TYPES / FORMS OF MEDIA ADVERTISING

Advertising is the promotion of a company’s products and services though different mediums to increase the sales of the product and services. It works by making the customer aware of the product and by focusing on customer’s need to buy the product.

Globally, advertising has become an essential part of the corporate world. Therefore, companies allot a huge part of their revenues to the advertising budget. Advertising also serves to build a brand of the product which goes a long way to make effective sales.

There are several branches or types of advertising which can be used by the companies. Let us discuss them in detail.

DIRECT MAIL

This is one of the oldest types of advertising media. Under this method message is sent to the prospective buyers by post. A mailing list is prepared for this purpose. Circular letters, folders, calendars, booklets and catalogues are sent under this type of advertising. In the sales letter an appeal is made to the buyers separately.

 PRINT ADVERTISING –

The print media has been used for advertising since long. The newspapers and magazines are quite popular modes of advertising for different companies all over the world. Using the print media, the companies can also promote their products through brochures and fliers.

The newspaper and magazines sell the advertising space and the cost depends on several factors. The quantity of space, the page of the publication, and the type of paper decide the cost of the advertisement. So, an ad on the front page would be costlier than on inside pages.

Similarly, an ad in the glossy supplement of the paper would be more expensive than in a mediocre quality paper.

NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES ADVERTISING

These are the important forms of press advertising; newspapers are the most effective and powerful medium of advertising. Newspapers contain valuable information with regard to different current events. It may be referred to as ‘a store house of information’. There are daily, bi-weekly and weekly newspapers. Newspapers have widest circulation and read by many people. The newspapers may be local, provincial or national.

 

MAGAZINES ADVERTISING

Magazines or periodicals are other important media of communication. Magazines may be released weekly, monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual. These are read with more interest by the readers as compared to newspapers. Advertisements given in magazines are more descriptive and attractive. They are usually in coloured form which depicts the product nicely and gives lasting impression to the reader. There are magazines or journals meant for general public and special class of people. The magazines have longer life and are very suitable for advertising specific goods.

 

BROADCAST ADVERTISING 

This type of advertising is very popular all around the world. It consists of television, radio, or Internet advertising. The ads on the television have a large Advertising and Sales Promotion. The cost of the advertisement depends on the length of the ad and the time at which the ad would be appearing.

 

TELEVISION ADVERTISING

This is the latest and the fast-developing medium of advertising and is getting increased popularity these days. It is more effective as compared to radio as it has the advantages of sound and sight. On account of pictorial presentation, it is more effective and impressive and leaves ever lasting impression on the mind of the viewer. It is a very costly medium which can be employed by big concerns only; it has a shorter life span and limited coverage. Back reference to the advertisement cannot be made after its presentation. The duration of the advertisement is very limited.

For example, the prime-time ads would be more costly than the regular ones.

 

RADIO ADVERTISING

Radio advertising is very popular these days. The advertisements are broadcasted from different stations of All India Radio. Radio advertising can be explained as “word of mouth advertising on a wholesale scale”. The advertising messages can be in different regional Advertising and 23 languages.

 The most important advantage derived from radio advertising is that it covers every type of listener whether illiterate or educated. It is a very effective medium for popularizing on mass scale various consumer articles. The coverage of this medium is wider extending to a large number of listeners.

It ensures quicker repetition. Radio advertising is not what it used to be after the advent of television and Internet, but still there is specific audience for the radio ads too. The radio jingles are quite popular in sections of society and help to sell the products.

FILM ADVERTISING

 This is also known as cinema advertising. This also provides sight and hearing facilities like television. Short advertisement films are not prepared by big business houses which are sent to different cinema houses to be shown to the audience before the regular shows or during the intermission. It has more repetitive value but not to the same viewers. Its coverage is limited which benefits the local population only It is a very costly medium involving higher distribution and film making costs. Only big organizations can afford to produce advertisement films. It ensures more flexibility at larger costs. Its effectiveness cannot be measured properly. Film making is a time-consuming process.

  

This is a unique way of advertising in which the product or the message is subtly included in a movie or TV serial. There is no actual ad, just the mention of the product in the movie. For example, Tom Cruise used the Nokia phone in the movie Minority Report.

OUTDOOR ADVERTISING

This type of advertising includes different media like posters, placards, electric displays or neon signs, sandwich men, sky writing, bus, train and tram advertising. This is also known as ‘Mural advertising’. The main aim of outdoor advertising is to catch the attention of passerby within twinkling of an eye. This is the most effective medium of advertising. This is very suitable in the case of consumable and household articles like soaps, medicines, fans, shoes and pens etc.

 

PUBLIC SERVICE ADVERTISING –

As evident from the title itself, such advertising is for the public causes. There are a host of important matters such as AIDS, political integrity, energy conservation, illiteracy, poverty and so on all of which need more awareness as far as general public is concerned.

 

WINDOW DISPLAY-

It is a common method which is usually undertaken by retailers who display their products in the shop windows in order to attract the customers. This is also known as exterior display. It is the most effective and direct method of influencing the people. Window display has direct appeal to the onlookers. It is instrumental in arousing the desire to purchase in the prospective customers. It acts as a silent salesman. This type of advertising has gained much importance in recent times and is an effective tool to convey the message.

FAIRS AND EXHIBITION

A trade exhibition or a fair is organized on extensive scale which is attended by different manufacturers and traders along with their products to be sold to the large number of people who visit the exhibition. The exhibition may be either organized on local, provincial or international basis. The manufacturers also distribute the sales literature and sometimes free samples of goods to the people. Facilities of practical demonstration are also provided to the customers. The customers clearly understand the method of operation and use of the product.

 

SPECIALLY ADVERTISING

 Most of the business houses in order to increase their sales, advertise their products, give free gifts like diaries, purses, paper weights and calendars to the customers. The name of the firm or the dealer is inscribed on the articles presented.