Advertising is a marketing communication that is meant to promote or sell a product, service or idea.
Advertising
The purpose of advertising
- To inform customers of prices, uses and qualities of new and existing products or services
- To inform about job vacancies and events.
- To create demand for the products and services.
- To induce and persuade the sellers to stock the advertised items.
- To persuade customers to buy the goods and services.
- To increase sales and profits.
- To remind consumers of existing items.
- To sustain demand for the goods and services.
Types of advertising
- Persuasive
- Persuades consumers to buy specific products.
- Is used when products are similar to each other, for example Boom, Omo, Sunlight and Surf are all soap powders by different producers.
- Suppliers compete for the market.
- Suppliers claim their products have an edge over competitor’s products.
- Quality, performance, price, durability and economy of use determine persuasive bases.
- Informative
- Gives precise information on price, size and technical performance of a good or service.
- Gives details of events.
- Informs the public about finance, insurance, education or healthcare events.
- Generic or Collective
- Producers, as a group, advertise the good or service collectively.
- Producers promote the good or service in general terms: ‘Eat cereals daily for
energy; ‘Travel in comfort to Harare by buses’; ‘Drink tea for a healthy mind’.
- Brand names are not mentioned.
- Gives benefits of the product.
- Producers share the cost of advertising.
- Advertising costs are averagely low.
- Sales increase for the individual members.
- Profits increase for the individual members.
Advertising media
The media convey/relay the message/advertisement to the public.
- Television
Advantages
- Provides sound, motion and vision.
- Has high audience attention and personal impact.
- Use of item is demonstrated.
- Wide exposure to many potential consumers.
Disadvantages
- Highly costly.
- Less consumer selectivity.
- Television is accessed by a few.
- Newspapers
Advantages
- Provide printed words and pictures.
- Are more informative.
- Can always be referred to after some time.
- Wide readership.
- Local, national and regional coverage.
- Advertisement can be inserted and deleted at short notice
- Low cost
- Affordable to many consumers
- Published daily or weekly
- Advertisement is coded and classified
Disadvantages
- Short life
- Low quality production
- Can reach only the literate
- Remote areas get stale news
- Internet
Advantages
- Has motion, sight and sound
- Covers local and abroad
- Can target a market
Disadvantages
– Expensive to make
– Takes time to make
– Caters for few with access to internet
- Posters
Advantages
– Cheap and easy to make
– Easily stuck on walls, trees or vans
– Attract large viewership at strategic areas
– Last for longer periods
Disadvantages
– No audience selectivity
– No audio motion impact
– Open to vandalism
- Radio
Advantages
– Has the widest coverage.
– Has audio and personal impact.
– Segments target market through selected special interest programmes.
– Programmes can be timed and repeated.
– Radios are cheaper than televisions.
– Radios are available on cell phones, televisions and cars.
Disadvantages
– No visible impact
– Message life is short
– No transmission in some areas
- Magazine
Advantages
– Quality production
– Longer life
– Low cost per exposure
– Target specific consumers
– Increased circulation
– Informative and instructional
– Read at leisure
Disadvantages
(Same as newspapers)
- Neon signs
Advantages
– Bright colours and attractive flashing signals
– Visible to many
– Show logo, pictures and brand names distinctly.
– Can be viewed often
– Have high repeat exposure
Disadvantage
– Expensive to produce and maintain
- Direct mail
Advantages
– Consumer selectivity
– Reaches the intended target
– Minimum and wasteful circulation
Disadvantages
– Limited to literate and mailing list
– Costs of mailing are high.
– Mail may be ignored as junk.
– Mail addresses might change.
- Catalogue
Advantages
– Sent to known/target consumers
– Are available on request
– Pictures in colour
Disadvantage
– Expensive to produce and send
- Shop windows,Trade Fairs and Exhibitions Displays
Advantages
– Attractive to shoppers
– Details of item, colour, size, form and price are seen.
– Uses and advantages of item can be shown and explained.
Disadvantages
– Reach only shoppers and visitors.
– Trade Fairs are held once annually.
- Business paraphernalia
– Logos on vehicles shows goods and services on offer.
– T-shirts, carrier bags advertise the firm`s products.
– Identify with business
– Viewed by consumers
– Are in print and colour
– Costly to make
Advantages of advertising
– Increases sales and profits.
– Reduces the selling price of the product.
– Increased sales cover costs of the advertisements.
– Leads to competition among sellers.
– Quality of products is kept high.
– Consistent and stable prices are usually maintained.
– New products can be introduced.
– Consumers are exposed to a variety of high quality products.
– Improves the standard of living of the consumers.
– Revenue from advertising assists to lower the price of advertising media such as newspapers.
– Creates employment for people involved in the advertising business.
Disadvantages of advertising
– Leads consumers to overspend through impulse buying.
– Misleads consumers.
– Increases prices due to costs of advertising.
– Might lead to the purchase of harmful products.
– Undermines social standards such as were advertisements display semi-naked personalities.
– Large firms gain a monopoly in a product market.
Sales promotion
– Giving free samples to consumers.
– Reducing prices of products frequently.
– Giving free gifts on condition consumers buy specified quantities of goods.
Advertising agents
- Carry out market research on prices, names, packaging and target consumer groups.
- Advise on design, size, colour, and media for item.
- the advertisement using information provided by owner of product.
- Produce the advertisement and the owner of the product approves it.
- Place the advertisement on the advertising media.
- etc
