Advertising Media - Definition, Importance & Types
What is Advertising Media?
Advertising media is the group of various media channels through which advertising message is delivered to the target audience. Advertising media is used for showcasing promotional content which communicated in various forms such as text, speech, images, videos using TV, radio, online, outdoor etc. Basically they are channels through which companies can advertise their products and services to reach to customers.
Importance of Advertising media
Advertising media plays a pivotal role in business and marketing for companies. There are many companies who offer products and services to customers. However, it is impossible for every customer to know about every brand or product. This is why companies advertise and use advertising media to reach to customers, and to increase their market share.
Depending upon the customer demographics, advertising budget, targets of the company, advertising objectives etc., companies can choose the type of media they want and they can do an advertising campaign.
This helps to create a buzz about the brand, showcase the product and service utilities to the customer and build a strong brand.
Using all media channels is often referred to an integrated marketing communications and helps a to build a brand using 360 Degree branding.
Advertising media selection
For companies, it is important to have a clear cut plan in the selection of advertising media. Some steps followed in advertising media selection are:
1. The objective of the company is analyzed as to what product and to which customers it is to be advertised.
2. The next stage is to have a complete understanding about the customer demographics who are to be targeted.
3. After that, depending upon the type of product, type of customers, the advertising budget set, companies can choose from the various types of advertising media. Advertising media should be chosen on the fact which gives maximum return on investment. Companies should spend minimum on advertising, reach out to as many people as they can and which should convert into substantial sales to give profit to the company.
4.Over a period of time, this processing of selecting the appropriate advertising media can be repeated for increasing cost benefit to the company.
Types of advertising media
Advertising media is an important domain in business and advertising. With the passage of time, there have been several ways in which ads are being showcased and can be communicated to customers.
There are different types of advertising media present. Depending upon various parameters like budget, reach, customer preferences etc. companies can choose the required advertising media and help boost their brand.
Some of the most important types of advertising media are:
1. Broadcast media
TV and radio are two of the most important advertising media known as broadcast media.
There are 2 types of broadcast media which can be considered here:
a. Television
Televisions have become a very important tool to advertise for companies. Companies can targets serials, reality shows, sports events, live events etc. which are showcased on TV's and understand the demographics of the people watching the TV. TV channels are anyways classified as news, sports, knowledge, entertainment, movies, kids etc. This helps advertisers to pick and choose the channel. Thus TV is one of the most widely used advertising media in the world. Advertising slots are sold by broadcasting companies and channels based in popularity of TV shows, TRPs etc.
b. Radio
As a tool for marketing and advertising, radio is the most cost effective tool which a customer can have. Since radios have are high penetration and are easy for customers to buy, they are a good tool for advertising. Radios enable companies to reach out to a wide range of customers. Since radio cater to the needs of a particular city or region, it is a good way to advertise based on customers selected from geographic segmentation. Thus, radio is one of the most effective tools as advertising media.
2. Print Media
Advertising media like newspapers, magazines, leaflets, brochures, billboards, signages, direct mail and other print publications come under print media. With the massive reach of print media, it became a popular tool for advertising. Print media caters to a regional audience and is published in different languages.
Hence, print media can cater to a niche audience as compared to broadcast advertising media tools like TV or radio.
3. Online Media
With the consistent growth in internet penetration, companies have started using online media for promotion through advertising. People are connected to the internet through social media, website browsing etc. This gives an opportunity to companies to use this advertising media and cater to customers using online advertising. Online ads, blogs, content advertising, affiliate marketing etc. are all done using online as an advertising media.
4. Outdoor Media
Another popular form of advertising is using outdoor hoardings, billboards, OOH (out of home) media etc. Outdoor advertising it basically useful in capturing those customers who are travelling from one place to another.
This gives an opportunity to companies to use outdoor advertising media to create brand awareness by putting large bill boards and hoardings above buildings, near streets etc. to give maximum visibility.
5. Mobile
With the increasing penetration and usage of mobile phones, mobile advertising has become a critical aspect for every business. Mobile as an advertising media helps to reach out to customer by promoting messages through SMS, social media chat groups etc.
Online and mobile media are also overlapping at times as websites can be accessible both through desktop, laptop and smartphones.
6. Specialty Media
These consist of items that are given away to the consumer on which the name of the company or brand is printed so that more people get to know about it. For example- carry bags, membership cards, free merchandise like caps or bags, etc.
These type of advertising media are more niche and have a narrow reach as compared to the above mentioned media.
7. Other forms
Apart from the ones discussed above, advertising can be done through transit signs i.e. the small posters that we see on trains or buses, electronic billboards, etc.
Some ads can be advertised before the movies in cinema halls as well, where it can reach out to a large group of similar audience in terms of demography or geography.
The various types of advertising media used for advertising are show above in the image
Measuring impact of advertising media
For every type of advertising media, there are different parameters based on which they can be measured:
1. For a print or a TV/radio ad, a phone number or email can be given for customers to contact the company if they want, and through the number of people who have tried to contact, we can measure the impact of the ad.
2. For an internet ad which is placed on different website homepages, if the company or brand has an online website too, the number of clicks which direct the customer to the company website measures the impact of the ad. But if the company does not have a website, contact information can be displayed on the banner as in the case of print ads, and the impact can be measured similarly.
In general, feedback devices like coupons, toll-free numbers, or feedback registers in shops can estimate the impact of advertising media.
Hence, this concludes the definition of Advertising Media along with its overview.
This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.
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