Advertising Concepts and Objectives

Advertising

• Any non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.
• Non-personal, mass communication, identified sponsor, information, and paid communication are key features.

Distinctions Between Advertising and Publicity

• Advertising originates from the advertiser, while publicity originates from the media.
• An advertiser's identity is clearly known, while the sponsor's identity in publicity is not known.
• Advertising is paid for by the sponsor, while publicity is not paid for.
• The sponsor has control over content and timing in advertising, while the media controls content and timing in publicity.

Objectives of Advertising

• Introduces new products to the market.
• Sustains demand for existing products.
• Builds brand preferences.
• Educates customers.
• Eliminates middlemen, potentially reducing product prices.

Advantages of Advertising

• Creates demand for new products.
• Increases sales and profits by attracting customers.
• Informs customers about products.
• Creates goodwill for the firm.
• Reduces the possibility of cheating customers.
• Creates employment opportunities.

Criticisms of Advertising

• Increases product prices.
• Large firms spend heavily on advertising, potentially creating monopolies.
• Spending on advertising is wasteful as it may not add to product utility.
• Advertising offers manufacturers the opportunity to mislead the public.
• Some advertisements are vulgar and violate public decency standards.

Advertising Agency

• A specialized organization that provides advertising-related services for a fee.

Functions of an Advertising Agency

• Planning advertising campaigns.
• Creating advertising materials.
• Selecting suitable media for advertising.

Social Advertising

• Focuses on socially relevant issues or uses social relationships to promote products or services.
• Raises awareness for campaigns such as blood donation, vaccination, or Swatch Bharat Abhiyan.
• Utilizes social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Sales Promotion

• Short-term incentives of a non-recurring nature used to stimulate consumer purchasing and dealer effectiveness.
• Aims to obtain immediate buying.
• Examples include free samples, coupons, free gifts, and exchange offers.

Distinctions Between Advertising and Sales Promotion

• Advertising has a long-term view, while sales promotion has a short-term view.
• Advertising aims at building an image, while sales promotion aims at immediate sales.
• Advertising is a recurring exercise, while sales promotion is a non-recurring exercise.

Role of Sales Promotion

• Provides information.
• Increases demand.
• Satisfies customers.

Techniques of Sales Promotion

• Distribution of free samples.
• Offering discount coupons.
• Providing bonus offers.