M Rahman
Promotion is one the four major elements of marketing mix, and one of the major methods of promotion is advertising. Companies spend billions of dollars worldwide on advertising to promote their products and services. Advertising can be done by using a number of methods. However, in this article, we are not discussing advertising in general. Rather, we would like to focus on the advantages and disadvantages of different advertising media.
Definition of advertising
‘Advertising is one of the most influential forms of communication within the promotional mix, and the one that perhaps has the most impact upon our everyday lives’ (Hughes and Fill, 2003, p.27). Advertising serves a number of purposes; therefore different media are very often required as well.
Different advertising media
Traditionally, organisations used to conduct advertising campaigns through newspapers, TV, radio etc. With the advent of the Internet, the whole spectrum has changed dramatically. Social networking sites have further revolutionised the methods of advertising. This article will mainly and briefly focus on advertising through newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, and the Internet. The purpose of the article is to explore the advantages and disadvantages of different advertising media.
Advantages and disadvantages of different advertising media
Newspapers
It is certainly easy to reach out to a large number of audience through newspapers; however, the attention of the target audience may split due to the large number of adverts published on the same newspaper. It is also to be noted that newspaper readership is gradually declining.
Magazines
Advertising in magazines is very good to target specific readers. For example, an advert on a food magazine will be effective to promote food products. However, advertising in a magazine may not be suitable, particularly when organisations are trying to reach out to a large population.
TV
TV advertising may include sight, sound and motion. It is brilliant to reach out to a large population through TV advertising. In addition, people usually do not use TV as a background medium. However, advertising on famous TV channels is usually very expensive.
Radio
It is a cost-effective medium for advertising (usually cheaper than TV); however, many people use radio as a background medium. Therefore, obtaining the full concentration of the target audience is a challenge.
The Internet
The Internet is gradually becoming the most favourite method of advertising for many companies. Social media, blogging, and advertising through affiliated websites are some of the common methods of advertising online. Advertising online is very effective as more and more people are becoming glued into the Internet. However, Internet advertising may be expensive for many small business owners. Likewise, customers often ignore adverts served to them online.
No doubt that each method has its advantages and disadvantages. And most importantly, advertising through one tool may not be effective. Therefore, it may be necessary to have a combination of a number of tools and by definition it is called integrated marketing communication.
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The article publication date: 31 July 2016
References
Hughes, G and Fill, C. (2003) Marketing Communications, 1st edition, Butterworth-Heinemann
Photo credit: Pixabay
Author: M Rahman
M Rahman writes extensively online with an emphasis on business management and marketing. He is a graduate of both Leeds Metropolitan University and London South Bank University.
M Rahman
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