Advertising and its Scope

Advertisement is derived from the Latin word “ADVERTERE” which means “TO TURN”. Advertisement is a paid message or an information that a sponsor convey to it’s target audience with the help of different medias.

According to PHILIP KOTLER (The father of marketing), advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation & promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor, where as DAVID OGILVY (The father of advertising) stated in his book “Ogilvy on Advertising”, a good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself. There are several quotes on advertising too in his book. Basically he focuses on four basic principles before designing an advertisement. Those are –1.creative ideas, 2.Research, 3.Actual result for clients & 4.professional discipline.

History of advertising

There is no exact data available when the advertisement has started but it is believed that officially the first newspaper ad was published in 1704. It was a real estate advertisement. Later on in 18^th century the trend followed by many newspapers. Then the outdoor advertisement groomed and Bill Board appeared in 1835 and the first ever advertising agency also formed in 1843 at Philadelphia. Sponsors used specific icons to recognize their product and the BRAND concept has started from 1891. Then in the beginning of 20^th century events & electronic media also followed the trend and by the end of the century internet also puts it’s impact. But in ancient civilization we also found the use of advertisements in different forms like

Wall/rock painting- It’s the ancient form of today’s wall painting or wall wrapping. Usually years ago rulers of different continents spread social messages/information as well as mentioned their rules on rocks to aware their subjects.

Town criers- Town criers are those who spread the news/ information among people. The system of town criers was present in all civilisations. It was also adopted by many Indian rulers and used till the mid of 19^th century also. But by the passing of time the town criers are replaced by tableau (vehicles with speakers and microphones).

Trademarks- In ancient time people craft some designs/ marks on their products to identify them. Sometimes they also felicitated by the rulers and highly appreciated for their work. Latter on to make their product different from others they used those symbols/ designs what we called logo today. They make their brand and sell it in high price.

Word of mouth- It’s the most ancient form which is still running successfully and will continue forever. It’s the most convincing direct marketing technique. In ancient time merchants were doing the advertisement of their product verbally, even they demonstrate their product to kings and explains it’s features just like today’s sales man. On the other hand it’s spread from one to another easily.

Events- Event was also another form of advertisement in ancient days. Most of the rulers of different continent used this technique to gather people in one place and convey their message to them. Street play/ puppet show was invented during that period. Events were different types like- play, function, cultural etc.

Animal parade- In ancient time especially elephants were decorated with clothes on their flanks in such a way that the written message/ information can be visible to people easily. Sometimes the mahout/ person sitting on it, also carries the message. Those animals are now replaced by vehicles and clothes with hand written message is replaced by banners and digital signage.

Bill board/ posters – Bill board was made of clothes or woods and posters were made by the roots or pith of few plants like papyrus. It’s used by the rulers as well as shopkeepers/ merchants to provide the info and rate of their products. The emperors placed bill boards to convey their messages.

Current forms of advertising

It’s really very difficult to explain the types of advertisement. It’s completely a form of innovation and creative work through which we bring the attention of people towards our product/service. But generally it’s divided into 3 groups- ATL, BTL & TTL.

ATL (Above The Line) – When we target a large no of people with the help of mass media like-TV, radio, Newspaper, magazines & Internet, it’s known as ATL. Here we target a larger market and basically used for brand awareness. We cannot expect sales or response from ATL activities. The ATL budget is always high in comparison to BTL.

BTL (Bellow The Line) – The objective of BTL is very clear. It’s used when we target a niche market, expecting some response or to generate sales from the campaign. Here the budget is bit low in comparison to ATL. BTL campaign includes – banners, posters, pole kiosks, vehicle branding, leaflet/brochure, sales promotions, standees, canopy, on ground activities, sponsors etc.

TTL (Through The Line) – We can say it’s a combination of both ATL & BTL, here the company tries to promote their brand expecting some response from it. Means the objective of campaign is both branding as well as sales. Example – In a newspaper campaign u ll also find a QR Code, by scanning which you’ll get direct discount from shop. Here the ad is for masses, everyone seeing that ad, but only few people will scan and avail for discount.

Objectives – The objective or purpose behind a campaign is the most crucial part of any campaign. Considering that we can choose our market, target audience as well as we can design our strategy.

Different types of Advertising

These are the most popular forms of advertisement adopted by many brands.

Print Ad- Those advertisements are published in a printed format is known to be print ad. It may be a newspaper, magazine or any kind of booklet also. Generally we divide print ads into 2 formats- display & classified. When the ad comes with fixed size or format in a traditional form without any pictures is known as classified ad. But in display we can place our ad in any page and can design any size with pictures and text. The display ad rate is much higher than the classified ad.

Broadcast Ad – Broadcast ads are those, what we spread through electronic media like TV & radio and appeal to a large no of people. Normal broadcast ads are known as spots and rates are calculated for 10sec, But now many innovative formats has been invented by the broadcasters to give mileage to the advertiser.

Outdoor Ad – Outdoor or out-of-home ad are those, what we see outside of our home like hoardings, unipoles, public utility branding etc.

Surrogate Ad- Surrogate advertisements are those kinds of advertisements what companies are used to promote their banned products. Suppose in India liquor ads are banned, so the company will show the ads of water/ soda with the same name.

Covert Ad/ Product placement- In this category we do indirect ads & relate it with our scripts. In movies or programmes the product is demonstrated in background or the characters using that product or services as the script is running in flow.

Intriguing/entertaining

Guerrilla Ad- Guerrilla advertising is also a part of BTL advertising. The main motto of this ad is to bring the attention of people towards it. It’s presented in such a way that it’s impact on consumers mind lasts a long and also grip the market for it’s innovative presentation. For example- A huge cold drink bottle shape artwork, placed in a public area.

Personal sales- In this category the company appoint promoters to push sales. The promoters/ sales person visit personally and convinced the customers to generate sales.

Word of mouth- As mentioned in the above, it’s the most trust worthy and effective medium running from ancient days. Once the customer is convinced, it spreads like fire with less effort.

Events- Event is also another platform where we can create awareness, demonstrate product and also generate sales. Sponsoring specific events as per our TG is a choice of a good advertiser.

Digital/ Online Ad – In today’s generation the most effective category is online/digital advertising. Those ads we see through internet is known as online advertisement. It may be in the format of classified or in A/V streaming format.

Different types of Digital advertisement platforms are-