What is advertising? As the name suggests, advertising means to advertise widely. But this is not a scientific definition of advertising. Advertising can be divided into broad and narrow senses: advertising in a broad sense includes economic advertising and non-economic advertising. Economic advertising refers to economic information related to promoting the sale of goods or services. Non-economic advertising is non-profit advertising designed to achieve a certain publicity purpose. Such as government announcements, religious announcements, educational announcements and notices, notices, announcements, notices from cultural, municipal, and socioeconomic groups, as well as personal loss statements, missing person advertisements, marriage notices, etc. The American "Advertising Age" defines advertising in a broad sense as: "Individuals, goods, services, and movements expressed in print, writing, spoken word, or pictures at the expense of the advertiser for publicity in order to promote sales, use, voting, or Endorsement”. Advertising in the narrow sense refers to economic advertising, that is, commercial advertising, which is for the purpose of promoting goods or services and making profits, and is a profit-making advertising. The Association of American Advertisers defines it as: "Advertising is paid mass communication, the ultimate purpose of which is to deliver information, change people's attitudes towards advertised products, induce their actions and benefit advertisers." The explanation of my country's "Cihai" is: "A way of publicity to introduce products to the public, guide service content and cultural programs, etc., generally through newspapers, radio stations, TV stations, posters, movies, slideshows, window displays, and product displays. ". In short, the definition of modern economic advertising can be summarized as: Advertising is a mass communication method in which advertisers plan to deliver information about goods or services through the media to promote sales. This definition includes the following four points:
1. The advertising target is the majority of consumers, it is mass communication, and it means to spread the word
2. Advertising content is a planned delivery of product or service information
3. Advertising is through the media (such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television, etc.)
4. The purpose of advertising is to promote the sales of goods or services and obtain profits
The most basic function of advertising is the cognitive function. Through advertising, it can help consumers know and understand the trademarks, performance, uses, usage and maintenance methods, purchase locations and methods, prices, etc. of various commodities, thereby transmitting information and communicating production and sales.
There are many types of advertisements, which can be classified according to different distinguishing standards. Enterprises should choose the most appropriate form according to different needs.
>> Distinguish from the direct purpose of advertising
There are advertisements for the purpose of selling goods; there are advertisements for the purpose of establishing credibility; there are advertisements for the purpose of establishing concepts. For example, in the competition in the foreign beverage market, it is consciously promoted that beverages can be divided into two categories: cola type and non-cola type. Through this kind of conceptual propaganda, the monopoly of cola drinks is broken.
>> Distinguish from different objects of advertising
There are consumer advertisements; there are industrial user advertisements; there are commercial wholesale advertisements, and there are media advertisements. For example, medicines and health products are introduced by doctors, and building materials are introduced by construction research departments.
>> From the regional scope of advertising
There are national advertisements; there are regional advertisements; there are local advertisements.
>> Distinguish from the media applicable to advertising
1. Newspaper advertising
Among all advertising types, newspaper advertising currently ranks first. The advantages of newspaper advertising are mainly reflected in:
——Wide and stable readers. In many areas, a newspaper can reach more than 90% of households, and the scope of publicity is extremely wide. By taking advantage of the broad coverage of newspapers and their prestige among the masses, companies can easily achieve faster publicity effects on new products and enter a favorable market competitive position as soon as possible.
——Flexible and maneuverable. For enterprises, newspaper advertisements can be used for targeted publicity. For example, when choosing a region, sometimes a product may not sell well in one place, but may have broad prospects in another place, so companies can strengthen advertising in the latter area. Another example is the selection of personnel. In order to enhance the pertinence of product promotion, companies can choose newspapers or newspaper columns for advertising based on the different readers of different newspapers. The flexibility of newspaper advertising is also reflected in the fact that the advertisements on the newspaper can be modified hours before copying.
Changes in weather, changes in supply conditions, and a host of other unforeseen circumstances often require last-minute revisions to unprinted advertisements.
—— Popular with readers. Newspaper advertising is also popular among readers because of its flexibility. Readers can read newspapers intensively, skim or even scan them. The length of time to read advertisements depends on the reader's interest and there is no limit. This cannot be done for time-based advertisements, such as TV advertisements, radio advertisements, etc.
