What is Advertising?

Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, and services by the identified sponsor.

The primary purpose of advertising is to inform, persuade, and remind the target audience about the benefits, features, and value of a particular product or service. It is a way for businesses to communicate their offerings and establish a favorable perception of their brand in the minds of consumers.

Advertising is a marketing communication tool and strategy that aims to promote a product, service, brand, or idea to a target audience. It involves the creation and dissemination of persuasive messages through various media channels to influence consumer behavior, increase brand awareness, and drive sales or desired actions.

---

Definitions

Advertising is viewed in two basic ways: as a tool of marketing and as a means of communication.

---

Evaluation of Advertising

Good planning and control of advertising depend critically on measures of advertising effectiveness. Advertising is a crucial component of marketing strategies for businesses, and its effectiveness can be evaluated using various metrics and approaches. Here are some key factors to consider when evaluating advertising:

From the standpoint of evaluation, methods may be broadly divided into two classes:

1. The reach and reception of the communication,
2. The results of the communication.

Again on the basis of its training, a test can be classified as:

1. Pre-testing, and
2. Post-testing.

Evaluation of advertising refers to the process of assessing the effectiveness and impact of advertising campaigns. It involves measuring various metrics and analyzing data to determine the success of the advertising efforts and inform future decision-making.

The evaluation process helps advertisers understand the return on investment (ROI) and the extent to which the advertising campaign has achieved its objectives.

---

Relevance of Advertising

Stimulating demand

Advertising helps in stimulating the demand by informing the consumers about the availability of a product or service in the market.

Developing brand preference

Advertising induce Brand trial and satisfied customer develops brand preference Loyal customers are an important asset for any company.

Cut Cost

Increase unit sales decreases unit cost. Advertising may be instrumental in cutting down production and selling cost.

Competitive Weapon

Advertising can build the image of a brand. Advertising can highlight unique and special features present in a brand thereby provide competitive advantage. A competitive weapon refers to a strategy, resource, or advantage that a business possesses and can effectively use to gain a competitive edge over its rivals.

---

Types of Advertising

Advertising is a part of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and it has come a long way from the days of Mr. Palmer, who is considered to be the first advertising agent.

Advertising can be classified in terms of scope and coverage, in terms of target audience, in terms of media where the target audience get exposed to it etc. There are various types of advertising that are mentioned below:

1. National Advertising
2. Retail Advertising
3. Trade Advertising
4. Professional Advertising
5. Cooperative Advertising
6. Corporate Advertising
7. Primary Demand Advertising & Selective Demand Advertising.

National Advertising

National advertising refers to advertising campaigns that are designed and executed on a national scale, targeting a wide audience across an entire country. The primary objective of national advertising is to reach a large and diverse audience and create brand awareness, promote products or services, and drive sales on a national level.

• Advertising mainly done for “National Brand”
• Message conveys “Unified theme”.
• Large geographic coverage is seen in case of National Advertising.
• Long term image building exercise.
• High circulating mass media used mostly used in case of National Advertising.

Retail Advertising

Retail advertising refers to the promotional activities and communication strategies employed by retailers to promote their products, services, and brand to consumers. It is aimed at driving foot traffic to retail stores or encouraging online purchases through e-commerce platforms.

• Advertising mostly done by “retailers”.
• Message in case of retail advertising is “BUY BRAND ‘X’ FROM OUR STORE”. Which means the retailer is inviting the target audience to buy any brand but only from their retail outlet.
• Limited geographic coverage is generally seen in case of retail advertising.
• Objective of doing is short term immediate result seeking exercise.
• Media capable of localized coverage is used.

Trade Advertising

The primary purpose of trade advertising is to communicate the value, benefits, and competitive advantages of a product or service to professionals or decision-makers within the targeted industry. It aims to influence business-to-business buying decisions, establish brand credibility, and generate leads or inquiries from other businesses.

Advertising done by manufacturer to win over “Trade”. Trade means intermediaries or middle men who are present between the manufacturer and the final consumer.

Announcement of incentives to the trade. For example say brand Fevicol is doing trade advertising for their middle men.

