Role Of Advertising & Advertising Media, Electronic/Print Media

ROLE OF ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING MEDIA, ELECTRONIC/PRINT MEDIA

WHAT IS ADVERTISING?

Definitions

In order to have a clear picture of what advertising is all about we shall examine definitions by three world class professional bodies.

American Marketing Association (AMA)

“Advertising is any paid up form of non personal presentation and the promotion of ideas goods or services by an identified sponsor.”

Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON)

“Advertising is a form of communication about products and services as paid for by a sponsor through the media”.

Advertising Association of United Kingdom

“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.”

The key issues in these definitions are:

Payment for advertisements.

Identified sponsor.

Form of communication or promotion.

Non personal.

Advertising is paid for in the sense that the advertiser pays’ for the space or time in which his or her advertisement appears. It is non personal because no flesh-and-blood person is facing a prospect and, therefore, the advertising message cannot be changed in accordance with the reactions of the prospect. Ideas may be advertised as well as goods or services, as shown in the advertisements of labour unions during times of labour strife. An identified sponsor is present in the form of the name of an organisation, branded product, or individual who paid for it.

Advertising appears in the recognized major media – newspapers, magazines, television, radio, outdoor (primarily billboards), direct mail, and transit (car cards) and of course the internet. Advertising is, and will continue to be, one of the major forms of mass communications used in the contemporary business world of nations whose economies are organized along capitalistic or modified capitalistic lines. Advertising is very crucial to the success of marketing efforts of an organisation as it provides a major boost to the marketing efforts of the company. It informs the present and potential users of a product about the availability, quality and capabilities of the product.

Advertising Ethics

Advertising has its basic ethics that must be taken into serious consideration. This is because of the role of advertising as a communication tool, which is used to induce and convince a target audience to make a decision to buy a particular product.

Therefore a good advertisement must not be deceitful or misleading or designed to cheat its target audience. When an advert is deceitful, such advertisement however is only effective for a brief period of time and can sensitize the customer to having a negative attitude towards the product which they would have been unethically lured to buy only once.

THE ROLE OF ADVERTISING

In marketing, advertising will continue to play important roles such as:

Awareness

An advertisement could alert you about new products that come into the market. It contains information about what the product is, what it does and why you should buy it. It brings to your attention where the product can be bought, how much it costs or who may use it; in terms of age and the negative effects if used improperly.

Profits

Both print and broadcast media cover huge audiences at the same time. The subsequent effect on advertising is that it raises the rate at which the products or services being advertised sell. A well-executed advertisement prompts you to try out the goods by purchasing them. This, in turn, increases sales. Increase in sales translates into profits for the manufacturer.

Brand

Advertising popularizes brands. The media popularizes the brand by constant replay and in print media, through repetitive publication. Thus the target customers remember the brand and buy the product. For instance, the recognition of labels like Coca-Cola’s is attributed to successful advertising.

Demand

Whether the form of media is print or broadcast, the target audience is large. Where the advertisement persuades and convinces the public about the goods offered or services rendered, more people will be inclined to purchase or go for the said services. The products already in the market get exhausted and the services crowded. There arises a subsequent demand for more products and services.

ADVERTISING MEDIA

These are the various means (advertising vehicles) such as billboards, magazines, newspapers, radio, television, and internet by which promotional messages are communicated to the public using words, speeches, and pictures.

There are two major types of advertisement media: print media and electronic media.

Print Media

This is one of the oldest media of advertising which feature adverts in circulated publications, which may be dailies, weeklies or monthlies. These publications include newspapers, magazines, journals and periodicals etc. Newspapers broadly are of three types-local, national and international newspapers.

Local newspapers are usually used for those advertisements targeted at the local population; e.g. retail advertisement, classified advertisement, promotion of local products and events. National newspapers are used to reach larger target markets and projects message of broader interests’ across the country. International newspapers project around the globe. Magazines are used to appeal to special audiences, which may be social or technical in characteristics and due to the special nature of magazine audience.

Electronic Media

Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical energy for the end-user (audience) to access the content.

This media is composed of mainly radio and television as well as the internet. However, the inception of smart phones is considered to be a new type of electronic media. While radio provides sounds, television provide sound, visuals and motion and can be dazzlingly attractive to viewers especially when the television is coloured. However the radio came before the television and is still more widespread.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ELCTRONIC MEDIA Advantages of Electronic Media

1. Speedy transmission

It requires only few seconds to communicate through electronic media because it supports quick transmission.

2. Wide coverage

The world has become a global village and communication around the globe can take a second only.

3. Low cost

Electronic communication saves time and money. For example text messages are cheaper than posting traditional letters.

4. Exchange of feedback

Electronic communication allows instant exchange of feedback. So communication becomes perfect using electronic media.

5. Managing global operation

Due to advancement of electronic media, business managers can easily control operation across the globe. Video or teleconferencing, e-mail and mobile communication are helping managers in this regard.

