What Is Advertising?

Advertising is the action of calling public attention to an idea, good, or service

through paid announcements by an identified sponsor.

According to Kotler –

Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation & promotion of

ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.

What is Advertising?
Advertising is a marketing tactic involving paying for space to promote a
product, service, or cause. The actual promotional messages are called
advertisements, or ads for short. The goal of advertising is to reach people
most likely to be willing to pay for a company’s products or services and
entice them to buy.

Characteristics Of Advertising
 Paid Form: Advertising requires the advertiser (also called sponsor) to pay
to create an advertising message, to buy advertising media slot, and to
monitor advertising efforts.
 Tool For Promotion: Advertising is an element of the promotion mix of an
organization.
 One Way Communication: Advertising is a one-way communication where
brands communicate to the customers through different mediums.
 Personal Or Non-Personal: Advertising can be non-personal as in the case
of TV, radio, or newspaper advertisements, or highly personal as in the
case of social media and other cookie-based advertisements.
Advantages Of Advertising
 Reduces Per-Unit Cost: The wide appeal of advertisements increases the
demand for the product which benefits the organization as it capitalizes on
the economies of scale.
 Helps In Brand Building: Advertisements work effectively in brand
building. Brands who advertise are preferred over those which doesn’t.
 Helps In Launching New Product: Launching a new product is easy when
it is backed by an advertisement.
 Boosts Up Existing Customers’ Confidence In The
Brand: Advertisements boosts up existing customers’ confidence in the
 brand as they get a feeling of pride when they see an advertisement of the
product or the brand they use.
 Helps In Reducing Customer Turnover: Strategic advertisements for new
offers and better service helps reduce customer turnover.
 Attracts New Customers: Attractive advertisements help the brand in
gaining new customers and expanding the business.
 Educates The Customers: Advertisements inform the customers about
different products existing in the market and also educates them in what
they should look for in an apt product.

Disadvantages Of Advertising
 Increases The Costs: Advertising is an expense to the business and is
added to the cost of the product. This cost is eventually borne by the end
consumer.
 Confuses The Buyer: Too many advertisements with similar claims often
confuses the buyer in what to buy and should he buy the product or not.
 Is Sometimes Misleading: Some advertisements use smart strategies to
mislead the customers.
 Only For Big Businesses: Advertising is a costly affair and only big
businesses can afford it. This makes small businesses out of competition
with big businesses who get to enjoy a monopoly in the market.
 Encourages The Sale Of Inferior Products: Effective advertisements even
lead to the sale of inferior products which aren’t good for the consumers.

Promotion Mix
Definition: The Promotion Mix refers to the blend of several promotional tools used by the
business to create, maintain and increase the demand for goods and services.
The fourth element of the 4 P’s of Marketing Mix is the promotion; that focuses on creating the
awareness and persuading the customers to initiate the purchase. The several tools that facilitate
the promotion objective of a firm are collectively known as the Promotion Mix.

The Promotion Mix is the integration of Advertising, Personal Selling, Sales Promotion, Public
Relations and Direct Marketing. The marketers need to view the following questions in order to
have a balanced blend of these promotional tools.

 What is the most effective way to inform the customers?

 Which marketing methods to be used?
 To whom the promotion efforts be directed?
 What is the marketing budget? How is it to be allocated to the promotional tools?

The promotional mix generally involves 5 components such as

1. Personal selling
2. Advertising
3. Direct marketing
4. Sales promotions
5. Public relations

Page Contents

1) Personal selling
It is a part of the promotional mix which involves a one to one
communication between buyers and customers (either potential or already
customers). As it is a one-to-one communication, it generates direct contact
with prospects and customers. Even though it is considered to be one of
the most expensive forms of promotion, it is also considered to be the most
successful as a seller-buyer relationship can be created and developed.

2) Advertising
One of the key factors in the promotional mix, which contributes to brand
building and also how the market perceives the company, is advertising. It
is always a big part of the promotional mix because of the far and wide
reach of advertising and the message that you can send to your existing
and potential customers. Good advertising can build a solid brand for the
company. On the other hand, bad advertising with a wrong message, can
cause the brand or product to fail.

Related: Customer loyalty ladder and how to use it to target customers

3) Direct marketing
While advertising targets a mass-audience, direct marketing targets
prospects and customers. Social media marketing, Email marketing,
Internet marketing are all types of direct marketing used by companies.
They have become important in the promotional mix lately because people
are using internet far more than they used to a decade back. Company’s
employ direct marketing in order to engage in one-way communication with
its customers, about product announcements, special promotions, order
confirmations as well as customer inquiries.

