INTRODUCTION

Advertising is only one element of the promotion mix, but it often

considered prominent in the overall marketing mix design. Its high visibility
and pervasiveness made it as an important social and encomia topic in
Indian society. Promotion may be defined as “the co-ordination of all seller
initiated efforts to set up channels of information and persuasion to facilitate
the scale of a good or service.” Promotion is most often intended to be a
supporting component in a marketing mix. Promotion decision must be
integrated and co-ordinated with the rest of the marketing mix, particularly
product/brand decisions, so that it may effectively support an entire
marketing mix strategy. The promotion mix consists of four basic elements.
They are:
1. Advertising
2. Personal Selling
3. Sales Promotion
4. Publicity

1. Advertising is the dissemination of information by non-personal means

through paid media where the source is the sponsoring organization.

2. Personal selling is the dissemination of information by non-personal

methods, like face-to-face, contacts between audience and employees of the
sponsoring organization. The source of information is the sponsoring
organization.

3. Sales promotion is the dissemination of information through a wide

variety of activities other than personal selling, advertising and publicity
which stimulate consumer purchasing and dealer effectiveness

4. Publicity is the disseminating of information by personal or non-personal

means and is not directly paid by the organization and the organization is not
the source.

DEFINITION OF ADVERTISING

The word advertising originates from a Latin word advertise, which means
to turn to. The dictionary meaning of the term is “to give public notice or to
announce publicly”.
Advertising may be defined as the process of buying sponsor-identified
media space or time in order to promote a product or an idea. The American
Marketing Association, Chicago, has defined advertising as “any form of
non-personal presentation or promotion of ideas, goods or services, by an
identified sponsor.” What Advertisement Is? Advertisement is a mass
communicating of information intended to persuade buyers to by products
with a view to maximizing a company’s profits. The elements of advertising
are:
(i) It is a mass communication reaching a large group of consumers.
(ii) It makes mass production possible.
(iii) It is non-personal communication, for it is not delivered by an
actual person, nor is it addressed to a specific person.
(iv) It is a commercial communication because it is used to help assure
the advertiser of a long business life with profitable sales.
(v) Advertising can be economical, for it reaches large groups of
people. This keeps the cost per message low.
(vi) The communication is speedy, permitting an advertiser to speak to
millions of buyers in a matter of a few hours.
(vii) Advertising is identified communication. The advertiser signs his
name to his advertisement for the purpose of publicizing his
identity.

What is Included in Advertising?

(i) The information in an advertisement should benefit the buyers. It should
give them a more satisfactory expenditure of their rupees.

(ii) It should suggest better solutions to their problems

(iii)The content of the advertisement is within the control of the advertiser,

not the medium.

(iv) Advertising without persuasion is ineffective. The advertisement that

fails to influence anyone, either immediately or in the future is a waste of
money.

(v) The function of advertising is to increase the profitable sales volume.

That is, advertising expenses should not increase disproportionately.
Advertising includes the following forms of messages:
1) Newspapers and magazines;
ii) on radio and television broadcasts
iii) Circular of all kinds, (whether distributed by mail, by person, thorough
tradesmen, or by inserts in packages)
iv) Dealer help materials
v) Window display and counter – display materials and efforts
vi) Store signs, motion pictures used for advertising
vii) Novelties bearing advertising messages and Signature of the advertiser,
v Label stags and other literature accompanying the merchandise.

Objectives
Advertising is a form of promotion and like a promotion; the objectives of
advertising should be specific. This requires that the target consumers
should be specifically identified and that the effect which advertising is
intended to have upon the consumer should be clearly indicated. The
objectives of advertising were traditionally stated in terms of direct sales.
Now, it is to view advertising as having communication objectives that seek
to inform persuade and remind potential customers of the worth of product.
The basic objectives of an advertising programme may be listed as below:
(i) To stimulate sales amongst present, former and future consumers.
It involves a decision regarding the media, e.g., TV rather than
print;

(ii) To communicate with consumers.

(iii) To retain the loyalty of present and former consumers.

Advertising may be used to reassure buyers that they have made
the best purchase, thus building loyalty to the brand name or the
firm.

(iv) To increase support. Advertising impliedly bolsters the morale of

the sales force and of distributors, wholesalers, and retailers, ; it
thus contributes to enthusiasts and confidence attitude in the
organizational.

(v) To project an image. Advertising is used to promote an overall

image of respect and trust for an organization. This message is
 aimed not only at consumers, but also at the government,
shareholders, and the general public. This involves decision
regarding

Importance of Advertising
Generally, advertising is a relatively low-cost method of conveying selling
messages to numerous prospective customers. It can secure leads for
salesmen and middlemen by convincing readers to request more information
and by identifying outlets handling the product. It can force middlemen to
stock the product by building consumer interest. It can help train dealers
salesmen in product uses and applications. It can build dealer and consumer
confidence in the company and its products by building familiarity.
Advertising is to stimulate market demand. While sometimes advertising
alone may succeed in achieving buyer acceptance, preference, or even
demand for the product, it is seldom solely relied upon. Advertising is
efficiently used with at least one other sales method, such as personal selling
or point-of-purchase display, to directly move customers to buying action.
Advertising has become increasingly important to business enterprises –
both large and small. Outlay on advertising certainly is the voucher.
Advertising assumes real economic importance too. Advertising strategies
that increase the number of units sold stimulate economies in the production
process. The production cost per unit of output is lowered. It in turn leads to
lower prices. Lower consumer prices then allow these products to become
available to more people. Similarly, the price of newspapers, professional
sports, radio and TV programmes, and the like might be prohibitive without
advertising. In short, advertising pays for many of the enjoyable
entertainment and educational aspects of contemporary life.