But newspaper advertising also has its shortcomings. Such as short life and poor timeliness, a newspaper becomes "yesterday's news" the next day, and its propaganda effect has been reduced very low; reading is hasty, according to surveys, the average reader only spends 20 to 30 minutes reading every day Newspapers; poor image expression means. Although printing levels have been greatly improved with the development of science and technology, the printing quality of newspapers is still not ideal. Especially for products that strive to promote their appearance to consumers, such as using TV and magazines, the effect is much better.
The above characteristics of newspaper advertising make it particularly suitable for retail advertising.
The pricing of newspaper advertising depends on the circulation of different newspapers and the different pages of the same newspaper. Generally speaking, the larger the circulation and the more prominent the layout, the higher the charge.
>>Magazine advertising
The biggest advantage of magazine advertising is its strong selectivity. Different magazines have different readerships, and different products have different consumer targets. Many products are attractive to some people but not to others, and this is especially true for the means of production. Therefore, for enterprises, instead of doing "pepper noodles" advertising, it is better to do concentrated advertising. Professional magazines provide companies that manufacture specialized products with the opportunity to advertise to professional readers. Through magazine advertising, small businesses with small funds can also conduct in-depth publicity in the limited market of their industry.
Another advantage of magazine advertising is its concentrated layout, exquisite printing and prominent image. Most magazines are printed on high-quality paper and can reproduce good black-and-white and color photos, making them great promotional products.
Compared with other advertisements, the superiority of magazine advertisements is also reflected in its long duration and strong vitality. In terms of time, most families and units have the habit of keeping magazines and reading expired magazines; in terms of space, a magazine will never stay in the hands of only a few people, but will be widely circulated, which will expand the publicity effect of magazine advertising.
Things are relative. Because of its strong professionalism, magazine advertising is limited in reading range. Because of its long timeliness, it also has the disadvantages of delayed response and lack of flexibility.
In addition to the circulation of the magazine, the pricing of magazine advertising is also calculated based on different layouts such as full page, half page, quarter page, cover, bottom, second cover, and third cover.
>>TV advertising
Since televisions have gradually become popular and widely entered into households, television advertising has achieved tremendous development with its great advantages. This is because TV advertising has some advantages that other advertising cannot match:
First, it is widespread. For the majority of people who cannot be publicized or whose public image is not deep through print media, television can publicize and play a huge propaganda effect. Since television advertising is less affected by the educational level of the recipients, especially since television plays an increasingly important role in modern family life, the impact of television advertising will be even greater.
The second is intuitiveness. TV advertising uses the comprehensive effect of vision and hearing to intuitively display products and has a demonstration effect, so it can leave a deep impression on consumers. American toy manufacturers often choose several new products that are not yet on the market and advertise them on TV to attract children's interest with their new, strange and beautiful features. At the same time, for more complex toys, we not only demonstrate how to use them, but also how to maintain them. Sometimes, a certain plot is added to make the whole picture permeated with a strong sense of life, with profound meaning and joy. In a relaxed and happy atmosphere, it stimulates children's desire to buy. In this way, customers can not only choose their favorite toys through TV advertisements, but the shopping time is also greatly shortened.
The third is fun. The TV screen allows creatives to explore their imaginations and create wonders.
Many TV commercials arouse the audience's interest with their imaginative animations and unique dubbing effects. Shanghai Detergent Factory No. 5 advertised "White Cat" dishwashing liquid on TV. The vivid image of the white cat and the jumping and brisk Cantonese tunes gave people a refreshing feeling that will be unforgettable for a long time. Through advertising, the sales volume of "White Cat" dish soap has skyrocketed, from an annual output of nearly 200 tons in 1979 to more than 4,000 tons in 1983. It is not only sold to major cities across the country, but also enters the international market every month.
The fourth is admissibility. Although TV commercials are shorter than radio commercials, they are generally only 10 to 15 seconds. However, repeated publicity on TV can still make the products of some companies greatly "famous".