4) Sales promotions
Sales promotions are one of the most common types of promotion used by
companies. Their main purpose is to stimulate purchasing and sales. While
it has the potential of increasing sales, it is also beneficial for informing
prospects about new products on the market or just to recapture old or lost
customers. Such examples include: coupons, product samples, etc.

5) Public relations
Lastly, public relations enable an organization to influence
a target audience and through this, create a favorable and positive image
for the company. The company tries to connect with the audience by
sharing information with them about the company and about the product. If
anything goes wrong on the information front, the public relations dep While
establishing your own promotional mix, you need to consider and decide
upon several factors:

1. Determine which is your target market – in terms of which customers’

needs you are going to fulfill through your products while understanding
the attitudes and behaviors of your targeted customers
2. Determine your objective – more precisely, what are you expecting to get
one your promotion mix is implemented.
3. Design your message in terms of content and format.
4. Select your promotional channels.
5. Determine your budget.
6. Determine your promotional mix.
7. Measure the results of the implemented program and make the
necessary adjustments if needed.

artment has to step forward and rebuild the public image.

Integrated Marketing
Communications
Integrated Marketing Communications is a simple concept. It ensures that
all forms of communications and messages are carefully linked together.

At its most basic level, Integrated Marketing Communications, or IMC, as

we’ll call it, means integrating all the promotional tools, so that they work
together in harmony.

Promotion is one of the Ps in the marketing mix. Promotions has its own
mix of communications tools.

All of these communications tools work better if they work together in

harmony rather than in isolation. Their sum is greater than their parts –
providing they speak consistently with one voice all the time, every time.

This is enhanced when integration goes beyond just the basic

communications tools. There are other levels of integration such as
Horizontal, Vertical, Internal, External and Data integration. Here is how
they help to strengthen Integrated Communications.
What Is DAGMAR?
DAGMAR (defining advertising goals for measured advertising results) is a
marketing model used to establish clear objectives for an advertising
campaign and measure its success. The DAGMAR model was introduced
by Russell Colley in a 1961 report to the Association of National
Advertisers and was expanded upon in 1995 in a book by Solomon Dutka.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

 The DAGMAR model defines the four steps of an effective advertising

campaign as causing awareness, comprehension, conviction, and
action.
 The model stresses defining the segment of the market that the
campaign seeks to reach.
 The model also requires an evaluation of the campaign's success
against a pre-set benchmark.
How DAGMAR Works
The DAGMAR approach advocates a marketing campaign that guides the
consumer through four phases: Awareness, comprehension, conviction,
and action. That path has become known by its acronym as the ACCA
formula. The four steps of the campaign are as follows:

 Generating awareness of the brand among consumers

 Increasing comprehension of the product and its benefits
 Convincing consumers that they need the product
 Persuading consumers to buy it

The DAGMAR method contains two goals. The first is to develop a

communication task that accomplishes those specific ACCA steps. The
second is to make sure that the success of those goals can be measured
against a baseline.

The DAGMAR method stresses that advertising is about communication.

Colley believed that effective advertising seeks to communicate rather than
sell. He specified four basic requirements for evaluating the effectiveness
of an advertising campaign:

 Be concrete and measurable

 Define the target audience or market
  Identify the benchmark and the degree of change expected
 Specify a period during which to accomplish the objective

Fundamentals of advertising

Consider who you are targeting

Make sure you measure

Have an objective

Understand the importance of selecting audited publications

Weighing the benefits of frequency versus dominance

Advertising Strategy
The advertising strategy is different from your creative or copy strategy. Your ad strategy
communicates the message that will move your target audience's current beliefs and usage of
your brand to a desired position of beliefs and usage. The advertising strategy includes a
description of your target audience and the message you want that audience to receive. Your
target audience will be one or more of the customer groups previously discussed, any of which
might be narrowed further through your audience research. Your advertising message will
evolve out of knowledge gained about usage and attitudes toward your business or brand.
Strategy is where audience analysis and message content precede your advertising objective.
You need to know the consumers you are targeting and the message that resonates before
discussing your objective for that audience in terms of response to your message.

Advertising Tactics
Your advertising tactics, sometimes called the "tactical plan," make up the specifics of "how"
your advertising strategy will be executed. The two primary components of your tactical plan are
your creative or copy strategy and your media strategy. Advertising tactics are normally the
exclusive domain of the advertising agency. The creative strategy translates the target audience
and messaging guidance from your advertising strategy into specific guidelines for agency art
directors and copywriters to create the actual advertising product. The media strategy specifies
the media vehicles that will be used to effectively and efficiently reach the target audience.
Advertising is a specialized field. Get help from a reputable ad agency if you plan to spend
significant dollars on advertising and check their credentials and references.

