ADVERT 1101 Module 1 - Introduction PDF
ADVERT 1101 Module 1 - Introduction PDF
ADVERT 1101 Module 1 - Introduction PDF
Introduction
You’ve seen thousands, maybe millions of commercial messages, so how would you define
advertising? It may sound silly to ask such an obvious question. But where would you start if
your instructor asked you for a definition of advertising? At its most basic, the purpose of
advertising has always been to sell a product, which can be goods, services, or ideas.
Although there have been major changes in recent years from dying print media to merging
and converging digital forms, the basics of advertising are even more important in turbulent
times. To better understand advertising’s development as a commercial form of
communication, it helps to understand how advertising’s definition and its basic roles have
evolved over the years.
• Identification- Advertising identifies a product and/or the store where it’s sold. In its
earliest years, and this goes back as far as ancient times, advertising focused on identifying a
product and where it was sold. Some of the earliest ads were simply signs with the name or
graphic image of the type of store or product.
The timeline divides the evolution of advertising into five stages, which reflect historical eras
and the changes that lead to different philosophies and styles of advertising. As you read
through this, note how changing environments, in particular media advancements, have
changed the way advertising functions.
The 19th century brought the beginning of what we now recognize as the advertising
industry. Volney Palmer opens the first ad agency in 1848 in Philadelphia. The J. Walter
Thompson agency is formed in 1864, the oldest advertising agency still in existence. P.T.
Barnum brings a Swedish singer to the United States and uses a blitz of newspaper ads,
handbills, and posters, one of the first campaigns. In 1868 the N.W. Ayer agency begins the
commission system for placing ads—advertising professionals initially were agents or
brokers who bought space and time on behalf of the client for which they received a
commission, a percentage of the media bill. The J. Walter Thompson agency invents the
account executive position, a person who acts as a liaison between the client and the
agency.
As advertisers and marketers became more concerned about creating ads that worked,
professionalism in advertising began to take shape. Here, also, is when it became important
to have a definition or a theory of advertising. In the 1880s, advertising was referred to by
advertising legend Albert Lasker as “salesmanship in print driven by a reason why.” Those
two phrases became the model for stating an ad claim and explaining the support behind it.
On the retail side, department store owner John Wanamaker hired John E. Powers in 1880
as the store’s full-time copywriter and Powers crafted an advertising strategy of “ads as
news.” The McCann agency, which began in 1902, also developed an agency philosophy
stated as “truth well told” that emphasized the agency’s role in crafting the ad message.
Printer’s Ink, the advertising industry’s first trade publication, appeared in 1888. In the early
1900s, the J. Walter Thompson agency begins publishing its “Blue Books,” which explained
how advertising works and compiled media data as an industry reference. By the end of the
19th century advertisers began to give their goods brand names, such as Baker’s Chocolate
and Ivory Soap. The purpose of advertising during this period was to create demand, as well
as a visual identity, for these new brands. Inexpensive brand-named products, known as
packed goods, began to fill the shelves of grocers and drug stores. The questionable ethics of
hype and puffery, which is exaggerated promises, came to a head in 1892 when Ladies
Home Journal banned patent medicine advertising. But another aspect of hype was the use
of powerful graphics that dramatized the sales message. In Europe, the visual quality of
Advert 1101 - INTRODUCTION TO ADVERTISING
During and after the Great Depression, Raymond Rubicam emerged as an advertising power
and launched his own agency with John Orr Young, a Lord & Thomas copywriter under the
name of Young and Rubicam. Their work was known for intriguing headlines and fresh,
original approaches to advertising ideas.
Targeting, the idea that messages should be directed at particular groups of prospective
buyers, evolved as media became more complex. Advertisers realized that they could spend
their budgets more efficiently by identifying those most likely to purchase a product, as well
as the best ways to reach them. The scientific era helped media better identify their
audiences. In 1914 the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) was formed to standardize the
definition of paid circulation for magazines and newspapers. Media changes saw print being
challenged by radio advertising in 1922. Radio surpassed print in ad revenue in 1938.
