B.Com.(Prog.

) Semester-VI Commerce

Skill Enhancement Course (SEC)

ADVERTISING, PERSONAL SELLING & SALESMANSHIP
Reference Material : 1
Unit I-III

SCHOOL OF OPEN LEARNING

University of Delhi

Department of Commerce
 CONTENT

UNIT -I
Lesson 1 What iss Advertising ?
Lesson 2 Advertising Objectives
Lesson 3 Determination of Target Audience and Positioning
Lesson 4 Advertising Budget

UNIT-II
Lesson 1 Creativity and
a Advertising
Lesson 2 Creative Strategy
Lesson 3 Media Planning
Lesson 4 Advertising through Internet
Lesson 5 Media Decisions-
Decisions Types of Media

UNIT-III
Lesson 1 Measuring Advertising Effectiveness
Lesson 2 Advertising Agency
Lesson 3 Ethical and Legal Aspects of Advertising

Edited by :
Sh. K.B.Gupta
Ms Rutika Saini

SCHOOL OF OPEN LEARNING

University of Delhi
5, Cavalry Lane, Delhi-110007
 UNIT-I

LESSON 1
WHAT IS ADVERTISING?
The word advertising is derived from its Latin root ad verster which means to ‘to turn
towards’ or ‘to attract attention to’. Advertising is the key element in the promotion mix of
marketing. It is the tool used by marketers to disseminate information about the product to
reach out to the end user. Advertising is expected to create brand image and loyal customer
base. It is mediated communication which entails buying space and time in mass media such
as television, newspaper, radio to persuade consumers to select a particular brand amidst the
competing brands

Promotion is the communication arm of marketing and includes marketing activities used to
inform, persuade, remind the target market about the organisation, its products, services,
and other activities to build a favourable image

Promotion Mix constitutes specific group of marketing activities concerned with the
communication aspect with existing or potential consumers and the relevant public. It
involves activities such as advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing,
publicity/PR , events and sponsorships.

Advertising is one of the largest generators of revenue in the world economy. It generates
employment directly and indirectly and influences a large section of people. Advertising
interests, entice, entertains and creates lifestyle.

Advertising is many things at the same time much depend on how a person views it. The
growth of advertising industry in any country is in direct relation to the level of business
activity and the health of the economy.

According of American Marketing Association:

“Advertising is the paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and
services by an identified sponsor “

It presents an explanation of what advertising is while offering insights into what advertising
is not. The key words describing advertising are presentation and promotion. Presentation
refers to an offering while promotion involves communication of ideas and persuasion. In
other words advertising offers people ideas, goods and services and persuades them about
their benefits, utility and desirability.

The definition given by the American Marketing Association did not suggest about
persuasive and creative aspects of advertising and indicate functional responsibility. Dorothy
Cohen in 1968 offered the following definition covering these aspects

“Advertising is business activity, employing creative technique to design persuasive

communication in mass media that promote ideas, goods and services in manner consistent
with the advertiser’s objective, delivery of consumer satisfaction and development of social
and economic welfare”

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Cohen’s definition takes care of the aspirational and functional aspects of advertising. She
described advertising as business activity that uses persuasive techniques to promote ideas,
goods and services. According to her Advertising has twin function that takes care of both the
sender(the advertiser of product or services whose objectives it must fulfil ) and the receiver
(the consumer , whose satisfaction must be kept in mind) In the end Cohen talks about the
social responsibility and the economic welfare of society.

According to Borden and Marshall(1971), “ Advertising consist of all those activities by

which visual or oral messages are addressed to selected public for the purpose of informing
and influencing them to buy product or services or to act or to be inclined favourable towards
ideas, persons, trademarks or institution featured . As contrasted with publicity and other
forms of propaganda, advertising messages are identified with the advertiser either by means
of signature or an oral statement. Further advertising is commercial transaction involving
pay to the publisher , broadcasters and others whose media are employed”

Other Definitions:

According to Dunn and Barban,

“Advertising is paid, non personal communication through various media by business firms ,
non profit organisations and individuals who are in some away identified in the advertising
message and who hope to inform or persuade members of a particular audience”

According to William J Stanton,

“Advertising consist of all activities involved in presenting to a group, non personal, oral or
visual, openly sponsored message regarding a product, service or idea. This message called
an advertisement, is disseminated through one or more media and paid for by the identified
sponsor”

According to Philip Kotler,

“Advertising consist of non personal forms of communication conducted through paid media
under clear sponsorship”

When one closely looks at all the definitions and arguments put forward by various experts,
advertising comes out as an art and to an extent an applied science of persuasive
communication. It informs, incite, interest the prospect about the product and later reinforce
the message over a period of time either by similar positioning or changed one, keeping in
view strategy of competing brands , changing expectations of consumers, changed
environment etc.

Advertising can summed up as:

Advertising is mass paid communication of building brands through persuasive

communication and positioning them in consumers perception with the constant eye on
market environment and consumer expectation.

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Features of Advertising

Paid form: The paid aspect of the definition reflects the fact that the as oppose to publicity
that refers to the stories or brand mention in mass media without any payment, space or time
for an advertising message are usually paid for. For example: many magazines, newspapers
and other media voluntarily donate space and time and also prepares ads for certain public
service announcements and social causes.

Non Personal presentation and promotion: Advertising is non personal offering no

personal interaction, delivered through mass media as oppose to personal selling where there
is face to face personal interaction

Ideas, Goods and Services: Advertising as communication tool is used not only to present
and promote goods and services with the intend of selling them, it is also increasingly used
to further the goals f public interest and social causes For eg: ads discouraging female
infanticide, making people aware of AIDS , asking for donations to help victims of natural
disaster

Identified Sponsor: These words clarify the difference between advertising and propaganda.
Just like advertising propaganda attempts to present certain opinions and ideas which may
influence public attitude and action, however the source of propaganda remains unknown and
therefore authenticity of information available is doubtful. People generally do not know who
is the originator however in advertising the sponsor of ideas, goods or services is known

Controlled: The advertiser controls the content of the advertising message, its time and
direction. Advertisers say what they want to say by selecting appropriate medium, direct the
message to audience whom they want to target. In publicity it is not under the control of the
advertiser.

Mass Communicated Media: The broad group of audience can be best reached by mass
media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio etc.

Persuasion: The major objective of advertising inherent in presentation and promotion of

ideas, goods and services is to achieve pre determined objectives through persuasive
communication or reinforcement of desired attitude or behaviour.

Role of Advertising

Advertising can also be explained in terms of the role it plays in business and society

 Marketing Role: Advertising is the most popular marketing tools used by marketers.
The importance of advertising within the marketing function can be interpreted in
terms of the purpose it serves in marketing efforts of the organization.
 It helps in building and sustenance of the brand
 It facilitates segmentation , targeting , positioning of the offerings of the marketer
 It helps in generation of revenues and profits

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  Communication Role: Advertising is form of mass communication. Advertising
informs and also create an image that goes beyond the straight forward facts.
 Economic Role: There are two points of view about how advertising affects an
economy in the first place advertising is persuasive communication that it decreases
the likelihood that consumer will switch to competing brand regardless of price
change. By featuring other positive attributes and avoiding price the consumer makes
decision on these non price factors.
 The second approach views advertising as vehicle for helping consumers assess value
Comment [01]: Check green book.
 Societal Role: Advertising also has number of social roles. It informs us about the
improved products helps to compare features and make informed decision. It mirrors
fashion design trends and add to our aesthetic sense
However there is question whether advertising follow trends or does it lead them?
Does it cross the line between reflecting social values and creating social values?

Fucntions of Advertsing Comment [01]: Neeru Kapoor

Publicity
Publicity comprises of non personal communication by third party sources regarding an
organization or its products. In other words when third party communicates about an
organization’s product, the result is publicity for the said product. Most publicity is obtained
in the form of media coverage or consumer word of mouth. It includes activities to provide
newsworthy information to reporting sources like media to build a favourable image. A basic
tool of publicity is press release for example a fashion house before launching its new design
of apparel organizes a press preview, it is aiming at publicity, it is possible that some
journalists will write appositive story and others may be critical. As publicity is uncontrolled,
in other words it is up to the media to use the information and at times to selectively pick one
or two pints from the press release or press conference . A prime advantage of publicity is its
low cost since an organisation does not have to directly pay for it. Also publicity has high
credibility among audiences because it is believed to be unbiased reporting by the third party
sources , not sponsored by the organization. For example: we often base our choice of movies
or restaurants on the basis of ratings they get in the local newspaper.

Difference between Advertising and Publicity

Basis Advertising Publicity
Source The message originates from The message originates from
the advertiser/ sponsor the media
Sponsor The identity of the sponsor The identity of the sponsor
is clearly known is not clear
Control The sponsor has entire Media has control over the
control over the contents and contents and timing
timing of the message
Nature of Message Persuasive message designed Informative message
to persuade consumer to designed to inform public.
favour the product, service or
idea

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Payment The sponsor/ advertiser pays
to get the message delivered-
paid form
Credibility Since the message is paid for
by the advertiser- it is
considered less credible
The sponsor/ advertiser does
not have to pay directly-Non
paid form
Since it is third party opinion
– it is considered more
credible than advertising

Advertising Management Process

Importance of Advertising

To Business:

Steady Demand: Advertising create steady demand by smoothing out the seasonal or
cyclical fluctuations. By suggesting new and more frequent use of the product advertising
helps to maintain demand throughout the year.

Economies of Scale : Advertising facilitates mass distribution of goods , direct distribution

and rapid sales turnover helps to reduce cost of distribution. Mass distribution and steady
demand further leads to large scale and regular production thus bringing in the scale
economies.

Build Goodwill: Advertising helps in creating good image of the firm and favourable image
of its products, which increases the capacity of the firm to survive completion and develop a
foothold in the market.

Supplements Salesmanship: Advertising makes the job of personal selling easy by making
consumers aware of the firm’s offering. It creates prospective buyer ready for purchase.

Meet Competition: Advertising plays pivotal role in establishing and maintain brands by
creating brand loyalty, it supplements personal selling and sales promotion. It creates
preference for particular product thus helps the firm in meeting growing competition in the
market.

Introduction of New Product: Advertising is helpful in introducing new products by

creating awareness and gaining their acceptance. By informing about the product it stimulates
their interest and persuades them to buy it.

For Consumers

Facilitates Purchasing: Advertising makes purchasing easy by reducing the time and effort
involved in shopping. People become aware of the source and availability of different
products and need not search them out

Wide variety: Consumers get to know about the availability of various brands in the market
with their unique features. This provides them with the wider variety to choose from.

Educates Consumer: Advertising provides education and knowledge to consumers about the
new products and their diverse uses.

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Reduced Price: Due to large scale production and distribution , economies of scale factors in
that lowers the cost per unit of product. As a result consumers get goods at lower price

Middlemen

Quick Turnover: Successful advertising creates increasing and steady demand of the goods
which facilitate the middlemen in the form of quick turnover of the goods and their quicker
margins.

Moe of Communication: Advertising plays important role in informing the consumers about
various features of the product or service, it facilitates the job of middlemen and saves them
the botheration of spending time, energy and effort with each and every consumer in order to
convince them about the product attributes

Low Cost of Doing Business: Because of quick turnover, considerable savings in terms of
inventory costs is achieved.

Society

Employment: Advertising creates not only direct employment in the field of advertising but
also helps in generation of more jobs in production, finance, marketing , research and
development fields

Sustains Media: Advertising provides a major source of revenue to newspapers, magazines,

radio, and television. The benefit is passed on to the society in the form of reduced prices

Encourage art and creativity: Advertising promote the creative energies of the people
involved in designing and developing advertisements.

Stimulate research and development: In absence of advertising many products and

innovations would remain confined to laboratory

Incentive to progress: Advertising is a great motivating factor , it creates desire for better
standard of living. People are induced to work hard and earn more to buy new products
brought to their knowledge through advertising.

Creates Social Awareness: Advertising is an effective medium for spreading awareness and
educating people about their social and cultural values

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 LESSON 2

ADVERTISING OBJECTIVES

Objectives could be considered as “ strategic decisions” they serve as the base for much of
campaign’s strategy and tactics, as well as basis for measuring the effectiveness of
advertising . Once objectives are clearly in place, the planer can proceed to develop strategic
decisions.
An important reason for setting advertising objectives is that they provide benchmark against
which the success or failure of the promotional program is measured. Without specific objectives
it would be extremely difficult to determine what the advertising and promotion efforts
accomplished.

Defining clear objectives helps in taking operational decisions about advertising, These decisions
are:

o How much to spend on advertising?

o What media mix to be used?
o What should be the frequency of display of advertisement or campaign?
o What should be the content and presentation of advertisements?
o What methods should be used for evaluation the accomplishments of the advertisings?

Without clear objectives, it is not possible to take correct decision concerning advertising copy
and media. Advertising objectives help coordinate the efforts of media planners, copywriters and
others involved in the advertising campaign.

To summarise some of the main considerations in setting of advertising objectives can by

illustrated as:

WHAT What role is the total marketing effort is advertising expected to fulfil?
WHY Why is it believed that advertising can achieve its role-what assumptions are
necessary?
WHO Who should be involved in setting advertising objectives, who should be
responsible for coordinating, implementing and subsequent evaluation? Who are
the audience?
HOW How are the advertising objectives are put into practice- what are the precise sub-
objectives and how they are intended to be attained and subsequently evaluated for
the level of achievement?
WHEN When is the implementation for various parts of the program be achieved ? When
can response be expected to each stage of implementation

Functions and Nature of Advertising Objectives:

Some of the important objectives of setting advertising goals are

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Provide direction to advertising decisions by serving as criteria: Since planning and
execution of advertising campaign involve large number of decisions , setting advertising
objectives draws attention to many specific elements in the campaign.

Provide bases for evaluation of results: Since setting objectives assist marketers in making
explicit what they seek to accomplish through a particular campaign. It also permits to assess the
success and failure of certain strategies and task put into action for accomplishment of the
objectives.

Guides decision makers to seek understanding of the working of the entire campaign process:
The decision maker of the promotional campaign want to know not only the factors that are a
part of the campaign but also relationships among the factors.

Enhance Communication within the organisation: Proper setting of the advertising goals serves
to make known to various managers the kinds and degrees of responsibility for specific tasks.

Types of Advertising Objectives

Advertising Objectives
Communication Marketing
Objectives Objectives

Increase
Create Awareness
Sales

Develop Increase
Comprehension Marketing share

Create Buld
Conviction Goodwill

Create Intoduce New

Desire Product

Secure Action Enter new Market

Communication Objectives: As means of communication advertising aims at following:

Create Awareness: One of the primary objective of advertising message is to create awareness
amongst the target audience. People are stopped by communication message either because they
see they see it some promise of reward or because it is easier to notice the communication than to
ignore it(principle of least effort)

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Develop Comprehension: Second communication objective of advertising is to create
understanding. Audience seek either consciously or subconsciously for certain information but
they usually do not work too hard to find it. Advertising educates customers by providing
knowledge about the product.

Create Conviction: Advertising seek to convince target audience that the captioned product will
meet their needs or requirements. Superiority of the brand is highlighted and attempt is made to
develop positive attitude towards the advertised product and enhance the image of the brand in
the mind of potential consumers.

Create Desire: Advertising see to convert the dormant or unstated needs, wants or urges into
desires through persuasive communication.

Secure Action: No advertising can compel anyone to act but it an impel people towards
purchase or favourable image of the product. An impulse to act generally comes from basic two
forces:

a) belief that what advertisement says is true

b) conviction that product will satisfy consumer’s prime motivating forces

Marketing Objectives: can be elaborated as following:

Increase sales: An advertising campaign attempts to increase demand by increased use of

product, frequency of use, variety of use and so on new customers are created and existing one
are induced to use the product extensively subsequently adding to the sales or revenue of the
advertiser.

Increase Market Share: Advertising seek to overcome competition, it is used to capture larger
part of total market thereby increasing the market share.

Build Goodwill: Advertising also aims at creating favourable image or reputation for the firm
thus builds goodwill.

Introduce New Product: Another marketing objective of advertising is to facilitate launch of

new product special feature and benefits are highlighted so that it is quickly accepted by the
buyers.

Enter New Market: Advertising facilitates entry of the firm into new territories by making
people aware about their offering. Advertising also supports personal selling.

Marketing versus Communication Objectives

Marketing objectives are generally stated in the company’s marketing plan and are usually
defined in terms of specific, measurable outcomes such as sales, market share, profits or return

9
on investment. Good marketing objectives are quantifiable. Too be effective objectives must be
realistic and attainable.

Many promotional planners approach promotion from communication perspective and believe
that objective of advertising and other promotional mix elements is to communicate information
or selling propositions about the product.

The two perspectives have been a topic of considerable debated and have been elaborated in the
following sections.

Sales as Advertising Goal

For many promotional spending represents an investment of firms scarce resources that require
economic justification. Rational managers generally compare investment option on a common
financial basis such as Return on Investment (ROI)

Many managers believe that money spent on advertising and other form of promotion should
produce measurable results such as increasing sales volume or increasing brand’s market share.
The success and failure of advertising should be evaluated on the basis of achievement of sales
results. They prefer sales oriented objectives to make individuals involved in advertising and
promotion think in terms of how the promotional program will influence sales

Problem with Sales Objective

Poor sales result can be due to any of the marketing mix variables including quality, distribution ,
technology, pricing etc(As shown in fig.). Advertising can make consumer aware and interested
in the brand but it can’t make them buy it particularly if it is priced too high , it is not readily
available

There is an adage “ No amount of advertising can sell bad product”

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 Technology

Advertising
and Economy
Promotion

Sales

Product
Distribution
quality

Price Competition

Factors Affecting Sales

Another problem associated with sales objective is that the effects of advertising often occur over
an extended period. Many experts recognize that advertising has lagged or Carry Over Effect.
Money spent on advertising do not necessarily has immediate impact on sales. Advertising may
create awareness, interest or favourable image but these feelings will not result in actual
purchase until the consumer enters the market, which may occur later. The carry over effect adds
to the difficulty of determining the precise relationship between advertising and sales.

Another problem with sales objective is that they provide little guidance to those responsible for
planning and developing of promotional program. The creative people working on the account
need some direction as to the nature of the advertising message company intends to communicate
the target audience and the particular effects of response sought.

Where Sales objectives are appropriate: While there can be many problems attempting to use
sales as objective for promotional campaign, there are situations where sales objectives are
appropriate.

 Direct Response Advertising- in one type of advertising that evaluates its effectiveness
on the basis of sales. Product is advertised through materials mailed to the customers in
newspapers and magazine, through internet through internet or television, consumer
purchase the product by mail or through net or by calling toll free number. This form of
advertising generally sets objectives and measures success in terms of sales generated by
the ad.

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  Retail Advertising: also seeks direct response particularly when sales or special events
are being promoted. Foe eg: special discounts and other sales promotional schemes
announced by the retailer that invokes the consumer to make immediate purchase, rush to
the store,. In this case also sales criteria is used as basis of determining the effectiveness
of advertisements

Communication Objectives

Advertising and other promotional efforts are designed to achieve such communication as
awareness, brand knowledge , favourable attitude, image and purchase intention. Consumers are
not expected to respond immediately rather advertisers realize they must provide relevant
information and create favourable predispositions towards brand before purchase behaviour will
occur

Proponents of communication based objectives generally use Communication Response

Hierarchy models(Refer section on Communication Response Hierarchy) when setting
advertising and promotion objectives.

In all the models the consumer pass through three successive stages : Cognitive, Affective,
Conative .

Communication Effects Pyramid: Advertising and promotion perform communication task in the
same way a pyramid is build, by first accomplishing lower level objectives such as awareness
and comprehension, Subsequent tasks involve moving consumers who are aware and
knowledgeable about the product or service to higher levels of the pyramid. The initial levels of
pyramid as relatively easier to accomplish as compared to the towards the top such as trial or
purchase Also the percentage of prospective customers will decline as movement up to the
pyramid (Refer fig.)

The communication pyramid can be used to determine promotional objectives for brand, the
promotional planners must determine where target audience lies with respect to the various
blocks of the pyramid. If awareness level for brand and knowledge for its features is low, the
communication objectives should be to increase them. If people are aware about the product and
its features but liking or preference is low the advertising goal may be to create image of the
brand and move the consumer to purchase.

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Communication Effects Pyramid

Problems with Communication Objectives: Many experts do not accept communication

objectives some say it is too difficult to translate sales goal into specific communication
objectives. In attempting to translate the sales goal into specific communication objectives
promotional planners often are not sure of what constitutes adequate level of awareness,
knowledge, liking, preference or conviction. The promotional manager through his personal
experience and judgment can determine these levels. Also average scores on various
communication measures for the advertised and similar products should be considered along
with the levels achieved by the competitor’s products.

At some point the sales oriented objectives must be translated into what the company expects to
communicate and to whom it hopes to communicate. For example if the objective for a brand is
to increase the sales by 10 percent, the promotional planners should think in terms of message
that will be communicated to the target audience to achieve this. Possible objectives may be:

 Increase the percentage of consumers in the target market who associate specific feature,
benefit or advantage with the brand
 Encourage the current consumers to use the product more frequently
 Encourage the consumers who have never used the product to try it

DAGMAR Approach

In 1961 Russell H. Colley prepared a report under the sponsorship of Association of National
Advertisers titled Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results(DAGMAR).The
major thesis of DAGMAR model is that communication objectives are the logical basis for
setting advertising goals and objectives against which the results should be measured.

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Colley’s Rationale for communication objectives was:

“Advertising’s job is purely and simply to communicate to defined audience information and
frame of mind that stimulates action. Advertising succeeds or fails depending on how well it
communicates the desired information and attitude to the right people at the right time and at
the right cost”

Communication Task

Advertising is mass, paid communication that is intended to create awareness, develop

comprehension, develop attitude and induce action .

According to DAGMAR approach the advertising objective involve communication task as

opposed to marketing and it is specific , involving defined task, among defined audience, in a
given time period.

Colley propose that communication objectives be based on hierarchical model through which the
brand or objects must climb to gain acceptance. The hierarchy of effects model consist of four
stages:

Awareness →Comprehension→ Conviction →Action

Hierarchy of Effects model of communication process

 Awareness: Involving target audience aware of the existence of the brand or company
 Comprehension: developing an understanding what the product is what are its specific
characteristics, how it differ from the competitors and what it would do for them
 Conviction: developing mental disposition in the minds of the consumer to buy the
product
 Action: Getting the consumer try the product for the first time, visiting the showroom or
requesting information

There is no significant difference between Colley’s proposed model and other hierarchy of
effects models .
Colley also studied other specific tasks that advertising might be expected to perform in leading
to the ultimate objective of sale. He developed a checklist of 52 advertising tasks to characterize
the contribution of advertising and serve as starting point for establishing objectives

Another important contribution of DAGMAR was to clarify what constitutes good objective.
According to Colley the objectives should have the following feature:

 Stated in terms of concrete and measurable communication task

 Specify target audience

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  Indicate benchmark or starting point and the degree of change sought
 Specify time period for accomplishing the objectives

Concrete, Measurable Tasks: The communication tasks specified in the objective should be
precise written statement of what message or appeal advertiser wants to communicate to the
target audience. It should be specific and clear enough to guide the creative professionals to
develop the advertising message. Also objective must be measurable; there must be a way to
determine whether the intended message has been communicated properly

Target Audience: The key tenet of DAGMAR approach is specification of well defined target
audience for whom the advertising message is to be addressed for eg: target audience of a luxury
and premium car could be defined as Corporate Executive, Self Employed, Businessman. If the
target audience is not well defined the entire promotional effort may go waste.

Benchmark and the degree of change sought: it is important to know the target audience’s
present status with respect to response variables i.e awareness , knowledge, attitude etc and then
determine the degree of change sought by the advertising campaign for eg: the objective
statement may include to increase awareness level of brand X from current 10% to 40% amongst
the target audience. Determining target market’s present position regarding various response
stages require marketing research and without a benchmark measure quantitative assessment of
the result could not be ascertained. Benchmark is also a prerequisite to the ultimate measurement
of results an essential part of the DAGMAR is generation of well conceived benchmarks before
the advertising goals are determined.