TV advertising also has its limitations. First of all, it is expensive. Producing a one-minute TV commercial is the same as producing a TV series. It requires art, arrangement, sound, director, supervision, scene notes, photography, and rehearsal. Therefore, it costs a lot. Second is the lack of selectivity. Broad promotion has both advantages and disadvantages. Many advertisements need to be selectively promoted to the audience, which is difficult to do with TV advertisements. Therefore, the United States is willing to use television to advertise some daily necessities with a relatively large consumption range, such as hygiene, food, medicine, toothpaste, clothing, etc. On the contrary, it does not use it very much for some special products such as appliances and equipment with a relatively narrow consumption range. TV commercials.
>>Radio advertising
In the early 1930s, radio quickly became an advertising medium. Subsequently, advertising investment in radio broadcasting increased dramatically in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Until now, radio advertising is still one of the important forms of advertising. If calculated based on the number of listeners, radio still maintains the primary position among all advertising media.
Radio advertising spreads the fastest, has a wide range of activities, is relatively low-cost, and has great flexibility. Any customer who can use sound to express can do so through radio. spread. Whether it is speech, music or other sounds, whether they are three seconds or thirty minutes in length, they can be transmitted over the radio. Compared with TV advertisements, radio broadcasts are much more selective. Each festival broadcast by radio has its own certain audience, which provides good opportunities for the promotion of various products.
The limitations of radio advertising are mainly reflected in the fact that the audience is too scattered, the broadcast time is short, the content is not vivid and specific enough, and the audience's attention is not as good as that of television.
>>Packaging advertising
Some people call packaging advertising "silent salesmen". Product packaging is one of the important strategies for companies to promote and promote products. Smart manufacturers print simple product introductions on the packaging, which becomes packaging advertising. Using the paper, boxes, and cans used to package the goods to introduce the contents of the goods has a sense of intimacy. It will penetrate into the homes of consumers as the goods go, and the advertising costs can be included in the packaging costs. It is both convenient and economical for enterprises. money. In recent years, many manufacturers have simply printed the main products they produce or operate on the outer packaging of their products (such as plastic bags, etc.), thereby expanding the role of packaging advertising. This form of advertising is suitable for both host and guest, and has gained widespread popularity.
>>Mail advertisements
There are many types of mail advertisements, such as sales letters, postcards, foldouts, brochures, product catalogs, corporate introduction cards, annual calendars, wall calendars, flyers, etc. wait. It uses communication methods to send various printed advertisements to possible consumers, which is broad and cost-effective, fast, flexible in form, clear in target, directly linked, and highly selective. Mail advertisements also have a strong human touch and facilitate emotional connection. For each mailing advertisement, the author can concretize it in the most suitable form according to his own subjective wishes. Many sales letters and postcards are very humane, which has led to the rapid development of mail advertising in recent years. When using mailed advertising, companies generally have a detailed list of regular users, but it is very simple to mail them one by one according to the list.
>>Transportation advertising
Advertise on trains, planes, ships, buses and other means of transportation and in places where passengers are waiting, waiting for flights, waiting for ships, etc., the number of passengers It has a wide coverage and good publicity effect. Since traffic advertising is a by-product of the transportation industry, the cost is relatively low.
>>Outdoor advertising
There are many types of outdoor advertising:
The first is poster advertising. Posters are generally placed on sidewalks where pedestrians must pass, and can also be placed at sales locations.
The second is street sign advertising. Compared with poster advertisements, street sign advertisements are more formal. Each billboard can be painted according to the requirements of the advertiser and with the consent of the relevant advertising management department, making it very eye-catching and beautiful. There used to be an electric three-sided billboard at the intersection of Yan'an Middle Road and Maoming Road in Shanghai, which integrated the functions of mechanical rotation, decorative relief and automatic time-adjusting radio clock, and played a good role in beautifying the city. This movable billboard is more than 11 meters wide and more than five meters high. It is composed of 18 rotating triangular prisms. It automatically changes the screen every 20 seconds, which is very eye-catching.
The third is neon advertising. Neon signs installed in bustling downtowns not only promote products, but also embellish the city.
