Tableof Contents
Introduction
Advertising includes all forms of paid, non-personal communication and promotion of products, services, or ideas by a specified sponsor. Advertising appears in such media as print (newspapers, magazines, billboards, flyers) or broadcast (radio, television). Print advertisements typically consist of a picture, a headline, information about the product, and occasionally a response coupon. Broadcast advertisements consist of an audio or video narrative that can range from short 15-second spots to longer segments known as infomercials, which generally last 30 or 60 minutes.
History
In the ancient and medieval world such advertising as existed was conducted by word of mouth. The first step toward modern advertising came with the development of printing in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 17th century weekly newspapers in London began to carry advertisements, and by the 18th century such advertising was flourishing.
The great expansion of business in the 19th century was accompanied by the growth of an advertising industry; it was that century, primarily in the United States, that saw the establishment of advertising agencies. The first agencies were, in essence, brokers for space in newspapers. But by the early 20th century agencies became involved in producing the advertising message itself, including copy and artwork, and by the 1920s agencies had come into being that could plan and execute complete advertising campaigns, from initial research to copy preparation to placement in various media.
Forms of advertising
 |
There are eight principal media for advertising. Perhaps the most basic medium is the newspaper, which offers advertisers large circulations, a readership located close to the advertiser's place of business, and the opportunity to alter their advertisements on a frequent and regular basis. Magazines, the other chief print medium, may be of general interest or they may be aimed at specific audiences (such as people interested in outdoor sports or computers or literature) and offer the manufacturers of products of particular interest to such people the chance to make contact with their most likely customers. Many national magazines publish regional editions, permitting a more selective targeting of advertisements.
|
In Western industrial nations the most pervasive media are television and radio. Although in some countries radio and television are state-run and accept no advertising, in others advertisers are able to buy short "spots" of time, usually a minute or less in duration. Advertising spots are broadcast between or during regular programs, at moments sometimes specified by the advertiser and sometimes left up to the broadcaster. For advertisers the most important facts about a given television or radio program are the size and composition of its audience. The size of the audience determines the amount of money the broadcaster can charge an advertiser, and the composition of the audience determines the advertiser's choice as to when a certain message, directed at a certain segment of the public, should be run.
The other advertising media include direct mail, which can make a highly detailed and personalized appeal; outdoor billboards and posters; transit advertising, which can reach the millions of users of mass-transit systems; and miscellaneous media, including dealer displays and promotional items such as matchbooks or calendars.
 |
For an advertisement to be effective its production and placement must be based on a knowledge of the public and a skilled use of the media. Advertising agencies serve to orchestrate complex campaigns whose strategies of media use are based on research into consumer behaviour and demographic analysis of the market area. A strategy will combine creativity in the production of the advertising messages with canny scheduling and placement, so that the messages are seen by, and will have an effect on, the people the advertiser most wants to address. Given a fixed budget, advertisers face a basic choice: they can have their message seen or heard by many people fewer times, or by fewer people many times. This and other strategic decisions are made in light of tests of the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. |
There is no dispute over the power of advertising to inform consumers of what products are available. In a free-market economy effective advertising is essential to a company's survival, for unless consumers know about a company's product they are unlikely to buy it. In criticism of advertising it has been argued that the consumer must pay for the cost of advertising in the form of higher prices for goods; against this point it is argued that advertising enables goods to be mass marketed, thereby bringing prices down. It has been argued that the cost of major advertising campaigns is such that few firms can afford them, thus helping these firms to dominate the market; on the other hand, whereas smaller firms may not be able to compete with larger ones at a national level, at the local level advertising enables them to hold their own. Finally, it has been argued that advertisers exercise an undue influence over the regular contents of the media they employ--the editorial stance of a newspaper or the subject of a television show. In response it has been pointed out that such influence is counteracted, at least in the case of financially strong media firms, by the advertiser's reliance on the media to convey his messages; any compromise of the integrity of a media firm might result in a smaller audience for his advertising.
Controls on advertising.
Of all the criticisms levelled at manufacturers, those against their advertising probably have been the most vociferous. Advertising is necessarily vulnerable to these attacks: it is experienced by everybody, its products are on show for a long time, and its purposes are materialistic. Although the major purpose of company advertising, which is to attract members of the public toward buying a particular product, is fairly straightforward, the methods employed in this process have become increasingly complex. As business has become more competitive, so has the advertising that sells its products. Coupled with this increased competition has been the development of more powerful media--the most important of these being television.
