Advertising is the influence ("influence on opinions") on behaviorally significant attitudes using specific communication media. Advertising is one of the instruments of communication policy in the marketing mix. Due to the high cost of using advertising media, it is the most visible and important instrument of marketing communication.
In a narrower sense, in the context of business communication, advertising means an appeal to sales markets. Companies also advertise personnel, financial resources, or economic and legal conditions that make it easier for them to do business. In the context of social communication, political, cultural, and public organizations pursue primarily non-commercial advertising goals.
Political parties, for example, advertise voters, municipalities promote the attractiveness of their cities, aid organizations promote donations, and cultural institutions promote their right to exist. Advertising is thus a fundamental element of social coexistence, which is already documented in early cultures.
The following additional tools can be distinguished: sales promotion, personal selling, public relations, sponsorship, product placement, event marketing, advertising barter, licensing. Sometimes a distinction is made between "below the line" for persuasive communication in non-classical media and "above the line" as a general term for persuasive communication in classical media. Classic media include print media (newspapers, magazines, outdoor advertising) and electronic media (radio, television, Internet, cinema, etc.). Individual measures are increasingly systematically combined into multi-stage direct advertising campaigns.
Ambient media refers to innovative advertising media in the immediate environment of the recipient (e.g. floors, toilets, dispensers on shelves, subway trains, petrol pumps, etc.). It is necessary to distinguish between classical media and advertising tools aimed at establishing direct contact with the addressee through a targeted individual approach and initiating subsequent communication. This type of advertising, known as direct advertising or direct marketing, mainly involves sales letters (direct mail), brochures, leaflets, etc.
The success of direct advertising is primarily due to the direct and targeted approach to consumers. In contrast to advertising in the media, they can respond directly to the communication offer. The success of direct advertising can be measured directly through the reaction of the recipients (response).
In addition to classic direct advertising via letters, direct mail, etc., an electronic version has emerged in the form of newsletters and emails or SMS. So-called spam messages, i.e. emails that are automatically sent to every available email address, have led to massive defensive behavior on the part of the recipient. In general, one of the problems of direct advertising is the increasing flooding of consumers with "mail ads".
In order to counter the resulting refusal reactions, emails are increasingly sent only to recipients who have previously given their consent, which is natural, especially in the electronic sphere. In the context of so-called one-to-one marketing, tools are being developed to individualize direct advertising, through the use of which the addressee feels directly addressed, perceives the advertising information as useful for him/herself and therefore accepts it.
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