Mass Media Advertising

Introduction

Advertising as the bridge of buyers and sellers, has been going on from the days people began exchanging goods and services. It's a major social and economic force. 

Advertising includes those activities by which visual or oral messages are addressed to the public for the purposes of informing them and influencing them either by goods or services or to act or be inclined or to act or be inclined favorably towards ideas, institutions, or persons featured.

BN Ahuja & SS Chhabra, 2003

What is ad?

1.        A form of mass communication

2.        A powerful marketing tool

3.        A component of economic system

4.        A means to financing the mass media

5.        A social institution

6.        An art form

7.        An instrument of business management

8.        A field of management

9.        A profession.

Definition

The simplest definition of an ad is that it is a public announcement. In earlier time, to advertise meant merely to announce or to inform like birth, death or engagement with little or no intention to persuade. Most of classified ad provides useful information about jobs, accommodation, sales of second hand goods etc.

Controlled, identifiable information and persuasion by means of mass communications media is an advertisement.

                                                -John S. Wright/Me-grew Hill

Advertising serves as a communication vehicle for a society by making more available to many at less cost.

                                                - John S. Wright/John E. Mertes

Advertising is paid non-personal communication from identified sponsor using mass media to persuade or influence an audience.

-Wells, Burnett and Moriarty

The paid definition of advertising has six elements:

1.      communication

2.      that is non personal

3.      from an identified sponsor

4.      using mass media

5.      to influence or persuade

6.       an audience.

Any, paid form of non-personal presentation of ideas, goods and services by the identified sponsor.

                                                -American Marketing Association

Any form- Sign, Symbol, Illustration, Message

Non-personal- not person to person, if it is, it is not an ad.

Goods, services and ideas for action- Not only goods and services, sometimes the ideas for action e.g. Telecom office may inform how to use pre paid mobile.

Identified sponsor- Name, Brand etc. indicate that it was openly paid for.

Advertisements can be recognized as paid, non-personal communication forms used with persuasive intent by identified sources through various media.

Sandage, Fryburger, Rotzoll (1996)

Marketing vs. Advertising

Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.

The British Charter Institute

Advertising presents the most persuasive possible selling message to the right prospects for the product or service at the lowest possible cost.

The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising

Who's involved?

Advertising can be thought of as a five-part business.

1.        Advertisers

Who some times use   

2.        Ad agencies

And sometimes assisted by

3.        Support organizations

Send theirs messages through

4.        Media

To potential

5. Consumers

of a product, service or idea promoted.

Advertisers

Producers, Retailers, Wholesalers, Distributors, Unions, Associations, Schools, Government, Political parties are the potential advertisers.

Ad agency

"Independent businesses composed of creative and business people, who develop, prepare and place advertising in media for clients seeking to find customers for their goods and goods and services."

Support Organization

Specialists, researchers

Media

CPM (Cost per thousand) Ad cost x 1000

                                                                                    Circulation

Consumers

1. Repetitive

2. Highly competitive environment

            Some urge to spend and others to save.

3. Part of the culture

            We accept many of the things that occur in ad as "the way things are."

In general Advertisement

q       Not always studied in detail but at a glance

q       Seen in passing or in TV

q       Heard on radio very briefly

q       Message must have instant impact

q       Language sometime works as communication barrier.

Merits and Demerits of Advertisement

It is a paid form of non-personal mass communication by an identified sponsor.

Merits

1. Can reach many consumers simultaneously
2. Relatively low cost per exposure
3. Excellent for creating brand image
4. High degree of flexibility and variety of media to choose from.

Demerits

1. Many consumers reached are not potential buyers i. e. waste of promotion money
2. High visibility makes advertising a major target of marketing critics
3. Advertising exposure time is usually brief in terms of money.

Ad and publicity

Ad

1. Paid form- paid by sponsor
2. Presentation is programmed
3. Marketers exercise excess control
4. Always positive message

Publicity

1. Non paid form
2. Presentation is non paid
3. Marketers have less control
4. May be positive or negative.