Time Period: The final consideration in setting advertising objectives is to specify the time
period to accomplish the objectives. The period may could be a month or a year or more. With
the time period specified, a survey to generate a set of measures can be planned and anticipated .
All the parties involved in the campaign will understand that the results will be available for
evaluating which may result modification or change in the current effort

Assessment and Criticism of DAGMAR Approach

The DAMAR approach focussed advertiser’s attention on the importance and value of using
communication based objectives vis a vis marketing or sales based objectives to measure the
impact and success of advertisement campaign.

Colley’s work led to the improvement in the advertising and promotional planning process by
providing a better understanding of the advertising objectives towards which the planners effort
should be directed that usually results in less subjectivity and better communication and
relationship between client and agency

However this approach has been questioned on the following grounds concerning its value as
advertising planning tool:

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 Sales as Advertising Goal: Many believe that sales measure is the only relevant measure
of advertising objectives according to them if the communication task for example to
increase brand awareness does not affect sales positively what is the point even
measuring it and if there is no close relationship then sales must be measured directly i.e
Sales effect is the appropriate measure of evaluation of advertising campaign as
advertising is effective only if it induces consumer/customer to make purchase.

 Problem with Response hierarchy: the hierarchical model that postulates a set of
sequential steps of awareness , comprehension, conviction leading to action. The fact that
the consumer do not always go through this sequence of communication effects before
making purchase decision , there are alternative response models depending on the
purchase situation for example: action may precede attitude formation and
comprehension may result with the impulse purchase of low involvement product 1

 Practicality and Cost: Another criticism of DAGMAR concerns the difficulties involved
in implementing it . Expensive research is required to establish quantitative standards and
measure changes in response hierarchy and is also time consuming . Many argue that
DAGMAR is practical only for large companies with big advertising and research budget
and is beyond the means of small and medium sized firms

 Inhibits Creativity: DAGMAR approach is a planned and rational approach to setting

advertising objectives , it impose too much structure and may restrict the creativity of the
people engaged in and responsible for developing of advertising campaign. It is too
concerned with the quantitative assessment of campaign’s impact on awareness, recall or
specific persuasion measures. The emphasis is on passing number of tests rather than
developing a message that is creative and contributes to brand equity.

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 LESSON 3
DETERMINATION OF TARGET AUDIENCE AND POSITIONING

Market Segmentation: Concept

Market segmentation is the process of dividing the total market into total heterogeneous market
into relatively distinct homogeneous sub groups of consumers with common needs and
characteristics and selecting one or more segments to target with distinct marketing programme.

Market segmentation is the extension of the marketing concept . The central idea of this concept
is customer value and must be the core element of the business decisions.

When marketers provide range of product or service options to serve diverse consumers interest,
consumers are more satisfied.

Effective Segmentation

The following five conditions must exist for effective market segmentation:

1. Firm must determine whether the market is heterogeneous, if the product needs of
consumers are homogeneous, then it makes no sense to segment the market.
2. There must be logical basis to identify and divide the population in relatively distinct
homogeneous groups, having common needs and will respond to a marketing action.
3. The total market should be so divided so that comparison of estimated sales potential,
costs and profits of each segment are estimated.
4. Segments must have enough sales potential that would justify developing and maintain
marketing programme.
5. It must be possible to reach the targeted segment effectively.

Bases for Market segmentation: A segmentation variable is characteristic of individuals ,

groups or organizations that marketers use to divide and create the total market into segments.
Variables such as geographic location, age, gender, educational level, income, personality
characteristics, usage rate or product benefits sought are frequently used to segment markets.

Geographic Segmentation: Geographic units are the basis to divide the markets. These units
may be nations, states, regions, areas of certain climatic conditions or urban or rural divide. For
example Business houses engaged in import and export often divide the market as European
market, Asian market etc.

Demographic Segmentation: Market segmentation can be based on demographic variables such

as age, gender, education, family size, income and social class

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Producers of washing machines, microwave etc take family size as one of the variable in
segmenting the market. Toy manufacturer such as Funskool, Fisher Price segment the market on
the basis of age of the children

Behaviouristic Segmentation: dividing the market on the basis of variables such as benefit
sought, use, occasion, user status, usage rate, loyalty, consumer readiness stage is termed as
behaviouristic segmentation .For example: there are distinct groups of automobile buyers who
look for economy, status, value for money, luxury etc. Archies greetings cards are for various
occasions.

Psychographics Segmentation: When segmentation is based on personality or lifestyle

variables it is called psychographic segmentation.

Personality can be described as an individual view about himself(self image) and how others
views an individual. There are people who are ambitious , aggressive, confident, impulsive,
conservative, modern , gregarious, introvert or extrovert Some motor bikes manufacturers
segment the market on the basis of personality variables such as macho image, independent etc.

Lifestyle indicates how people live spend their time and money for example:

Based on the personality of adopting new products Rogers has classified consumers as
Innovators, Early Adopters. Early Majority, Late Majority and Laggards

Determining How many segments to enter

There are three strategic options available to marketers

a) Concentrated Marketing: In this strategy the organisation focus on only one sub group
and develop marketing programmes directed to it.
b) Differentiated Marketing: The marketer decides to enter several market segments or
develop special offerings for each .For example: Maruti Udyog is producing cars for
various segments, Nike offers athletic shoes for different sports.
c) Undifferentiated Marketing: This involves ignoring the differences among consumers
and offer just one product for the entire market. This strategy focuses on what is common
in needs of consumers rather than what is different . For example Coca Cola offered only
one product version for over ninety years for the whole market and hoped it would appeal
to everyone. Undifferentiated marketing strategy provides cost economies.

Target Audience

Marketer should focus on those customers for which the product is best suited. Any group of
people can be called a market only when they feel need for the product are interested in it and
have money to buy it and are willing to spend on it. The selection of target market helps the

18
marketer to identify the audience and group of customers to whom the advertising message
should be directed.

Audience selection is the process of comparing and evaluating different market segments and
then selecting one or more segments as the prospects with highest potential.

Target audience are the people who can be reached with a particular message and a certain
medium.

Audience can be profiled in terms of their demographic categories, personality, lifestyle,

geography etc(Refer Bases for segmenting the market)

Identification of Target Audience is helpful in advertising planning in the following ways:

Designing Advertising Copy: Advertising copy is the entire message and appeal which the
advertiser wants to convey to his prospects , it consist of all the written or spoken material in it,
including the main body , headline, sub heads, all the printed material such as captions , pictures
, slogans, brand names , advertisers name etc.

It is the heart and subject matter of the advertising. The content, design , layout of the copy
largely depends on the profiling of the target audience.

Determining Advertising Appeal: Advertising Appeal is defined as the approach used to attract
the attention of the prospective consumer . It is viewed as something that moves people. What
types of message is to be communicated and how it is to be presented entirely depends on the
type of target audience

Determining Media Mix and Media Vehicle: “Medium” is the general category of available
delivery system such as broadcast media(T.V or radio) print(newspaper, magazine), direct mail ,
outdoor advertising and other support media. “Media Vehicle” is the specific carrier within the
medium category such as Hindustan Times and Times of India are print vehicles.

The selection various medium of advertising and specific carrier of the advertising
message(media vehicle) depends entirely on the type of the target audience to be reached.

Determining Message Source: Message source refers to the spokesperson involved directly or
indirectly in delivering the advertising message. Who presents and portrays the advertising
message plays an important part in the effective execution of advertising campaign. A key
source, the endorser in an advertisement can be celebrity, announcer, spokesperson or common
consumer etc. Who endorses or demonstrates the product in the advertisement

Positioning

A product cannot exist unless it finds a place in the in the consumer’s perception . Any product
or brand is noticed only when it occupies a particular point or space in the individual consumer’s

19
mind relative to the other brands in the same product category. This perception of the product is
subjective and is governed by individual ‘s needs, values, beliefs, experience and environment.
“Position” is the way the product or the brand is defined by consumers on important attributes.
Positioning is the perception of brand or brand it brings about in the mind of target consumer and
reflects the essence of that brand or product in terms of its functional or non functional benefits
judged by the consumer.

Thus a brand’s position is the set of associations the consumer has with the brand. A brand’s
position develops over years through advertising , publicity and word of mouth and usage
experience and can be sharp or diffuse depending on consistency of brand’s advertising over the
years. For example: HUL’s “Lux” is the beauty soap, Maggi brand of noodles is “ two minute
noodle”, BMW is positioned as “ the ultimate driving machine”

Brands can be expected to create a loyal feeling only when they are perceived as different in
some way , which is convincingly important and persuasive for the members of the target
segment, and this is what positioning is meant to accomplish. It is not really what the product
is or does but actually what the marketer does to the mind of the consumer

Positioning strategy is vital to provide focus on the development of an advertising campaign. The
strategy can be conceived and implemented in a variety of ways that derive from attributes,
competition, specific application, type of consumers involved or the characteristics of the
product class.

Positioning Approaches

Positioning by Corporate Identity: Companies that have become tried and trusted brands use
their corporate identity to imply competitive superiority of their brands such as Tata , Sony,
Godrej etc. Corporate credentials are added as a y line. This offers strong positioning and is used
in product line extensions or brand extensions.

Positioning by Product Attributes and Benefits: This is the most common approach to
positioning and involves setting brand apart from the competitor based on the specific brand
attributes and benefits offered. For example in case of toothpaste brands are positioned on
cosmetic, medicinal, taste or economy dimension. Close up is positioned as fresh breath and
cosmetic benefit, Pepsodent is positioned as gum care, Colgate is positioned as fresh breath,
decay prevention and taste

Positioning by occasion and time: the idea behind this positioning approach is to find an
occasion or time of use for example Vicks Vaporub is to be used for cold, Iodex for muscle pain
and sprains.

Positioning by Price Quality: This approach is quite powerful proposition and has two
dimensions One for consumers looking for value of money as purchase consideration, An

20
excellent example in this category is of Nirma detergent powder , in early 70’s ad of good quality
detergents such as Surf had strong demonstration effect on middle class housewives, they wanted
o use it but were unable to buy because the price was high , Nirma positioned itself as quality
product that lathered well, clean well and the price was much less than Surf.

Another dimension of price-quality positioning is that product is positioned on high quality and
the price is kept high to communicate high quality. In many product categories such as Perfumes
it is not possible to assess quality , high price becomes an indicator for high quality

Positioning by Product Category: This positioning approach is used so that the brand is
perceived as belonging to another product category. For example: Dove brand of soap from HUL
is positioned away from the toilet soap category , it is not cleansing soap but moisturising cream.

This strategy is often used when the product category is overcrowded.

Positioning by Product User: The brand manager can determine a target segment for which the
product will be positioned. Various segment bases can be considered .For example: cars are
positioned on economy, safety, luxury, comfort, status etc.

Positioning by Competitor: This approach is used because marketer wants consumers to

believe that the brand is superior or at least as good as offered by the competitor. Earlier
advertisements by Apple computers wherein they compared their G3 processors against Pentium
III showing that G3 processor of 400 MHz is powerful than 750 MHz of Pentium III. This
strategy is often seen in case of comparative advertising

Determining Positioning Strategy…………. Comment [01]: p-57 belch and belch

The exercise of determining poisoning strategy is not easy and could prove to be difficult and
quite complex. However it becomes more manageable if it is supported by marketing research
and decomposed into the following process:

 Identify the Competitors

 Determine the competitors are perceived and evaluated
 Determine Competitor’s position
 Analyze the customers
 Select the Position
 Monitor the position

The first step is to identify the competition, identification of completion is not an easy task
because brand faces competition not only from the products in the same product class but others
also for example Times of India may compete with other news shows and channels than with the
Hindu(another newspaper)Next thing is to determine how competitor products re perceived , it is
necessary to choose an appropriate set of product attributes for comparison. Attributes may not
only include product characteristics and customer benefits but also product associations such as

21
product uses or product users. Another useful exercise is to determine how competitors are
positioned, the primary focus of interest is how they are positioned with respect to relevant
attributes. Next identify the segments or cluster of customers, determining which attributes or
customer benefits are most important and then identify groups of customers who value similar
attributes or benefits. These steps should be analyzed prior to making actual positioning decision.
Once the positioning statement selected and applied, it should be monitored for any changes
which may be required because of some emerging opportunities or change in the product features
or line extensions etc

Repositioning ……………….. Comment [01]: More

No matter how well the product appears to be positioned, the marketer may be forced to decide
on its repositioning in response to new opportunities or threats. A brand’s repositioning is
usually considered when there are attractive opportunities or the brand’s sales stagnate or
decline. The product may be provided with some new features or it may be associated with some
new uses and offered to the existing or new markets.

For example: Nestle’s milkmaid was Milkmaid Condensed Milk a convenient form of milk for
use as tea or coffee creamer, the sales of milkmaid in 80’s reached plateau and the company
repositioned the product as ideal for preparing sweets and desserts. The packaging was also
changed to suit the repositioning, which lead to substantial gain in sales volume.

22
 LESSON 4
ADVERTISING BUDGET
After determining the advertising objectives a company has to estimate how much it is willing to
spend on promotional programme. Although in an ideal situation budget should be determined
by the objectives laid out for the communication function , in constraining situations often it is
the budget which leads to revision of company’s objectives .

According to Cohen, “Translation of advertising plan into currency unit is advertising budget”

Advertising budget is a financial document that shows the total amount to be spent on
advertising and list the way this amount is to be allocated. It is prepared for a specific future
period of time. It is limiting factor which determine the size of advertising campaign. It shows
the allocation of available funds to various advertising activities.

One of the most critical decision facing marketing managers is to determine how much to spend
on promotional effort. Many consider the amount of money spend to advertising as current
business expenditure cutting into the profits rather than an investment , For this reason when a
firm faces turbulent times the axe falls at first on the advertising expenditure, even though there
is a strong evidence that exactly the opposite should occur (refer Sales Response Models). Thus
maximizing the effectiveness of promotional spending of company is hence the prime
importance especially in times of spiralling media cost , increasing completion, consumer apathy
towards promotion and increased pressure on communication productivity.

As an element of the marketing communication mix advertisement should be viewed as an

investment in future sales. Marketers often use advertising to generate immediate sales; however
its greatest power is in the cumulative long term reinforcement effect, it builds consumer
preference and goodwill which helps enhance the reputation and value of the company and the
brand name. Thus considering advertising as expenditure is short sighted view and may affect
the brand’s image.

Setting advertising budget is not an easy task, there is no way to be absolutely certain that the
company is spending the right amount Some critics say that large FMCG companies spend too
much on image advertising without really knowing its effects , they “overspend” as an
insurance against not spending enough . Industrial companies on the other hand spend less on
advertising, underestimating the power of company and product image and rely too heavily on
their sales force to bring in sales. Overspending leads to waste of resources and under spending
can lead to opportunity loss , while there is no single best way to determine the budget
theoretical approaches to budgeting, situational factors as well as methods to determine budget
serve as useful guide.

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Sales response Models

Most marketing managers believe that sales and promotions are related in one of the following
two manners:

 The Concave Downward Function- As shown in fig a) as the promotional expenditure

increases, sales increases at decreasing rate up to certain point in other words additional
promotional rupee bring in lesser and lesser sales. The reason that sales follow concave
downward curve pattern is that when the initial communication expense is made the most
lucrative prospects (innovators) or heavy users buy the product. The task of bringing
laggards and light users with communication is more difficult and has little impact on the
total sales. According to the model the highest response rate occur after the first exposure
and it diminishes there after. This model is based on the Law of Diminishing Returns .
Thus budgeting under this model suggest that lesser advertising money may be needed to
produce optimal sales effect.
 S- Shaped Response function- As shown in figure a, The S- shaped curve is
characterized by slow start , followed by steep growth and then a plateau. Initial
advertising and promotion expenditure has little impact on the on sales in the range A. In
range B additional promotion expenditure bring in increased sales, up to a point . In
range C, the benefits of additional promotion expenditure taper off. The model suggests
that until a company has minimum share of voice its advertising brings in no benefit.
Share of Voice is the advertising weight of the brand/company as a percentage of the
advertising weight of a given market or market segment. Expenditure in range B brings in
returns first at an increasing rate and then at diminishing rate. The optimal level of
expenditure is at a point in range B where marginal revenue and marginal cost are equal .
Money spend in range C does not have much noticeable impact on sales as the product
already reached its market potential.

Fig a) Concave Downward Function Fig b) S-Shaped Response Function

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 Marginal Analysis- The logical process of arriving at advertising budget is inspired by
the marginal analysis , which is widely used in business decision making to allocate
scarce resources such as advertising spending in order to maximize output such as sales.
Marginal analysis focuses on studying whether the promotion budget be increased by one
more unit or not so as to maximize profit. As illustrated in fig.c) as promotion
expenditure increases , sales and gross margin also increases up to a point after which
they start to levelling off . Profit which is the difference between gross margin and
advertising or promotion expense, is maximum when marginal revenue is equal to
marginal cost (point A)
Marginal revenue is the increase in the gross revenue by the addition of one more unit of
promotional expenditure. Whereas Marginal cost is the increase in total cost with the
addition of one more unit of promotional expenditure. When marginal revenue is greater
than the marginal cost there is scope for increasing promotional expenditure as it would
add to the profit. On the other hand when marginal cost is greater than marginal revenue,
the promotional expenditure should be reduced.

Fig. C) Marginal Analysis

While the analysis is logical, it suffers from the following limitations:

Considering Sales as a direct result of Promotion- Advertising has delayed or carry
over effect(discussed in Advertising objectives) Also measurement of impact of
communication on sales is nearly an impossible task because promotion is one of the
factor that influence sales there are other factors also (refer section on advertising
objective) . In the words of David Aaker and James Carman, “Looking at the relationship
between advertising and sales is somewhat worse than looking for a needle in haystack”
Thus to try to show the size of the budget will directly affect sales of the product is
misleading . A more logical approach would be to examine the impact of promotional
budget on attainment of communication objectives. Sales is not the only goal of

25
promotional effort awareness, interest, attitude change and other communication
objectives are often sought and while the bottom line is may be to sell the product, these
objectives may serve as basis on which the promotional effort is directed.
Difficulty in predicting the marginal sales function: Estimating the exact rate at which
sales will change as response to advertising and promotion is a difficult task.

Because of these limitations the use of marginal analysis is not popular in budget
determination, however a conceptual understanding of the model helps in comprehending
how promotional expenditure and its results are related and in determining how
budgeting can be planned.

Budgeting Approaches
The theoretical approaches to budgeting are rarely used. Instead a number of methods
developed though practice and experience are implemented. Some companies use more
than one method and approaches to budgeting vary among the companies depending on
size and sophistication of the company.
In practice companies use two totally different approaches to budget setting Top Down
Approach and Build Up Approach

In case of Top- Down Approach the budgetary amount is established by the higher
management and passed down to various departments. Top down methods of budgeting
include affordable method, arbitrary allocation, percentage of sales, competitive parity
and return on investment. These top-down methods are judgemental in approach and the
budget is apparently not linked to the objectives and the strategies decided to attain them.

The Build- Up Approach takes into account the company’s advertising objective and
budget is allocated on the basis of what is considered essential to accomplish the goals
ascertained. Build- Up methods of budgeting includes object and task method, payout
planning method and quantitative models.

26
The Affordable Method (All you can afford Method)

After all allocations have been made to cover other relevant company expenditures whatever is
left is allocated to advertising ,that this is what the firm can afford to spend on advertising after
making allocations for various other investment and expenditure decisions .

No consideration is given to what is expected of advertising. This approach is fairly common

amongst the small firms particularly highly technologically oriented firms focus on new product
development and engineering and believe that if the product is good it would sell on its own.
Surprisingly this method often produce good results as if the company is doing proper allocation
to other elements of business then probably the amount lest out for advertising is adequate to
meet firm’s advertising objectives. The basis premise behind this method is “ we can’t be hurt
with this method as we are allocating what we can afford and not get into any financial
problems” However the chances of overspending and under spending are high with this method

Competitive Parity Method

Many advertisers base their advertising budget allocation on competitor’s expenditure . Such
information is available in trade journals and business magazines. According to this approach
manager decides budget amount by matching competitor’s advertising spending (generally
percentage of sales allocation). The logic behind this approach is that the collective wisdom of
firms probably generates advertising budgets that are quite close to optimal . Not everyone
would be too far from what is adequate in a given industry. This method also takes into
consideration the competition leading to stability in the market place and minimizing the
chances of promotional wars.

There are disadvantages of using this method First it ignores the fact that each firm allocates
budget to accomplish specific objectives to solve certain problems or to take advantage of the
present or emerging opportunity. The inherent assumption is that all firms have similar
advertising objectives ad their allocations are correct, which may not to reality. Second, the
method assumes that all firms have equally effective advertising programmes because the
expenditures are similar and therefore it ignores the contribution of media and creative
executions.
Third there information on completive spending is available only after the money has been spent
and there is no reason to believe that competitor will not increase or decrease its own expenditure
regardless of what other firms do.
Fourth there is simply no guarantee that what firms in the industry spend on advertising is the
optimal level and they will continue to pursue their existing strategies. The situations of
individual firms are quite likely to be sufficiently unique and therefore the practices of
competitor should not be followed.

This method is typically employed in conjunction with other methods like percentage of sales
method. It is never wise to ignore competition ; manager must always be aware of what

27
competitors are doing but they should not just emulate them in setting goals and developing
strategies

Arbitrary Allocation Method

The management determines the budget on the basis of what is felt to be necessary however
there is no criteria for defining what is defined as “necessary” in the context of advertising
budget allocation. This method lacks the systematic thinking that may reflect some relationship
with advertising objectives. Probably the manager believe that some amount should be spend on
advertising and picks up a figure as advertising budget. This method of budget allocation has no
theoretical basis and its applicability is not recommended

Percentage of Sales Method

This is the most commonly used method especially by the medium and large sized firms. The
basis for budget allocation is the total sale of the brand or product.

In its simplest application affixed percentage of last year’s sales figure is allocated as budget. A
variation of this method is to use a percentage of the projected sales figure of following year as
base. Yet another variation is to calculate average sales of last several years to decide budget
allocation.
In another different approach affixed amount of the unit product cost is taken as advertising
expense and multiplied by the number of projected unit of sales.

For example: If the total sales in 2005-2006 were Rs 10 lac(10,00,000), the advertising budget
may be decided as 10% of this figure for 2006-2007 which would be Rs 1 Lac(1,00,000)
For instance the projected sales for 2006-2007 is Rs 12 lac(12,00,000) the budget allocated
would be Rs 1.2 Lac(1,20,000)[Assuming the basis of allocation i.e percentage of sales remain
same at 10%]
Assuming the total manufacturing cost of an article is Rs 20 per unit and advertising money
allocated per unit is Rs 2 and the projected sales figure for the year is fifty thousand
units(50,000) for the coming year then the total advertising budget would be Rs.1 Lac
(1,00,000)[50,000*2=1,00,000]

The percentage figure selected is industry standard , and it varies from industry to industry and
also among different firms in the same industry. Some companies allocate a small percentage of
sales as advertising budget while others decide a higher percentage.
Actual rupee spend vary considerably depending on individual company’s total sales figure.

Advantages of this method are: it is simple, straightforward, and easy to implement method and
expenditure is directly related to the fund available. If the company’s sale were more in the
previous year that means it has more funds available to be spent on advertising this year.
Regardless whether last year sales figure or projected sales figure is is taken as base it is easy to

28
 arrive at budget figure. Unless unprecedented changes in sales managers will have a fair idea of
the budget parameters

Disadvantages of this method are

The basic premise of this method that sales is cause of advertising or it is advertising that helps
generate sales. Letting the level of sales determine the amount of advertising to be spent reverses
the cause and effect relationship between advertising and sales. It treats advertising as expense
associated with making a sale rather than an investment

Another problem associated with this method is stability , proponents say that if all firms use a
similar percentage, it will bring stability to the marketplace. The problem is this method does not
allow for changes in strategy either internally or from the competitors . An aggressive firm may
wish to allocate larger sum for advertising budget , a strategy that is not possible with percentage
of sales method unless manger is willing to deviate from the industry standard.