From the consumer's point of view, the basic criticism of advertising is that it leads him to purchase goods that he has no wish to purchase by presenting misleading and untruthful statements or by creating wants, needs, and desires in his mind that might not otherwise exist. In the first instance it is accepted that the consumer, of his own volition, has a need that is filled by the description of the advertised product (but not necessarily by the product itself), whereas in the second the need is artificial and is stimulated entirely by the media.
From an economic viewpoint, critics of advertising point to the enormous amount of money involved--money that, they state, does not benefit the consumer although he is compelled to pay it. A second criticism is that advertising restricts competition because only large companies can afford expensive, nationwide campaigns, thus limiting freedom of entry of new firms into an established market.
A definitive answer to these questions is obviously impossible. Regarding the first, it might be fair to say that economic growth and the creation of wealth might come about far more slowly without the aid of advertising. The development of national rather than regional brands--and the economies of scale implicit in this development--might be retarded. For all its drawbacks, advertising informs the consumer and enables him to make not only a choice between products but also a choice between the stores at which he can buy those products. For the manufacturer it justifies a heavy investment in capital and manpower in that it assures (to some degree at least) the quick development of sales.
Regarding the second major criticism--that advertising encourages the concentration of industry--there is no doubt that this is true. But not everyone agrees that industrial concentration necessarily acts against the interests of the consumer, particularly in the absence of outright monopolies or cartels. In some countries, such as the United States and Great Britain, anti-trust or monopoly laws act to restrain the more flagrant abuses of industrial power. Other countries, especially some in Western Europe, have established monopolies boards, which monitor or oversee activities of large corporations in the field of takeovers and mergers.
The advertising industry has for many years been aware of the various criticisms and has accepted the need for some control over advertising methods in addition to the provisions of statutory regulations that exist in many countries. The country with the most stringent advertising standards is usually thought to be Great Britain, where, for example, all advertising on independent radio and television is controlled by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (iba), the commercial counterpart to the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Iba lays down controls on advertising, banning the use, for instance, of subliminal advertising (methods by which the listener or viewer might be influenced without his becoming aware of it) and of advertising that plays on fear and on the minds of the superstitious.
The Iba has a further list of unacceptable products and services. Advertising is not allowed, for example, on behalf of cigarettes or betting, and political or religious advertising is prohibited. Other regulations involve methods of reproduction, the wording and advertising of guarantees, and the enforcement of prices and other offers; furthermore, special conditions exist in specific cases--the listening or viewing child, the employment of children in advertisements, and the advertising of certain products such as medicines and drugs and also financial services. Production companies appointed by the Iba sell advertising time, but advertisers may not sponsor programs.
The general character of governmental and private controls over the claims and methods of advertisers may be said to be one of considerable laxity. It seems likely that this situation will be changed not so much by the introduction of more stringent codes as by challenges to particular advertisers by consumer interest groups within the framework of existing legislation regarding truth in advertising.
Sales promotion
While advertising presents a reason to buy a product, sales promotion offers a short-term incentive to purchase. Sales promotions often attract brand switchers (those who are not loyal to a specific brand) who are looking primarily for low price and good value. Thus, especially in markets where brands are highly similar, sales promotions can cause a short-term increase in sales but little permanent gain in market share. Alternatively, in markets where brands are quite dissimilar, sales promotions can alter market shares more permanently. The use of promotions has risen considerably during the late 20th century. This is due to a number of factors within companies, including an increased sophistication in sales promotion techniques and greater pressure to increase sales. Several market factors also have fostered this increase, including a rise in the number of brands (especially similar ones) and a decrease in the efficiency of traditional advertising due to increasingly fractionated consumer markets.
Conclusion
So, advertising includes all forms of paid, non-personal communication and promotion of products, services, or ideas by a specified sponsor. Advertising appears in such media as print (newspapers, magazines, billboards, flyers) or broadcast (radio, television).
In the ancient and medieval world such advertising as existed was conducted by word of mouth. The first step toward modern advertising came with the development of printing in the 15th and 16th centuries. The great expansion of business in the 19th century was accompanied by the growth of an advertising industry; it was that century, primarily in the United States, that saw the establishment of advertising agencies. The first agencies were, in essence, brokers for space in newspapers. But by the early 20th century agencies became involved in producing the advertising message itself, including copy and artwork, and by the 1920s agencies had come into being that could plan and execute complete advertising campaigns, from initial research to copy preparation to placement in various media.
References:
· Encyclopaedia Britannica 2001 Deluxe Version
· Microsoft Encarta Encyclopaedia 2000
· http://www.insideout.com/marketing/fullservice.html
· http://ecruiting.leoburnett.com/advertising.html
· http://www.sptimes.com/News/051001/NIE/The_power_of_advertis.shtml
· http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bobhope/images/
· http://www.internetadvertising.org