What Are the Tools Used for Advertising?

Outdoor advertising is one of many media used in advertising.

What are the tools used for advertising? Traditional and new media are the vehicles that carry advertising messages. With the advent of the internet, new advertising strategies are possible that traditional media cannot offer.

Radio

Radio listeners are drawn to a station's programming.

Radio broadcasting is considered to be a traditional medium. Radio's strength lies in its ability to target audiences through its programming, which is reflected in its advertising. Radio advertising is effective in that most commercials are targeted at local audiences, compared to television commercials, which are mostly national. A drawback to radio advertising is that the effectiveness of a message is solely audio-dependent. This can present challenges in describing certain products or services being marketed.

Television

Television ads have the highest production costs.

Television is considered to be a traditional medium but has the ability to adapt to new media. Some television advertising strengths are its impact in combining sight and sound, its ability to reach local, national and global audiences, and its more recent adaptation to interactive marketing. Through service technology like On-Demand, viewers can engage in advertising messages with a remote control. Television advertising weaknesses are high production costs, programming disruption, and short-lived messages.

Newspapers

Newspapers compete with online news sources for advertising dollars.

The newspaper is part of the print media, and is arguably the oldest form of traditional media. Newspaper advertising has many strengths that are being affected by new, interactive marketing strategies. Newspapers provide a loyal readership base for advertisers and low advertisement production costs. Newspapers also offer value through short lead times to insert advertisements and ensure high audience reach. Drawbacks of newspaper advertising include poor print quality, a decrease in overall readership, and a general sense of advertising clutter.

Newspapers try to stay competitive in the internet age by providing online content for free. Advertising revenue pays for this service.

Magazines

Magazines have highly targeted readership rates.

Another member of the print media is the magazine. The value in advertising in magazines lies in its audience selectiveness and high quality print. Magazines hold credibility with their audiences, allowing its advertisements to resonate with readers. Magazine advertising has several weaknesses to consider such as high production cost, limited frequency, and long lead times.

Like newspapers, many magazines have an online version of their content. Some require paid membership while others provide free online content.

Outdoor, Direct Mail and Telemarketing

Outdoor advertising comes in many shapes and sizes. The main forms of outdoor advertising are bulletins (14 by 48 feet), 30-sheet posters (12 by 25 feet), 8-sheet panels or junior panels (5 by 11 feet), and spectaculars. Spectaculars are electronic billboards typically seen in places like Times Square, New York or Hong Kong. Advantages to outdoor advertising are that they are localized and often memorable. Disadvantages are their low repetition and short time exposure.

Direct mail and telemarketing are other types of marketing strategies used in advertising. Both can be effective because they are often personalized and results are easily measured. However, both are also costly and direct mail is perceived as junk mail, while telemarketing is viewed as the most intrusive of all marketing techniques.

Internet

The internet has changed the face of advertising.

The internet has changed the way advertising occurs. It has affected practically every corner of the advertising spectrum and has forced traditional media to reinvent itself where it can. The advantages to internet advertising are many, but the most critical is its extremely low cost compared to other media. The internet offers interactivity, making it possible to involve a target audience in the advertising message. Such advertising can be very effective as interactivity is memorable and satisfying to a user. Finally, internet advertising can be easily personalized, something that traditional media like television and radio is incapable of. Perhaps the largest drawback of internet advertising is its perception of clutter.

References

• American Marketing Association
• "IMC Using Advertising & Promotion to Build Brands;" Tom Duncan; 2002