Advertisement Meaning, Definition, Features and 5Ms

Table of Contents:-

• Advertisement Meaning
• Advertisement Definition
• Definition of Advertisement
• Features of Advertising
• Types of Advertisement
• 5Ms of Advertising

Advertisement Meaning

A commercial, advert, or ad film serves as another name for an advertisement. The term ‘advertising’ originates from the Latin word ‘advertere’ which means ‘to turn the attention. It represents a division of television programming that an organization generates and provides funding for. An advertisement’s purpose is to convey a message to people, usually aimed at promoting a product or service.

Advertisement revenue plays an important role in financing the operations of the majority of privately owned television networks. Every advertising piece captivates the attention of readers, viewers, onlookers, or listeners, directing their focus towards a specific product, service, or idea. Thus, one can state that anything redirecting focus to a product, service, or concept can be termed advertising.

Advertisement Definition

According to the American Marketing Association, “Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor”,

According to Wheeler, “Advertising is any form of paid non-personal presentation of ideas, goods or services to induce people to buy”.

Advertisements are an essential element of marketing, functioning as public announcements designed to educate and motivate individuals. Their objective is to change the thinking pattern or consumer types of buying behaviour so that an individual is persuaded to take the action desired by the advertiser. The term for an advertisement broadcast on radio or television is a commercial. Advertisements of this sort have been used to promote a wide variety of goods, services and ideas since the dawn of television.

Definition of Advertisement

An advertisement serves as a persuasive communication, aiming to influence public opinion by enticing individuals to embrace what it presents. It is a paid announcement crafted to boost the sale of a product or service, advocate an idea, or achieve another desired effect for the advertiser. The message conveyed is not coercive but rather an invitation for everyone to recognize, comprehend, and embrace the use of goods, services, and ideas.

The advertiser compensates the chosen medium (such as press, radio, television, etc.) to disseminate the message. The advertiser carefully selects the platform, whether a particular newspaper, a combination of newspapers, or an issue of a magazine, to publish their message. In the case of TV or radio, the advertiser has the freedom to determine the timing of the broadcast, albeit at a substantial cost. In this context, newspapers, if not other media, owe their existence to advertisers.

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Features of Advertising

Below is the list of the features of advertising:

1. Informative in Action
2. Mass-Communication Process
3. Paid-For
4. Persuasive Act
5. Competitive Act
6. Non-personal Presentation
7. Identified Sponsor

Features of advertising is explained as follows:

1) Informative in Action

Every advertisement serves as a valuable source of information to the listeners, readers viewers and onlookers. An advertisement announces the arrival of a new product, talks about its special features and explains the best use of the product, thus, helping the hesitant and undecided prospect to decide whether to buy or not to buy.

2) Mass-Communication Process

Every piece of advertising guarantees the satisfaction of human wants and wants from needs and desires. Advertisers, manufacturers and dealers use this mass media to communicate the message to the target audience. Communication costs and hence, it is speedy and as pervasive as it is purely commercial.

3) Paid-For

Advertising, as an activity, is not possible free of cost. If an advertisement remains unpaid, it is classified as publicity, propaganda, or a rumour, and the individual’s potential spending may vary. Advertising as an act of persuasion is deliberate and planned and the sender of the message has to foot the bill. Whatever may be the media each medium and media vehicle costs the advertiser. By its very nature, it is a paid form of presentation of an idea, product or service in an indirect way.

4) Persuasive Act

Persion is the power of advertising It is its stock or strength. Advertising is by very nature, persuasive Advertising in any form contains persuasion because the major function of adver copy and the artwork is to persuade the reader or the listener or the viewer. The A-I-D-A formula represents a form of the logical persuasion process. That is, an advertisement draws Attention, creates Interest, and converts interest into desire and desire into Action. Thus, advertising is the greatest art of persuasion.

5) Competitive Act

In today’s world of business, competition is keen, acute and cut-throat In each line of activity, there are many, but it is natural that they want to push their products and services to the maximum extent with profit to them and customer satisfaction. Competition is of two types namely, price and quality. In both scenarios, it is necessary to communicate the alteration in quality standards and pricing to the target audience.

