- Advertising is an activity of attracting public attention to a product or business, as by paid announcements in the print, broadcast, or electronic media.

Advertising is the promotion of a companys products and services though different mediums to increase the sales of the product and services. 2. Definitions of Advertising 1. American Marketing Association has defined advertising as any paid form of nonpersonal presentation of ideas, goods and services by an indentified sponsor. . According to !on "hubin, Advertising is the art of disseminating marketing information through various media of communication at the e#pense of the company for the purpose of increasing or maintaining effective demand. $. %efined by &illian. !. "tanton, Advertising consists of all the activities in presenting to a group, a non-personal, visual, openly sponsored message regarding a product, service or idea. 3. Objectives of Advertising 'a( )o create A*areness 'b( )o +emind the ,ustomers 'c( )o -ersuade ,ustomers 'd( )o +etain .#isting ,ustomers 4. Importance of Advertising Advertising has become an essential marketing activity in the modern era of large scale production and serve competition in the market. /t performs the follo*ing functions0 a)Essential for a launch Advertising is very essential for launching 'introducing( a ne* product, service and1or idea in the market. /t can attract customers and helps to capture the market and increase sales of an advertiser. A ne* enterprise can2t make an impact on the prospective customers *ithout the help of advertising b) romotion of !ales: /t promotes the sale of goods and services by informing and persuading the people to buy them. A good advertising campaign helps in *inning ne* customers both in the national as *et as in the international markets c)"onsumer a#areness Advertising creates a*areness by informing consumers Awareness0 Advertising creates a*areness among consumers about an availability of any specific product and1or service in the market. /t attempts to convey them *hy an advertised product and1or service is better than other alternatives currently available in the market Information0 Advertising informs a consumer, mainly about3 various features, benefits, price and use of an advertised product and1or service. /t also gives information about the brand name or trade-mark used, address of a manufacture or a service provider, and other relevant details to the consumer &hile creating a*areness and supplying relevant information, advertising ultimately helps a consumer to make a right choice in his or her purchase d)Educate societ$ Advertising has a remarkable ability to reach masses and educate the society. )herefore, many 4overnments and even 5on-4overnmental 6rgani7ations '546( often take help of advertisements to reach and educate people on important social issues ,reative ads are made in public interest to educate people about family planning, A/%" a*areness, saving *ater and electricity, giving children compulsory education, providing a right kind of nutrition to mother and her ne*-born infant,

abolishing child labour, etc e)"reation of %ood ublic Image /t builds up the reputation of the advertiser. Advertising enables a business firm to communicate its achievements in an effort to satisfy the customers2 needs. )his increases the good*ill and reputation of the firm *hich is necessary to fight against competition in the market. &. 'ole of Advertising in (ar)eting Marketing mi# consist of four important variables of marketing, i.e. 8-s--roduct, -rice, -romotion and -lace. Apart from the traditional 8 -s, there are also other variables, i.e. -ackaging, -ostion, and -ace. Advertising is an element of promotion. 9o*ever, it not only assists in promoting the product, but also affects the other variables of marketing mi#. )his can be e#plained as follo*s 1. Advertising and Product: A product is normally a set of physical elements, such as :uality, shape, si7e, colour and other features. )he product may be of very high :uality .At times, the product is so designed that it re:uires careful handling and operations. ;uyers must be informed and educated on the various aspects of the product. )his can be effectively done through advertising. )hus, advertising plays the role of information and education. 2. Advertising and Price: )he price is the e#change value of the product. A marketer may bring out a very high :uality product *ith additional features as compared to competitors. /n such a case, price *ould be definitely high. ;ut buyers may not be *illing to pay a high price *ould be definitely high. 9ere comes advertising. Advertising can convince buyers regarding the superiority of the brand and thus its value for money. )his can be done by associating the product *ith prestigious people, situations, or events. Alternatively *hen a firm offers a lo* price products the <ob of advertising needs to stress the price advantage by using hard hitting copy. /t is not <ust enough to convince, but it is desirable to persuade the buyer. )hus advertising plays the role of conviction and persuasion. 3. Advertising and Place : -lace refers to physical distribution and the stores *here the goods are available Marketer should see to it that the goods are available at the convenient place and that too at the right time *hen the buyers need it. )o facilitate effective distribution and e#pansion of market, advertising is of great significance. )hus advertising do help in effective distribution and market e#pansion. 4. Advertising and Promotion : -romotion consists of advertising, publicity, personal selling and sales promotion techni:ue. ;usinessmen today have to face a lot of competition. .very seller needs effective promotion to survive and succeed in this competitive business *orld. Advertising can play a significant role to put for*ard the claim of seller, and to counter the claims of competitor. )hrough effective advertising, sellers can face competition and also help to develop brand image and brand loyalty. 5. Advertising and Pace: -ace refers to the speed in marketing decisions and actions. /t involves among other things the launch of ne* products or brand variations at greater speed than before. As and *hen ne* brands are launched, advertising plays an important role of informing, educating and persuading the customers to buy the product. 6. Advertising and Packaging: )he main purpose of packaging is protection of the product during transit, and preservation of :uality and :uantity. 5o*adays, marketers take lot of efforts to develop and design attractive packages as they carry advertising value. A creatively design package attract the attention of the customers. /t also carries an assurance of :uality and creates confidence in the minds of customers to buy the product. 7. Advertising and Positioning: -roduct positioning aims at creating and maintaining a distinct image of the brands in the minds of the customers. )hrough advertising the