The world of advertising agencies and management of advertising developed rapidly in the
years after World War II. The J. Walter Thompson (JWT) agency, which still exists today, led
the boom in advertising during this period. The agency’s success was due largely to its
creative copy and the management style of the husband-and-wife team of Stanley and Helen
Resor. Stanley developed the concept of account services and expanded the account
executive role into strategy development; Helen developed innovative copywriting
techniques. The Resors also coined the brand name concept as a strategy to associate a
unique identity with a particular product as well as the concept of status appeal to persuade
nonwealthy people to imitate the habits of rich people (www.jwt.com).
Advert 1101 - INTRODUCTION TO ADVERTISING
Television commercials came on the scene in the early 1950s and brought a huge new
revenue stream to the advertising industry. In 1952 the Nielsen rating system for TV
advertising became the primary way to measure the reach of TV commercials.
This period also saw marketing practices, such as product differentiation and market
segmentation incorporated into advertising strategy. The idea of positioning, carving out a
unique spot in people’s minds for the brand, was developed by Al Ries and Jack Trout in
1969.
The creative power of agencies exploded in the 1960s and 1970s, a period marked by the
resurgence of art, inspiration, and intuition. Largely in reaction to the emphasis on research
and science, this revolution was inspired by three creative geniuses: Leo Burnett, David
Ogilvy, and William Bernbach.
Leo Burnett was the leader of what came to be known as the Chicago school of advertising.
He believed in finding the “inherent drama” in every product. He also believed in using
cultural archetypes to create mythical characters who represented American values, such as
the Jolly Green Giant, Tony the Tiger, the Pillsbury Doughboy, and his most famous
campaign character, the Marlboro Man (www.leoburnett.com).
Ogilvy, founder of the Ogilvy & Mather agency, is in some ways a paradox because he
married both the image school of Rubicam and the claim school of Lasker and Hopkins. He
created enduring brands with symbols, such as the Hathaway Man and his mysterious eye
patch for the Hathaway shirt maker, and handled such quality products as Rolls-Royce,
Pepperidge Farm, and Guinness with product-specific and information-rich claims
(www.ogilvy.com).
The Doyle, Dane, and Bernbach (DDB) agency opened in 1949. From the beginning, William
Bernbach—with his acute sense of words, design, and creative concepts—was considered to
be the most innovative advertising creative person of his time. His advertising touched
people—and persuaded them—by focusing on feelings and emotions. He explained, “There
are a lot of great technicians in advertising. However, they forget that advertising is
persuasion, and persuasion is not a science, but an art. Advertising is the art of persuasion.”
Bernbach is known for the understated Volkswagen campaign that ran at a time when car
ads were full of glamour and bombast. The campaign used headlines such as “Think Small”
with accompanying picture of a small VW bug (www.ddb.com).
Starting in the 1970s, the industry-wide focus was on effectiveness. Clients wanted ads that
produced sales, so the emphasis was on research, testing, and measurement. To be
accountable, advertising and other marketing communication agencies recognized that their
work had to prove its value. After the dot.com boom and economic downturn in the 1980s
and 1990s, this emphasis on accountability became even more important, and advertisers
demanded proof that their advertising was truly effective in accomplishing its objectives as
stated in the strategy.
and the creation of the Federal Trade Commission in 1914, it wasn’t until 1971 that the
National Advertising Review Board was created to monitor questions of taste and social
responsibility. Charges of using sweatshops in low-wage countries and an apparent disregard
for the environment concerned critics such as Naomi Klein, who wrote the best-selling book
No Logo and Marc Gobe who wrote Citizen Brands. One highly visible campaign that
demonstrates this commitment is the “Truth” campaign developed by Crispin Porter
Bogusky along with Arnold Worldwide to provide informative documentary-style print ads
and television commercials that inform youth about the dangers of smoking without
preaching to them. As the digital era brought nearly instantaneous means of communication,
spreading word of mouth among a social network of consumers, companies became even
more concerned about their practices and reputation. The recession that began in December
2007 and subsequent headlines about bad business practices, such as the Bernard Madoff
“Ponzi” scheme, made consumers even more concerned about business ethics. We also
characterize this as the era when integrated marketing communication became important.
