DIFFERENT TYPES OF ADVERTISING

Advertising is the promotion of a company’s products and services carried out primarily to drive sales of
the products and services but also to build a brand identity and communicate changes or new product
/services to the customers. Advertising has become an essential element of the corporate world and
hence the companies allot a considerable amount of revenues as their advertising budget. There are
several reasons for advertising some of which are as follows:

 Increasing the sales of the product/service

Thus, several reasons for advertising and similarly there exist various media which can be effectively
used for advertising. Based on these criteria there can be several branches of advertising. Mentioned
below are the various categories or types of advertising: 

Print Advertising – Newspapers, Magazines, Brochures, Fliers 

The print media have always been a popular advertising medium. Advertising products via newspapers or
magazines is a common practice. In addition to this, the print media also offers options like promotional
brochures and fliers for advertising purposes. Often the newspapers and the magazines sell the
advertising space according to the area occupied by the advertisement, the position of the advertisement
(front page/middle page), as well as the readership of the publications. For instance an advertisement in a
relatively new and less popular newspaper would cost far less than placing an advertisement in a popular
newspaper with a high readership. The price of print ads also depend on the supplement in which they
appear, for example an advertisement in the glossy supplement costs way higher than that in the
newspaper supplement which uses a mediocre quality paper. 

Outdoor Advertising – Billboards, Kiosks, Tradeshows and Events

Outdoor advertising is also a very popular form of advertising, which makes use of several tools and
techniques to attract the customers outdoors. The most common examples of outdoor advertising are
billboards, kiosks, and also several events and tradeshows organized by the company. The billboard
advertising is very popular however has to be really terse and catchy in order to grab the attention of the
passers by. The kiosks not only provide an easy outlet for the company products but also make for an
effective advertising tool to promote the company’s products. Organizing several events or sponsoring
them makes for an excellent advertising opportunity. The company can organize trade fairs, or even
exhibitions for advertising their products. If not this, the company can organize several events that are
closely associated with their field. For instance a company that manufactures sports utilities can sponsor
a sports tournament to advertise its products. 

Broadcast advertising – Television, Radio and the Internet 

Broadcast advertising is a very popular advertising medium that constitutes of several branches like
television, radio or the Internet. Television advertisements have been very popular ever since they have
been introduced. The cost of television advertising often depends on the duration of the advertisement,
the time of broadcast (prime time/peak time), and of course the popularity of the television channel on
which the advertisement is going to be broadcasted. The radio might have lost its charm owing to the new
age media however the radio remains to be the choice of small-scale advertisers. The radio jingles have
been very popular advertising media and have a large impact on the audience, which is evident in the fact
that many people still remember and enjoy the popular radio jingles. 

Covert Advertising – Advertising in Movies 

Covert advertising is a unique kind of advertising in which a product or a particular brand is incorporated
in some entertainment and media channels like movies, television shows or even sports. There is no
commercial in the entertainment but the brand or the product is subtly( or sometimes evidently)
showcased in the entertainment show. Some of the famous examples for this sort of advertising have to
be the appearance of brand Nokia which is displayed on Tom Cruise’s phone in the movie Minority
Report, or the use of Cadillac cars in the movieMatrix Reloaded. 

Surrogate Advertising – Advertising Indirectly 

Surrogate advertising is prominently seen in cases where advertising a particular product is banned by
law. Advertisement for products like cigarettes or alcohol which are injurious to heath are prohibited by
law in several countries and hence these companies have to come up with several other products that
might have the same brand name and indirectly remind people of the cigarettes or beer bottles of the
same brand. Common examples include Fosters and Kingfisher beer brands, which are often seen to
promote their brand with the help of surrogate advertising. 

Public Service Advertising – Advertising for Social Causes 

Public service advertising is a technique that makes use of advertising as an effective communication
medium to convey socially relevant messaged about important matters and social welfare causes like
AIDS, energy conservation, political integrity, deforestation, illiteracy, poverty and so on. David Oglivy
who is considered to be one of the pioneers of advertising and marketing concepts had reportedly
encouraged the use of advertising field for a social cause. Oglivy once said, "Advertising justifies its
existence when used in the public interest - it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial
purposes.". Today public service advertising has been increasingly used in a non-commercial fashion in
several countries across the world in order to promote various social causes. In USA, the radio and
television stations are granted on the basis of a fixed amount of Public service advertisements aired by
the channel. 

Celebrity Advertising

Although the audience is getting smarter and smarter and the modern day consumer getting immune to
the exaggerated claims made in a majority of advertisements, there exist a section of advertisers that still
bank upon celebrities and their popularity for advertising their products. Using celebrities for advertising
involves signing up celebrities for advertising campaigns, which consist of all sorts of advertising
including, television ads or even print advertisements.