CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS ADVERTISING?

• Advertising is a promotional activity which aims to sell a product or service to a target audience.
• Advertising is a paid form of communication intended to inform, persuade, and remind an audience to take some kind of action.
• Advertising has been used to promote trade (the sale of goods and services) for centuries.
• Advertising provides a mirror to our social history that reflects values and aspirations of the culture.
• Newspapers were commonly used for advertising.

  Typical newspaper ads were no wider than a single column, and illustrations and special typefaces were generally not used.
• Mass Production

  • New mass production techniques in the 1880s used assembly lines to create standardized products in large products in large quantities. Manufacturers began developing brand names to help consumers clearly identify their products.
• Changes in the Advertising Industry 

  Advertising agencies were founded in the late 19th century and became a key component in the advertising process. They grew out of the need to sell branded products that were being mass produced. Advertising helped consumers identify the differences between the branded products.
• Printing Press - The printing press was used to produce posters and handouts containing information about goods and services for sale during the 16th century. 
• Radio - Radios appeared in virtually every home in America, and the sales of products advertised on the air exploded.
• Television and Cable Television - Television became a mass advertising medium in the 1950s when the prices of television sets became more affordable. 
• Infomercial - is a lengthy paid advertisement that showcases the benefits of a product. 
• Internet - In the 1990s, a Web revolution in advertising began. Internet advertising is now a $42 billion industry that has overtaken the conventional method of advertising. 
• The use of advertising to support and improve the environment is known as green marketing. 
• Print advertising affects the environment through the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere as a result of the production and distribution of print media.
• Two goals of advertising: selling a product and maintaining a high public perception of the company or product.
• Social responsibility is the principle that businesses should contribute to the welfare of society. Many businesses now view social responsibility as an opportunity for growth. 
• Political Advertising - Exposure to advertisements does influence public perceptions of the candidates.
• Industry trade groups, referred to as trade associations, are founded and funded by businesses operating in a specific industry and are responsible for public relations activities such as advertising.
• Industry trade groups produce advertisements to promote the views of an entire industry. Advertisements also are used to improve the industry’s image. 
• The consumer is the end user of a product or service. The overall consumer market consists of all buyers of goods and services for personal or family use.
• Consumer behavior describes how and why people make purchase decisions. Advertising is highly influenced by consumer needs and purchase patterns.
• Two principal ways to evaluate the motivation behind consumer purchases are: by direction (what they want) and intensity (how much they want it).
• Direction refers to what the customer wants from a product. 
• Consumers are in control of the disbursement of product information when they use blogs, which are websites frequented by individuals with common interests.
• Product Advertising - Most companies use some form of product advertising. Product advertising uses rational arguments to communicate why consumers need a specific product by highlighting the benefits associated with the use of that product. 
• Brand Advertising - A brand is an important component in many advertisements. A brand is the combination of unique qualities of a company, product, or product line.
• Corporate Advertising - Some companies use corporate advertising, which is intended to enhance a company’s reputation or build goodwill. It is also known as institutional advertising. 
• Many companies obtain the outside services of an advertising agency to develop advertising strategies.
• The Advertising Agency is a marketing business that plans, creates and manages the advertising for other businesses. (clients)
• Advertising agencies are also assigned with the tasks of building campaigns to increase sales of the company’s products, to reaffirm the brand image, to attract new customers, and to retain current customers. 
• Advertising agencies handle a broad range of marketing tasks, requiring people with experience and specialized skills. 
• Advertising agencies also offers creative services, media services, marketing research services, and production services.
• Outsourcing occurs when individual tasks are assigned to companies that specialize in planning, designing, and creating advertisements.
• A boutique advertising agency, also referred to as a virtual agency, is a small, specialized advertising company that outsources many of its services.