marketer can convey the positioning of the brand and accordingly can influence the buying decision of the target audience. Advertising is an important element of -romotion Mi# and it is a process *hich gives information to the masses about products1services. /t is a paid publicity sponsored by the advertiser. /t is a persuasion *hich is controlled and influences the target audience. /ts nature includes0 i. lement of marketing Mi#. /t is also an important element of marketing Mi# *hich includes the 8 -s=-rice, -roduct, -romotion and -hysical distribution. A proper -romotion Mi# is necessary for the advertisement to be effective. ii.Promotion !i": )he elements of promotion mi# include, Advertising, "ales, -romotion, -ersonal "elling and -ublicity. All these have been described in detail in the ensuring te#t. iii.Personal selling involves carrying of the messages of the product to consumers by individual salesman and make them purchase the product. #$e %ole of Advertising in a Promotional !i"

Advertising is used to make a large potential body of target audience members a*are of the promotion, to communicate the key benefits and to deliver a compelling reason *hy the target audience members should take advantage of the promotion. .ffectively e#ecuted, advertising plays a significant role in achieving the promotion ob<ectives and goals and provides a means to measure results %eac$ #arget Audience Advertising is used to >reach> and communicate *ith the target audience members for the promotion. ?or e#ample, if a daycare center conducts a promotion to offer a *eek of free childcare for ne* customers, it might use maga7ine advertising to reach *orking moms *ith children under age @. ,lose attention *ould be paid to ho* many readers the maga7ine reaches *ho meet the target audience criteria. +eadership statistics from several maga7ines *ould then be compared to make the final selection of *here to place the advertisement about the promotion. &enerate Awareness /t is important to use advertising media strategically and effectively to achieve a*areness of the promotion and gain a +eturn on /nvestment '+6/(. ?or e#ample, a ne*ly opened fitness club in a do*nto*n area might develop a promotional campaign to target do*nto*n office *orkers. )he fitness club could strategically purchase radio advertising time to air commercials during morning and evening commute hours 'also referred to as >drive time>(, to reach the target audience as they listen to the radio *hile driving to and from *ork. )he club could then track ne* members and revenue gained as a result of airing the radio commercials. 'rive #raffic Marketers and advertisers often set a goal to >drive traffic> during a promotion. )his term can encompass driving traffic to all stores in a chain, specific retail locations or perhaps a *ebsite. A ta# preparation soft*are company might place a banner ad on the *ebsite for an office supply store. )he banner ad could promote a discount or free use of the program for a limited time. &hen people click on the banner ad they are driven 'or redirected( to the *ebsite for the soft*are company to get the free trial or purchase the soft*are during the promotional period. (ommunicate t$e (all to Action )he >call to action> is a ma<or element of the advertising message. /n a promotions campaign, it is used tell the target audience members *hat to do to participate in the promotion and gain the benefits or advantages offered. A banner ad on a *ebsite *ill s ay, >click here> for more information. A )A commercial promoting a special sale at a

department store *ill say >shop this *eekend only.> A ne*spaper ad promoting a free oil change might say, >bring in this ad> in order to get the free service. /n each case , the advertising serves to tell the target audience to take an action that :ualifies them to take advantage of the promotion. !easure %es)onse and ffectiveness Advertising provides a means to measure the overall response and results of the promotion campaign. /n an online advertising campaign, the number of clicks on banner ads and number of *ebsite visitors can be tracked. /n cases *here the promotion has been held before, and *ithout advertising, measurements can be taken to analy7e increases 'or decreases( in several areas, such as sales, attendance and repeat purchases or participation. -olling customers at check-out or at promotional events is also a useful techni:ue to gather data to compare results *hen different forms of advertising are used 'such as print, online banners and commercials(. BMost firms, both large and small, use advertising in some form or the other. Advertisement seldom produces direct sales. /t is backed by other promotion mi# elements like personal sellingand sales promotion. Adverti7ing produces a psychological effect and it can change the mental disposition of the audience, so that they purchase the adverti7ed product. Advertising is basically a form of communication and the basic responsibility of advertising is to deliver the information to the target audience. *ive !s of Advertising )he five Ms of advertising on *hich an advertiser has to take decisions