In the event of introduction of new innovative product , no sales histories are available and
projecting of future sales may be difficult employing this method is not only difficult but risky as
well.

Since the advertising budget is dependent on sales only, decrease in sales decreases the budget at
a time when increase in budget is probably more required. Reduced advertising spending may
further push the sales trend downwards.

Problem with forecasting, cyclical growth and uncontrollable factors limit the effectiveness of
this method.

Objective and Task Method

Setting objectives and budget decision are linked together and should be considered
simultaneously.
The objective and task method is based on build-up approach .Steps involved in objective and
task method are:
 Establish Advertising Objectives
 Determine specific strategies and tasks necessary to achieve them
 Estimate cost associated in putting these strategies and tasks in operation

Implementation of this method requires higher degree of managerial involvement . The whole
process must be monitored throughout keeping in view how well the objectives are attained and
suitable changes in strategies made, if deemed necessary.

Major difficulty associated with this method is to determine which are those specific tasks
required and the costs associated with each. For instance if the objective is to accomplish

29
awareness level of 50% among target audience , what specifically are those tasks that are
required to achieve this level if awareness? How much will it cost to perform these tasks?
Though, Past experience serves as good guide in case of existing product .

The most fundamental advantage of this method is that it develops the budget from the ground
up which is the proper managerial approach. It does not rely on past sales figure, forecasted
sales, competitor’s spending and considers only the factors which are under the advertiser’s
control.

Payout Planning

Payout planning is a useful technique to develop budget when a new product is introduced . It is
used in conjunction with other budgeting methods to estimate the investment value of
advertising.

Mangers have keen interest in knowing how much money is to be invested in advertising and for
how long before the brand gets established and generate profit flow. Projection of revenue
stream that the product will generate and the cost it will incur over the projected period are
ascertained.

Preparing payout depends on the accuracy of sales forecast over time, factors that affect market,
estimated costs. Advertising expenditure during the introductory stage of the product will be high
to move the target audience through various stages leading to purchase, growth in sales will is
expected to be low and company would lose money(incur loss)

Assuming everything goes according to the plan the advertising expenditure will gradually
decline and sales will increase.

It is useful and logical planning tool when used in conjunction with objective and task method
for setting advertising budget, but it has certain limitations it cannot account for all
uncontrollable factors such as competition, changes in government policies and other factors that
may influence the plan.

Quantitative Models

Mathematical models and statistical techniques such as multiple regression analysis ,

econometrics are used to determine the relative contribution of advertising expenditure to sales.
Some models reflect about how advertising might interact in different ways with other marketing
variables and consumers.

Mathematical models have not been able to get wide acceptance in the industry using these
models require experimentation and formal analysis. Many firms lack such capabilities and also
the process is expensive and time consuming.

30
Factors influencing advertising budget

1. Product Life cycle stage: New products typically require large advertising budget to
create awareness, develop preference and induce product trial and purchase. Mature
brands usually require lower budget as ratio to sales

2. Market size : the size of the market influences the budget allocation decision
comparatively it is easier and less expensive to reach target audience in smaller markets.
Too much of advertising expenditure in such markets may be unnecessary and wasteful.
Target audience may be dispersed in larger market areas and it would be more expensive
to reach them

3. Advertising Tasks to be accomplished: larger amount of advertising spending will be

required if the task is to create brand awareness and brand persuasion to generate
trial/purchase in case of new brand. However in case of established brands where
consumers have already tried and tested the brand and are satisfied only reminder
advertising will suffice.

4. Intensity of Competition : In a market with many competitors a brand needs to advertise

more heavily to be mark its recognition amongst the competing brands

5. Financial resources: Budget is a limiting factor which determines the size of advertising
campaign. The availability of financial resources with the advertiser is the constraining
factor influencing the amount to be spent on advertising

6. Unexploited Sales Potential: Higher the available sales potential higher is the need for
advertising to tap it.

7. Advertising Frequency: When many advertising repetitions are required to

communicate the brand’s message to the to the target consumers, the advertising budget
must be large.

8. Product differentiation: when a brand cannot be differentiated significantly and

resembles other brands in the product category, it requires heavy advertising to set it
apart from the competitors.

31
 UNIT-II
LESSON 1
CREATIVITY AND ADVERTISING

What Is Creativity?
Advertising is called as a creative profession, ads are often called creative, people who develop
and create commercials are known as creative people and advertising agencies gain reputation
for their creativity.
Perspectives on what constitutes creativity in advertising differ. Artists when they create a new
painting or poets when they pen a new verse are often giving expressions to their innermost
thoughts which may be based on perceptions or fantasies. The outcome may be realistic or
surreal. However when creativity is referred to in context of advertising, it is purposive that is the
creative input is expected to achieve the desired response as delineated in the marketing
objective.

In coming up with dimensions along which define creativity, we drew on social and educational
psychology literature that defines creativity as divergent thinking—that is, the ability to find
fresh, unique and appropriate ideas that can be used as solutions to a communication
problem. Creativity is about giving birth to something that did not exist before. It is the
application of past experiences or ideas in a novel and unexpected way. It is being innovative,
original and different.
Creativity requires qualities like imagination, expressiveness, openness to change. These skills
may be genetic, acquired or situational. Stephen Baker in his book “Systematic Approach to
Advertising Creativity” talked about the “pyramid principle”, the pyramid is divided into three
equivalent parts (figure a). The first part, the base of the pyramid represents initiation of the
creative process – the gathering of information , the second part represent analysis that would
cover a number of activities, the third or the upper part is culmination of all efforts of the brain-
when an idea is born. According to Baker, fortunately the human mind is eminently flexible and
can stretch, dissect, combine, compare, backtrack, juggle the thought components with amazing
flexibility. When it comes to reasoning the brain surpasses even the smartest computers which
admittedly can ingest several billion bits of information but unless told what to do with all that
fodder, produce nothing of value

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 An
Idea is
born
Facts P I Media
Analysis
Audience
Information
Gathering

Figure-a) The Pyramid Principle Figure-b) Bernstein’s model of

Creative process
David Bernstein’s model of creative process is like a double ended funnel with a wide mouth
into which all facts and figures are poured(Figure b), they are eventually concentrated into the
“proposition or the offer” to be made to the reader, listener, viewer that is the target customer
This according to Bernstein, goes into the narrow central tube and emerges as creative idea. The
proposition according to the author is arrived at through reason and P becomes I through
imagination. Thus idea become an ad largely as a result of craft.
The creative process model developed by English sociologist Graham Wallas, outlined the four
stages of creativity namely:
 Preparation: Gathering back ground information needed to solve the problem through
research and study
 Incubation: Getting away and letting ideas develop
 Illumination: Seeing the solution
 Verification: Refining and polishing the idea, validating if it is an appropriate solution

Also advertising creativity is not the exclusive domain of those who work on the creative side of
the advertising . The nature of business requires creative thinking from everyone involved in the
promotional planning process. Agency people such as account executives, media planners,
researchers as well as those on the client side such as marketing and brand managers must all
seek creative solutions to the problems encountered in planning, developing and executing an ad
campaign.
Idea Generation
How are ideas generated? Is the generation of an idea an individual activity or the outcome of
teamwork? The views amongst various writers in this regard vary but for all writers, the idea
stage is invariably the most challenging and at the same time most rewarding. According to
Bovee and Arens “it is the long, tedious and difficult task of assembling all pertinent
information, analyzing the problem and searching for some verbal or visual concept of how to
communicate what needs to be said. It means establishing the mental picture of the ad,
commercial or campaign before any copy is written or the art work begun.”
Analyst differentiate between Analytical Thinking and Creative Thinking, this can be elaborated
through figure c)

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Figure c) Analytical and Creative Thinking
Analytical Creative
Logic Imagination
Unique Answers
Many Possible

Answers

Convergent Divergent
Vertical Lateral

Creative
Analytical
Thinking
Thinking

Brainstorming
Brainstorming is the process of coming up with the creative idea in a group. This concept was
introduced in 1989 by Alex Osborn, an advertising professional. The technique which is widely
used by the corporate sector, the government and the armed forces. Brainstorming is a
conference technique by which group attempts to find a solution for a specific problem by
amassing all the ideas spontaneously by its members. It is technique where participants put social
inhibition and rules aside and temporarily suspend their judgement with the aim of generating
maximum new ideas.
According to David Kech, brainstorming in which people work on a problem is based on four
basic rules:
 No ideas are criticised
 Freewheeling is encouraged
 Quantity is preferred that is more the ideas greater the probability of finding the “big
idea”
 “Cross fertilisation” or hitch hiking is encouraged; participants are encouraged to
improve the ideas of others to form new and complex one
Following are some of the characteristics of brainstorming
Unpredictable: One does not know, where the discussion is going to lead

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Playful: Brainstorming is a fun process; one can let creativity run wild without any checks and
control
Collaborative: It is a group process, wherein participants discuss, argue
Surprising: Since there are no bounds within which one play, it can unfold many surprising
solutions
Challenging: It taxes the brain to come up with the innovative, imaginative and different
solutions
Unstructured: It is a random process in which ideas are not discussed in a structured fashion
Rapid: one after the other the ideas keep on flowing freely
Spontaneous: In this process there is no premeditation, ideas are not held back
Imaginative: Not all ideas need to have rational edge; creativity springs from the irrational and
the unthinkable

Preparing for Brainstorming

Although brainstorming is a group activity the preparation can begin individually before the
group session’s .It is important to identify the need for brainstorming, it must serve the purpose.
The person in charge of conducting the brainstorming session must research, observe and
explore, in other words pre thinking is imperative. Many advertising personnel keep a file,
portfolio or soft board with clippings interesting quotes, product description, photographs etc.
The objective of this exercise is not to copy other’s creative idea but to use these ideas as spring
board for new ideas.
When the process begins the first pre-empt is not to think in terms of advertising but in terms of
ideas. Environment conducive for the free flow of ideas, collaboration and comfort should be
spawn.
While there is no standard outlined process of coming up with the ideas, following are some
variables that can be considered:
Competitor’s Advertising Appeal: Often competition can be a source of creative ideas that can
be used at least at a tactical level if not at strategic level. “Coke, the official drink” was the was
the Coca – Cola’s slogan for Wills Cricket World Cup 1996 , Pepsi rebuffed it as “Nothing
official about it. Enjoy Pepsi” Nestle’s Pole “The mint with the hole” was countered by Mint –O
as “ All mint no hole”

Target Audience: The target audience profile is not mere a number or a statistics , such
demographic profiling is valuable input in designing the advertising. Hero Honda brand of
scooty- pleasure targeted young girls with the tagline why should boys have all the fun, TVS
Scooty also targeted young girls with the tagline – Go Babelicious

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Product name and definition: Create new names or definitions for the product, tell something
about the product, intrigue the audience. Livon call itself as silky potion rather than as “hair
conditioner” Dove is not a soap but moisturising cream and a beauty bar.

Current affairs: Current events quickly occupy people’s mind and catch attention. Amul is
forerunner in such type of ads, it always kept its promotion up to date with current events, with
this approach Amul, always keeps the communication fresh with the new and challenging ads.

Strategy: Strategy tells about what to do, it speaks volumes about the vision and mission of the
organisation ,its customers , the message to be conveyed etc. For eg: Tata tea launched Jago Re
campaign, to raise awareness for specific causes like voting driving, anti corruption.

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Personification: How would the product be if it was a living person? For eg: Pillsbury Atta
personified the flour in the form of Pillsbury Doughboy, who is soft and white like dough and
dressed like a chef. Yamaha India recently launched a maiden mascot to connect with children
and parents to promote road safety. The Yamaha Children Safety Program (YCSP) is a first of its
kind social initiative by the company to educate and influence both parents and children about
vital road safety measures. The Mascot has been developed to arouse interest among kids about
the program. Fido Dido, cartoon character was used to position 7 Up as cool drink for
youngsters.

Analogy: An analogy is the comparison of two unrelated things though which is derived that
something is like something else in some respects but not in others. Analogies can be arrived at
by breaking down the product into various characteristics, components, functions, uses, effects,
benefits etc. And then creating a list of items may be people, situations, objects, processes,
actions etc that are like these things in some way. For eg: Garnier Anti wrinkle cream compares
wrinkle with the loose skin of the bulldog ‘s face. Mahindra XUV convey the message that
Mahindra XUV 5oo is really the beast by comparing it with cheetah.

Creative Execution
The effect of the message in governed by not only what is said but also by how it is said. The
advertiser now has to turn that idea into the real ad that captures the audience’s attention and
interest.
Good creative strategy and execution can often be central to determining the success of a product
or reversing the fortunes of the struggling brand, conversely an advertising campaign that is
poorly conceived or executed is a liability

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Advertising Appeal refers to the approach used to attract the attention of consumer, or to
influence the feelings towards the product, service or cause. Appeal can be said to form the
underlying content of the advertisement, it can be viewed as something that moves people ,
speaks of their needs or wants and excites there interest
Numerous different appeals can be used as the basis for advertising message . At the broadest
level these approaches are generally broken into two categories; Rational or Informational
Appeals and Emotional Appeals.

Rational/ Informational Appeal

Rational appeal focus on the consumer’s need, practical or functional utility of the product. The
content of these messages emphasize facts, logic, technical and analytical aspects of the
advertising message. Rational based appeals tend to be informative and advertiser using them
generally attempt to convince the consumers that their product or service have specific attributes
or would provide certain benefits that that satisfy their requirements.
Several types of advertising appeals fall under the category of rational appeals among them
features, competitive advantage, favourable price, news, product/service popularity appeal.
Feature Appeal focus on the dominant traits of the product or service. Technical and high
involvement product often uses this type of advertising appeal. These ads tend to be highly
informative and present the customer with a number of important attributes or features that will
lead to a favourable attitude towards purchasing the product featured. for eg: Toyata’s Prius is
the world’s first hybrid car. In one of an ad Maruti highlighted the new features in the New
Wagon R and also make a comparison with the old variant. Colgate Active has salt content that
fights germs.

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Competitive Advantage Appeal where advertiser makes direct or indirect comparison to
another brands and usually claims brand’s superiority on one or more attributes. Epson printer
make comparison with other printers while claiming its superiority as the lowest cost per print
page, Most of the automobile advertisements in print medium claim their superiority by
comparing with other automobiles in the segment

Product/ Serve Popularity Appeal: stresses the popularity of the product or the service by
claiming he number of customers who use the brands, the number who have switched to it, the
number of experts who recommend it. For eg: Honda City claims how many happy customers
they have worldwide
Olay Campaign- Olay Total Effects, the ad highlighted how women were urged to take the Olay
challenge and how it made a difference to their skin

News Appeal: are those in which some type of news or announcement about the product, service
or organisation dominates the ad. This type of appeal can be used for new product or service or

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to inform consumers about significant modifications or improvements. For eg: Quaker Oats are
now available in different flavour with real fruits and vegetables. Maggi has introduced new Oats
Maggi.

Favorable price appeal: makes price offer as the dominant point of the message. It is often used
by retailers to announce sales, special offers or low every day price . For g: Big Bazar, retail
chain is positioned as the retailer offering lowest price to its customers, on certain occasions of
national importance it announce special offers. Online E-tailer Flipkart recently announced
special discounts for the upcoming festival season and has garner huge response.

Emotional Appeal
Emotional appeals relate to the customer’s social and or psychological needs of purchasing a
product or service. Many consumer motives for purchase decision are emotional and their
feelings towards the brand can be more important the features or attributes. These appeals are
based on the psychological states or feelings directed to the self such as pleasure an well as those
with more social orientation such as status or recognition. For eg: Johnsons and Johnsons
highlights the motherly concern and bonding between the mother and the child, though the
advertisements also highlight the features of the product but it is essentially the motherly love
that is highlighted in its advertisements. Emotional appeals can be used in many ways to depict
creative strategy. Advertisers depict characters on the ad or commercials experiencing some
emotional or transformational benefit or outcome from using the product or service. This
approach is referred to as economic integration. These appeals are believed to put audience in a
favourable frame of mind. For eg: Google’s advertisement invoking a searing and traumatic
period of partition and “reunion” portray of two friends struck cultural chord and how search
engine enable to track down the childhood friend.
Emotional appeals are used to evoke positive feelings that may be transferred to the brand.

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Combination of rational and emotional appeals
In most purchase situations, consumer decisions are based on combination of both rational and
emotional motives , only the degree of each varies depending upon the product or service
category and the buying situation. Advertising professor, Michael Ray and Mc Cann Erickson
Worldwide in conjunction developed a research technique known as Emotional Bonding(figure
d) . This technique evaluates how consumers feel about the brands and the nature of emotional
rapport they have with the brand compared to the ideal emotional state they associate with the
product category.
The basic concept of emotional bonding is that consumers develop three level of relationship
with the brand . The most basic relationship indicates how consumers think about the brand in
respect of the product benefits , this primarily occur as a result of rational learning process and
can be measured by how well advertising communicates the product information. Consumers at
this stage are not very brand loyal and brand switching is common. At the next stage the
consumer assigns a personality to a brand , the consumer’s judgement of the brand has now
moved beyond its attributes , in most cases consumers judge the personality of the brand based
on the assessment cues found in advertising. The strongest relationship that develops between
the brand and the consumer is based on the feelings or emotional attachment to the brand.
Consumers develop emotional bonds with certain brands which result in positive psychological
movement towards them

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 Emotions

Personality

Product attributes/benefits

Figure d) Level of relationships with brands

Advertising Execution
Once advertising appeal that will be used as the basis of advertising message has been
determined , the creative team begins its execution. Creative Execution is the way advertising
appeal is presented. While it is important for an ad to have a meaningful appeal or message to
communicate to the consumer, the manner in which the ad is executed is also important,
Advertising execution is the way of presentation of the desired message or appeal to the target
audience. There are many ways in which an advertising message can be presented:
 Straight sell/ factual message
 Testimonial
 Comparison
 Animation
 Humor
 Scientific or technical evidence
 Slice of life
 Demonstration
 Fantasy
 Dramatization
 Combination
Straight sell/ factual message: This type of presents a straight forward presentation of
information concerning the product or service. This execution style often use rational or
informative appeals. The main focus is on the product or service and the ad attempts to
communicate specific attributes or benefits to the target audience. For eg:

Testimonial: to present the advertisement message, some advertisers prefer to use a satisfied
customer who praises the product or service based on the personal experience of its usage. Such

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an ad execution can use well known personalities or satisfied customers. This style of execution
is particularly effective when target audience can identify with the person delivering such
testimonial For eg: Dove brand of soap, shampoo, oil have used the testimonials from the
satisfied customers , who have used its product and testifies it is worth it and it actually works .
Olay, pentene are other classic examples in this category.

Comparison: Comparison (direct or indirect) communicates a brand’s particular advantage over

its competitors. Advertiser also use this execution approach to position a new, less known brand
by comparing it with the industry leader . For eg: Pepodent claim that it is the better than colgate
in terms of germ attack . Most of the advertisements of automobiles especially cars in print
medium, often highlight the comparison amongst the competing brands in the same segment to
claim their superiority.

Animation: Cartoons, puppet characters and demonstration with computer generated graphics
are used to communicate ad messages for eg: Kit kat recently started putting forward its
advertising message through this execution style.

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Humor: Humor has been a popular technique in ad execution and it makes the commercial more
interesting and entertaining. Humor evokes feelings of amusements and pleasure and favourably
affect the information processing by audience. For eg: Pidilite’s Fevicol have mostly approached
humorous execution in its advertising style

Scientific or technical evidence: Technical information, scientific evidence and endorsements

by well known agencies or scientific bodies to support the product or service claims . For eg: It is
the Indian Dental Association that claim the Colgate is the number one recommended toothpaste
and is also used by dentists in India.

Slice of life : this execution style is based on the problem- solution approach . This ad type
portrays a problem and conflict the consumer might face in their daily lives and how the
advertiser’s product can solve their problem. For eg: Head and shoulders, how it help fight the
problem of dandruff and hair fall. How Clean and Clear face wash help fight skin problems

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 \

Demonstration : the product may be demonstrated in actual use or it may be shown in some sort
of staged demonstration with the explicit purpose of highlighting the key advantage of the
product or service. For eg: Vanish stain removal, how the product is to be used so as to remove
all stains on clothes was highlighted in its advertisements.

Fantasy : This approach is based on the need of the consumer to find emotional escape to offset
daily routine. Certain cosmetics ads often use fantasy appeal to create pleasant images and
symbols consumers associate with the product or service . Fantasy execution is well suited for
television medium.

Dramatization : Another execution technique particularly suitable for television is

dramatization, where focus is on telling a short story with the product or service, it is some what
like slice of life execution – that relies on the problem solution approach but it use more
excitement and suspense in telling the story

Combination: In actual practice, most commercials use combination of various execution

techniques to present the advertising message.

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 LESSON 2
CREATIVE STRATEGY
Creating Print Advertising
The key format elements in the print advertising are: Headlines, Sub-Heads, Body-
Copy, Slogans, Seals , logos, signatures, visual elements and layout.
Headline
The headline contains the words in the leading position of the advertisements. These are the
words that are read first and are positioned with the intent to draw the reader’s attention. The
fundamental function of the headline is to attract the reader’s attention, get them interested and
lead them to the entire ad message, it must give the reader good reason to read the copy portion
of the ad, to do this the headline must put forth the main theme , appeal or proposition of the ad
in few words. Some print ads the body copy is totally absent, the headline along with illustration
must communicate the entire ad message. Headlines are usually set in larger type and are often
set apart from the body copy or the text portion of the ad to give them prominence.
There is no formula that can recommend how a good headline should be, however the following
factors need to be considered:

The headline should be short, simple words

It should include an invitation to the prospect, primary product or service benefits, name
of the brand and an interest provoking idea to induce the readers to the rest of the
advertisement
It should furnish enough information so that consumers who read only the headline
should learn something about the product or service
Types of Headlines: There are numerous headlines possibilities. The type used depends upon
several factors such as creative strategy, other components of the ad etc. Headlines can
be categorized as direct and indirect
Direct Headlines are straightforward and informative in terms of the message they present.
Common type of direct headlines include those offering specific benefits , making promise
or announcing a reason the reader should be interested in the product or service.
Benefit Headlines: promise the prospect some rewarding experience with the product or service.
Such headlines put forth the product’s most important benefit.
News/Information Headline: announces news or promises information
Indirect Headline: are not straightforward about identifying the product or service or getting to
the point. But they are often more effective in attracting reader’s attention and interest because
they provoke curiosity and lure readers into the body copy to learn an answer or to get
an explanation. These type of headlines often use questions, provocations, how to statements
or challenges .
Subheads: While many ads have only one headline , but one or more secondary heads or
subheads are also common. Subhead is additional smaller headline that appear mostly above or
below the headline. When the subhead is above the headline it is referred to as kicker or overline.
Subheads sometimes appear in the body copy. Subheads are usually smaller than the headline
and may appear in bold or italic type. Subheads often enhance the readability by highlighting key

46
sales points and support that content presented in the headlines. Subheads are usually longer than
the headline and serve as stepping stone from headline to the body copy and their content
reinforces the headline and he advertising slogan or theme.

Body Copy: The main text portion of the print ad is called body copy or sometimes just copy.
The body copy contains the complete story and is the logical continuation of the headlines and
the subheads . It covers the attributes , benefits and the utility of the product or service but
getting the audience to read the body copy is often difficult. The body copy must belong enough
to accommodate the complete message and short enough to retain the reader’s interest. Body
copy can be written to go along with the various types of creative appeals and executions like
comparison, demonstration, humor etc. . Copywriters choose a copy style that is appropriate for
the type of appeal being used and effective for executing the creative strategy and
communicating the advertiser’s message to the target audience.

