Meaning of Advertising Advertisement is defined as a paid form of communication done by a company with customers for promoting its product and services. It is carried out for spreading the product information on a mass scale among potential buyers in order to boost sales. An advertisement is a non-personal form of interaction in which neither a company itself or its sales personnel interact with people. This type of communication is established with the help of public mediums such as radio, television, magazine, newspapers, etc. Advertisement mainly works on describing and praising goods among the audience in the market for promoting sales. What is Advertising? The success of an advertising process is dependent to large extent upon messages created by the company to address people. Advertising messages may be audio, visual, or written information prepared by an advertiser for informing and persuading the audience regarding their product or services. It is more often termed as creative work done by advertising professionals by keeping in consideration the talent and skills needed to prepare the most effective piece of advertising. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qc0DW5gj7LY Types of Advertising Various types of advertising are as discussed below: - Print advertising Print advertising is one of the primarily used advertising methods by small enterprises before the origin of digital advertising. Print advertising comprises of all sorts of advertising included in brochures, directories, newspapers, and magazines, flyers and posters, etc. At today’s point of time, the revenue from print ads is falling down due to its much higher cost in comparison to digital and social advertising. Measuring the success of print advertising also remains a difficult task as determining that how many people actually saw the printed ad and went to purchase from the client store is quite an impossible thing. But the print advertising still remains a good option for small organizations targeting the less-digitally engaged audience. Broadcast advertising Broadcast advertising is a type of mass-market communication that employs the use of television and radio for sharing promotional messages. This sort of advertising is a risky investment taking into consideration that how easy is it for customers to skip add or change the channel completely. Also, broadcast advertising is a very costly process for businesses. The cost is dependent on a range of factors like lengths of ads (higher cost is charged for longer ads) and frequency as well as the daytime when the ads are aired. Public service announcements, local spot advertising, national spot advertising, and network spots are all forms of broadcast advertising. Direct mail advertising Direct mail advertising refers to all forms of advertising which are delivered personally to a person via the mail. Here, a message is written and sent directly to customers for persuading them towards your product or services. It is a cost-effective and personal form of advertising where you can choose the audience and plan the timings which suit your business. Direct mail advertising is more successful when you are able to develop a more creative as well as visually appealing direct mail campaign. Mobile advertising Mobile advertising is a form of digital advertising where only mobile devices are used for serving the ads to the audience. Mobile devices used are cell phones, Kindles, iPad, and other portable electronic devices having internet connectivity. Mobile advertising excessively uses social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and LinkedIn. This type of advertising is currently gaining large importance as a means of reaching out to new customers. Importance of Advertising The importance of advertising can be well-understood from the points given below: - Product introduction and awareness Advertising plays a key role in introducing new products and create wide awareness in the market. It serves as a means for communicating every detail regarding the product by business to customers. Advertising informs about product availability, price, utility, and features to the audience thereby promoting the sale of the new product. Differentiating products from competitors Advertisement of the product helps a lot in creating its distinct image and differentiating it from competitors. It highlights how a product is superior, has more benefits, and is more effective than the similar products available in the market. When customers get to know about the uniqueness of brand products, they easily get attracted towards it and make purchase decisions. Increase the sale Every organization strives to raise its sale for earning better profits. They run advertisements of their products or services to reach and attract a mass audience from the market. When more people came to know about the product, this results in more purchases which ultimately raises the overall sales volume. Builds the brand goodwill Advertising leads to enhance the brand value in the market by ensuring customers of quality products. The company talks about the genuineness and quality of its range of products in its advertising message which leaves a positive impression on the public. Raising goodwill is a much-needed thing for a business enterprise in order to sustain itself in the market. Facilitates mass production Advertisement helps businesses in bringing down their cost of production via facilitating mass production. It creates a high demand for brand products by publicizing them on large scale. When goods are in high demand then business focuses on mass production thereby lowering the per-unit cost of the product. Boost employee’s morale It enables in raising the morale of employees working within the organization. Employees deployed in the sales department feel happy when they interact with the public who is well aware of their brand. The task to sell products become much easier when a wide-level advertisement is done to publicize the brand. Generates employment The creation of employment opportunities is another important role played by advertisement. There are a large no. of people who are engaged in writing, designing, and issuing advertisements in the market. People are able to generate additional income due to this increased level of employment. Objectives of Advertising Inform buyers The primary objective served by advertising is informing buyers about the availability, features, price, qualities, and performance. In addition to all this, it also updates them about changes made in existing products and new products brought to market by brand. The advertising also highlights the policies, performance, achievements, and location of the company. Convince buyers It is used as a key tool by businesses in order to convince buyers via informing them about the superior advantages of the product. The customers are induced to buy products by communicating regarding the competitive advantages offered. A comparative analysis is also used for proving the additional benefits provided at a given price by product. Face competition It is the most powerful weapon available used by brands to fight competitors in a professional manner. The firms are able to respond effectively to the competitors in the market by employing advertisement channels. They cannot survive in a competitive marketing environment in absence of effective advertisement. Advertisement enables the firm in preventing the entry of competitors or even can remove competitors away from the market. Differentiation and value creation This is one of the important aspects of advertising which differentiates the brand product from other similar products available in the market. The value a firm provides over its competitors helps customers in differentiating among services. Customers are more likely to trust those brands which promise and give commitment regarding the quality in their advertisement. This way it is more commonly used as a means to build brand value and develop a differentiated image. Educate people The advertisement also guides and educates people about making the right choice of product. This is not only meant for providing benefits to a company. People are taught about the new products' availability, price, their features and qualities, and other crucial aspects. All this information is instrumental in making the right purchase decision. Customers are able to make the most appropriate choice of a product under the guidance of advertisement messages.