Functions of advertising

 

The overriding function of advertising is to inform potential customers about a product and persuade them to buy it. It can also remind customers about a product, and it can convey information about the organization itself or issues important to the orga�nization. Advertising can inform a large number of people with a single message. Good advertising can create or enhance perceptions of the quality or reliability of a product, thus encouraging customer loyalty and repeat purchases.

In most cases, advertising seeks to reach potential customers and entice them to spend money on the advertiser's products. But advertising itself costs money. Compared to personal selling, advertising costs less per person reached. Even so, the money spent on advertising by U.S. companies alone is astronomical: the annual budget for advertising in the United States is more than $20 billion. The country's leading advertiser is Procter & Gamble, with an advertising budget in the United States alone of more than $2.1 billion per year. Philip Morris also spends more than $2 billion a year; General Motors and Sears each spend over $1 billion.

TYPES OF ADVERTISING Because advertising can serve a variety of purposes, marketers have come to assign specific terms to ads with certain broad categories of objectives. Knowing the basic types of advertising can help the marketer recognize the options available and select the form of advertising that will most likely help meet communications objectives.

PRODUCT VERSUS INSTITUTIONAL ADVERTISING   Advertising messages may emphasize a product or the organization behind the product. Product advertising attempts to lead members of the target market to buy the advertiser's goods or ser�vices. Apple Computer runs ads to encourage people to buy its Newton notebook computer.

In contrast, institutional advertising promotes an organization's image or philos�ophy. Organizations often use institutional advertising to improve public relations through positive messages. An example is Ford's advertising based on the slogan, "Quality is Job 1." This focuses on the company's concern for quality rather than on the features of particular automobiles.

OTHER CATEGORIES Advertising can be further divided into four subcategories: pio�neering, competitive (including comparative), advocacy, and reminder advertising.

 Pioneering advertising seeks to develop primary demand, that is, demand for a prod�uct category�say, dairy products, beef, or plastics � rather than a specific brand. Pioneering advertising is especially important for introducing an innovative product or one that is new to the target market.

Competitive advertising attempts to develop secondary demand�demand for a particular brand of product. Such ads are especially important for established prod�ucts and when competition is heavy. Thus, in the cutthroat marketing environment for bottled water, Evian tries to maintain its position as something special by using com�petitive advertising stressing the benefits of drinking Evian water. Britain's Virgin Atlantic Airways distinguishes itself from the competition through ads describing Virgin's amenities, including roomy seating, individual videos to watch, and limou�sine transportation to and from the airport.

Comparative advertising is competitive advertising with a bite. These advertise�ments pit one brand against another, making comparisons to specific competing brands. Comparative advertising is prohibited in some countries, but those restrictions are changing. Japan relaxed its guidelines in the mid-1980s, and the United States, which had similar restrictions, eased them in the 1970s.

Advocacy advertising is institutional advertising that supports socially responsible
messages, activities, or causes. Retailer Benetton once ran an ad campaign showing
its founder, Luciano Benetton, naked behind a bold headline reading, "I want my clothes back." The ad was soliciting donations of used clothing to be distributed to poor people through the Red Cross and other organizations. Nonprofit organizations such as Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the National Rifle Association (NRA) rely heavily on advocacy advertising to promote their causes.

When a product or organization is already well known, the marketer may reminder advertising. Such advertising seeks to keep a product or organization's name in the public eye, reinforcing its identity. In Sacramento, California, Worthington Chevrolet has for over two decades run a series of TV ads to remind consumers the dealership. The ads started as a takeoff on a competitor's commercials in which dealer posed with his imposing German shepherd. To poke fun at him, Worthington began starring in ads along with what he called "my dog Spot." In ad, Spot was actually a pig, a chicken, a tiger�any animal but a dog. Aside from presence, each ad is different. In one, Worthington stands on his head and sings; in another, he stands on a flying biplane. Says Worthington, "I never intended to continue the commercials, but I got such great feedback on them, I couldn't stop."

Advertisers may use one or more of the above types of advertising in conjunction with another technique: cooperative advertising. Cooperative advertising involves manufacturers and channel members or franchisers and franchisees teaming up for one advertising campaign. By collaborating on cooperative advertising, manufacturers and channel members can reach the target market more efficiently than they could if each acted alone. And by advertising the same products and slogans, as well as special promotions�like a burger of the month�franchise operations benefit from unity within the overall marketing strategy.