Advertising Copy: Definition,

Types, Examples Sponsored

An advertising copy is a term used to describe the main text used in the
advertisement. The text could be a dialogue, a catchy punch line or a
company’s dictum.

It is a print, radio or TV advertising message that aims at developing and

retaining an interest of the target customer and prompting him to purchase
the product within a couple of seconds

The advertisement copies can be divided into six main types:

 Human interest ad copy

 Educational ad copy
 Reason why? ad copy
 Institutional ad copy
 Suggestive ad copy
 Expository ad copy

Layout of Ad Copy (Six Layouts)

An ad copy consists of various parts, elements, or ingredients.

Which parts and how many parts should be included depend on the
media through which the advertising message is to be
communicated. Layout of ad copy shows the coordination of various
parts of ad copy like headlines, slogans, test, illustrations, pictures,
sponsor, and logotype.

It is a physical arrangement of presenting the message. It is like a

map, design, or structure of advertising message. It is a technical job
that requires a high degree of expertise, skills, and experience. All
ingredients are presented in such a way that attracts the reader,
listener, and/or viewer to attend the advertisement. Order must be
decided carefully.

Practically, an advertising copy includes one or more of

the following parts:
1. Headlines:
ADVERTISEMENTS:

Headlines are crucial for print advertisements. They include

attractive description written in colorful bold letters at the top or
anywhere in the advertisement. Attractive fonts are used to make
the headline eye-catching. Headlines may contain slogans. For
example, More Smile per Mile by TVS Victor, Japanese quality, at
Chinese price, available in India by Orpat Home Appliances, Elora
Times Ltd. Mostly, headlines are written in bold letters. Headlines
suggest major benefits, offers, or time limit. For example, special
offers open only for two days.

2. Slogans:
Slogans are made of words and sentences. They are expressed in a
rhythmic manner. Slogans are used for every type of advertisement
such as TV, radio, outdoor, and print media. Slogans are presented
or written at the beginning, at the middle, or at the end of
advertisement.

In audio-visual media, a slogan is presented with musical effect by

using persons or cartoon characters. For example, Hero Honda, Des
Ki Dhadkan; TVS Victor, More Smile Per Mile; Raymond, The
Complete Man; Sansui, Better than the best; Onida Television,
Change the World; Coca-Cola, Life Ho To Asi, and Thanda Matalab
Coca-Cola; Tata Namak, Desh Ka Namak, etc., slogans have
popularized some brands and companies. Sometimes, songs are
used. For example, Nirma Chemicals, MDS masala, etc., used songs
in their advertisement. Slogans are indicative of key themes the
advertiser insists to appeal the audience.

3. Text:
The text is the central part of ad copy. It contains a description. It is
prepared with reference to advertising objectives. For example, a
company gives more description if company’s objective is to provide
more information. Text should neither be too lengthy nor be too
short. Text includes theme or appeal to the customers.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

It describes major benefits of products. The claim must suggest an

absolute or a comparative superiority of the products. Most text
shows product benefits, special offers, time, availability, quality, etc.
Text is prepared differently for different media. For example, space
is important for print media; time is important for audio-visual
media; size is important for outdoor media.

4. Illustration:
Illustrations are used to make the advertising claim clear and
attractive. Here picture, character, cartoons, charts, etc., are used to
illustrate an use of the product. In the illustration, claims are made
through celebrities. In many cases, they are shown using the
products.

TV advertisement uses film stars, artists, or cricketers to illustrate

the use of the product. For example, Film stars Sharukh Khan and
Priti Jinta are shown driving Santro Car. Children are used for
illustrating different brands of toothpastes, chocolates, bicycles, and
biscuits. Similarly, Coca-Cola illustrates its product through film
stars and cricketers.
5. Pictures:
Use of pictures is more or less similar to illustration. However,
pictures are more relevant to print media. Pictures include products,
brands, persons, etc., presented in systematic manner. Here, also,
products and brands are associated with film stars, cricketers, and
well-known cartoon characters.

6. Sponsor and logotype:

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Ad copy also includes name of company, sponsor, brand or logotype

to assist customers recognize the name of producers and/or
marketers. Name of producer or logotype is kept either at the
beginning or at the end of advertisement. Some advertisements
include full name and address of company, including registered
office, regional offices, its website, e-mail, phone, fax, etc. Use of
sponsor or logotype popularizes name of a company along with
products and brands. In audio-visual advertisements, the name of
company is shown and/or spoken.