1. !ission: #$is refers to the purpose or ob<ective behind advertising. )he ob<ectives behind advertising are varied in character. )hey include sales promotion, information and guidance to consumers, developing brand loyalty, market good*ill, facing market competition effectively, making the products popular or successful and introduction of a ne* product. %ecision in regard to mission is a basic one as other decisions are to be ad<usted as per the mission or ob<ective or purpose of advertising decided. ?or consumer

products like chocolate, tooth paste, soap, the mission or ob<ective includes facing market competition, sales promotion and making the product popular in the market. 2. !one+ a. )his refers to the finance provided for advertising purpose 'advertising budget(. /t means the budget allocation made by the company for advertising. Money provided is a limiting factor as effectiveness of advertising, media used, coverage of advertising, etc. are related to the funds provided for advertising purpose. Advertising is costly and companies have to spend crores of rupees for this purpose. Advertising should be al*ays *ithin the limits of funds provided. 5aturally, decisions on an advertising package should be ad<usted as per the budget allocation for advertising b. /t may be noted that consumer products like tooth paste or chocolate are highly competitive *ith many substitutes easily available in the market. 5aturally, e#tensive advertising on )A, ne*spapers, radio, etc. is re:uired. )hese media are costly. 5aturally, the manufacturing or marketing company *ill have to provide huge money for advertising purpose 3. !essage Message is provided through the te#t of advertisement. )he message is given through *ritten *ords, pictures, slogans and so on. )he message is for the information, guidance and motivation of prospective buyers. Attractive and meaningful messages give positive results, and the advertising becomes result-oriented. )he services of creative *riters, artists, etc. are used for giving an appealing message to the consumers. 9ere, the advertiser has to decide the message to be given, the media to be used for communicating the message, the e#tent of creativity, the specific customer group selected for giving the message and so on. )he message is also related to the decisions taken as regards a mission, and money provided for advertising ?or advertising consumer product like chocolate, the message is important. )he buyers are mainly children and others of lo*er age groups or for the benefit 'pleasure and satisfaction( of younger generation. )he advertising message should be simple and easily understandable *ith the help of picture or slogan. /t should be also attractive and agreeable to younger generation. )he pictures or slogans used should be short and impressive 4. !edia0 )he advertiser has to take a decision about the media to be used for an advertising purpose. Media differ as regards cost, coverage, effectiveness, etc. )he selection of media depends on the budget provided, products to be advertised, and features of prospective buyers, so on. &rong decision on media may make advertising ineffective and money spent *ill be *asted. )his suggests that media should be selected properly, and decision in this regard is important and critical ?or advertising popular and e#tensively used consumer items like chocolate, the media should be selected properly. )A advertising, particularly a cartoon channel, advertising in children books or ne*spaper supplements for children, advertising on radio programs for children, etc 5.!easure0 Measure relates to the effectiveness of advertising. An advertiser *ill like to evaluate advertisement in order to <udge its effectiveness. /f an advertisement is not effective, it *ill be modified or *ithdra*n. )his is necessary for avoiding e#penditure on the advertisement *hich is not purposeful or is not likely to give positive results. An advertiser has to measure the effectiveness of his advertisement program or campaign and take suitable decisions. )his decision-making as regards effectiveness of advertising is e:ually important and essential. "uch testing facilitates an introduction of suitable remedial measures, if re:uired ,6MMC5/,A)/65 0