Professional Advertising

Professional advertising, also known as business-to-business (B2B) advertising, is a specialized form of advertising that targets professionals, organizations, or businesses as the intended audience.

Unlike consumer advertising that focuses on reaching individual consumers, professional advertising aims to communicate the value and benefits of products or services to businesses and professionals.

• Targeted at people who are not the final consumers.
• Medical consultants
• Architects
• Engineers
• Media used are professional Journals, Direct mails etc.

Corporate Advertising

Corporate advertising, also known as institutional advertising or corporate brand advertising, is a type of advertising that focuses on promoting the overall image, reputation, and values of a company rather than specific products or services.

It aims to build a positive perception of the company among various stakeholders, including customers, employees, investors, and the general public.

• Aim of corporate advertising is to build the image of the company.
• Sponsorship of major sports events.
• Target Group of corporate advertising are
• Customers,
• Employees,
• Stock holders,
• Governments etc.

Cooperative Advertising

Cooperative advertising, also known as co-op advertising or co-op marketing, is a collaborative advertising strategy where manufacturers or suppliers and retailers or resellers work together to create and fund advertising campaigns. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement where both parties share the costs and benefits of advertising efforts.

The primary objective of cooperative advertising is to promote the manufacturer’s products or brands through the retailer’s marketing channels, such as print ads, television commercials, online advertising, or other media platforms. By pooling their resources, manufacturers and retailers can leverage each other’s strengths and reach a broader audience.

• The advertising expenditure is shared by the manufactures and the dealers.
• Manufacturers give suggestion to the dealers to maintain uniformity in the layoutof the print advertisement.
• Mostly evident for consumer durable products in print media.

Primary Demand Advertising & Selective Demand Advertising

Primary demand advertising

Primary demand advertising also known as category advertising, focuses on stimulating the demand for a particular product category as a whole. The goal is to create awareness, generate interest, and increase consumer demand for a specific type of product.

This type of advertising aims to educate consumers about the benefits, uses, and relevance of the product category, rather than promoting a specific brand or product within that category. The objective is to expand the overall market and benefit all brands or products within the category.

Primary Demand Advertising is done to stimulate the demand for a product category. (e.g. EGG, Packaged Drinking water, Milk etc.

Selective Demand Advertising

Selective Demand Advertising is done for promoting a particular brand and not the entire product category. Selective demand advertising, in contrast, focuses on promoting a specific brand or product within a product category.

The objective is to differentiate and position a particular brand as the preferred choice among consumers and drive demand for that specific brand. Selective demand advertising aims to influence consumer behavior and persuade them to choose a specific brand over its competitors.

---

Social and Cultural Extent of Indian Advertising

Indian advertising reflects and is influenced by the social and cultural aspects of the country. Here are some key points regarding the social and cultural extent of Indian advertising:

1. Advertising is often criticized for its impact on society, its values, and lifestyles.
2. Advertising is criticized for encouraging materialism in society.

Deception in Advertising

• The relation between the buyers and sellers is maintained if the buyers are satisfied with what they saw in advertisement and what they got after buying that product.
• If seller shows a false or deceptive image and an exaggerated image of the product in the advertisement, then the relation between the seller and buyers can’t be healthy.

Effect on Our Value System

• The advertisers use different tactics, endorsements from celebrities, and play emotionally, which makes ads so powerful that often the consumers like helpless preys buy those products.
• People picking up habits like smoking and drinking, and buy products just because their favourite actor endorsed that brand.
• There are some great positive aspects which help
• Development of society and growth of technologies
• Employment
• Gives choices to buyers
• Welcomes healthy competition
• Improving standard of living.
• Give information on social, economical and health issues.
• Celebrities are not just endorsing brands from Fast Moving Consumer Goods and Consumer Durable product categories only.
• They are making their presence felt as brand endorser in service sector also.
• It is noticeable that International Health and Risk campaigns have their own celebrities, at times actors, sometimes sports person and sometimes doctors to put across their message to their target audience.

---

FAQ