Visual Elements: The illustration or the visual element is often the dominant part of the print ad
and plays an important role in determining its effectiveness. In some ads the visual portion of the
is essentially the message itself. It must attract the attention, communicate the idea or message
and works in a synergistic fashion with the headline and body copy to produce an effective
message. The visuals capture a mood and evoke a feeling , a context for consumer’s perception
of the product or service. Many decisions need to be made in this regard i.e. what identification
mark need should be included: brand name, company or trade name, trademarks, logos, etc.

Seals, Logos and Signatures: A seal is awarded when a product meets standards established by
a particular agency. Such as ISO 9001 or Energy Star etc.

Logos and signatures are special designs of the advertiser’s brand /product name or advertiser’s
company. Logo is distinctive mark that identifies a brand or the company.

Signature is the name of the company or brand , they appear in all their company ads , and are
immediately recognised for eg: Apple, Tata, Intel etc.

Essentially the purpose of the visual element is to:

 Capture the reader’s attention

 Clarify claims made by the advertising copy
 Identify subject of the advertisement
 Show the product in actual use situation
 Convince the readers about copy claims
 Arouse the reader’s interest
 Emphasize on brand’s unique features
 Create a positive impression of the brand or advertiser

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  Qualify readers by stopping those who are legitimate prospects

Layout: A layout is an orderly arrangement of headline, subheads, body copy , slogan , seal,
logo, signature and the visual element in an advertisement. It shows where each component of
the ad will be placed and gives guidelines to the people working on the ad creation. Copywriters
learn how much space is available to work and how much copy should be written.

During the creative phase the designer use thumbnails, roughs, dummies and comprehensives.

A thumbnail is a very small sketch, rough and rapidly created drawing to visualise the layout
approach without any details. Blocks of lines indicate the text position, and boxes show the place
of the visual. The best sketch resulting from this exercise is then developed further.

The artists draw the actual size of the advertisement in a Rough Layout.

Comprehensive layout is a highly refined exact copy of the finished ad . It is quite detailed with
photos, font style ad size etc. Generally the comprehensive is the typeset on computers.

A dummy is prepared to get the look and the feel of the brochure and the point of purchase
material. All the elements of the dummy are hand assembled, mounted on sturdy paper, and then
cut and folded to the size to appear exactly like the finished product.

Examples of few types of layout:

Frame: The copy is surrounded by the visual or the visual may be surrounded by the copy

Picture Window: This is the most common layout format. It has one single dominant visual that
occupies about sixty or seventy percent of the area. The headline and copy may appear above or
below the window.

Circus: this type of layout combines lots of elements to bring the ad alive and make it interesting
by art, type or color. It is created deliberately to create a busy, jumbled image.

Band: Series of elements arranged in one column with usually one major element outside this
band.

Design Principles

Ads must be designed to capture the reader’s attention immediately as the advertiser has only a
second or two to capture the reader’s attention. Good design should not only commands attention
but also holds it and communicates as much information as possible in the shortest amount of
time and makes the message easier to understand. The basic design could be:

All creative advertising should have a unified design. The complete layout (copy, headline,
subheads etc) should appear as a single unified composition.

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The ad should be arranged in an orderly manner so that the consumers can read it from left to
right from top to bottom. Arrangement of elements in a sequence helps direct the reader’s eye in
a structured position.

The division of space amongst the layout elements, should accentuate and focus on the element
or group so that they stand out among the rest. The ad designer should decide whether to put
more stress on illustration, headline or logo etc.

Using Color

Color is another element of the layout and can be used with impact. Print advertising has the
potential to contend with the television . Print has the ability to generate astonishing, eye
catching colors in the advertisement. Use of color suits many product categories such as food
items, fashion items etc.

 Colors adds attention capturing value to the advertisement

 Colors can help in imparting emphasis on important elements of the ad
 Colors can add a sense of realism and atmosphere
 Colors can help easy identification of brand name, package and trademark
 Colors imparts a feeling of prestige and quality to the advertisement

Creating Television Commercials

Television is a powerful advertising medium combining the unique ability of sight, sound and
motion. With high levels of advertising clutter in the medium, producing a commercial that
communicate effectively is complex . Television can be used to produce a variety of appeals and
executions, which is not possible in the print medium. However, the viewers cannot control the
pace of the ad message as in the case with the print medium.

There are two basic components of the TC commercials the audio and the video. The video
consist of the sight or the visual part and the audio part includes the spoken words ,music or
other sounds to communicate the ad message. These two components needs to used in
synergistic manner to produce the desired impact.

Video Element: The visual portion generally dominates the commercial and include all those
elements that are seen on the television screen. It is important that these visual elements are
successful in attracting the viewer’s attention and communicate the message or the idea . It may
be required to carefully combine a number of visual elements to produce an effective commercial
for eg: the decision may concern the product, the presenter, action sequence, close ups, customer
interview, comparison, graphics, characters, colors, symbols etc.

Audio Element: the audio portion of the commercial includes voice, music, sound effects. The
voice could include two or more people appearing in the commercial who are involved in a
conversation, or it could be a single presenter appearing as spokesperson or it could be

49
voiceover; where message is delivered or action on the screen is narrated or described by the
narrator not visible. In many commercial background score or background music helps to create
appropriate mood or atmosphere for the audience . In many other commercials , music is often
used to break through the advertising clutter and attract the audience’s attention, evoke feelings
and communicate the ad message. Jingles are catchy songs built around the product or service
that communicates the advertising theme or messages and are another important music element
of the commercials.

Planning and production of television commercials

In planning for television commercial the major decision is to focus on the type of appeal and the
execution style to be used. Television is well suited to both rational and emotional advertising
appeals or combination of the two. Various execution styles such as dramatization, slice of life,
humor, testimonial etc work well on television. Advertiser’s recognise that they need to do more
than talk about , demonstrate or compare their product or service. Their commercial have to
break through the clutter and grab the viewer’s attention , they must often appeal to emotional as
well as rational buying motives. Television is an entertaining medium, most TV audience watch
TV programmes for their entertainment value and commercials that are capable of primarily
entertaining and providing information are more successful.

A written down version of television commercial is called a Script, it brings together various
elements of the commercial and provide detailed description of the audio and the video portions.
The video portion covers the camera actions, angles, scenes, special techniques and other
important description. The audio portion includes the copy to be spoken by voices, the music and
the sound effects.

Once the basic script has been conceived, the writer and the art director get together to produce a
storyboard , a series of drawings to show the layout or the visual plan of the proposed
commercial. The storyboard presents the drawings of different video scenes and the detailed
description of the audio part that is associated with each scene. Those involved in the production
and approval of the commercial get a clear picture from storyboard as to what the finished
commercial would look like. “Animatic” is the videotape of the storyboard along with the
soundtrack. This is sometimes used for client presentation or pre-testing of commercial.

The production phase of the commercial starts after the client approves the storyboard or
animatic. There are three phases involved and the activities in each stage are

Pre-Production Phase Production Phase Post-Production Phase

All the activities undertaken
before the actual shooting or
recording of the commercial
 Selection of director
 Set construction
Period during which filming
and videotaping of the
commercial is done
 Location or set shoots
Activities undertaken after
the commercial has been
filmed and recorded
 Editing
 Processing

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  Location  Talent arrangements  Mixing audio and
 Casting video
 Agency and client  Client or agency
approval approval
 Pre production  Release
meetings etc.
Creating Radio Commercial
Radio advertising is different and difficult because unlike print and television advertising it
cannot use visuals for attracting and captivating the audience, it requires awakening images in
the listener’s mind by using sound, music and voices. There is no visual or colors to attract the
audience only the sound. The scriptwriter has to be sure that the listener believes in the message.
It must deliver the right words; the writer can create a picture in sound (Mental Imagery). The
copywriter use words, sounds and music to create image and influence recall. The warmth of
human voice is another factor in communicating the message. Sound has an ability to generate
the mood desired by the advertiser, it can be used to create effects of footsteps, laughter,
moaning and many others. Music is the universal language and can be a powerful source in
grabbing the listener’s attention. Jingles are the popular means of helping people remember the
slogan.

The basic ingredient in the radio commercial is to promise an important and persuasive benefit
from the listener’s point of view. After determining the key promise to be communicated, the
writers use select words and sound to communicate the desired message. Some points taken into
consideration while developing advertising copy for radio are:

 Keep it short and simple: Use simple words and short sentences, copy needs to be
conversational
 Maintain clarity: delete unnecessary words, the message should flow in a logical
sequence
 Create rapport : the tone of the voice should create a rapport with the prospective
listeners
 Make it believable: Avoid making overstatements and exaggerations
 Make it interesting: manner of presentation of the message should be interesting
 Create distinctiveness : give the commercial distinct character

Creating Internet Advertisements

The aim of marketer is to create ads that will ensure high involvement of consumers and
interactive advertising on the internet promotes more customer involvement.

Designing Web site: Web pages can combine elements and designs styles from all different
media: print, film, sound etc. In addition, the need to search and navigate creates entirely new
design from whose major challenge is the ease of use.

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Web pages should be attractive and appealing. Navigation is the critical factor to move through
the web pages, it should be convenient for users to move through the site and find easily the
information they are looking for. Interactivity is the another important issue , to take advantage
of the special strength of his medium , there will be interactive elements that facilitate contacting
with the company with questions, complaints, suggestions, comments etc. Internet derive its
major advantage as the advertising medium through feedback communication , which is
important input as strategic planning also the copy testing methods are developed to evaluate the
site’s potential to motivate click through behaviour.

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 LESSON-3
MEDIA PLANNING
Targeting the communication message to the right audience, through the right medium with the
right strength is as important as the development of the message itself. Any advertiser who uses
mass media advertising needs to have competent services in the area of media planning.
Essentially, media planning answers the following fundamental questions:
 How much money to be spend on mass media?
 Across what media should the spends be allocated?
 At what point of time in the campaign period should these monies be spent?
Thus ,Media Planning refer to the series of the decisions involved in delivering the promotional
message to the prospective purchaser and or user of the product or brand. Media Planning is a
process which means a number of decisions are made each of which may be altered
or abandoned as the plan develops.
Media planning has become fairly complex with the increase in the cost of various media and the
proliferation of media choices . The media planners have to critically analyse the choice of media
class and media vehicles.
Media plan is the guide for the media selection. It requires development of specific
media objectives and specific media strategies designed to attain those objectives. Once the
decisions have been made and the objectives and strategies formulated, the information is
organised into media plan.
Medium is the general category of the available delivery system, which includes broadcast
media(TV, radio)Print media(newspaper, magazine), direct mail, outdoor advertising and
other support media.
Media Vehicle is the specific carrier within the medium category. For eg: Hindustan Times is
carrier of he advertiser’s advertisement in the newspaper category.
Media Mix: refers to various advertising channels through which a company communicates
with its target audience.
Coverage refers to the potential audience that might receive the message through the vehicle
Reach is the measure of the number of different audience members exposed at least once to
the media vehicle in a given period of time. Reach is normally expressed in percentage terms. It is
important to note that reach takes into account different and distinct individuals exposed to a
given medium, thus for two different publications it is possible for one individual to reading
both these publications, in media terms it is referred to as duplication , when calculating
reach care has to be taken to ensure that such reader is taken into account only once for the
purpose.
Frequency: In order that advertising be effective the audience must be exposed to the
advertisement more than once. The number of times the advertisement appear in a given
publication or over a particular television program is known as frequency of exposures of the
advertisement. For eg: if the ad is released 10 times in a publication , the target audience reached
by that publication would have an opportunity to see that ad 10 times this is called
as OTS(Opportunity To See) in media terms.
Gross Rating Point(GRP) when reach and frequency is multiplied it is known as gross exposure
of a given campaign. This is a numerical figure indicating how many potential
audience members are likely to be exposed to a series of commercials. It does not measure
the size of the audience reached. Rather, GRPs quantify impressions as a percentage of the
target population

53
It stands for reason that for a finite amount of advertising expenditure over the mass media ,
reach and frequency have an inverse relation with each other. In other words if we try to
maximize reach, frequency gets compromised on the other hand if we maximize frequency reach
will get compromised

Developing media plan

Media strategy
Establishment development Evaluation and
Market Analysis of media and Follow up
objectives implementation

Figure a) Media Planning Process

The process as shown in figure a) involve a series of stages : Market Analysis, Establishment of
Media Objectives Media strategy development and implementation and evaluation and follow
up.

Market Analysis and Target Market identification

The key questions at these stages are :

 To whom shall we advertise?

 What internal or external factors may influence the media plan?
 Where and When should efforts must be focussed?

The market analysis may reveal more than a few target markets , to decide which group of target
market should be addressed the media planners may need some additional data regarding the
audience size, composition of target audience for eg: users among adults(males and females),
heavy users/light users etc. The index number is considered as good indicator or market potential
as the planners are more interested in the percentage figure rather than the absolute number.

Index = Percentage of users in the demographic segment

----------------------------------------------------------------- * 100
Percentage of population in the same segment

Use of index numbers is helpful but it should be combined with percentage and product usage
figures to get a clearer and more accurate picture of the market. Media strategies are influenced
by both internal and external factors operating at any given time. Internal factors may involve
size of the media budget, managerial and administrative capabilities of the organization or the
agency. External factors may include cost of media, competitive factors, changes in technology
etc.

54
The next concern is where to promote relates to the geographic consideration. Companies may
find that the sales are stronger in one segment or market over the rest and may allocate
advertising expenditure according to the market potential of the area. Obviously those markets
should be the priority areas that are most likely to meet the desired objectives.

Use of Indices to determine where to promote: Brand Development Index (BDI) and Category
Development Index (CDI) may be used to determine where to focus advertising efforts as the
figures provide media planners insight into the relative value of markets.

BDI = Percentage of brand’s total country sales in the area/segment

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*100
Percentage of total country population in the area/segment

The BDI compares the percentage of brand’s total sale in the market segment for eg: in
Rajasthan with the percentage of the total population in Rajastan to determine the sales potential
for the brand in Rajasthan.

CDI = Percentage of product category’s total sales in the area/segment

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*100
Percentage of total country population in that area/segment

CDI is computed in the same manner as BDI except it uses information regarding the product
category as opposed to the brand in the numerator

CDI provides information on the potential for development of the total product category rather
than specific brands. When this information is combined with the BDI a much more insightful
promotional strategy can be developed

Brand Development Index (BDI)

Development index

High Low
High market share Low market share
High

Good market potential Good market potential

Category

High market share Low market share

(CDI)

Monitor for sales Poor market potential

Low

decline

High BDI and High CDI : This market usually represents good sales potential for both the
product category and the brand

55
High BDI and Low CDI: The category is not selling well but the brand is , probable a good
market to advertise it but should be monitored for declining sales.

Low BDI and High CDI: the product category shows high potential but the brand is not doing
well , the reason should be determined

Low BDI and low CDI: Both the product category and the brand are doing poorly, not likely to
be a good place for advertising

Establishing Media Objectives

Media objectives are the goals for the media program and should be limited to those that can be
accomplished through media strategies. Media objectives are formulated to help accomplish the
advertising communication task and marketing objectives. Media objectives are translated into
specific goals for the media programme. For eg: media objective is o create awareness in the
target market through :

 Use of print media to provide coverage of 90% of the target market in six months
 Reach 60% of the target audience at least three times(frequency) over six months
Media strategy development and implementation
Having established what is to be accomplished, media planners consider how to achieve these
objectives that is they develop and implement media strategies which evolve directly from the
actions required to meet objectives.

Criteria considered in the development of the media plans are:

 The Media Mix

 Target Market coverage
 Geographic Coverage
 Scheduling
 Media reach and frequency
 Creative Aspects and Mood / Qualitative Aspect of Media Vehicle Source
 Budget Consideration

Media Mix: A wide variety of media and media vehicles are available to the advertisers. The
objective sought, the characteristics of the product, size of the budget and individual preferences
etc. may be the factors that determine the combination of media used.

For eg: a situation in which the product requires a visual demonstration for communicate
effectively, in such a case TV may be the most effective medium. If the promotional strategy
calls for to stimulate sale by trial by coupons print medium may be employed.

56
By employing media mix, advertiser can add more versatility to their media strategies since each
medium contributes its own distinct advantages. By combining media marketers can increase
coverage, reach and frequency levels by improving the likelihood of achieving overall
communication and marketing goals.

Target Market Coverage: The media planners determines which target market should receive
the most media emphasis, this requires matching the media and media vehicles most suitable to
the target audience. The optimal goal is the full market coverage but this is a very optimistic
scenario and in real situation the coverage of the media does not allow for total market coverage,
some potential customers are left without exposure to the advertised message. It is also true that
media coverage reaches non targeted audience who are not considered as potential customers and
the advertiser is faced with the problem of overexposure referred to as waste coverage or media
over exposure

The media planners objective is to reach as many members of the target market as possible and
at the same time minimizing the extent of any waste coverage. The situation usually involves
trade-offs, however waste coverage is justified because the media employed are likely to be the
most effective means of delivery available and the cost of waste coverage is exceeded by the
value gained from their use.

Geographic Coverage: Geography is another important consideration for the media planning
process, the demand for certain types of products depends on the geographic locations of the
market for eg: heavy woollens are unlikely to have significant demand in Southern Indian States
, thus the marketers would have no inclination to advertise such products in such geographic
locations. The use of BDI and CDI may be quite helpful in determining the media strategy for
different geographic locations.

Scheduling

Companies would like to keep their advertising in front of the target audience at all times as a
constant reminder of its product or brand name however in reality it is not possible for a variety
of reasons such as the funds availabity rather it may not be necessary. The primary objective of
scheduling is to time the promotional efforts so that they coincide with the highest potential

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buying times. The scheduling methods available to media planners are: Continuity, Flighting
and Pulsing.

Continuity refers to the continuous pattern of advertising which may mean every day, every
week, or every month. The key is that a regular or continuous pattern of advertising is developed
without gaps or non advertising periods. Such strategies might be used for advertising of
products that are used or consumed on an ongoing basis without regard to seasonality(FMCG
goods)

Flighting, employs a slightly less regular schedule with intermittent or irregular period of
advertising and non advertising. At some time period there may be heavier promotional
expenditures and at others there may be no advertising. For eg:

Pulsing is actually combination of Continuity and flighting . In pulsing strategy continuity is

maintained but at certain times the promotional efforts are stepped up.

Thus, Media schedule is the calendar of the advertising plan and is concerned with the timing of
the insertion of ads in the selected media. The decisions in this area are essentially based on the
certain assumptions concerning how the target audience will respond to the presence or absence
of the advertising message

Media Reach and frequency: Advertiser’s have variety of objectives and face budget
constraints; they usually trade off between reach and frequency. They must decide whether to

58
have the message be seen or heard by more people (reach) or by fewer people more
often(frequency)

As per the response hierarchies the more people are aware are likely to move to each subsequent
stage, achieving awareness requires-Reach that is exposing potential buyers to the message. New
brands need a high level of Reach, since the objective is to make all potential buyers aware of the
new entry. High reach is also desired at later stages of the hierarchy for eg: at the later stage of
adoption, promotion strategy might be to use coupons or free samples, an objective of the
marketer to reach large number of people with these samples or coupons, in an attempt to make
them learn about the product, try it, develop favourable attitude towards it and in turn lead to
actual purchase.

The problem arises because there is no known way of determining how much reach is required to
achieve levels of awareness, attitude change or buying intentions nor can we sure an ad placed in
a vehicle will actually reach the intended audience.

The next question is about what frequency of exposure is necessary for the ad to be seen and
have an impact. Frequency is the number of times one is exposed to the media vehicle, not
necessarily the ad itself. While advertisement may be placed in a certain vehicle, the fact that the
consumer is exposed to that vehicle does not ensure that he also has seen/ read or viewed your
advertisement. As a result the frequency level expressed in the media plan overstates the actual
level of exposure to the ad. This overstatement led some media buyers to refer to the reach of the
media vehicle as “Opportunities to See” (OTS) an ad rather than actual exposure to it.

Because the advertisers has no sure way of knowing whether exposure to a vehicle results in
exposure to the ad, it is accepted hat one exposure to a media vehicle constitutes reach provided
that this exposure must occur for the audience member to offer an opportunity to see the ad. This
approach though, does not help in determining what frequency level is needed to create the
desired impact , decisions in this regard are not always based on hard data. It is often quoted that
establishing frequency goals for an advertising campaign is a mix of art and science but with a
definite bias towards art.

Media planners often compromise and strike a balance between reach, frequency and the number
of advertising cycles in the planning period. In most cases the advertising budget is fixed and the
planners cannot spend more on say increasing frequency without decreasing expenditure on
reach or the number of advertising cycles. The tradeoffs are generally governed by the principle
that it is better to sell some people completely than many people not at all. The trade-off between
reach and frequency is most common , if it is advantageous to maintain advertising continuity or
plan more advertising cycles as with the frequently purchased products or services then reach
should be sacrificed. For infrequently purchased products such as consumer durables goods it is
advised to increase reach and advertise only occasionally in cyclic pattern, this may suffice to
maintain audience interest without having to reach them more frequently. The best trade offs

59
depend on the media strategy, the type of the product . It is also possible that audience members
are exposed to more than one media vehicle carrying the same ad, resulting in repetition For eg:
if an ad of fairness cream is placed in two magazines say Femina and Star Dust, a number of
target audience will be exposed to both vehicle resulting in duplicated reach . If an ad is placed
in one magazine only the total number of audience exposed only once is un-duplicated reach .
Figures of both duplicated and unduplicated reach are important . Un- duplicated reach
represents potential new exposures and duplicated reach provides an estimate of frequency

Programme Rating: is a measure of potential reach of broadcast media/programme expressed

in percentage for eg: the number of households that on TV sets is 100 and a certain programme is
viewed in 30 of those households , the programme rating would be 30.

Programme Rating = Number of households viewing the programme

------------------------------------------------------------------------ * 100
Total number of households owning the TV sets

Gross Rating Point(GRP) : The media buyers typically use a numerical indicator to know how
many potential audience members may be exposed to a series of commercials. A summary
measure combines the program rating and the average number of times the home is reached
during the period (frequency) is commonly used reference point known as Gross Rating
Point(GRP)

GRP = Reach * Frequency

Advertisers also use GRP as the basis for examining the relationship between reach and
frequency

Frequency = Gross Rating Point (GRP)

--------------------------------------
Reach

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 Reach = Gross Rating Point (GRP)
--------------------------------------
Frequency
Qualitative Aspect of Media Vehicle Source

This concept refer that the ad exposure in one vehicle might have more impact on the audience
than if the same ad is placed in another vehicle . For example if the ad for a cosmetic brand is
placed in women magazine say Femina, it might produce more impact on the target audience
than if the same ad is placed in another magazine say Reader’s Digest even if the audiences
were the same. The difference in the ad message impact may be the result of audience
involvement , editorial fit or the physical reproduction qualities.
Media Vehicle’s degree of expertise associated with its area of interest is important, for eg:
magazines related to computer say PC Quest, Digit or Computer ‘s @ Home etc. Are seen by
their target audience as reliable sources of information on the subject. Media vehicle
can enhance the creativity of the message by creating a mood that affect the impact of
the commercial communication. Sports channels are believed to generate excitement and fun
loving moods, ads of soft drinks, sportswear is usually seen on these channels .Women and
lifestyle magazines are used cosmetics brand. Certain media vehicle have image that may
carry over to the perception of the ad message placed within them. It makes sense to think that
involvement of the target member in the media vehicle should generate more impact of an ad
message compared to another vehicle that is less interesting to the audience. Commercials
that interrupt the high involving TV programmes may benefit because of the spill over
of involvement to ad comprehension.
Budget Consideration
One of the most important decision in the development of media strategy is the cost estimation.
The value of any strategy can be determined by how well it delivers the message to the audience
with the lowest cost and the least waste.
Advertising and promotional costs can be categorized in two ways: The Absolute Cost of the
medium or vehicle and the Relative Cost of the medium or the vehicle. For eg: If it cost Rs 10 lac
to furnish a full front page advertisement in a national newspaper , the absolute cost of the media
vehicle is Rs 10 Lac., with the same advertisement the reach is 10 lac audience members
the relative cost of the medium is one rupee per reach , thus the relative cost of the
medium is always in relation to the absolute amount paid for advertising time or space and the
size of the audience delivered.
Determining the relative cost of the media
To evaluate the alternatives, advertisers compare the relative cost of the media as well as
vehicles within these media. However the broadcast, print and out of the home media does not
always provide the same cost breakdown.