Disadvantages of Electronic Media

Electronic communication also has its limitations:

Volume of data
The volume of telecommunication information is increasing in such a fast rate that business people are unable to control it within relevant time limit.

Cost of development
Electronic communication requires huge investment for infrastructural development. Frequent change in technology also demands further investment.

Legal status
Data or information, if faxed, may be distorted and will cause zero value in the eye of law.

Undelivered data
Data may not be retrieved due to system error or fault with the technology, hence required service may be delayed

Dependency
Technology is changing everyday and therefore some organisations face problem as they cannot afford new or advanced technology.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PRINT MEDIA

Advantages of print media

Print advertising, according to Chris Joseph (Demand media) offers its own set of advantages over other forms of media.

Unlimited Exposure
Print media such as newspapers and magazines allow for unlimited exposure. Unlike television or radio where advertising time is scheduled, prospects have potential exposure to print advertisements at virtually any time. A newspaper or magazine left on a table can be viewed repeatedly and at the reader’s discretion. The reader also has the opportunity to study the advertisements at his leisure and isn’t limited to 30 or 60 seconds.

Non-Intrusive
Print advertisements are less intrusive than other forms of media. Radio and television advertisements often interrupt programming which can sometimes be annoying. With print media, the prospect has greater control as to when to view the advertisements, which eliminates interruptions.

Target Marketing
Certain forms of print media allow for a high level of target marketing. Magazines, for example, tend to be highly specialized, so advertisements can be developed to appeal to specific readership. For example, companies that manufacture upscale clothing for men can target their advertisements to publications that appeal to professional males. A manufacturer of fishing gear can place advertisements in hunting and fishing publications.

Loyal Readership
Print media sources tend to have longstanding, loyal readership. People may read their hometown newspaper daily and may also subscribe to specific magazines for long periods of time. This frequent readership helps reinforce the advertiser’s message or even develops an ongoing campaign that may cover multiple issues. Advertising in publications that have been around for many years can also lend credibility to the advertiser.

Position Flexibility
Advertisers usually have a choice as to where they place their advertisement for publication. If the budget allows, the advertiser may choose the location that offers the highest visibility, such as the back cover of a magazine or above the fold in the newspaper. Newspapers also offer the flexibility to choose the desired advertisement size, such as a full page or quarter-page.

Disadvantages of Print Media

The disadvantages of print media are as follows:

Dullness
Printed media cannot capture the sound and movement required by an audience raised on the audio and video of television and the Internet.

Lead time
Because printed media involves production, information requires a lead time before it ever reaches you. Our fast-changing world might make that knowledge obsolete by the time it appears on the page and reaches your doorstep.

Materials
Printing involves papers, printers, etc. All these cost money.

Distribution
Print can only reach its audience when it is distributed through an infrastructure that requires vehicles and people, which also costs money.

Waste
After you read printed media, you’re left with material that you need to throw away. This waste continually accumulates in our study rooms.

SELECTING ADVERTISING MEDIA

When deciding which media to select for promotional purposes, firms must consider a number of factors.

Budget

What is your overall budget for advertising? Will your budget give you the coverage you want? A firm that has a limited budget for advertising will limit the amount of coverage certain media can provide. You will need to strike a balance between budget and coverage.

Campaign Objectives

One factor that will influence the budget and coverage question is the objective of the campaign. If the objective is to raise the brand awareness of the firm amongst the teenage market then this will influence any decisions you make above. You may need to spend a little more on certain publications in order to meet your objectives.

Target Audience

The media you selected should obviously be influenced by the target audience. A firm must select media that the target audience is associated with e.g. the magazines or paper that they read, or the social networking site they use.

Focus

What is the message focus going to be? Will the message be emotional and work on guilt or will the message be clear cut and say why the firm is better than the leading player?

Readership of Media

What is the readership of the media you wish to select? Readership is the number times a publication has been read, so if I pick up newspaper on the train, read it and leave it on the train and that same newspaper has been read by 10 other commuters, the readership in total is 11.

Circulation of Media

A firm will need to find out what the overall circulation of the media chosen is. So how many publications are sold, and exactly who reads them?

Timing

When do you want the advertising campaign to start? Is it specific to a particular time of the year e.g. Easter or Christmas?

SUMMARY

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.

Advertising media are the various means (advertising vehicles) such as billboards, magazines, newspapers, radio, television, and internet by which promotional messages are communicated to the public using words, speeches, and pictures. There are two major types of advertisement media: print media and electronic media.

Print media is one of the oldest media of advertising which feature adverts in circulated publications, which may be dailies, weeklies or monthlies. These publications include newspapers, magazines, journals and periodicals etc. Newspapers broadly are of three types-local, national and international newspapers. Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical energy for the end-user (audience) to access the content.

Advertising media such as television, print and radio attract the public by imparting knowledge and awareness of products and services companies. Although costly, such avenues are the preferred mode of advertising. Companies rely on media to market their products and increase sales, as the media plays a significant role in advertising. When deciding which media to select, firms must consider the following factors: budget, campaign objectives, target audience, focus, readership, circulation, and timing.

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