Advertising: As a Promotional Tool (A&BM 02 Sept 2020)

 Advertising: As a Promotional Tool

Advertising is a form of mass communication. It is paid for by the seller who wants to communicate about his product or service to the customers. The advertiser wants to persuade and induce the reader, viewers or listeners to take some action viz. to buy the advertised product so that the advertiser can have profitable sales.

Thus, advertising is defined as mass, paid communication of goods, services or ideas by an identified sponsor. Advertising media are newspaper, magazines, radio, TV, cinema film, outdoor hoardings and posters, direct mail etc.

 

Different types of Promotional Tools

1. Advertising Promotional Tool

2. Sales Promotion Promotional Tool

3. Public Relation Promotional Tool

4. Direct Marketing Promotional Tool

5. Personal Selling Promotional Tool

 

Strength of Advertising as a Promotion Tool:

Advertising is a major promotion tool. It offers planned and controlled message. It can contact and influence numerous people simultaneously, quickly and at a low cost per prospect. Hence, it is called mass means of communication. Mass production and mass distribution totally depend on all forms of advertising and publicity. Advertising is the backbone of modern national and international marketing.

 

(a) Objectives of Advertising:

1. Promotion of new-product.

2. Support to personal selling.

3. Advertising programs can aim at consumer awareness and attitude.

4. Buyers may be induced to purchase and repurchase,

5. Immediate buying action.

6. Dealer support.

Advertising is a powerful promotion tool to establish and retain brand loyalty and even store patronage provided the product itself does not suffer from quality-deficiencies.

 

(b) Advertising and Brand Patronage:

Advertising is an important promotion in order to establish brand patronage.

Customer preferences toward brand indicate the following tendencies:

(i) Brand Insistence:

A buyer insists on purchasing one brand only and will not accept a substitute.

(ii) Brand Loyalty:

A buyer has a strong attachment to be brand and will not accept a substitute, if the brand is available.

(iii) Brand Preference:

(iv) Brand Acceptance:

A buyer will buy the brand and has an open mind to try another brand.

(v) Brand Awareness:

A buyer is merely aware of the existence of brand but has limited know about it.

(vi) Brand Unawareness:

A buyer has no knowledge about the brand. Most of the times an advertiser (seller) tries to build a brand privilege or patronage for his product or service.

 

(C) Media Selection:

In making media selection, we have to consider the following factors:

(i) The financial allocation for advertising.

(ii) The nature of the product and the demand for it.

(iii) The type of prospects, their location and other characteristics.

(iv) The nature of competition and the extent of coverage required.

(v) Cost of media, co-operation and promotional aids offered by media, media circulation. Right media of advertising will enable the advertiser to deliver the message effectively to the intended markets or prospects.

 

 

Media choice is determined by a number of factors such as:

1. Number of viewers, readers, listeners,

2. Characteristics of audience-education, sex, income, family size, relative cost of various media.

Media selection helps the advertiser to find out which type of media to be used.

 

Media of Advertising:

(i) Print Media – Newspapers, Magazines, Trade Journal and Periodicals.

(ii) Direct Mail – Catalogues, Leaflets, Pamphlets, Brochures, Price Lists, Sales Letters/Circulars.

(iii) Transit Advertising – Railways, Buses, Aero planes, Trams, Taxes, Auto Rickshaws, Cab Car.

(iv) Broadcast Media – Radio, T.V., Film, Screen Slides, and Internet.

(v) Out-door or Mural – Posters, Hoardings, Sky advertising, Electrical

(vi) Other Forms – Window displays, Point of purchase, Exhibitions, Showrooms, Trade fairs, Advertising specialties such as calendars, diaries, pen-stands, ball pens, Key rings etc.