6) Non-personal Presentation

Advertising is an impersonal attempt to present a message regarding a product, a service or an idea. That is, the advertiser makes use of convenient and viable media and media vehicles to pass on his ‘ad’ message to the target audience or target market. That’s why it earns the name of salesmanship in print. In other words, the manufacturer and consumers are not in direct or personal contact with one another.

7) Identified Sponsor

A dealer or marketer serves as the sponsor for every advertisement, representing manufacturers. That is, on each product package or advertisement copy in any form, one comes to know about the name of the advertiser be it the manufacturer or the marketer through the name, brand or logo.

Types of Advertisement

How many types of advertisements can you find in newspapers and magazines? Is there any difference between those published in newspapers and those in magazines? One obvious distinction is that magazine advertisements are generally in colour, making them more attractive. They are often illustrated as well. Due to the superior quality of magazine paper, these advertisements appear glossy and bold, with most being large-sized, covering entire pages.

Unless it’s a Sunday edition with several pages, newspaper advertisements typically occupy the second page. They are set in small print and lack attractiveness or aesthetics. These ads focus on practical motives, such as job announcements, houses for rent, motor vehicles for sale, poultry and farming, and other aspects of our day-to-day lives. Only highly motivated readers would go through them with interest and enthusiasm, as their primary purpose is to provide information about available opportunities.

Another type of newspaper advertisement is presented in bold letters arranged in a box, making it stand out on the page. It is more prominent than other content if there are fewer similar-sized boxes. However, it also costs more than routine 14-word small-type ads on the second page. Some ads are even more significant, occupying half of a newspaper page.

Let’s categorize advertisements based on the messages they convey:

i) Product advertisements

Intended to present goods and products, highlight their qualities, and promote their sale. The product may be a soft drink, soap, or toothpaste. The message is: “Buy our product. It is the best in the market.”

ii) Non-commercial or ‘Idea’ advertisements

Government bodies, charitable institutions, and other voluntary organizations often publish advertisements to acquaint people with a ’cause’ or an ‘idea.’ They wish to inform and educate the public and sometimes raise donations.

iii) Classified advertisements

These are ‘Want’ newspaper ads, short statements set in tiny type. Despite appearing dull, they are highly sought after, with the message being: “Get in touch with me for what you want.”

iv) Institutional advertisements

The objective of institutional advertisement is not to introduce or sell a particular product but to make the goodwill of the manufacturing company. It aims to acquaint the public with the institution’s name, what it does, and how its services are superior. The general message is: “Know us and how good and efficient we are.”

Advertising thrives most in profit-oriented and market-free societies, where the state does not solely control the production and distribution of goods and services but is also open to private enterprise. Advertising promotes competition among producers, raises consumer awareness, and accelerates product distribution and consumption, thus helping to raise the general standard of living.

5Ms of Advertising

In developing an ad program, marketing managers must always start by identifying the target market and buyers’ motives. Then they can make the five major decisions in developing an advertising program setting advertising objectives, establishing the advertising budget, choosing and creating the advertising message, selecting and scheduling the advertising media, and finally evaluating the advertising results. The 5Ms of advertising, encompassing mission, money, message, media, and measurement, define the five stages in crafting an ad programme.

Thus, the development of advertising programmes consists of five steps which are as follows:

1. Mission Setting and Objectives
2. Money Establishing Ad Budgets
3. Message – Choosing and Designing Message
4. Media – Planning, Selecting and Scheduling Media
5. Measure – Evaluation and Control of Advertising

1) Mission Setting and objectives

This refers to the purpose/objective behind advertising. The objectives behind advertising are varied. They include sales promotion, information and guidance to consumers, developing brand loyalty, market goodwill, facing market competition effectively, making the products popular/successful and introducing a new product.

The determination of the mission stands as a foundational choice, shaping subsequent decisions to align with the established advertising purpose. For consumer products like chocolate, toothpaste, and soap, the mission/objective includes facing market competition, sales promotion and making the product popular in the market.