61
Cost per thousand(CPM): Magazine space is sold primarily on the basis of pages or some
increment of the page. CPM has been used by the magazine industry as a standard method
to provide cost breakdowns on the basis of cost per page per thousand circulations and is used
to compare media cost if different vehicles
CPM = Cost of ad space
------------------------------- * 1000
Circulation
For eg: if the cost of placing one full page advertisement in Star Dust is Rs fifty thousand and
the circulation of the magazine is five lac copies , the CPM calculation would be
CPM = 50,000
----------------- * 1000 = 100
5,00, 000

Cost Per Rating point (CPRP) : the broadcast media provide a different comparative figure
referred to as cost per rating point or cost per point calculated as:

CPRP = Cost of Commercial time

-------------------------------------
Programme Rating
For example if the cost of a ten second spot on Star Plus is Rs one lac and fifty thousand and the
programme rating is 30, the CPRP would be:
CPRP = 1,50,000
------------- = 5000
30
Relative Cost comparison of media is important, however the inter media comparison can be
misleading for eg: television combine sight and sound with motion and magazine provide
longevity . Attributes of different media make direct comparison difficult other than cost
comparison advertiser must also look for specific characteristics of each medium and the vehicle
within each medium.

Evaluation and Follow up:

Evaluation is essential to assess the performance of any activity Two factors are important in
evaluating the media plan:

How successful were the strategies in achieving the media objectives? Did the media plan was
successful in accomplishing the desired objectives?
Successful strategies help build confidence and serve as reference point in developing media
strategies in future and the failure is thoroughly analysed to learn about the shortcomings.
However there are certain problems with the measurement that limit the degree to which one
assess the relative effectiveness of advertising strategies

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 LESSON 4
ADVERTISING THROUGH INTERNET

The power of internet is phenomenal, it is the ultimate advertising medium, in the present
day world it has become such an integral part of daily lives that its existence simply cannot
be ignored. Today internet as medium of advertising is not an option.

The Internet is the worldwide means of exchanging information through series of

interconnected computers.

Any communication that can be received through the online media can be termed as online
advertising or promotion . While designing communication for internet it is imperative to
remember that net is not just a promotional medium but also a transactional medium and
distribution channel. Advertising or promotion through internet can take various forms such
as:

Website

An organisation’s or a product website is one of the most basic and potent tools of marketing
communication. A website is in fact a location on the internet where anyone can come to find
out about the company its products or services. A website can integrate various
communication tools at the same time. It act as public relation tool that can influence public
opinion through product information, articles, photographs, media clippings , financial
reports etc and addresses various audience simultaneously- consumers, employees, investors,
government etc. It act as sales promotional tool by communicating about distributional and
promotional offers. Through promotional videos or articles that resemble advertorials
(advertisement in the form of editorial content), a website can advertise to its audience. In
addition links from the company’s banner ads or ad buttons on other sites, consumer blogs or
social networking sites can all lead to the main website.

Typically a website is composed of many pages the first page referred to as home page is
much like a book cover or gateway and is the starting point for additional information
provided in the subsequent pages.

Important point regarding website design is about website navigation this refers to the art and
science of arranging web pages so the user can quickly can easily move from one location to
the another. Navigation provides the path as well as the signposts for people to get from one
place to another.

Content design: Copy created for the internet (refer Advertising copy) is lot different from the
conventional copy because people generally scan the information on the net by catching
words or sentences. The main purpose of website is to disseminate information, thus the
information available on website should be updated frequently , people often visit website
when they don’t find information therefore it must be provided upfront. Other consideration

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would be to highlight the key words, use bullets or captions to present the main idea,
information pertaining to specific issue or topic must be classified accordingly.

Ad Banners

Ad banner is strip of web page for onscreen ads . Banners may vary in size and appearance
however small rectangular advertisements on the top of the web page are the most common
format. Most banner ads perform the function when the viewers click on them, the internet
browser navigates the viewer to the advertiser’s website.

They provide online visibility ad help at least in getting the brand name or message registered
among the viewers also banners provide good selectivity of the target audience, advertisers
can strategically place banners by choosing relevant website based on the content of the
website or the statistics of visitors visiting that website. Further banners allow tracking of ad
effectiveness, advertiser can find out the number of people who viewed their banners , the
number who clicked through and at times their profile. This helps them keep a track of every
single rupee spent and measure results in objective terms and in real time

On the flip side banner advertisement can be highly annoying to viewers as they distract
attention from the primary content and eat up the bandwidth. Many online users are
becoming banner blind and disregard anything that flashes or looks like banner also many
browsers and proxy servers block banners . Another disadvantage is the extremely low click
rate of banners- measuring less than one percent.

Ad buttons

Ad buttons are the smaller version of banners that often looks like an icon and usually serve
as link to advertiser’s home page.

Email/Internet direct mail

Email or internet direct mail has all the advantage of the online medium – its fast,
interactive, easy to produce and use , less costly and uniquely personal which offers the
advantage of message tailoring according to the type of target customer or making
personalised message. However the biggest disadvantage is that of clutter, because people do
not like to receive unsolicited email messages called spam that is sent out in bulk to various
recipients and get irritated by millions of marketing messages they receive in the mailbox
everyday. Thus it is important to practice responsive marketing and to create promotions that
do not violate internet etiquette. This falls under the philosophy of permission marketing –the
concept advocates that marketer should not intrude into prospective customer’s private space
but should ask permission before they send out advertisements to them .Advocates of this
concept believe that permission marketing is more efficient use of marketer’s resources since
advertisements are not sent to the prospects who are not interested in them.

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Pop -Ups/Pop- Unders

Pop ups are the ads that “pop up” by opening a new browser window when a specific content
page is requested . Usually pop up ad window open in scaled down size and have only
maximize, minimize and close buttons . These disturbs the user’s browsing experience , as
these need to clicked individually to close the window and at times overload a browser’s
capacity. Pop-Unders are slightly less irritating format because new advertising window
pops under the content window . Some web pages triggers pop-unders when the user leave
that page . Browser’s and software’s allow the users to block all pop up advertising.

A special type of pop-up advertisement is the hover ad, a combination of ad banners and pop-
up that does not scroll with the web page, but hovers over the page either obscuring it
completely or by being translucent.

Interstitials/ Transition Ads/Intermercials

Interstitials are “ in between pages” that appear on or between web pages before redirecting
the user to the actual content page that he has requested. They appear between two content
pages and hence are also known as transitional ads or intermercial ads.

Interstitials are one of the few advertising forms that are difficult to be blocked by the user ,
however they are less annoying than pop-ups/pop-unders and always include a skip button
on interstitials so that user can avoid them if they want to and do not get irritated.

Blogs and community forums

Unlike website, blogs are more dynamic than website where marketers establish a dialogue
with the readers or share news, views, opinion or knowledge that meet the ends of the
audience in a informal way. Blogs are also a place where companies can expect customers to
open their heart out and give honest reviews. Through blogs companies can learn what
customers have to say about their product , test new products and even build internal brands
for eg: Microsoft tests its product through blogs created by employees . CNN-IBN connects
with its news viewers through blogs wherein employees talk about various issue ranging from
politics to daily life.

Similarly, e groups are electronic discussion forums for communities with common interest –
health, education, poetry etc. That hold immense potential for marketing products . The key
to remember while communication on blogs, e groups etc. Is to keep the discussion casual,
honest, short and in vernacular language.

Search Engine Marketing

When web surfers are not aware of the website domain’s name, the logical way to find them
about it is through search engines, Search Engine Marketing is thus a set of tactics designed
to increase the visibility of website in the search engine result pages so that more users would
visit the site.

65
Keywords and copywriting: one way that a search engine determines whether or not your
web page is relevant to the keywords searched by the user is by matching those keywords
with the content of the web page. A web marketer needs to understand his audience and
target the correct search words and phrases on his web page in order to optimise the page. For
example for a website that gives information on real estate properties in delhi , following key
words or phrases could be used – delhi real estate, delhi homes/ 2 bhk/3bhk in delhi, rental
properties in delhi, commercial properties in delhi etc. However identification of key phrases
will not give look listing for any of those search terms instead identify what is the theme of
the web page , what your target audience is most likely to search for and what competition is
offering and then use the three four words or phrases accordingly. . Do not attempt to
sprinkle the web page with the generalised key words . Professional keyword generation
softwares are also available.

Relevant hyperlink names: search engines pay a lot of attention to hyperlinks and the text
immediately surrounding hyperlinks because it points to the content linked from that page .
Hence attempt is made to include important key words phrases in the links and surrounding
texts.

Page and image titles: meaningful and relevant page or image titles should be given to each
individual page of the website, the page titles called “ title pages” appear in the search engine
result pages and also as window labels in the computer taskbar panel . By reading the page
title the user should be able to make out what website and the page is all about. Thus the page
title should include select few keyword phrases . Like pages , images too need titles because
search engines cannot read the content f the images, image titles called “alt pages” too should
include key words or phrases that describe the image and increase the frequency of the
keywords on the page.

Include site map: As well as helping in navigation the site map also helps search engines to
find all the pages of a website.

Avoid spamming: the above techniques should not be used with the intention to trick search
engines and get a higher listings because search engines have smart technologies that can
detect these efforts called spamming, and blacklists website indulging in it. For example
websites have submitted duplicate pages inserted keywords of the same color as pages,
background , used popular keyword that do not directly relate to the content of the web page
have been blacklisted aster there spamming attacks were detected.

When communication managers have optimised their websites for search engines they may
submit their websites to the search engines.

Paid Inclusions: rather than waiting for the search engines to find their sites naturally which
can take quite some time communication managers might want to get listed faster through
paid inclusions called Pay For Inclusions(PFI) or PPI(Pay Per Inclusions)

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Advantages of Internet Advertising

Target Marketing: The major advantage of web is the ability to target specific groups of
individuals or groups with the minimum of waste coverage. Internet resembles a combination
of trade magazines and business journals and trade shows and exhibitions , as only those
interested in the products will visit the site . In the consumer market , through
personalization, sites are becoming more tailored to meet one’s needs and wants

Message Tailoring: As a result of target marketing, messages can be designed to appeal to

the specific needs and wants of the target audience, the interactive capabilities of the internet
make it possible to carry one to one marketing .

Interactive capabilities: Internet provides strong potential for increasing customer

involvement and almost immediate feedback. It provides a forum wherein the complaints ,
suggestions or grievances can be issued and addressed .

Information Access: The greatest advantage of internet is the availability of the information
24*7.internet users can access plethora of information anywhere, anytime they want to.

Sales Potential: Internet provides the potential for converting prospects into customers. Real
time order processing, order booking can be done through this medium

Creativity: Creatively designed sites can enhance a company’s image, lead to repeat visits
and positively position the company or the organisation.

Exposure: For many small and medium size enterprises , the internet enable them to gain
exposure to potential customers that would otherwise would have been costly or impossible.
For a section of investment that would be required using traditional media , companies can
gain national and international exposure.

Speed: The internet is the quickest and the fastest medium of connecting with the target
audience, for those requesting information on company its offerings, it is the quickest means
to get the desired information.

Complements IMC (Integrated Marketing Communication): Internet both complements

and is complemented by other IMC media, it serves as an important link in the integrative
process.

Disadvantages of Internet Advertising

We Snarl: At times downloading information from the net takes a long time, sites may
become inaccessible due to too many visitors. For many users who expect speed , this is the
major disadvantage .

Clutter: As the number of ad proliferates the likelihood of one’s ad being noticed drop
accordingly , the result is that some ads may not get noticed and some viewers may become
irritated by the clutter.

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Potential for deception: Data collection without consumer’s knowledge and permission,
hackers and credit card thefts are a number of problems confronting internet.

Irritation: Consumer’s discontent with clutter, e mail spam, pop-ups and pop unders are
irritating aspects on the internet

Privacy: Internet marketer must be careful not to impinge upon the privacy of users

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 LESSON 5

MEDIA DECISIONS- TYPES OF MEDIA

Newspaper

The primary role of newspaper is to promptly deliver detailed coverage of news and other
information, and incorporate interesting features for the readers. Newspapers can be
classified in different ways, one of the way of classification is:

National Newspapers: are the newspapers with national circulation, these newspapers have
editorial content with nation wide appeal such as The Hindu, The Times of India, Nav Bharat
Times, Dainik Jagran etc. These newspapers mainly attract national and regional advertisers.

Daily Newspapers (Regional/Local): These newspapers provide brief coverage of the

important national news and events, but there is detailed coverage of news, events and issues
concerning regional/local geographic area besides they also cover business, sports and other
relevant information. These newspapers are generally popular because of their nearer to the
home focus of news.

Special Audience Newspapers: Some papers cater to the needs of the specific audience
groups with specialized editorial content such as The Economic Times , Financial Express
cater to the groups in the field of industry, business , finance etc. The editorial content is
focussed on the information and issues related to these aspects.

Different types of Newspaper Advertising

Classified Advertising: refers to the advertising arranged according to a particular section or

head for eg: real estate, job vacancies matrimonial columns etc .

Display Advertising: this type of advertising is seen both in newspapers and magazines and
uses illustrations , photos, headlines and other visual elements besides text

Special Inserts: a variety of special inserts and advertisements appear in newspapers such as
tender notices, public notices, financial reports etc.

Pre printed ads do not appear on the newspaper but are distributed through newspapers.
These ads are printed by the advertiser ad are taken to the newspaper or the newspaper
distributor to be inserted inside the newspaper and delivered to the readers. These may take
the form of brochures or catalogues , leaflet, circulars etc. Free Standing Inserts(FSI) is the
pre printed ad inserted in the newspaper folds that fall out when the reader opens the
newspaper and may attract reader’s immediate attention.

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Advantages of Newspaper Advertising

Penetration: One of the primary advantage offered by newspaper to an advertiser is the

high degree of market coverage or penetration. A high percentage of literate people read
newspapers daily both in urban and rural areas, the level of readership is high among
households with higher income and education level. By making one space buy the advertiser
is able to achieve more extensive coverage and reach different segments of population with
the advertising message. By using daily newspapers, national or local, media planners can
achieve a high level of frequency in media schedule.

Reader’s Involvement: People devote some time everyday to reading newspapers and while
they are exposed to news, entertainment and information their consumption decisions are also
influenced by what they read in advertisements. Consumers use retail ads to determine
product prices and availability. One aspect of newspaper that is helpful to advertiser is the
reader’s knowledge about particular section of the paper for eg: ads of sporting goods
usually appear in the sports section, local retailer often advertise on the city supplements of
the newspaper.

Flexibility: Unlike television , newspaper offers considerable flexibility in terms of accepting

and running the advertisements. Most newspaper accepts ads allowing a closing time of 24
hours before the publication. Advertisers take advantage of this flexibility in responding to
current market conditions and reaching customers with timely messages.

Creativity: Use of newspaper allow advertisers to use creative options as the ads can be
produced and run in different sizes, shapes or formats. External peripherals are also used to
make the advertisement more creative and attractive.

Geographic and language selectivity: Advertiser can take the advantage of newspapers to
reach selected geographical markets. They can also select newspapers published in several
languages , this allows them greater flexibility in terms of reaching specific market areas by
using single or combination f newspapers.

Relatively low cost: in comparison to other media the relative cost of making newspaper ad
as well as cost of getting it printed is low. Also because of the extensive penetration the cost
per reach of the target audience is also very low.

Limitations of Newspaper Advertising

Poor Reproduction Quality: one of the greatest limitation of newspaper as an advertising

medium is their poor reproduction quality. The newsprint is a coarse paper that limit the
quality of the ads produced in the newspaper and is not suited for proper color reproduction,
when a product’s visual appearance is important in the ad , the advertiser will not use
newspaper advertising

Short Life span: Newspaper are not a leisure and pleasure medium and hence people do not
devote much time to reading them , most people read newspaper as soon as they are received
and then dump and throw them away . Newspaper are not read when they are two or three

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days old .Many just skim through newspaper and this increases the possibility of missing the
ad or not paying attention to most ads.

Clutter: Like most other media , newspaper also suffer from advertising clutter . An average
newspaper contain many advertisements that compete for consumer’s attention and interest .
It is not unusual to see more than two ads of different brands of the same product category in
the same issue. To make the ad stand out and have better chance of attracting attention ,
advertiser have the costly option of using colors buying larger ad space.

Limited selectivity: Newspaper can offer geographic selectivity but beyond this they are not
selective medium in terms of demographics and lifestyle characteristics . Most newspaper
have wide circulation and reach among different customer groups making it difficult for
advertiser to concentrate on any specifically defined target segment.

Magazines

Magazines are the most specialised of all advertising medium. Numerous magazines are
targeted towards specific target audience for eg: magazines like India today , Reader’s
digest, outlook cater to the general interest. Femina, Women’s Era are women lifestyle
magazine. Auto India, Competition Success Review cater to the special interest target
audience. Availability of wide variety of magazines makes them quite an appealing medium
to a large number of advertisers who specifically want to put forward their advertising
message to a narrowly well defined target audience.

Advantages of Magazine Advertising

Selectivity: Major advantage of magazine as a medium is the selectivity or their ability to

reach to specific target audience. Usually magazines are published for audience with special
interest . Other than interest based selectivity magazines also offer demographic selectivity
and can reach specific targets segments because of their editorial content and focus on well
defined demographic characteristics. For eg: a high percentage of students in the age group if
16-25 read completion success review. Film magazines are read by large number of teenagers
in the age group of 14-19.

Reproduction Quality: from advertiser’s point of view , a highly desirable and valuable
characteristic of magazines is the reproduction quality of the advertisements. Magazines are
generally printed on high quality paper , the printing process used are modern and provide
equally superior reproduction in color. Use of colors in ads are particularly important for
advertisers when the product’s visual elements are important in creating an impact for eg:
Cosmetic products

Creative Flexibility: Advertiser can take great deal of flexibility in terms of the type , size
and placement of advertising material in magazines. There are options of special facilities
that help advertiser in making the ad more noticeable and readable such as gatefolds, bleed
pages , inserts or multiple page advertising.

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Gatefolds is the form of multi page insertion and uses the third page that folds out and give
extra large spread for the advertisement.

Bleed pages, in this the ad extends all the way to the edge of the page without leaving any
margin of white space surrounding the ad. Bleed creates an impression about the ad that it is
larger and produce dramatic effects .

Inserts of different types include return cards, booklets, CD’s, coupons etc

Three dimensional pop up ads are that jumps off the page

Permanence: Another distinctive advantage offered by magazines is their long life span . TV
and radio typically deliver fleeting messages that have a very short life span, the life span of a
newspaper is even less than a day. People generally read magazines over several days and
retain them at their home for reference.

Readers Involvement: People generally purchase magazines for information value

,magazine reading is less hurried and offers an opportunity to examine and ad more
thoroughly . Unlike ads in the broadcast media , magazine ads are non intrusive and readers
can ignore . For ads of expensive, complex or high involvement products , advertising
through magazines can use long and detailed copy to communicate effectively with
consumers.

Services: Some magazines offer an important service facility of “split runs” in which two or
more versions of an ad are printed in the alternate copies of magazine . This is helpful for
advertiser to pre test the comparative ability and effectiveness of two ads in generating the
desired response

Limitations of Magazine Advertising

Long Lead Time: Magazines do not offer spontaneity as newspaper and radio , the lead time
when the advertising material must be submitted and when it will run is sufficiently long. A
magazine advertisement may take four weeks or more to run after the advertiser submits it.
Long lead time means that magazine ads cannot be as timely as with other media and make it
difficult for advertiser to react to current conditions in the market.

High Cost: The cost of ad space in magazine vary according to the size and the type of
audience they reach and the degree of selectivity. Magazines are expensive media on cost
term reach basis

Limited Reach and frequency: Magazines are generally not as effective as other media in
terms of reach and frequency. As magazines are selective they reach specific well defined
target audience, to reach to broad target audience, media planner have to buy space in a
number of magazines. Also a number of magazines are either monthly or fortnightly
publications, therefore the scope of building the frequency is limited.

Competition and Clutter: It is interesting to note that as the success and circulation of
magazine increases, it attracts more advertising. This creates much competition and causes

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clutter. Clutter makes it difficult for advertiser to gain readers attention and involve them into
advertising message.

Radio Advertising

Advantages of radio advertising

Selectivity: radio offers high degree of selectivity through geographic coverage by a large
number of stations and various programme formats. Advertiser can focus their ad messages
towards specific audience who understand different language in different areas which may
not otherwise be possible through other media.

Cost efficiency: The cost of making advertisement for radio is placing the same across
various stations is less as compared to the cost of making and placing the advertisement on
television. The low cost of radio means advertiser can built more reach and frequency into
their media schedule with limited budget.

Flexibility: Among all the media, radio is probably the most flexible as it has short closing
period . Radio commercials can usually be produced in a relatively short time and if required
the ad message can be changed almost just before the broadcast time. The same ad message
may be adjusted in different languages to suit the market conditions.

Mental imagery: Radio advertising use sound and major advantage of this situation is that it
encourages audience to use their imagination in creating images while processing the ad
messages. Radio may reinforce television messages through image transfer, wherein the
images of television commercials are implanted into radio spot . The idea is that when
consumer hear the ad message they connect to the television commercial they had seen , thus
reinforcing its video images.

Geographical Coverage: radio can and does reach almost everywhere in India , even at
those places where there is no television connectivity , people who cannot read and write ,
radio can reach those section as well

Integrated Marketing Opportunities: Radio provides marketers with a variety of integrated

marketing opportunities, Advertisers often use radio stations and personalities to enhance
their involvement with the local market and to gain influence. Retailers often use on site radio
broadcast , combined with special sales promotion to attract customers to their stores and get
them to make a purchase.

Limitations of Radio Advertising

Creative Limitations: the most fundamental problem associated with radio is the lack of
visual element, the radio advertiser cannot show or demonstrate the product or make se of
other visual appeal. A radio commercial like television commercial is short lived and fleeting
messages that does not allow the receiver to control the pace at which it is processed ,
because of these creative limitations many companies tend to ignore radio.

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Clutter: with the increasing intensity of advertising, clutter has become a problem in
advertising vehicle and radio is no exception . Radio stations and programmes carry many
advertising messages and it is becoming increasing difficult for ad messages to attract and
retain audience’s attention.

Audience fragmentation: large number of radio stations create audience fragmentation , the
number of audience tuned in to any particular radio station is quite small . Advertiser who
want to reach broad market through radio with language differences have to buy time on a
number of stations reaching specific geographic area.

Limited Listener Attention : Another problem with radio commercials is that it is difficult
to retain listener’s attention to commercials. Programme switching is frequent among
listeners and they often miss or avoid commercials . Possibilities of distortions in radio
broadcast are high and this irritates the listeners and commercials are missed

Limited Research Data: The research data on radio is limited as compared television,
newspaper and magazines

Television Advertising

Creativity and Impact: The greatest advantage of television is the opportunity it provides
for presenting the advertised message. The interaction of sight, sound and motion offer huge
creative opportunities and make possible dramatic, lifelike representation of products and
services . Television commercials can be used to convey mood or image for the brand as well
as to develop emotional or entertaining appeals. The commercial can effectively
communicate an image or mood associated with the brand. If the nature of the product is such
that demonstration would convey the ad message more effectively, TV is most suitable ad
medium.

Coverage and Cost effectiveness: Advertising on television makes it possible to reach a

large number of audiences regardless of income , age, gender, educational level , most people
at least watch something on television. Advertisers selling products and services appealing to
broad target audience find that television has become particularly popular medium and can
reach mass markets in cost effective manner, as the cost per reach comes out be relatively
low on this medium.

