1.1 DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF ADVERTISING

“Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and services by an identified sponsor”.

“Means of communicating information pertaining to products, services or ideas by other than direct personal contact and on an openly paid basis with an intent to sell or otherwise obtain favorable consideration”.

Advertising today is a large enterprise. It is both an industry in itself and a tool used by a wide range of people.  Advertising is widespread because it serves a purpose.

“Advertising presents the most persuasive possible selling message to the right prospects for the product or service at the lowest possible cost”.

“Advertising is ‘making it publicly known that an individual or an organization has benefits, usually products and services, it wishes to offer to an identified target audience in return for some other benefit, usually money”.

Advertising needs to know and understand trends within society: how does one reach individuals without understanding their desires, motivation, hopes and fears? How does one convince people to their behavior without turning to human and social sciences?

The real skill of advertising in an information society is to arouse sufficient interest and impact in the midst of an ocean of visual, verbal and sonorous appeals, thus catching people’s attention and modifying their behavior.

It must act in conduction with creative current. The idea is to imitate these, but to speak the language of the day, to follow the signposts. It is reflection of relationship between products, brands and individuals.

It is a witness to society's belief in a market economy, something that does not exist without competition.

Its role among the different means of communication is to reach the greatest number of people. It is one-to-many communication.

Advertising is a special industry mixing artists and economists and sales people, statisticians and Internet fans in one common endeavor.

1.1.1 Important Characteristics

 Paid form of communication
 Mass and non-personal
 Can be done through various media
 Never anonymous

1.1.2 Objectives and Functions

 Create demand
 Increase sales
 Support dealers
 Build goodwill
 Eliminate middlemen
 Educate customers
 Improve standards of living

1.1.3 Benefits
 
 To Manufacturers
 Creates regular demand
 Increase sales
 Supports dealers and salesmen
 Helps in introduction of new products
 Creates goodwill
 Enables market expansion
 Increase profitability
 Encourages research

 To Consumers
 Makes purchasing more easier
 Educates consumers
 Improves quality
 Eliminates middlemen
 Reduces prices
 Stabilizes prices

 To Society
 Provides employment
 Support press
 Improves standards of living
 Motivates hard work
 Educates society

1.1.4 Demerits

 Increases cost
 Leads to growth of monopolies
 Changes preferences without increasing demand
 Sometimes misleads
 Claimed to be unethical
 Promotes artificial living

1.1.5 Need for Advertising

There is a belief that “ a good product stands on its own and does not require promotion”. But in today’s complex and wide market it is not possible to sustain without advertising.

When a marketer or a firm has developed a product to satisfy demand, after thoroughly analyzing the market, there is a need for establishing contact with the target market to eventually sell the product. Moreover, there has to be mass contact, which means that the company has to reach large number of people so that its product may receive optimum response. Naturally the best way to reach this mass market is through communication and advertising is one of the means of such mass communication along with such other means as sales promotion, publicity and public relation.

1.1.6 Why To Advertise?

 Stimulates production, employment and income, leading to rising       
      purchasing power and better living standards
 Educates the community to demand quality of life
 Facilitates mass production and mass distribution, leading to lesser unit
      costs
 Builds up brand preference and brand loyalty
 Facilitates quick acceptance new products and new ideas
 Gives consumers the right to choose

1.1.7 Why Not To Advertise?

 Contributes little or nothing to economic growth
 Promotes even worthless products
 Promotes materialism
 Increases prices of goods
 Used by large firms to prevent competition
 Persuades people to want things that they do not want
 Exaggerates facts