In addition, outdoor advertising also takes the form of advertising galleries, product models, etc. At present, some advanced foreign outdoor advertisements also use sound, light, color, taste and other technologies to make the advertisements more attractive. There is a food company in the United States that erected a giant advertising model eighty feet high and one hundred feet long on the outskirts of Detroit to promote bread. When pedestrians approach it, they can not only hear the soft music playing and the voice introducing the bread, but also the soft music playing and the voice introducing the bread. And you can smell the aroma of "magic mixed bread", which immediately arouses people's appetite.
The food company reportedly more than tripled its bread sales thanks to the bread-scented ads.
In addition to some of the media introduced above. There are also literary and artistic advertisements, gift advertisements, exhibition advertisements, etc. With the development of science and technology, the media of advertising are also increasing. In the United States, some well-funded travel companies use airplanes to form colorful smoke into patterns and advertising literature to attract tourists; some companies also use a special device on the ground to project advertising images and text into the distance. Two miles above the ground in the clouds. Foreign advertising experts also predict that in the near future, people will also use space shuttles, satellite space workstations, and even the moon to advertise.
The role of advertising is concentrated in the following aspects:
1. Transmitting information and communicating production and demand
The most basic function of advertising is the cognitive function. Through advertising, it can help consumers know and understand the trademarks, performance, uses, usage and maintenance methods, purchase locations and methods, prices, etc. of various commodities, thereby transmitting information and communicating production and sales.
As the saying goes, good products require clever publicity. But in real life, there are still some companies that are not very clear about the role of advertising. They think that advertising is expensive and the gain outweighs the loss. Therefore, they would rather travel all over the world, train and ship, and work hard to sell their products everywhere than advertise. Practice has proved that advertising is one of the fastest, most economical and most effective means of conveying economic information. Good products are advertised with the help of modern scientific methods, and their effects are many times higher than human power.
2. Stimulate demand and increase sales
A good advertisement can induce consumers' interest and emotions, arouse consumers' desire to buy the product, and promote consumption. purchase behavior. There was an example: a certain country's tobacco company sent a salesman to the Gulf tourist area to promote the company's "Crown Brand" cigarettes, but the cigarette market in the region had been occupied by other companies' brands, and the salesman was at a loss. , being inspired by the "No Smoking" sign by chance, he creatively made a number of large billboards. On the billboards, he wrote "No Smoking" in large characters, and added a line below it: "'Crown" Cards' is no exception." The results greatly aroused the interest of tourists, who rushed to buy "Crown Brand" cigarettes, opening up sales for the company.
3. Promote competition and open up the market
Large-scale advertising is an important competitive strategy for enterprises. When a new product is launched on the market, if consumers do not understand its name, use, purchase location, and purchase method, it will be difficult to open up sales. Especially when market competition is fierce and product upgrading is greatly accelerated, companies use large-scale Large-scale advertising can make consumers attractive to the company's products, which is very beneficial to the company's market expansion.
Increasing product visibility is one of the important aspects of corporate competition, and advertising is an indispensable weapon to increase product visibility. Smart entrepreneurs are always good at using advertising to improve the "reputation" of their companies and products, thereby increasing their "worth", promoting competition, and opening up markets.
4. Introduce knowledge and guide consumption
There are many categories of modern production and new products emerge in an endless stream. However, monthly sales are scattered, making it difficult for people to buy what they need in time, and advertising through products Knowledge introduction can play a role in guiding consumption.
After purchasing some products, consumers do not fully understand the performance and structure of the product. Therefore, problems often occur in terms of use and maintenance. The introduction of product knowledge through advertisements can also better guide consumers on product repair and maintenance, thereby extending the use time of the product.
5. Enrich life and cultivate sentiment
A good advertisement is actually a piece of exquisite art. It not only introduces the product to people truly and concretely, but also allows people to pass it through Observing and appreciating the image of the work arouses rich life associations, establishes new consumption concepts, increases the enjoyment of spiritual beauty, and generates the desire to purchase under the subtle influence of art.
Good advertising can also help consumers establish a correct moral outlook and outlook on life, cultivate people's spiritual civilization, and provide consumers with scientific and technological knowledge to cultivate people's sentiments.