Selection and Flexibility: Television offers selectivity through regional coverage, broadcast
time and programme content. Advertisers can refine their target audience coverage by
appealing to groups with specific interests such as sports, music, news etc. As there are a
number of channels and a number of programmes cantered on one or the other interest
matter.

Captivity and Attention: Television is intrusive in that commercials impose themselves on

viewers as they watch their favourite programme. Unless a special effort is made to avoid the
commercials, we are exposed to most of the commercials.

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Use of Appeals and Demonstration : Advertisers ca use various appeals in various markets
as considered appropriate through television medium. The impact of emotional appeal can be
highlighted through television in the most impressive manner. Also television is an excellent
medium for demonstrating the product or service .

Least Effort: In television commercials use of both audio and video is made, it calls for least
effort on the part of the target audience to get the message across. As oppose to the print
media , people have to read and understand the message.

Limitations of Television Advertising

Though television is unsurpassed from the creative perspective, the medium has several
disadvantages these are:

Cost: Despite the efficiency of TV in reaching large audience , it is an expensive medium to

advertise The high cost of TV commercials not only emanate from the high cost of buying
media space but also from the cost of producing a quality commercial.

Lack of Selectivity: However television provide selectivity is terms of targeting audiences

on the basis of their interest such as programme time , broadcast time etc but for advertisers
who are interested in delivering their message to a very specific, narrowly defined , small
target audience, television often leads to media over exposure or waste coverage , thus
reducing its cost effectiveness. Audience selectivity is improving still the medium does not
offer as much selectivity as radio, magazine ,newspaper or direct mail.

Fleeting message: Most television commercials last for 30 seconds or less, commercials are
becoming shorter and shorter as the demand for the limited broadcast time. Increasing media
costs are also forcing the advertisers to consider shorter commercials. Nothing tangible is left
for the audience to examine in such a short duration .

Clutter: The problem of fleeting messages and shorter commercials are compounded by the
fact that advertiser’s message is only one of many spots and other non programming material
seen during the commercial break , so it may have trouble being noticed. One of the
advertiser’s biggest concern with TV advertising is the potential decline in the effectiveness
because of such clutter.

Limited Viewers attention: Buying time on television does not guarantee exposure , it only
offers opportunity to communicate to communicate the ad message to a larger number of
audience. There is increasing evidence that the size of viewing audience shrinks during the
commercial break, viewers move away from the TV sets for one or the other reason to avoid
commercials. With the increase in the number of commercials, getting audience pay attention
is becoming increasingly challenging. Audience members find themselves armed with remote
control that makes zipping and zapping convenient

Zipping refers to fast forwarding the commercials as they appear when viewing the
previously recorded movie or some other programme. Zapping refers to changing channels
to avoid commercials.

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Some advertisers believe that the ultimate way to zip zap proof commercials is to produce
creative advertising messages that will attract and hold advertiser’s attention , however as the
number of channels and the television programmes increases, this problem is likely to
continue also people primarily watch television because of its entertainment value and not
because they wish to be bombarded by commercials.

Distrust and Negative evaluation: many consider television commercials to be intrusive and
consumers are defenceless against the bombardment of these ads. TV viewers are in no
position to exercise any control on the transmission of message and what becomes visible on
their screens . Many dislike TV advertising when they believe it is offensive, uninformative
or when they do not like its content or presentation. Many people generally distrust television
commercials more than any other forms of advertising.

Product placements in movies and television shows

An increasing number of companies pay to have their products used in the movies, music
videos or television shows. The merits and demerits of this medium of advertising are:

Advantages

Exposure : a large number of people watch movies , this form of exposure is not subject to
zipping and zapping(at least not in the theatre) High exposure numbers are also offered for
TV tie-ins

Frequency: Depending on how the product is used in the movie or program, there may be
ample opportunity for repeated exposure

Recall: It has been observed that chance of products being noticed are always high in film
advertising, also the audience’s ability to recall the product shown the movie is also very
high.

Acceptance: It has been viewed that in general audience accept the product placements in the
movies and evaluate them positively.

Limitations

High Absolute Cost: the absolute cost of placing a product in films or television is very
high.

Time of Exposure: while the products will be exposed to the audience, there is no guarantee
that the viewers will notice the product.

Limited Appeal: The appeal that can be made in this media form is limited. There is little or
no potential for discussing the product benefits or providing detailed information. The
endorsement of the product is indirect and the flexibility for product demonstration is subject
to its use in the movies.

Lack of control: The advertiser has no say over when and how the product will be shown.

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 Negative placements: some products may appear in the movie scenes that are disliked by
the audience or create unfavourable impression.

Advertising in Movie Theatres

Commercials shown before the film and previews, during interval ads in theatre lobbies, at
kiosk etc are categorised under this head.

Advantages of Movie theatre Advertising

Exposure : As a source of entertainment , movies are quite popular as the number of people
visiting the movie theatre are substantial , so it is possible to carry the message across lots of
people .

Mood of the audience: people deliberately plan to go to the movie theatres , their pre movie
mood is positive and this mood may lead to carry over effect on the advertised product

Selectivity: Advertiser can be selective in terms of region, town and type of cinema halls and
could reach to the select audience

Lack of clutter: the biggest advantage of advertising in movie theatre is the limited number
of ads , this eliminates the chance of clutter

Recall: It is observed that people recall the ads which they watch on movie theatre better than
the ads that they watch on their television sets

Cost: in term of both the absolute cost and the relative cost per exposure, advertising in
movie theatre is cost effective

Limitations of Movie Theatre Advertising

Irritation: Most people do not like to see the ads in this media, audience irritation can lead to
development of negative feelings towards the advertised product

Out of home Advertising

Out of home advertising encompasses many advertising forms ; most popular amongst
includes outdoor(billboards and signs) advertising and transit (both inside and outside)
advertising

Outdoor Advertising

Outdoor advertising is the oldest medium of advertising. It is usually used as a supportive

medium by most national advertisers and includes billboards, hoardings , posters, wall
paintings etc. Outdoor advertising can generate considerable reach and frequency levels at a
fraction of the cost of the mainstream media.

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Advantages of Outdoor Advertising

Wide coverage of local market: A broad base of exposure is possible in local markets
through this medium, with both day and night presence

Frequency: Purchase cycles of outdoor spaces are usually for 30 days period, consumers are
generally exposed a number of times, resulting in high level of frequency

Geographic flexibility: Outdoor advertising is highly flexible and can be placed almost
anywhere the law permits. It can be placed near stores, on buildings along city roads etc. and
can conveniently cover local or regional markets, the message can be altered to address to the
audience preference with their choice of language.

Cost Efficiency: Outdoor advertisements are very cost efficient as compared to other media

Effectiveness: Outdoor advertising often lead to increased sales , particularly when combined
with other promotional techniques.

Creativity: By combining color, art and short copy outdoor advertising can quickly captivate
the viewer’s attention .

Limitations of Outdoor Advertising

Waste Coverage: While it is possible to reach specific audiences, generally the outdoor
advertising results in high level waste coverage because not everyone driving or walking by
the billboard is part of the intended target audience.

Message Wear Out: Because of the high frequency of exposures , outdoor advertising can
lead to quick wear out effects.

Limited Message Capabilities: because of the speed with which most people pass by
outdoor ads, exposure time is short so the messages are limited to select few words, phrases
or illustrations. Lengthy and detailed messages using different appeals is not possible through
this medium.

Measurement problem: one of the most difficult problem of outdoor advertising is

measurement of reach, frequency and other effects.

Legal Constraints: About placement of bill boards and hoardings, where these will be
placed , how many banners at a intersection etc are to be approved by the local authorities.

Limited effectiveness: A number of uncontrollable factors may lessen the effectiveness of

outdoor ads such as traffic signals , trees, structures may distract the viewers.

Public Criticism: Various public interests groups and environmental groups criticise outdoor
bill boards and posters claiming that they are an eyesore, nuisance and often distract people
causing road accidents.

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Transit Advertising

Advantages of Transit advertising

Exposure Duration: long length of exposure to an ad is one of the major advantage of

transit advertising

Exposure Frequency: Those who commute to their place of work and back home
everyday are exposed to same ads reputedly, this increases the frequency of exposure of ads.

Geographic selectivity: advertiser can choose geographical areas to reach to select segment ,
this is particularly useful to local advertisers who can buy locations in certain nearby areas or
transit options.

Low Cost: both the absolute cost and the relative cost of placing advertisements in this
medium is very less as compared to other media.

Limitations of Transit Advertising

Waste Coverage : while geographic selectivity may be an advantage , not everyone who
rides a transportation vehicle is a potential customer and may lead to waste coverage.

Image factor: To many advertiser, transit advertising does not carry the image they would
like to represent their product or services.

Mood of the audience: sitting, standing in a crowded transit medium may not be conducive
to reading advertising .

Creative limitations: the message on the outside of vehicle is fleeting and only short copy
points are appropriate that limit any creativity.

Factors affecting the choice of a particular media

Nature of the product: The type of product to be advertised is the main determinant of the
advertising medium. Consumer products like soap, tooth paste (FMCG products) that are
meant for masses should be advertised through newspaper, radio , outdoor displays etc, On
the other hand the industrial goods like machinery, raw material etc. should be advertised
through specialised trade , technical and professional journals. The general character of the
product may also strongly influence the type of media used for eg: Racer bikes are usually
advertised in select cars and bike magazines because it ultimately reaches to the select target
market also the impact of advertisement insertion in such magazine is very high also readers
are also interested in the content of such advertisements therefore reader’s involvement is
also very high.

Nature and Size of the Market: Market characteristics such as geographical location, size of
the population, purchasing power have an important bearing on the advertising media.
Advertising in local markets can be done through local newspapers, outdoor display.
Newspapers, Television or internet is appropriate for advertising in national and international

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markets. In case of limited and easily identified market specialised magazines may be
appropriate choice. Characteristics of the market in terms of age, education etc.(demographic
profile) are also very important while selecting appropriate medium or media vehicle.
Objectives of Advertising: When the objective is to create mass awareness for the newly
introduce product a combination of various media may be used however extensive usage of
Television , newspaper, radio. When the objective is to stimulate purchase amongst the target
market who are already aware about you or offering in such a situation trials may be induced
through free samples wherein the use of print medium is more appropriate.
Type of Audience: The type of people for whom the message is addressed is also an
important consideration. Illiterate people can be better approached through radio, television
or movies . Newspaper, magazines and internet can be used to convey message to the
educated customers. The type of media vehicle to be selected depends upon the language or
content in respect to the nature of audience.
Type of Message: Choice of advertising media also depends upon the length of the
advertised message. Magazines are better choice for colourful , newspapers radio or TV are
more appropriate when newsworthiness and timeliness are an integral part of the message for
eg: when beverage maker pepsi and coke were accused for having pesticides content in their
product and the report was covered by almost all the media forms(print and broadcast)
immediate clarification was required as the negative attitude was seem being developed
against the products both the cola major came up with their detailed explanations in all the
newspapers citing there response to the accusation and assuring the customers hoe safe it is to
enjoy their drinks, the choice of media selected was newspaper because such accusation
required an immediate response and the length f the message was also in detail because of
the type of clarification sough therefore print medium came as preferred choice.
Circulation of Media: How many people or households can be covered by a particular
medium is another factor to be considered. Not just the coverage of the media but qualitative
aspects such as editorial fit, prestige , audience involvement etc should also be considered.
Cost of Media : The cost of advertising medium both the absolute cost of advertising and the
relative cost (absolute amount paid divided by the number of customers covered) should be
considered, analysed and evaluated across various medium and media vehicles so as to
determine the best way to reach the target audience at the least cost.
Advertising Budget: The advertising budget puts a limiting factor on the amount available
to be spent on across different media . The advertiser must choose a medium in which he can
get sufficient insertions with the funds available
Media used by competitors: The type of media used by the competitors also influence the
choice of medium of advertisement For eg: Designer Apparels are usually advertised through
select magazines or certain newspaper supplements that carry the lifestyle and the fashion
segment, people looking for designer clothes become habitual of seeing such advertisement
in these section , in order to face competition it becomes necessary to advertise in the popular
media.

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 UNIT-III

LESSON 1
MEASURING ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS

Almost any time one engages in a project or activity, whether for work or fun , some measure
of performance occurs, advertising and promotion is not an exception. Both clients and
agencies are continually striving to determine whether their communication are working and
how well they are working in relative to the other options. Measuring the effectiveness of
promotional program is critical element in the promotional planning process. Research
allows to evaluate the performance of the specific promotional message element and
provides input for the next period’s situation analysis , it is a necessary ingredient for the
continuing planning process.

What to test

This section considers what elements to evaluate

Source Factor: an important question is whether the spokesperson being used is effective
and how the target market will respond to him or her for example: Mr. Amitabh Bachchan
had been effective in the pulse polio “ Do Boond Zindagi Ki” campaign ; wherein he
compelled people to get their kids vaccinated for the polio.

Message Variables: both the message variables and how that is communicated are bases for
evaluation for example: the message may not be strong enough to pull the readers into the ad
by attracting their attention or is clear enough to help them evaluate the product. A number of
factors regarding the message and its delivery may have an effect on the effectiveness
including the headline, illustration, text and layout etc.

Media Strategies: media decisions need to be evaluated . Research may be designed to

determine which media class (eg: broadcast or print), sub class(newspaper or magazine) or
specific vehicle(which newspaper or magazine) generate the most effective results. The
location within the particular medium (eg: front page, back page or under specific section
head say Sports section etc) and the size of the ad or the length of commercial also merits
examination.

Another factor is Vehicle option source effect; the differential impact that the advertising
exposure will have on the same audience members if the exposure occurs in one media option
rather than another.

Final factor in media decisions involve scheduling , the evaluation of flighting versus pulsing
or continuity schedule is important particularly given the increasing cost of media space and
media time.

Advertising Budgeting decision: a number of studies have examined the effects of budget
size on advertising effectiveness and the effects of various ad expenditure on sales. Many
companies have also attempted to determine whether increasing their ad budget directly

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increases sales. The relationship is often hard to hard to establish , perhaps because using
sales as an indicator of effectiveness ignore the impact of other marketing mix elements.

When to test

All the test measures are classified according to when they are conducted. Pretests are the
measure taken before the campaign is implemented , pretests may occur at a number of points
from as early as idea generation to rough execution to testing the final version before
implementing it. Posttests occur after the ad or commercial has been in field. Post testing is
designed to determine if the campaign is accomplishing the objectives sought and serve as an
input for the next period’s situation analysis.

Where to Test

Laboratory Test: In laboratory tests people are brought to a particular location where they
are shown the ads or commercials. The major advantage of lab setting is the control it affords
the researchers. Changes in copy , headlines, illustrations, colors, font can be manipulated
inexpensively and differential impact of each assessed. This makes it much easier for
researchers to isolate the contribution of each.

The major disadvantage is lack of realism. And the greatest effect of lack of realism is a
testing bias when people are brought into lab they may scrutinize the ads much more closely
than they would at home .

Field Test: are the tests of the ad or commercials under natural viewing situations complete
with realism of noise, distraction, and comforts of home. Filed test take into account the
effects of repetition , program content and even the presence of competitive messages. Major
disadvantage of field test is lack of control, it may be impossible to isolate the cause of
viewer’s evaluations and field tests take more money and time to conduct so the results are
not available quickly to be acted upon

Why to test/ Reason to measure advertising effectiveness

Assessing the effectiveness of ads before they are implemented and/ or after the final
versions have been completed and fielded offer various advantages:

Avoid costly mistake: if the advertising and promotional program is not accomplishing its
objectives not only the money spent lost but also the potential gain that could result from the
advertising program. Thus , measuring the effects of advertising does not just save money , it
also helps to maximize its investment.

Evaluate alternative strategies: Typically there are a number of strategies under

consideration before a firm, for example there may be many questions as to which medium
should be used or whether one message or one type of appeal or execution style be used or
the alternate one . To evaluate which strategy is and would be best suitable for the firm or
brand , it is essential to measure advertising effectiveness.

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Increasing efficiency of advertising in general: Sometimes advertiser get so close to the
project they lose sight of what they are seeking and because they know what they are trying
to say , they expect the audience will also understand . They may use technical jargon that not
everyone is familiar with or the creative department may get too creative or too sophisticated
that they lose meaning that is to be communicated.

Determine if objectives are achieved: In a well designed IMC plan , specific objectives are
established , if objectives are attained new ones need to be established for the next planning
period. An assessment of how program element led to the attainment of goals should take
place and /or reasons for less than desired achievement must be determined.

Why not to test

Companies give a number of reasons for not measuring the effectiveness of advertising and
promotional messages:

Cost: perhaps the most commonly cited reason for not testing particularly among the smaller
firms is the cost involved in conducting the testing procedures to determine the efficacy of
advertising. Good research may be expensive both in terms of time and money. Many believe
that the amount spent on advertising research may be better spent on the improved production
of ad, additional media buys etc.

Disagreement on what to test: The objectives sought in the promotional program may differ
by industry, stages of the product life cycle, or even for different people within the firm. The
sales manager may want to see the impact of promotion on sales, the top management may
wish to know the impact on the corporate image and those involved in the creative process
may wish to assess recall or recognition of the ad. Lack of agreement on what to test often
lead to no testing

Objections of creative: It has been argued that the creative department does not want its
work to be scrutinised or tested and many agencies are reluctant to submit their work for
testing. As the creative department of the ad agencies argue that tests are not true measures of
creativity and effectiveness of ad , applying measures stifles their creativity

Research problem: Another major issue for not measuring advertising effectiveness is that it
is difficult to isolate the effects of promotional elements . Each variable in the marketing mix
affect the success or failure of the product . As it is difficult to isolate the measures of
contribution of each marketing element directly, managers decide not to test at all

How to test

Conducting evaluative research is not easy . Twenty one of the largest US advertising
agencies have endorsed a set of principles aimed at improving research used in preparing and
testing ads , providing a better creative product for the client and controlling the cost of TV
Commercials. This set of nine principles, called PACT(Positioning Advertising Copy
Testing) defines copy testing as research which is undertaken when a decision is to be made
about whether advertising should run in the market place. Whether this stage utilizes a single

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test or a combination of tests, its purpose is to aid in the judgement of specific advertising
executions

1) Provide measurements that are relevant to the objectives of the advertising

2) Require agreement about how the result will be used in advance of each specific test
3) Provide multiple measurements(because multiple measurements are not adequate to
assess ad performance)
4) Be based upon model human response to communication – the reception of stimulus,
the comprehension of stimulus and the response to stimulus
5) Allow for consideration of whether the advertising stimulus should be exposed more
than once
6) Require that the more finished a piece of copy is the more soundly it can be evaluated
and require as minimum that alternative executions be tested in the same degree of
finish.
7) Provide control to avoid biasing effects of the exposure context
8) Take into account the basic consideration of sample definition
9) Demonstrate reliability and validity

Testing Process

Testing of advertisements may occur throughout its development process:

 Concept testing
 Rough, prefinished art copy and or commercial testing Pre-Testing
 Finished art or commercial pre testing
 Market testing of ads of commercials(Post testing)

Concept testing is conducted very early in the campaign development process in order to
explore targeted consumer’s response to a potential advertisement. Positioning statements,
copy, headlines, colors used, typeface, package designs , illustrations may be scrutinized ad
evaluated.

One of the most commonly used methods for concept testing is focus groups which usually
consist of eight to ten people from the target market of the product(however number may be
more depending upon the group consensus, strength of response or degree of participation)
and are presented with the concept to be tested and are asked to discuss. A variety of issue
may be examined and consumers are free to go into the depth in areas they consider
important. The results are easily obtained , directly observable and immediate. However the
results obtained are qualitative and not quantified this restrict further analysis also group
influences may bias the participants responses

Other commonly used methods are

Paired Comparison: wherein the respondent is presented with two different product
concepts and are asked to evaluate and express their preference and reasons for it

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Rank Order: Respondent is presented with series of product concepts and are asked to rank
them in order of preference

In both the above methods rather than participating in a group discussion, individuals assess
the concepts via rating scale questionnaires etc.

Rough Art Copy and commercial Testing

Consumer Jury :group of respondents are asked to rate a selection of layouts or copy
versions presented in paste ups on separate sheets.

Direct questioning, Focus groups , order of merit tests, paired comparison test may be used
for conducting test on consumer jury

Certain flaws in the methodology limit its usefulness such as preference for specific types of
advertising may overshadow the objectivity of evaluation by the respondent, sometimes
participants rate an ad good on all characteristics because they like a few and overlook
specific weaknesses (halo effect),respondent instantly become self appointed expert paying
more attention and being more critical than usual.

Comprehension and reaction tests: one key concern for the advertiser is whether the ad or
the commercial conveys the meaning intended. The second concern is the reaction that the ad
generates. Comprehension and reaction tests are designed to assess these responses.

Test of comprehension and reaction employ no one standard procedure. Personal interview,
group interview or focus groups may be used for this purpose.

Pretesting of finished ads

Finished advertisement or commercial is tested since it has not been presented to the market
changes can still be made.

Portfolio Test is laboratory methodology designed to expose group of respondents to a

portfolio consisting of both control or test ads, they are then asked what information they
recall from the ads, the underlying assumption being that the ads that yield the highest recall
are the most effective. While portfolio tests offer the opportunity to compare the ads directly
, certain weaknesses limit their applicability:

Factors other than creativity and or presentation may affect recall. Interest in product or
product category , the fact that respondents know they are participating in attest or
interviewer instructions may account for more differences than the ad itself

Recall may not be the best test for all types of products, according to some researchers ability
to recognise the ad when shown for a low involvement product may be a better measure than
recall.

Dummy Advertising Vehicles: In an improvement on the portfolio test, ads are placed in
dummy magazine developed by the agency or the research firm, the magazines contain the

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regular editorial features of interest to the readers as well as the test ads and are distributed to
the random sample in predetermined geographical areas. Readers are told the magazine
publisher is interested in evaluation of editorial content and then they are interviewed on
their reactions to both editorial content and ads. Recall, recognition and interest generating
capabilities of ads are assessed.

The most important advantage of this method is that it provides a more natural setting,
readership occur at participants own home, the test more closely approximates a natural
reading situation and the reader may go back to the magazine as they typically do but the
method shares the disadvantages associated with the portfolio tests, the testing effect is not
eliminated and product interest may still bias the result

Theatre Tests: respondents are invited to view pilots of the proposed television programs in
between they are shown advertisements commercials, they are asked to indicate what they
like and didn’t like in the commercial, recall of various aspects o the commercial, interest in
and reaction to the commercial, interest in brand under consideration etc.

Proponents argue that theatre test offer distinct advantages in addition to control , this method
indicates how one’s commercial will fare against others .

Those opposed to theatre test cite a number of disadvantages : environment is too artificial,
lab setting is bad enough , group effect of having others present and overtly exhibiting their
reactions may influence viewers who do not have any reactions themselves.

Physiological Measures: involves laboratory setting in which physiological responses are

measured, these measures indicate the receiver’s involuntary response to the ad, and
theoretically eliminating biases associated with the voluntary measures (Involuntary
responses are those over which the individual has no control such as reflexes)

Pupil Dilation: Pupillometer is the device that measures person’s pupil dilation and
constriction (narrower, tightening) to the pupil of the eyes in response to stimuli . Dilation is
associated with action and constriction involves body’s conservation of energy. Pupil dilation
suggest a stronger interest or preference for an ad implies arousal or attention getting
capabilities .

Galvanic Skin Response(GSR): also known as Electro Dermal Response(EDR). GSR

measures the skin’s resistance to a small amount of current passed between the two
electrodes. Response to the stimulus activates sweat glands which in turn increases the
conductness of the electric current. Thus GSR/EDR activity might reflect a reaction to
advertising, viewing several different advertisements involuntarily reveals variations in
interest through automatic recording of the EDR response on the skin. Excitement can cause
either an extremely unfavourable or an extremely favourable reaction both reactions will
show up on the graph.

