What is Advertising Definitions "The means of providing the most persuasive possible selling message to the right prospects

at the lowest possible cost"- The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA).

"Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and services through mass media such as newspapers, magazines, television or radio by an identified sponsor"Kotler .

The modern definitionAdvertising is paid persuasive communication that uses non personal mass media as well as other forms of interactive communication to reach broad audiences to connect an identified sponsor with a target audience- Wells,Moriarty ,Burnett Characteristics Is a strategic communication driven by objectives Is a paid for of communication Non personal communication Identified sponsor Generally reaches a large audience Key concepts of Advertising There are four key concepts in advertising,

1. Advertising Strategy It is the planning and logic behind the advertisement which gives it direction and focus. It is developed to meet specific objectives, carefully directs it to a certain audience, creates its message to speak to the most important concerns of that audience and runs in selected media that will reach the above audience. 2. Creative Idea It is the central idea of the ad which grabs your attention and retains in your memory. If this idea is based on a slice of life situation of the target audience, the more effective it can be. 3. Creative Execution This means how the creative idea is being executed so the audience understands it. This includes the details, photography, writing, acting, printing, etc of the advertisement.

4. Creative Media Use This means the channels that the advertiser uses to reach the audience with the above creative execution. These include television, radio, press, magazines and modern interactive media. No matter how creative the idea is or how effective the creative execution is, if the media use is not creative and effective, the investment in advertising can be of waste.

Roles of Advertising 1. Marketing Marketing is all about satisfying needs and wants of the consumers at a profit. Advertising is an element in built in marketing inorder to facilitate the process of satisfying consumer needs and wants. Further, Advertising plays the role of Brand building where it helps to establish a distinctive identity to a product or service. 2. Communication Advertising is a form of mass communication. It transmits different types of market information to connect buyers and sellers. 3. Economic This is of two forms where one is Market power model where advertising helps to creat demand and provides customers with choice. Further, it also is a part of the information economics where despite the fact that all products, services and even information have become commodities. However, information or the outcome of advertising is not scarce unlike other commodities where consumption of advertising information by one person will not prevent others from consuming it. 4. Societal It informs consumers about new products and features, helps them compare brands. It also plays an educational role by teaching consumers of new product features and how to use them. It also helps to shape the image of consumers by setting up role models that they can identify with. Functions of Advertising 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Builds awareness of products and brands ( new product launches, re-launches) Creates a brand image ( gives identity/personality) Provide product and brand information ( informative messages) Persuades people ( changing attitudes and behaviour) Provide brand reminders Reinforces past purchases and brand experience ( influence post purchase behaviour)

Key players in Advertising

1. The Advertiser/ Client Generally is an individual or an organization that initiates the advertising process. This is the party that identifies the communication gap. 2. Advertising Agency Plan and implement all or part of the advertising efforts

3. Media The party that facilitates in carrying out the message from the advertiser to the target audience. 4. Support Services Organizations who support services to the above parties in execution of the above ( production houses, studios, model banks, etc).

Evolution of Advertising The concept of advertising is highly dynamic in nature and is in the process of evolving in order to meet the requirements of the media habits of the consumers. The history and evolution of Advertising can be broadly classified into six stages, Stage one- the Age of Print The objective was to deliver information. And the media used was print and the format of the advertisements were basic and was more like classified advertising. The primary medium used in this stage was the newspapers. Stage two- the Age of Industrial Revolution and Emergence of Consumer Society With the industrial revolution social and technological developments came into the economy. Production increased, so the importance of advertising grew in size. National media developed. The objective of advertising was to device an effective and efficient communication that could sell products to a widely dispersed market. Stage three- the age of Modern Advertising This is the stage where organizations that are specialized in modern professional advertising developed in the industry. Stage four- The Creative Era

When the market place was crowded, and more and more demand needed to be created for the brands, the emphasis was on new creative practices. Stage five- Accountability Era With more and more pressure on brands, Marketers wanted ads that resulted in greater sales so the emphasis was on the research and measurements. Stage six- Post 9/11 With the tragedy took place in September 11 2001, the economy stumbled resulting few ads and a shrink in the ad industry which is still in the process of recovery especially after the second blow of economic downturn. Accountability became even more important where marketers demanded proof that their investments in advertising was truly effective.