Project Report on Advertising Effectiveness [Advertising/Sales Promotion/Sales

Management]
ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS
CONCEPTUAL STUDY OF PROMOTION MIX
People no longer buy shoes to keep there feet warm and dry. They buy them because
of the way the shoes make them feel masculine, feminine, rugged, different,
sophisticated, young, glamorous, "in" buying shoes has become an emotional
experience . Our business now is selling excitement rather than shoes. - Francis C.
Rooney
Modern marketing calls for more than developing a good product it attractively and
making it accessible to target customers. Companies must also communicate with
their present and potential customers. Every company is inevitably cast into the role of
communicator and promoter.
What is communicated, however should not be left to change. To communicate
effectively; companies hire advertising agencies to develop effective ads; sales
promotion specialists to design sales incentive programmes and public relations firms
to develop the corporate image. They train their sales people to be friendly and
knowledgeable. For most companies, the question is not whether to communicate but
rather what to say, to whom.
Promotion influences demand by communicating product and company message to
the market. A promotion Techniques involves the co-ordination of all communication
efforts aimed at a specific audience; consumer and shareholder. The most critical
promotional question is the proper mix of advertising, personal selling, sales
promotion and publicity. The promotion mix is usually co-ordinated on a campaign
basis, taking the campaign may efforts include a total campaign with one unified
theme. All promotion messages tie in to this theme in one way or the the, rather than
conflicting with it.
ADVERTISING
The word Advertising has its origin from a Latin word Adventure which means
to turn to. The dictionary meaning of the word is to announce publicity or to give
public concerned to a specific thing which has been announced by the advertiser
publicity in order to inform and influence them with the ideas which the
advertisement carries. In business world the terms in mainly used with reference to
selling the product of the concern.
The advertising, as Jones defines it is "a sort of machine made mass production
method of selling which supplements the voice and personality of the individual
salesman, such as manufacturing the machine supplements the hands of the
craftsman." It is thus a process of buying/sponsor/identified media space or time in
order to promote a product or an idea. From a careful scrutiny of the above definition,
the following points emerge :

Advertising is a paid form and hence commercial in nature. This any sponsored
communication designed to influence buyer behaviour advertising.
Advertising is non-personal. Unlike personal selling, advertising is done in a non-
personal manner through intermediaries or media whatever the form of advertisement
(Spoken, written or visual). It is directed at a mass audience and not directed at the
individual as in personal selling.
Advertising promotes idea, goods and services. Although most advertising is designed
to help sell goods, it is being used increasingly to further public interest goals.
Advertising is identifiable with its sponsoring authority and advertiser. It discloses or
identifies the source of opinions and ideas.
Advertising thus is :
1. Impersonal
2. A communication of ideas.
3. Aimed at mass audience
4. By a paying sponsor.
The two forms of mass communication that are something confused with advertising
are publicity and propaganda. If we eliminate the elements of the "paying sponsor"
(The paid requirement) we would have the element of publicity left : For publicity is
technically speaking, advertisement without payment. In a similar manner. If we
eliminate the requirement of an "identified sponsor", the resulting communication is
propagandistic.
It is important for us to emphasize that advertising may involve the communication of
ideas or goods of service. We are all aware that advertising attempts to sell goods and
services. But we may overlook the more important fact that it often sells ideas.
Advertising may persuade with information; it may persuade with emotion: more
frequently, it endeavours to persuade with some mixture of both.
(1) Electronic Media
Advertisers use two types of media to reach target consumers over the airwaves; radio
or T.V.
(A) Radio :
Advertisers using the medium of radio may also be classified as National or Local
advertisers. The radio is a prominent vehicle of advertising in our country and
accounts for a large sum of the total advertising budget.
The radio serves principally local rather than national or large regional markets. Many
small advertisers use the radio. So do some large organizations.
When T.V. became a factor in the advertising scene, some industry observers felt that
radio advertising might become insignificant or even disappear. This has not been so,
for radio operators have responded to the challenge by offering programmes that
features music etc. which appeal to local audience consumers have responded very
favourably to this approach. Moreover TV does not have much coverage in our
country.
(B) Television :
Late in India, a growing class of advertising media has been the TV. In our country,
commercial advertising on TV is severely limited because broadcast timings are only
in the evenings. The TV is a unique combination timing of sight and sound and
achieves a deeper impact than the other media do. This is particularly advantageous
for advertisers whose product require demonstration. TV advertising offers
advantage of impact, mass coverage, repetition, flexibility and prestigious. In our
country not everyone has a TV set; therefore it does not reach everyone. Moreover,
in rural India where 76.31% of our population lives.