Types Of Advertising

What is advertising?

Advertising is a type of marketing communication tool which helps in influencing the decisions and actions of a particular audience. The most common use of advertising is in prompting the behavior of consumers in relation with a commercial product or service. However, advertising has its political and ideological uses as well. Apart from this, advertising also aims to provide assurance to a firm's employees and shareholders about the reliability and success of the firm. There are a number of media channels that are used for the purpose of advertising. These include newspapers, magazines, television, radio, billboards and the internet.

Types of Advertising

Television - Television advertising is considered to be one of the most popular and reliable forms of advertising. An important proof of this is the amount of money charged by TV networks to broadcast commercials, especially during in-demand TV events. Several TV commercials make use of jingles to add more value to the visual bit. Also, using computer graphics to insert virtual advertisements during normal TV programs is becoming popular, mainly during sports events. Many forms of media are now being utilized for advertising, but television remains the most important one among them all.

Infomercials - An infomercial is of a slightly longer duration compared to normal TV commercials. Infomercials generally provide a small demonstration of the product along with a description of its features. The customers are generally prompted to purchase the product by calling on a toll free number which appears on the TV screen. This form of advertising has becoming increasingly popular over the past few years.

Radio Advertising - Radio advertising is one of the oldest and quite popular forms of advertising. Radio advertisements work in quite a similar manner as TV commercials, the only difference being that lack of visuals. However, this is considered by many as a benefit of advertising though radio. People tend to listen to the radio more often compared to watching television.

Online Advertising - The recent and fast becoming the most popular form of advertising is online advertising. There are a number of channels which are used within the purview of online advertising. These include e-mails, social networking websites, online classifieds and online shopping websites. Also, it spreads across different devices from personal computers, laptops, mobile phones and tablet computers. It is also one of the fastest ways to advertise.

Press Advertising - This is among the oldest forms of advertising which has still not lost its popularity. The main instruments for press advertising are newspapers, magazines and trade journals.

Billboard Advertising - Along with print advertising, billboard advertising also finds it place among the oldest methods of advertising. Billboards are huge structures made from cardboard or other materials that have advertising messages and logos printed on them.

Conclusion

There is no lack of advertising methods to choose from in today's world. It is just about choosing the channel best suited for a product.

This article has been compiled by Evelyn, who is a writer on various academic topics.