Marketing communications serve five key ob<ectives0 6.the provision of information 7.the stimulation of demand 8.differentiating the product or service 9.underlining the product's value, 10.regulating sales. ar!eting communications ta!es four forms " advertising, sales promotion, personal selling and publicit#. $hese must be formulated %ithin a co"ordinated mar!eting communications plan. &f there is more than one target mar!et then there %ill need to be more than one communications programme. 'i!e all other elements of the mar!eting mi(, it must be tuned to the characteristics and needs of the target mar!et. Advertising: Advertising is the most visible element of the communications mi# because it makes use of the mass media, i.e. ne*spapers, television, radio, maga7ines, bus hoardings and billboards. Mass consumption and geographically dispersed markets make advertising particularly appropriate for products that rely on sending the same promotional message to large audiences. Many of the ob<ectives of advertising are only realised in the longer term and therefore it is largely a strategic marketing tool. $he ob)ectives of advertising are broader than that of directl# stimulating sales volumes. *frican +istillers, for e(ample, contribute to a series of television advertisements, sho%n around the time of public holida#s in ,imbab%e. $hese %arn people of the dangers and irresponsibilit# of driving %hen into(icated. $his involvement serves to enhance *frican +istillers' image as a sociall# responsible and caring organisation. $he ob)ective of this !ind of advertising is to create a positive attitude to%ards the compan# on the part of its publics, e.g. government, pressure groups, shareholders, suppliers, agents and the general public. -ome of these publics %ill never consume the compan#'s products and this !ind of advertising campaign is not intended to encourage them to do so. Sales Promotion: -ales promotion emplo#s short"term incentives, such as free gifts, mone#"off coupons, product samples etc., and its effects also tend to be short"term. $herefore, sales promotion is a tactical mar!eting instrument. -ales promotions ma# be targetted either at consumers or members of the channel of distribution, or both. Public relations: .ublic relations is an organisation's communications %ith its various publics. $hese publics include customers, suppliers, stoc!holders /shareholders, financial institutions and others %ith mone# invested in the business), emplo#ees, the government and the general public. &n the past, organisations thought in terms of publicit# rather than public relations. $he distinction bet%een advertising and publicit# %as based on %hether or not pa#ment %as made to conve# information via the mass media. *dvertising re0uires pa#ment b# the sponsor of the message or information %hilst publicit# is information %hich the media decides to broadcast because it is considered ne%s%orth# and therefore no pa#ment is received b# the media from a sponsor. &t is more common these da#s to spea! of public relations than of publicit#. .ublic relations is much more focused in its purposes. $he ob)ectives of public relations tend to be broader than those of other components of promotional strateg#. &t is concerned %ith the prestige and image of the organisation as a %hole among groups %hose attitudes and behaviour can impact upon the performance and aims of the organisation. $o the e(tent that public relations is ever used in product promotion, it constitutes an indirect approach to promoting an organi1ations products and2or services. Personal selling: $his can be described as an interpersonal influence process involving an agribusiness' promotional presentation conducted on a person"to"person basis %ith the prospective bu#er. &t is used in both consumer and industrial mar!eting and is the dominant form of mar!eting

communication in the case of the latter. ,etting marketing communication o-.ectives $he 0uestion arises as to ho% operational communication ob)ectives can be developed, given that these cannot be usefull# defined in terms of sales volumes. * three step approach is proposed and this ta!es into account the longer term outcomes of mar!eting communications. $he three steps are3 1. &dentif# the target segment 4. +etermine the behavioural change to be brought about 5. +ecide %hat needs to be done to bring about the change in behaviour. Identifying the target segment: $he identification of the target audience is obtained from the mar!eting strateg# and mar!eting plan. $here ma#, ho%ever, need to be a refinement of the target group for a particular promotional campaign. 6eturning to our earlier e(ample of the problem of persuading farmers in the arid areas of 7ots%ana to gro% sorghum, it ma# be that the target group is defined as, 8$hose farmers operating small holdings of 5 hectares or less, in arid areas, %ho gre% sorghum as a food crop in the past but stopped doing so completel# to ta!e up the gro%ing of cash crops9. $here is a direct relationship bet%een the degree of precision %ith %hich the target group is defined and the clarit# %ith %hich communication ob)ectives can be stated. oreover, if the target group is defined %ith precision this greatl# assists in deciding upon both the content of the promotional message and the medium chosen to carr# it. Intended behavioural changes: $here should be a clear understanding of %hat behavioural changes the communications programme is intended to bring about. &s it3 $o increase usage among e(isting customers: $o convert non"users to users: $o establish ne% uses for an e(isting products: $o reduce the amount of brand s%itching and encourage more users to be brand lo#al: $o enable customers to ma!e better, more effective, more efficient or less %asteful use of the product and thereb# increase its value to them: &t is possible to measure the e(tent to %hich changes in behaviour have occurred, but mar!eting communication ob)ectives can onl# become operational %hen the intended behavioural changes are stated %ith precision and %ithout ambiguit#. Deciding what needs to be done: $he third step in developing operation ob)ectives for mar!eting communications, is to specif# the re0uired course of action. $o increase the number of uses of a product might onl# re0uire an a%areness campaign, to improve the %a# in %hich a product is used /e.g. farmer's application of plant gro%th chemicals) %ould probabl# involve an educational campaign, to create a li!ing of the product a programme aimed at attitudinal change %ould be necessar#, and the conversion of non"users of the product to users is li!el# to focus upon creating a conviction about its benefits and attributes.

