordable with advances in the printing
press; and medicines, which were increasingly sought after as modern people
rejected traditional cures. However, false
advertising and
"Quackery" became common. British newspapers in the 1850s and 1860s
appealed to the increasingly affluent middle-class that sought out a variety of
new products. The advertisements announced new health remedies as well as fresh
foods and beverages. The latest London fashions were featured in the regional
press. The availability of repeated advertising permitted manufacturers to
develop nationally known brand names that had a much stronger appeal than
generic products.
A
leadership position in British advertising was held by Cope
Bros & Co tobacco
company, founded in Liverpool in 1848 by Thomas and George Cope. Smoking, of
course, had been common for centuries, but the innovations consisted in brand
names, heavy advertising, and market segmentation according to class. An
innovative appeal was to health consciousness; the ads directed at the
middle-class men promised that "smoke not only checks disease but
preserves the lungs." A rugged heavy taste was pitched to working men,
soldiers and sailors, while "delicately fragrant" was part of the appeal
to the upper-class. The packaging was attractive, posters were omnipresent to
show that smoking was a normal part of English life; lobbying was used to
undercut the anti-tobacco lobby.
In June 1836, the French newspaper La
Presse was
the first to include paid advertising in its pages, allowing it to lower its
price, extend its readership and increase its profitability and the formula was
soon copied by all titles.
SOURCES
No comments:
Post a Comment