Eye tracking: viewers are asked to view an ad while a sensor aims abeam of infrared light at
the eye , the beam follows the movement of the eye and shows the exact spot on which the
viewer is focusing, the continuous reading of responses demonstrates which elements of the

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ad are attracting attention, how long the viewer is focusing on them and the sequence in
which they are viewed.

Eye tracking can identify strength and weaknesses in an ad for eg: background action may
distract the viewer’s attention away from the product being advertised, thus advertiser can
remedy this distraction before commercially telecasting the ad.

Brain Waves: can be taken from the skull to determine electric frequencies in the brain,
these electrical impulses are used in two areas of research: alpha waves and hemispheric
lateralization.

Alpha activity refers to the degree of brain activation, people are in the alpha state when they
are inactive , sleeping or resting. In this state a person is less likely to be processing
information. By measuring subject’s alpha level while viewing a commercial researcher can
assess the degree to which the attention and processing are likely to occur.

Hemispheric Lateralization: distinguishes the alpha activity in the left and the right
hemisphere/side of the brain. The right side of the brain processes the visual stimuli and the
left side processes the verbal stimuli, the right hemisphere respond to emotional stimuli and
left side respond to logic. Advertiser could design ads to increase learning and memory by
creating stimuli to appeal to each hemisphere.

Post testing

After the ad and or campaign has been implemented , post-tests are conducted to measure
communication or sales effects of the ads, to provide insight on advertisement’s performance
and provide input about the conduct of future advertisements

Inquiry Tests: are used both in consumer and business to business market testing, these tests
measures advertising effectiveness on the basis of inquiries generated from the ads. Inquiry
can take the form of number of phone calls/ emails received, number of coupons returned or
direct inquiries through reader cards.

Split- Run Tests: Variations of ad appear in different copies of the same newspaper or
magazine both the copy style would carry an offer or gift or free booklet depending on which
ad results in greater number of inquiries the advertiser decides which ad would be more
effective in generating sales.

Inquires may not be the true measure of attention getting or information providing aspect of
the ad, the reader may be attracted to the ad, read it, even store information but may not
inquire at a particular time. Time constraint, lack of need for the product at the time the ad is
run and other factors may limit the number of inquires . Also receiving small number of
inquiries does not mean the ad was not effective ; attention , awareness, recall, attitude
change may all have been achieved . At the other extreme a person with particular need for
the product will respond to an ad regardless of specific qualities of the ad.

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Recognition Tests: Once exposure to the media vehicle has been established, the
interviewer may use recognition tests . Respondents flip through the pages and points to the
items he remembers. This test is based on the premise that there is a positive correlation
between noticing an advertisement for a product and buying that product.

Recall Tests: refers to the measures of the proportions of the sample audience that can recall
an advertisement. These tests assess the ad’s impact on memory of the respondent. There are
two types of Recall: Aided recall and Unaided recall. In aided recall the respondent is
prompted by showing a picture of the advertisement with the sponsor or brand’s name
blanket out, in unaided recall only the product or service name may be given.

However the respondent’s degree of involvement with the product or the distinctiveness of
the appeals or visuals may affect the recall scores

Day After Recall Tests: the day after recall(DAR) is measure of television commercials
where consumers are asked about the ad after the day they saw it(or even more). DAR is the
percentage of those is the commercial audience who were watching the show before and after
the commercial was shown, who recalled something specific about the commercial such as
sales message, story line, plot or some visual or audio element. These percentages of the ad
being tested are compared with the norm or historical average for the ads of similar length,
or similar product categories

The major advantage of day after recall test is that they are field test, the natural setting is
supposed to provide a more realistic response. However the program content may influence
recall , DAR tests may favour unemotional appeals because respondents are asked about the
message and thinking messages are easier to recall than emotional ones so the recall score for
emotional ads may be lower.

Test Marketing: Many companies conduct tests designed to measure their advertising effects
in specific test marks before releasing them nationally. The test markets chosen are
representative of the target market. A variety of factors may be tested reaction to the ads, the
effects of various budget size or special offers. The advantage of test marketing of ads is
realism, regular viewing environment are used and the testing effects are minimised. A high
degree of control can be attained if the test is designed successfully for eg: to identify the
association between the advertising frequency and consumer’s buying habit. On the other
side the major disadvantage associated are the cost and the time involved.

Tracking Studies: one of the more useful and adaptable form of post testing involves
tracking the effects of the ad campaign by taking measurements at regular intervals. Tracking
studies have been used to measure the effects of advertising on awareness, recall, interest and
attitude towards the ad or brand as well as purchase intention. This may be applied to both
print and broadcast ads. Personal interview, phone survey ,mall intercepts may be used . It
yields the most valuable information to the advertiser for assessing the current programs and
planning for the future. Also standard set of questions can track effects of campaign over
time.

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Essentials of Effective Testing

Good tests of advertising effectiveness must address the nine principles established by PACT

 Establish communication objectives: Marketing objectives established for the

promotional program are not good measures of communication effectiveness for eg:
it is very difficult to isolate the impact of advertising effort on sales as there are
number of factors that has bearing on the level of sales generated, on the other hand
attainment of communication objectives an be measured and leads to accomplishment
of marketing objectives.
 Use Consumer response Model: Hierarchy of Effects model or Cognitive response
models which provide an understanding of the effects of communication and lend
themselves to achievement of communication objectives
 Use both pre tests and post tests: From cost point of view pre testing makes sense ,
it may mean the difference between the success or failure of the campaign or the
product. But it should work in conjunction with post-tests which avoid the limitations
of pre-tests, use much larger samples and take place in the more natural settings.
 Use Multiple Measures: Many attempts to measure the effectiveness of advertising
focus on one major dependent variable perhaps recognition , recall, sales . Advertising
may have variety of effects on the consumers, for true measure of advertising
effectiveness a number of measures may be required.
 Properly understand and implement research: it is critical to understand research
methodology. What constitutes a good design? Does it measure what we need to? Is it
valid or reliable? There is no shortcut to these criteria and there is no way to avoid it if
you truly want to measure advertising effectiveness.

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 LESSON 2

ADVERTISING AGENCY
The word “Advertiser” in the marketing parlance is the term used for the organisation that
uses mass media to advertise for its products and services. They provide necessary funds that
go into media buying and creating advertisements. Developing and implementing integrated
marketing communications program is usually complex and detailed process . The
organisation can handle most of these functions through its advertising department or by
setting up an in house advertising agency. For most of the companies advertising planning
and execution is handled by an outside advertising agency .

According to American Association of Advertising Agencies(AAAA),”Advertising

agency is an independent business organisation composed of creative and business people
who develop, prepare and place advertising in advertising media for sellers seeking to find
customers for their goods and services” In present scenario more and more advertising
agencies are acting as partners with the clients and assuming more responsibility for
developing the marketing and promotional programmes.

Media organisations perform a vital function in the advertising communication process by

providing information or entertainment to their audience and thereby provide an environment
for the advertiser’s message. The media must possess those attributes that attract audiences so
that clients and their advertising agencies want to buy space or time to reach to their target
markets with the ad message in a cost effective manner.

Another important group of participants includes various service specialists and providers of
collateral services . They include direct response agencies, sales promotion agencies,
marketing research providers , photographers etc.

Client or Advertiser’s role in organising for advertising

The manner in which a company organises for advertising and other promotional elements
depends upon several factors such as company size, number of products , budget, structure of
marketing organization etc. Many companies have an advertising department , many
marketing personnel often provide inputs in campaign planning , agency selection and
evaluation of proposed programmes. Some large organisations form a spate in house
advertising agency responsible for advertising and other promotional activities.

Centralised System: Marketing activities in some companies are divided along the
functional lines such as advertising, sales, product planning , research and development etc.
The advertising manager looks after al promotional activities concerned with company’s
product and services including budgeting, creation of ads, their production, media schedules
and sales promotion.

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Usually companies that do not have many divisions, product or service lines or brands often
use centralised system . Having centralised advertising department makes it easier for the top
management to participate in decision making . since fewer people are involved in deciding
the programmes in a centralised system , operating efficiency is greater. On the negative side
, it is often difficult for the advertising department to fully comprehend the overall strategy
for the brand and the response to the specific problems faced by the brand may be slow.

Centralised System

Company
president

Production Finance Marketing HR Reserch and

department Department department Department Development

Marketing Product Advertising Sales

Reserch planniong Management Management

Decentralised System: is used in large corporations with many product lines and brands .
Typically the company has many strategic business units or divisions with separate
manufacturing, research , marketing, sales , product or brand management departments . Each
brand is assigned to a brand manager also termed as product manager; who is typically
responsible for managing the brand including planning, budgeting , sales and its profit
performance. The brand manager often has one or more assistant brand managers for
planning, implementing and control of marketing programme.

Under the brand management system all functions associated with advertising and other
promotions are the responsibility of brand manager, who works closely with the advertising
agency and other specialist service providers as they prepare the promotional programme.
The advertising department as part of marketing services provide support to brand managers
in planning and coordinating integrated promotional communication (Refer Figure) In a multi
product company , brand managers may compete with the brands in the same product
category handled by other brand managers within the company and not just the outside
competitors.

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In this system, brand managers are often involved in competition among themselves to gain
the top management attention for more budget allocation leading to undesirable rivalries and
sometimes even disproportionate fund allocation.

Decentralized System

Vice
President
Marketing

Sales Product Marketing

Management Management Services

Brand Advertising Marketing

Manager 1 Department Reserch

Brand Ssales
Manager 2 promotion

Brand Package
Mananger 3 Design

Types of Advertising Agency

Advertising agency is an independent organisation that provides one or more specialised

advertising and promotion related services to assist companies in developing, preparing and
executing their advertising and other promotion programmes.

The main reason why companies use outside ad agencies is because they provide the clients
with services of highly skilled specialists in their chosen fields. An advertising agency may
have personnel that include writers , artists, media research specialists and other with
specific knowledge and skills expertise and experience to hep the client market their product
and services. Some agencies distinguish themselves in providing specialist services for
companies in particular industry.

Full Service Agencies: As the name suggests , a full service agency provides a whole range
of services to the clients both advertising and non advertising. Advertising services
encompasses planning, creating, and producing advertising campaigns which broadly
includes account planning, research, creative services , media planning , production of
advertisement material for print, broadcast and outdoor media etc. Non advertising functions
may include public relations, making corporate identity plans, organizing fairs , exhibitions
etc. Some agencies are even involved in their client’s marketing processes which may include
distribution and suggesting marketing strategies for their products.

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The full service agency is composed of various departments each responsible for providing
needed inputs to perform various functions to serve the client. Such an agency often tends to
have following functional areas :

 Account Services
 Marketing Services
 Creative Services
 Management and Finance

Account Services: or account management is the link between the ad agency and its clients.
The account executive is responsible for understanding the advertiser’s marketing and
promotion needs and interpreting them to the agency personnel. The account executives also
present agency recommendations and obtain client approval.

Marketing Services: Most full service agencies maintain a research department whose
function is to gather, analyse and interpret information that will be useful in developing
advertisements for the clients. This can be done through primary research or through
previously published material (secondary research). The research department may also design
and conduct research to pretest the effectiveness of the advertising copy.

The media department of the agency analyze , select and contracts for space or time in the
media that will be used to deliver the advertisement message. The media department is
expected to develop media plan that will reach the target market and effectively communicate
the message.

The research and media department perform most of the functions that full service agencies
need to plan and execute their clients advertising programs. Some agencies offer additional
marketing services to their clients to assist in other promotional . An agency may have sales
promotion department or merchandising department that specialise in developing contests,
premiums, point of sale materials and other sales materials.

Creative Services: The creative service department is responsible for the creation and
execution of advertisements. The individuals who conceive the ideas for the ads and write
headlines, sub heads and body copy are known as copywriters. They are also involved in
developing the basic appeal or theme of the ad campaign. The art department is responsible
for how the ad looks .

Members of the creative department work together to develop ads that will communicate
the key points determined to be the creative strategy of the for the client’s product or
services.

Once the copy, layout and illustration is approved , the ad is turned over to the production
department. Most agencies do not produce finished ads , they hire specialists to complete the
finished product.

Creating an ad often involve many people and take considerable time, in large agencies with
many clients coordinating the creative and production processes can be a major problem. A

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traffic department coordinates all phases of production to see that the ads are completed on
time and all deadlines for submitting the ads to the media are met.

Management and Finance: Like any other business an advertising agency must be managed
and perform basic operating and administrative functions such as accounting, finance, HR. It
must also attempt to generate new business and manage its personnel carefully and get
maximum productivity from them.

Creative Boutiques: A creative boutique is an agency that provides only creative services.
These specialised companies have developed in response to some clients desire to use only
the creative talent of an outside provider while maintain other functions internally. The client
may seek outside creative talent because it believes an extra creative effort is required or
because its own employees do not have sufficient skills in this regard. Full service agencies
also often subcontract work to the creative boutiques when they are busy or want to avoid
adding full time employees on their payroll. These agencies usually perform creative function
on fee basis.

Media Buying Services: Media buying services are independent entities that specialize in
buying media space or time. Agencies and clients usually develop their own media strategies
and hire the buying service to execute them. Some media buying services do help advertiser
plan their media strategies, because these agencies purchase large space and time , they
receive discounts. These agencies are paid a fee or commission for their work.

In –House Advertising Agencies :The evolution of in house agencies began as a logical

progression when many corporate realized that starting their own advertising agency was an
interesting option wherein not only they be able to invest in the booming industry but also get
tremendous value for all group companies whose work would then be centralized out of their
own agency. The operating model was further refined allowing the agency to compete in the
market as separate entity, this helped the finances of both the company and the agency.

Mudra Communications, which was started by Reliance, as an in house agency in the early
1980’s is today amongst the premier agencies in the country. Not only did it achieve
formidable reputation in the industry for its work , it also set up the Mudra Institute of
Communication(MICA) ,Ahemdabad in 1991. MICA is one of the foremost schools of post
graduate education in the field of communication.

Another example in this category is Lowe Lintas, which began operations individually in
1969 as Lintas, the Indian division of Lintas (acronym for Lever International Advertising
Services) which itself was established in 1899, later a part of Unilever. In 2000, the company
changed its name to Lowe Lintas following the global merger of the IPG networks

Another format of the in house advertising agency is the setting up of a department or

division to handle the communication requirement of the company. In addition these
divisions also do all the work that comes up in the company beyond advertising such as work
concerning internal communication, sales literature, trade communication etc.

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Advertising Agencies-Indian Scenario

There are many accredited advertising agencies in India, besides a number of smaller ones
looking for accreditation to be engaged in national advertising. In order to get credit facilities
and full agency discounts from the media, agencies need to get accreditation from the Indian
Newspaper Society(INS). One of the key functions performed by the society is to provide
assistance to member publications in regard to monitoring the recovery of their dues from
Advertising Agencies and Advertisers.

Agency’s Compensation/How does advertising agencies earn revenue

There are three methods used to compensate the agencies for their varied services:

 Commission
 Negotiated Fee
 Percentage charges

Commission from Media: traditional method of compensating agencies is through a

commission system. The agency is paid a fixed commission from the media on any
advertising space or time purchased for the advertiser. This system provides a simple method
for determining payments.

This system has been criticised whether the fixed percentage paid represent an equitable
compensation for the services rendered by the agency. To produce an ad, two advertising
agencies may put the same amount of effort, However one client spends Rs 5,00,000 on
media and other spends Rs 10,00,000. Assuming commission rate is 10%, one agency would
get paid Rs 50,000 and other Rs 1,00,000 in commission. Thus this method encourages
agencies to recommend higher media expenditure to increase their earnings. In period of
media cost inflation, the agencies earn disproportionate amount as commission. Those who
favour this method say that not only is it easy, but it also encourages competition among
agencies on factor other than price, such as quality of advertisements produced. They further
argue that agencies have to devote more time and effort to large accounts and often perform
other services for them so the accounts generate proportionately higher revenues for the
agency.

Negotiated Fee: Since many believe that commission system is not equitable to all parties ,
many agencies and their clients have developed some type of fee arrangement or cost plus
agreements for agency compensation. Some are using incentive based compensation.

Fixed Arrangement: There are two basic types of fee arrangement , in fixed fee method, the
agency charges a basic monthly fee for all of its services and credits the client any media
commission earned. Agency and the client agree on the specific work to be done and the
amount the agency will be paid for it. Sometimes the agencies are compensated through fee
commission combination, in which media commission received are credited against the fee.

Cost plus agreement: Under cost plus agreement, the client agrees to pay the agency a fee
based on the cost of its work plus some agreed upon profit margin. This system requires that

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the agency keep detailed record of the cost it incurs in working on the clients account. Direct
costs plus an allocation for overhead and mark up for profits determine the amount of agency
bill.

Fee agreements and cost plus system are commonly used in conjunction with the commission
system. The fee based system can be advantageous to both the client and agency. Many
clients prefer fee or cost plus system because they receive a detailed break down of where
and how their advertising and promotion money is being spend. However these arrangements
can be difficult for the agency as they require careful cost accounting and may be difficult to
estimate when bidding for the clients business.

Incentive Based Compensation: Many clients these days are demanding more
accountability from their agencies and tying agency compensation to performance through
some type of incentive based system. While there are many variations , the basic idea is that
the agency’s ultimate compensation level will depend on how well it meets predetermined
performance goals. These goals often include objective measures such as sales or market
share as well as subjective measures such as evaluation of quality of agency’s creative work.
Companies using incentive based system determine agency compensation through media
commission, fees, bonus or some combination of these methods.

Percentage Charges: Another way to compensate an agency is by adding a mark up of

percentage charges to various services the agency purchase from the outside providers. These
may include market research , art work, printing, and other services or materials. Since
suppliers of these services do not allow the agency a commission , percentage charges cover
administrative costs while allowing a reasonable profit for the agency’s efforts.

Selection of Advertising Agency

The points that need to be considered while deciding upon an advertising agency are:

 Core Competence: With respect of agency’s core competence a client needs to

consider is the agency geared to handle the nature of jobs at the client’s end
 Service Orientation: In terms of service orientation , the client has to consider is the
agency geared for along term association, does its culture similar or dissimilar to the
client’s , is its temperament aligned to the client’s
 Category Exposure : It essentially deals with the following questions:
Does the agency has prior experience in the client’s category?
Alternatively does the agency have experience in allied categories?
Current portfolio- competitive closure: It needs careful consideration on the
following fronts: Is the agency experienced across categories to enable cross category
knowledge and insights?
Is the agency already handling a competitive business
 Resource Allocation: the following queries needs to be addressed
Is the agency assigning sufficient quota of resources to your business?
Does the agency have the breadth of expertise to provide you the right nature of
expertise

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  Remuneration:
Is the agency affordable? Is its financial expectation aligned to your budgetary
constraint.
Size: Is the agency too big for your requirement ? or is it too small

Signing up

Agencies and the clients sign up formal contracts delineating the scope of work, terms and
conditions, resource support, estimation, billing and payment procedures, legal ramifications
etc.

Following the signing up of an agency the process moves into the stage of working together
towards a common goal. Any move by the client to help agency make the transition or come
on board goes along way in strengthening the relationship and also in ensuring greater
productivity from the agency.

The help from the client comes in the form of induction process culminating in brief. This is
akin to an individual taking up a new job. The better the understanding of the company , its
business, its challenges , its compulsions, its motivators and drivers the better will be the
output of the agency.

Induction Process

To start with both the agency and the client need to have a formal induction at each other’s
offices to understand the business and its various aspects. Typically the more scientifically
oriented clients take their agency counterparts for an introduction to the customer so as to
assimilate market information first hand. This help gives the agency a feel of the market and
helps it to gauge the pulse of the consumer vis a vis the category, the client and the
competition.

Briefing Process

Most clients these days expect the agency to lay the role of marketing and communication
consultant and not just an advertising support system. The whole objective in co-opting the
agency is to ensure that the agency personnel are as equipped with the category knowledge as
erstwhile marketing departments , thereby ensuring the smooth functioning of brand related
activities at the agency end. It also empowers the agency to evolve its own analysis of market
dynamics and the imperatives required. Mot of clients are now looking forward their own
marketing strategies, evolve suitable platforms and recommend brand solutions as part of
their service deliverables.

However, the ideal situation is when the client-agency partnership is truly symbiotic
association wherein both are equal and there exist mutual respect and respect. The sharing of
knowledge and data should be two way and setting the objectives should be a combined
exercise . he absence of this harmony can create problems that may be insurmountable for the
brand in the long run.

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Agency’s Ranking

The parameters on which the agencies get ranked and which have been arrived at in
consultation and discussion with the industry itself are indicators of what an advertiser looks
for in its agency partner. The parameters across the years have been are as follows:

Client Servicing: Aspects such as ensuring timelines, understanding and implementing

strategies , having result oriented approach, them stability, good knowledge about the
brand/market etc.

Creative Ability: Aspects such as generation of new ideas , execution of ideas while
retaining brand values keeping creative on strategy

Account planning ability: aspects such as consumer insights , using research well, value add
on communication strategy , own initiatives on brand development.

360 degree capability: aspects such as agency’s ability to plan and implement
communication solutions that go beyond traditional media are through the line and are
present across consumer touch points.

Partnering with the client: aspects such as optimizing budgets, keeping brand growth in
focus maintain consistent client servicing team for long period of time etc.

Innovation and thought leadership: aspects such as being a forerunner in advertising

,innovating new models of advertising

Investment in employee: Aspect such as training, investing in good work environment,

investing in new technology overall exposure across categories.

Business development ability: aspects such as being forerunner in winning business pitches,
retaining existing clients , generating more business from existing clients

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Brand Equity Agency Reckoner- Economic Times

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Top 15 media agencies

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 LESSON 3

ETHICAL AND LEGAL ASPECTS OF ADVERTISING

Every profession is governed by “law of the land” and advertising is no exception. Over a
period of time, judgements emanating from various court of law add to new interpretation
and enactments. Advertising law refers to the laws defining the ways in which products,
services or ideas can be advertised in terms of placement, timing and content. Similarly every
profession also develops code of conduct for its professionals, both the laws and code of
ethics serve as a beacon for practitioners.

It is interesting to note that there is a slight difference in the degree to which the constitution
guarantee freedom of speech and expression can be enjoyed by the advertising industry, when
compared to other branches of mass media. Article 19(1) states simply “ All citizens shall
have the right to freedom of speech and expression” The companion article 19(2) qualifies
this right by providing that the state can impose reasonable restrictions on its exercise “in the
interest of sovereignty and integrity of India , friendly ties with foreign states, public order,
decency and morality or in relation to contempt of court , defamation or incitement to an
offence”

Legal Aspects of Advertising

 The Indecent Representation of Women Prohibition Act, 1986: The act defines
the indecent representation of women likely to deprave, corrupt or injure the public
morality and forbids the depiction of women in an indecent and derogatory manner
 The Emblem and Names (Prevention and Proper Use) Act, 1950: forbids the use
by any private party of certain names and emblems etc. Many companies may like to
use pictures of political dignitaries and the national emblem to commemorate certain
national days. In such a circumstance permission need to be sought beforehand
 The Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act 1971: forbids bringing into
contempt the national flag or Constitution of India in any manner
 The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Ads) Act, 1954: prohibits ads for
the products and services claiming to cure medical ailments tantra, mantra, kavach,
miraculous power for cure, treatment or prevention of any diseases
 Indian Penal Code, 1860: makes it punishable offence to advertise any obscene
publication or distribution of unauthorized lotteries , promote by words spoken or
written or by signs or by visual representations create hatred between different
religious, racial groups
 Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products(Prohibition of Advertisement and
Regulation of trade and commerce, production, supply and distribution Act),
2003: This act prohibits all direct and indirect advertisement that suggest or promote
the use of the tobacco products. Advertisement include all types such as display ads,
films or video tapes with ads, leaflets, handbills, documents, pamphlets, transit ads
etc .