Factors influencing the communications mix

$here are at least 5 ma)or influences on %hat ma!es a given mi( of promotional techni0ues appropriate. $hese are3 the nature of the mar!et, the nature of the product, the stage in the product life c#cle, price and the funds available for promotional activities. Nature of the market: *n organisation's target audience greatl# influences the form of communication to be used. ;here a mar!et is comprised of relativel# fe% bu#ers, in reasonable pro(imit# to one another, then personal selling ma# prove efficient as %ell as effective. <onversel#, large and dispersed mar!ets are perhaps unsuitable for personal selling because the costs per contact %ill be high. $he customer t#pe also has an impact. * target mar!et made up of industrial purchasers, %holesalers or retailers is more li!el# to be served b# organisations %hich emplo# personal selling than is a mar!et of consumers. *nother important consideration is the state of the prospective customer's !no%ledge and preferences %ith respect to the product or service. &n some cases, the tas! %ill be to ma!e potential customers a%are of a product %hich is entirel# ne% to them, %hilst in others, the aim %ill be to

attract them a%a# from a competing product. $he t%o tas!s are 0uite different in nature and ma# re0uire the use of differing forms of communication. /-ee also the topic of the hierarch# of effects %hich is e(plored a little later in this chapter). Nature of the product: =ighl# standardised products, %ith minimal servicing re0uirements, are less li!el# to depend upon personal selling than are custom designed products that are technicall# comple( and2or re0uire fre0uent servicing. -tandardised, high sales volume products, especiall# consumer products, %ill probabl# rel# more on advertising through the mass media. ;here the product is targetted at a narro% mar!et segment or %here those %ho can use the product effectivel# are fe% in number then personal selling %ill prove the more cost effective method of communications. >or instance, in areas such as .a!istan and -ri 'an!a, field si1es are too small for four %heeled tractors to %or! effectivel#. =o%ever, there ma# be a relativel# small number of farmers %ho have larger fields and %ho can use such a tractor both effectivel# and efficientl#. &n these circumstances, a more direct approach to the target group of farmers %ould be advisable. Stage in the product life cycle: $he promotional mi( must be matched to a product's stage in the product life c#cle. +uring the introductor# stage, heav# emphasis is placed upon personal selling to conve# the attributes and benefits of the product. &ntermediaries are personall# contacted to engender a%areness, interest and, if possible, commitment to the product. $rade sho%s and demonstrations are also fre0uentl# used to inform and educate prospective dealers2retailers and, sometimes, consumers. *dvertising at this stage is chiefl# informative, and sales promotion techni0ues, such as product samples and mone#"off coupons, are designed to achieve the goals of getting potential customers to tr# the product. *s a product graduates into the gro%th and maturit# stages, advertising places greater emphasis upon persuasion, %ith the ultimate ob)ective of encouraging the target mar!et to become purchasers of the product. .ersonal selling efforts continue to be directed at mar!eting intermediaries in an attempt to e(pand distribution. *s more competitors enter the mar!et, advertising begins to stress product differences to establish brand lo#alt#. 6eminder advertisements begin to appear in the maturit# and earl# decline stages. $hus, %e see that as a product progresses through the product life c#cle, both the mar!eting ob)ectives, and the promotional mi( used to achieve them, ma# %ell change. Price: $he fourth factor impinging upon the promotional mi( is that of price. *dvertising and2or sales promotion are the dominant promotional tools for lo% unit value products due to the high per contact costs in personal selling. =igher value products can )ustif#, and usuall# re0uire, personal selling. Promotional budget: * real barrier to implementing an# promotional strateg# is the si1e of the promotional budget. ass media advertising tends to be e(pensive although the message can reach large numbers of people and hence the cost per contact is relativel# lo%. >or man# ne% or smaller firms the costs are prohibitive and the# are forced to see! less efficient but cheaper methods. &deall#, a promotional strateg# should first be developed and then costed rather than designing a promotional strateg# around a preset budget.