Establishing the advertising objective is contingent upon the specifics of the target market and the positioning laid out in the organization’s marketing strategy. The objective of the advertising goal is the desired result of the communication process between the advertiser and recipient within a given timeframe. According to the advertiser’s needs and aims the objectives can be classified into cognitive, emotional, and conative advertising goals.

2) Money Establishing Ad Budgets

This refers to the finance provided for advertising purposes (advertising budget). It means the budget allocated by a company for advertising purposes. The money provided is a limiting factor as the effectiveness of advertising, media used, coverage of advertising, etc., are related to the funds provided for advertising purposes. Advertising is costly for companies as it requires substantial financial resources in the form of crores of rupees. Advertising should be always within the limits of the funds provided.

Adjustments to advertising packages should align with the allocated budget for advertising. It’s important to observe that consumer products such as toothpaste or chocolate face intense competition, with numerous substitutes readily accessible in the market. Considerable advertising on TV, radio, newspapers, etc., is necessary. These media are costly. The manufacturing/marketing company will have to provide huge money for advertising purposes. Establishing the budget for advertising is generally determined by the product life cycle, the existing consumer base and market share, competition, buying frequency, and the substitutability of the offer. The budget varies widely with the media and technology used.

3) Message – Choosing and Designing Message

This is provided through the text of the advertisement. Written words, pictures, slogans, and comparable elements collectively express the message. The message is for the guidance, information, and motivation of prospective buyers. Attractive and meaningful messages give positive results and therefore advertising becomes result-oriented.

Companies employ the skills of creative writers, artists, and more to craft appealing messages for consumers. In the field of advertising, the advertiser has to decide the message to be delivered, the media to be used to communicate the message, the extent of creativity, the specific customer group chosen to deliver the message, etc. The message is also related to the decisions taken as regards the mission and money provided for advertising.

Designing or developing the advertising message and positioning the advertisement is a creative and analytical task. By the use of market research, advertisers can learn about how, when, and where their target audience will most likely perceive their message. Based on this knowledge they decide the position, frequency and other aspects of the advertising message.

The actual creation of the message, that is to say, the design, logo, layout, etc., is the creative part of the development process. The latter is important for the effectiveness of advertisements. The effectiveness of ads depends on their messaging and presentation. According to McLuhan’s theory, the medium has a profound impact on message perception. The use of new technologies to engage potential customers becomes particularly intriguing.

4) Media – Planning, Selecting and Scheduling Media

The advertiser has to make a decision about the media to be used for advertising purposes, Some of the major advertising media that are more popular amongst marketers are newspaper media, television media, radio media, billboards, posters, direct mail media, internet media, etc.

Different media vary in terms of cost, coverage, effectiveness, and so on. The selection of media depends on the budget provided, products to be advertised, features of prospective buyers, and so on. Wrong decisions on media may make advertising ineffective and money spent will be wasted. This suggests that media should be selected properly and that decision in this regard is critical.

For advertising popular and extensively used consumer items like chocolate, the media should be selected properly. T.V. advertising particularly a cartoon channel, advertising in children’s books or newspaper supplements for children, advertising on radio programmes for children, etc.

Media types vary in aspects such as reach (percentage of the target market exposed to the medium), frequency (e.g., frequency of message display), or impact (e.g., the persuasiveness of the medium). In principle, advertisers try to find the best balance between reach, frequency, and impact while simultaneously considering the associated costs.

5) Measure – Evaluation and Control of Advertising

This is the final phase in developing ad programmes. It relates to the effectiveness of advertising. An advertiser would like to evaluate an advertisement to judge its effectiveness. If an advertisement is not effective/purposeful, it will be modified or withdrawn. This is essential to avoid expenditure on the advertisement which is not effective or is not likely to give positive results. An advertiser has to measure the effectiveness of his advertisement programme/campaign and make suitable decisions.

This decision making as regards the effectiveness of advertising is equally essential. Such testing facilitates the introduction of suitable remedial measures if required. For measuring the effectiveness of chocolate advertising, the post-advertising sale is one major consideration. Demand creation in new market segments or new age groups is another consideration for the measurement of advertising effectiveness. Even the success of a sales promotion programme is useful for measuring advertising effectiveness.