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  Consumer Protection Act 1986: This act provides for the better protection of the
interests of consumers and for the purpose establishes consumer councils for the
settlement of the consumer disputes. Under this act consumer, their representatives,
voluntary consumer organisations and the government can complain against unfair
trade practices, defective or hazardous products etc. The Act serves two purpose: one
to provide education to consumer regarding their rights and secondly to provide for a
simplified inexpensive and speedy remedy for redressal of consumer grievances.
 SEBI (disclosure and Investor protection), Guidelines 2000: SEBI issued
guidelines on advertisements to ensure investor protection from unscrupulous
practices of companies: Advertisement should be truthful and not contain information
that is untrue or misleading, Advertisement inviting people to subscribe for any issue
shall not contain inaccurate portrayal of past performance of company or portrayal in
a manner that implies past gains or income will be expected in future , language used
is not clear or understandable.
 Competition Act, 2002: intend to prevent practices having adverse effect on
competition to promote and sustain competition in market
Disparagement: when advertiser intentionally make false or misleading negative
remark against competing brands.(Refer Misleading Advertising for details)
 The Prize Competition Act, 1955: prohibits the publication of matter with
unauthorized prize, competition while the Prize Chits and Money Circulation
Schemes(Banning) Act, 1978 imposes a similar prohibition in respect of chits and
money circulation schemes.

Ethics are set of moral principles that guides action and creates a sense of moral behaviour.
Many laws are put into force that determine what is permissible in advertising. However not
every issue is controlled by rules. Marketers are often faced with decisions regarding
appropriateness of their actions which are based on ethical considerations rather than what is
within the law or industry guidelines. There is considerable overlap between what many
consider to be ethical issues in advertising and the issues of manipulation, taste, and the
effects of advertising on values and lifestyle.

Sex appeals and/or nudity used simply to gain consumer attention: which is not even
appropriate to the product being advertised also is in poor taste. With the increasing level of
clutter in the advertising environment, advertisers continue using appeals that attract the
attention of the consumers but offend many people.

The primary criticism of advertising is that it is misleading and deceives consumers. There
are people who believe everything they see or hear. Deception also occur as a result of how
consumer perceive the ad and its impact on their opinion and beliefs. Puffery; is exaggerating
with superlatives or subjective opinions. Though certain degree of exaggeration is considered
normal what bothers is the extend to which advertisers knowingly make false, untruthful or
misleading claims.

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The most fundamental objective of all advertising is to cut through the clutter, capture
attention and create an impression that lingers on the memory of its target audience. While
doing so advertisers create desires, shapes attitude alter social values and raise many ethical
questions.

Advertising Standard Council of India(ASCI) work to maintain the ethical code.

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), established in 1985, is committed to the
cause of Self-Regulation in Advertising, ensuring the protection of the interests of consumers.
ASCI was formed with the support of all four sectors connected with Advertising, viz.
Advertisers, Advertising Agencies, Media (including Broadcasters and the Press) and others
like PR Agencies, Market Research Companies etc.

ASCI has adopted a Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising. It is a commitment to honest

Advertising and to fair competition in the market-place. It stands for the protection of the
legitimate interests of consumers and all concerned with Advertising - Advertisers, Media,
Advertising Agencies and others who help in the creation or placement of advertisements.

ASCI is a voluntary self-regulatory organization, registered as a not-for-profit company under

section 25 of the Indian Cos. Act .ASCI is not a Government body. It is a voluntary Self
Regulatory Organization. However, ASCI is represented in all committees working on
advertising content in every Ministry of the Government of India.

ASCI has one overarching goal: to maintain and enhance the public's confidence in
advertising. ASCI seeks to ensure that advertisements conform to its Code for Self-
Regulation which requires advertisements to be:

 Honest Representation: Truthful and honest to consumers and competitors

 Non Offensive to public : Within the bounds of generally accepted standards of
public decency and propriety
 Against Harmful products/situations: not used indiscriminately for promotion of
products, hazardous or harmful to society or to individuals particularly minors , to a
degree particularly unacceptable to society at large
 Fair in competition: not derogatory to competition

The Code’s rules form the basis for judgement whenever there may be conflicting views
about the acceptability of an advertisement, whether it is challenged from within or from
outside the advertising business. Both the general public and an advertiser’s competitors have
an equal right to expect the content of advertisements to be presented fairly, intelligibly and
responsibly. The Code applies to advertisers, advertising agencies and media.

Responsibility for the observance of this code

The responsibility for the observance of this Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising lies
with all who commission, create, place or publish any advertisement or assist in the creation
or publishing of any advertisement. All advertisers, advertising agencies and media are

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expected not to commission, create, place or publish any advertisement which is in
contravention of this Code.

This Code applies to advertisements read, heard or viewed in India even if they originate or
are published abroad so long as they are directed to consumers in India or are exposed to
significant number of consumers in India.

Code and the law

The Code’s rule are not the only ones to affect advertising. There are many provisions, both
in the common law and in the statutes, which can determine the form or the content of an
advertisement. The Code is not in competition with law. Its rules, and the machinery through
which they are enforced, are designed to complement legal controls, not to usurp or replace
them.

Consumer Complaint Committee(CCC)

ASCI encourages the public to complain against the ads which they may be unhappy with
any reason and ensures that each complaint receives prompt and objective consideration by
an impartial Consumer Complaints Committee(CCC). It takes 4 to 6 weeks from the date
CCC receive a "complete" complaint. This should include full particulars of the Print
Advertisement, the name and date of Publication, and clipping or copy of the print
Advertisement .In case of a TVC airing, the complaint is required to have the Channel, date
and time of the TVC. reasonable description of an A/V, specific claims or visual depictions
which are considered to be false, misleading or objectionable and the reasons for the same. In
the light of the code, the committee asks the agency or the advertiser to comment and submit
the substantiation .

The standards of conduct laid down by ASCI in the following four chapters of its code are
minimum standards of acceptability

Chapter I

To ensure the Truthfulness and Honesty of Representations and Claims made by

Advertisements and to Safeguard against misleading Advertisements following code was
established:

 Advertisements must be truthful. All descriptions, claims and comparisons which

relate to matters of objectively ascertainable fact should be capable of substantiation.
 Where advertising claims are expressly stated to be based on or supported by
independent research or assessment, the source and date of this should be indicated in
the advertisement.
 Advertisements shall not, without permission from the person, firm or institution
under reference, contain any reference to such person, firm or institution which
confers an unjustified advantage on the product advertised or tends to bring the
person, firm or institution into ridicule or disrepute.

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  Advertisements shall neither distort facts nor mislead the consumer by means of
implications or omissions. Advertisements shall not contain statements or visual
presentation which directly or by implication or by omission or by ambiguity or by
exaggeration are likely to mislead the consumer about the product advertised or the
advertiser or about any other product or advertiser
 No advertisement shall be permitted to contain any claim so exaggerated as to lead to
grave or widespread disappointment in the minds of consumers

Chapter II

Advertisement should contain nothing indecent, vulgar, especially in depiction of women, or

nothing repulsive which is likely, in the light of generally prevailing standards of decency
and propriety, to cause grave or widespread offence.

Chapter III
To safeguard against the indiscriminate use of advertising in situations or of the promotion of
products which are regarded as hazardous or harmful to society or to individuals, particularly
minors, to a degree or of a type which is unacceptable to society at large.

No advertisement shall be permitted which:

(a) Tends to incite people to crime or to promote disorder and violence or intolerance.
b) Derides any race, caste, colour, creed, gender or nationality
(c) Presents criminality as desirable or directly or indirectly encourages people - particularly
minors - to emulate it or conveys the modus operandi of any crime.
(d) Adversely affects friendly relations with a foreign State

 Advertisements addressed to minors shall not contain anything, whether in illustration

or otherwise, which might result in their physical, mental or moral harm or which
exploits their vulnerability. For example, Advertisements

a) Should not encourage minors to enter strange places or to converse with strangers in an
effort to collect coupons, wrappers, labels or the like.
(b) Should not feature dangerous or hazardous acts which are likely to encourage minors to
emulate such acts in a manner which could cause harm or injury
(c) Should not show minors using or playing with matches or any inflammable or explosive
substance; or playing with or using sharp knives, guns or mechanical or electrical appliances,
the careless use of which could lead to their suffering cuts, burns, shocks or other injury.
(d) Should not feature minors for tobacco or alcohol-based products.
(e) Should not feature personalities from the field of sports, music and cinema for products
which, by law, either require a health warning in their advertising or cannot be purchased by
minors.

 Advertisements shall not propagate products, the use of which is banned under the
law

 Advertisements should contain nothing which is in breach of the law nor

omit anything which the law requires

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Chapter IV
To ensure that Advertisements observe fairness in competition such that the
Consumer’s need to be informed on choice in the Market-Place and the Canons of
generally accepted competitive behaviour in Business are both served.

Advertisements containing comparisons with other manufacturers or suppliers or

with other products including those where a competitor is named, are permissible in
the interests of vigorous competition and public enlightenment, provided:

(a) It is clear what aspects of the advertiser’s product are being compared with what
aspects of the competitor’s product.

(b) The subject matter of comparison is not chosen in such a way as to confer an
artificial advantage upon the advertiser or so as to suggest that a better bargain is
offered than is truly the case.

(c) The comparisons are factual, accurate and capable of substantiation

(d) There is no likelihood of the consumer being misled as a result of the

comparison, whether about the product advertised or that with which it is compared.

(e) The advertisement does not unfairly denigrate, attack or discredit other products,
advertisers or advertisements directly or by implication

Advertisements shall not be similar to any other advertiser’s earlier run

advertisements in general layout, copy, slogans, visual presentations, music or
sound effects, so as to suggest plagiarism

General rules of conduct in advertising:

 Advertising shall be designed as to conform to the laws of the country and

should not offend the morality, decency, and religious susceptibilities of the
people.
 No advertisement shall be permitted that:

 Derides any race, caste, color, creed and nationality

 Is against any of the directive principles or any other provision of the
constitution of India
 Tends to incite people to crime, cause disorder or violence or breach of law
or glorifies violence or obscenity in any way
 Presents criminality as desirable
 Adversely affects friendly relations with the foreign state
 Exploits national emblem or any part of the constitution or the person or
personality of a national leader or dignitary
 Relates to or promote cigarettes and tobacco products , liquor, wines and
other intoxicants

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  No advertisement shall be permitted the objects whereof are wholly or
mainly of religious or political end or have relation to any industrial dispute
 Ads for services concerned with the following shall not be acceptable:

 Money lenders
 Chit Funds
 Unlicensed Employment Agencies
 Saving schemes and lotteries other than those conducted by the central or
the state government organizations, nationalised and recognised banks and
public sector undertakings.

Misleading Advertising

Misleading advertising means any advertising which in any way deceives or is likely to
deceive consumers and is likely to affect their economic behaviour or injure a competitor.
Thus false or deceptive advertising is also a type of misleading advertising.

Following practices also comprise misleading advertising:

Puffery or exaggeration: even law permits trade puffing or exaggerations , but subjective
statement of opinion about the product’s quality such as best or super , puffery means
statements that praise the advertised item with subjective opinions, superlatives, vague
statements containing no specific facts

Palming off: occur when a producer creates an impression that his goods or services are
offered by competitor with a view to gain commercial advantage

Disparagement: when advertiser intentionally make false or misleading negative remark

against competing brands so as to establish the superiority of its products.

Bait and switch advertising: when an advertiser advertise the products or services at a
specified price when they are aware that they would be unable to supply reasonable quantities
at that price for a reasonable period. Special offers are made to draw customers to a store
when in fact they do not have a fair chance of buying the advertised product at the said
price.

In India, misleading advertisements are dealt with under the Consumer Protection Act and the
self regulatory ASCI code .

Select Recent ASCI Decisions

COMPANY: Honda Cars India Ltd

PRODUCT: Honda City
COMPLAINT: “India's Most Fuel Efficient Car”

DECISION: UPHELD

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The CCC viewed the print Ad and considered the Advertiser’s response. Advertiser did not
provide comparative data with other competitive brands to prove that Honda City is “India’s
most fuel efficient car”, which was not substantiated. The CCC concluded that the decision of
complaint being Upheld stands on review as the advertisement contravened Chapter I.1 of the
Code.

COMPANY: Marico Ltd

PRODUCT: Nihar Naturals Shanti Amla Hair Oil

COMPLAINT: Enriched with 500% vitamin E

NATURE OF COMPLAINT: This claim needs to be substantiated with necessary support

data.

DECISION: UPHELD

The CCC viewed the Website Ad and considered the Advertiser’s response. The CCC
concluded that the claim, “Enriched with 500% vitamin E”, was misleading as the
comparison was being made with a year 2010 marketed product and contravened Chapter I.4
of the ASCI Code. The complaint was UPHELD.

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COMPANY: Hindustan Unilever Ltd
PRODUCT: Fair & Lovely

COMPLAINT: The TVC suggests that fairness is essential for a girl to match a boy in status
or essential when a girl is to get married or grow up in hierarchy at work place

DECISION: UPHELD

 The CCC viewed the TVC and considered the Advertiser’s response. The CCC
concluded that the TVC conveys that fairness is essential for a girl to get married,(the
link to marriage was objectionable) or for a woman to achieve financial status. The
TVC derides colour and gender and contravened Chapter III.1 (b) of the Code. The
complaint was UPHELD.

COMPANY: Adani Wilmar Ltd

PRODUCT: Fortune Rice Bran Health

COMPLAINT:The ad shows, Dr. Anjali Mukerjee stating, "Make a Healthy Choice for your
Family.” The advertiser should provide 1. Evidence to prove credentials of Anjali Mukerjee
as quoted in the ad. as a "Dr" 2. Substantiate the testimonial by providing (i) consent by
Anjali Mukerjee, (ii) the claim being current (iii) endorsement is verifiable

DECISION: UPHELD

The CCC viewed the print Ad and considered the Advertiser’s response. The CCC concluded
that the certificate pertaining to the credential of Ms Anjali Mukherjee permits her to only
issue sick & leave certificate and that too only in the State of West Bengal. The endorsement

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by Ms Anjali Mukherjee as a Doctor or Nutrition Expert “Make a Healthy Choice for your
family”, was not substantiated and was considered to be misleading. The advertisement
contravened Guidelines for Advertising of Foods & Beverages as well as Chapters I.1 and I.4
of the ASCI Code. The complaint was UPHELD.

COMPANY: Apple India Private Limited

PRODUCT: iPhone 5s)

COMPLAINT:The ad mentions that, the effective price of iPhone 5S as Rs. 41,010. This
appears to be incorrect and to be a misrepresentation of facts. The ad shows breakup of the
MRP. It shows down payment and EMI options and also shows Cash Back benefit. However
the last column of their table shows the "Effective Price" of the phone as Rs. 41,010. The

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Effective Price is actually Rs. 55,890. At best, the effective price from MRP before EMI is
Rs. 51,000.

DECISION: UPHELD

The CCC viewed the print Ad, and concluded that the Ad distorts facts and is misleading.
The advertisement contravened Chapter I.4 of the ASCI Code. The complaint was UPHELD.

COMPANY: Career Launcher India Private Limited

PRODUCT: Career Launcher

COMPLAINT:

1. All India Leader in CLAT & IPM. 2. India's No.1 Institute for Law Entrance Exam. 3.
Confirm your seat in your dream institute in just 45 days

DECISION: UPHELD

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The CCC viewed the print Ad and considered the Advertiser’s response. The CCC concluded
that the claims, “All India Leader in CLAT & IPM”, “India's No.1 Institute for Law Entrance
Exam”, were not substantiated and no comparative data was provided for all India level. The
claim, “Confirm your seat in your dream institute in just 45 days”, was misleading by
ambiguity as it was the net of number of days on which the classes are held. The
advertisement contravened Guidelines for Advertising of Educational Institutions and
Programs as well as Chapters I.1 and I.4 of the ASCI Code. The complaint was UPHELD.

COMPANY: Hitachi Home & Life Solutions (India) Ltd.

PRODUCT: Hitachi AC

COMPLAINT:Hitachi AC can be purchased with 0% interest and no processing fees. RBI

had banned the 0% interest schemes in India. RBI/2013-14/292 DBS.CO.PPD No. 3578
/11.01.005 /2013-14 September 17, 2013

DECISION: NOT UPHELD

The CCC viewed the print Ad and considered the Advertiser’s response. The CCC concluded
that the claim of 0% financing and such communication for Credit card was not false and is
permissible for Non-Banking Financial Company. The complaint was NOT UPHELD.

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COMPANY: Dabur India Limited
PRODUCT: Odomos Naturals

COMPLAINT:1. My child will not get Dengue. When a child goes out to play, Every mom
thinks in this manner. 2. When you can give complete protection to your child, with Odomos,
then why not? 3. Odomos - All day protection from mosquitoes*

DECISION: UPHELD

The CCC viewed the print Ad and considered the Advertiser’s response. The CCC concluded
that the claims “My child will not get Dengue. When a child goes out to play, every mom
thinks in this manner” was not objectionable. This complaint was NOT UPHELD. Claim
substantiation was provided for claims “When you can give complete protection to your
child, with Odomos, then why not” AND “Odomos - All day protection from mosquitoes*”;
However, as this level of protection was dependent on the applied quantity and frequency of
application. The print ad was misleading by omission as it does not provide clear instruction
of the level of application and period for reapplication. The advertisement contravened
Chapter I.4 of the ASCI Code. This complaint was UPHELD.

COMPANY: Idea Cellular

PRODUCT: Idea Cellular

COMPLAINT:TVC gives an impression to viewers that the only way to test genuineness of a
Pashmina Shawl is to check whether it can be passed through a finger ring. In fact the GI

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gives specifications for Kashmir Pashmina which tests the true quality of a pure Pashmina
shawl. Hence all other forms do not conform to the quality manual under GI can be termed as
spurious.

NATURE OF COMPLAINT:

Accordingly, the following conclusions can be drawn - A ring test is not at all a confirmatory
test for certifying quality of a genuine Pashmina product. It fact, it is learnt that shawls made
out of synthetic fibre like viscose can also easily pass through a finger ring. That the
parameters under the GI Act are the only testing parameters to check the genuiness of
claimed Pashmina

DECISION: UPHELD

The CCC viewed the TVC and considered the Advertiser’s response. A ring test is not a
confirmatory test for certifying quality of a genuine Pashmina product and the claim in the ad
was not substantiated with authentic data. A non-Pashmina material could also pass the ring
test. The CCC concluded that the Ad distorts facts and perpetuates a layman’s belief about
testing Pashmina and therefore, is misleading. The advertisement contravened Chapters I.1
and I.4 of the Code. The complaint was UPHELD

COMPANY: L'Oreal India Private Limited

PRODUCT: Garnier Fructis Long & Strong

COMPLAINT:1. Now Get Even Stronger Hair. 2. Improved Formula.

DECISION: UPHELD

The CCC viewed the TVC and considered the Advertiser’s response, and concluded that the
claim of “Improved formula” was not adequately substantiated by providing comparison with
the old formula. The claim of “Now Get Even Stronger Hair” was not adequately
substantiated as the baseline values for the performance of non -conditioning shampoo were
different and the results were not comparable for the old and new formula. The advertisement
contravened Chapter I.1 of the ASCI Code. The complaint was UPHELD.

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COMPANY: TVC Sky Shop Limited
PRODUCT: Shri Lakshmi Kuber Dhan Varsha Yantra

COMPLAINT:The ad suggests that the product is for attaining better finances and assets.
According to Advertising Code – 7 [5], no advertising shall contain references which are
likely to lead the public to infer that the product advertised or any of its ingredients has some
special or miraculous or super-natural property or quality, which is difficult of being proved.

NATURE OF COMPLAINT:

According to Advertising Code -7 [11], no programme shall carry advertisements exceeding

twelve minutes per hour, which may include up to ten minutes per hour of commercial
advertisements, and up to two minutes per hour of a channel’s self-promotional programmes.
Moreover, the duration of some of the advertorials is as long as 15-16 minutes which itself is

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a violation of Advertising Code – 7 [11]

DECISION: UPHELD

The CCC reviewed the relevant parts of the TVC and considered the Advertiser’s response.
The CCC concluded that the claim that the “product is for attaining better finances and
assets”, was not substantiated with supporting data. The advertisement contravened Chapter
I.1 of the ASCI Code as well as Advertising Code – 7 [5] under the Cable Television
Network Rules, 1994. The complaint was UPHELD.

COMPANY: LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd

PRODUCT: LG Air Conditioners

COMPLAINT:The ad contains a disclaimer / written information on the screen but in very

small font, which is illegible and unreadable.

DECISION: UPHELD

The CCC viewed the TVC and considered the Advertiser’s response. The CCC concluded
that the content / text shown in the TVC was not legible, and the Ad contravened the ASCI
Guidelines on Supers. The complaint was UPHELD

Economic and Social issues of Advertising

Economic Issues

Effect on the value of products or services: Advertising is an expenditure incurred to

inform, persuade, remind and reinforce consumers to purchase the advertised product; it
entails money outflow which adds to the cost of the product, thus making the product costlier
without any value increment in the product. However studies have shown that while an ad
may not speak directly about the product’s quality, the image created by advertising may
imply quality and make the product more desirable thus, adding value to the product.
Advertising also adds value by educating consumers about the various types of products
available, different uses of the product etc. thus enabling them to make informed choice and
facilitate purchasing.

Effect on price: Advertising adds cost and affect prices; in case if companies stop
advertising , product would cost less and would be available to consumers at lower prices.
This is the major area of continuing debate. The proponents for advertising opines that
advertising help lower the overall cost of the product by informing vast number of people
about the offering thus entails large scale operations which brings in the economies of scale
that actually lowers the cost of the product more than enough to offset the increment in cost
entailed by spending on advertising.

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Effect on Competition: Advertising creates barrier to entry for smaller firms with fewer
resources who cannot match large firms with huge advertising budget. High cost may inhibit
the entry and brands of large firms probably benefit greatly from this barrier. This results in
decrease in competition and increase in the price of the product. But the advocates of
advertising have different views. They say it is unrealistic to single out advertising as the sole
cause of barrier to entry or dominance of a firm in the market. There are several other
important factors such as product quality, price, distribution system, research and
development, competitive strategies adopted by the firm etc. Market entry against the large
firms is difficult not because of advertising but because of the investment required in plant
and machinery, research and development etc.

Social Issues

The source of controversy over advertising stems from the way it is used by advertisers in
accomplishing market or communication objectives which influence social values, lifestyles
and society’s taste.

Social and Cultural values: It is generally agreed that advertising exerts a powerful social
influence and is criticised for encouraging materialism. Advertising is blamed for depicting
stereotypes and controlling the media.

Materialism is the tendency to accord undue importance to material interests. Many say
advertising promotes materialism, critics of advertising say that it should be used only to
provide information on the product’s quality, features or price etc and not attempt to persuade
consumers by playing on their emotions, anxieties and psychological needs fostering
disconnect and exploiting them to purchase things they do not need. To counter this basis the
proponents for advertising argue that consumer whose basic needs have been fulfilled can be
interested in fulfilling higher order needs for instance a consumer may buy an expensive
television with ultra loaded features to enjoy high quality video and music than simply
acquire a material possession to impress someone.

There is no doubt that advertising and the advertised products are a part of our culture and
influence it in some way. However advertising cannot be said to have the power to dominate
the forces of religion, family, literature etc that contribute to the values of the society .
Proponents of advertising argue that advertising merely reflects the tastes and values of
society’s and does not shape them. Advertising keep pace with the dynamic market
conditions and what rather is seen as materialism is a matter of improved standard of living.

Stereotyping ignores differences among individuals and presents individual or group in an

unvarying pattern. Critics often point out that advertising perpetuates stereotyping of women,
advertising has failed to portray the changing role of women in the society. Depiction of
women in settings such as family illness, cooking, children, approval by mother in law ,

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marriage etc have shown them as dependent on men, less intelligent and hardly ever in
authoritative roles.

There is perceptible improvement in this regard as advertisers have started to recognise the
role of the working women in family affairs and in decision making. Women are often
depicted in diverse roles that reflect their changing role in the society as they are increasingly
entering into professional, managerial , technical or administrative careers.

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