Integrated marketing communication (IMC) is another technique that managers began to
adopt in the 1980s as a way to better coordinate their brand communication. Integration
and consistency makes marketing communication more efficient and thus more financially
accountable.
Internet Advertising
With the Internet, ads can be anywhere. Natalie Zmuda describes how Macy’s,
McDonald’s, and other companies are now placing advertisements on our online
bank accounts. The new company Cardlytics links scores of banks with advertisers
who want to plant special offers and advertisements on the pages of online bank
statements. Sometimes these messages are so carefully targeted that you’ll receive
an ad from a restaurant where you charged your lunch last week. There are pros and
cons to an advertising delivery channel like this one. Its proponents tout the lack of
waste in targeting people who are already consumers because they are much more
likely than others to respond to the advertising. But consumer groups worry about
companies having access to their purchases. Is this really an invasion of privacy?
garage sales, look up recipes, play games, link to Twitter, and do just about every
other activity one can imagine. So they provide fertile ground for advertisers. Rita
Chang provides examples of what kinds of smartphone applications are working for
advertisers and kinds that haven’t been particularly successful. In the success list are
Audi’s driving game app and Dunkin’ Donuts’ app for both ordering and telling others
that you’re at one of their shops. In the not-so-successful list are Charmin’s app for
identifying public restrooms close by, and Pedigree dog food’s program to record
your dog’s bark. Apps for both iPhones and smartphones with other operating
systems are likely to become important players in many advertising plans.
Another important category includes tablets of all sizes and capability. Magazine
publishers are excited about the opportunity to offer rich content (including color,
video, and interactivity) to their readers. Similarly, advertisers are interested in how
this rich content can increase consumer engagement with products and services.
Social Networks
With the rapid growth of Facebook (an estimated 25 million users in the United
States alone), the opportunity to place advertising in this huge social network, as
well as the many other highly trafficked sites, is a central focus for both advertisers
and site owners.
Over the years, identification, information, and persuasion have been the basic
elements of marketing communication and the focus of advertising. So how do we
define it now realizing that advertising is dynamic and constantly changing to meet
the demands of society and the marketplace? We can summarize a modern view of
advertising with the definition:
WHY ADVERTISING?
Economic and Societal Roles Advertising flourishes in societies that enjoy economic
abundance, in which supply exceeds demand. In these societies, advertising extends
beyond a primarily informational role to create a demand for a particular brand.
In this brief review of how advertising developed over some 300 years, a number of
key concepts were introduced all of which will be discussed in more detail in the
chapters that follow. But let’s summarize these concepts in terms of a simple set of
key components that describe the practice of advertising: strategy, message, media,
and evaluation :
• Message - The concept behind a message and how that message is expressed is
based on research and consumer insights with an emphasis on creativity and artistry.
• Media - Various media have been used by advertisers over the centuries including
print (handbills, newspapers, magazines), outdoor (signs and posters), broadcast
(radio and television), and now digital media. Targeting ads to prospective buyers is
done by matching their profiles to media audiences. Advertising agency
compensation was originally based on the cost of buying time or space in the media.
This section briefly identified how various jobs and professional concepts emerged
over time. Let’s now put the agency world under a microscope and look deeper at
the structure of the industry.
The Advertiser - Advertising begins with the advertiser, which is the company
that sponsors the advertising about its business. The advertiser is the number
one key player. Management of this function usually lies with the marketing
department but in smaller companies, such as Urban Decay Cosmetics, the
advertising decisions may lie with the owner, founder, or partners in the
business. Most advertisers have a marketing team that initiates the advertising
effort by identifying a marketing problem advertising can solve.
As the client, the advertiser is responsible for monitoring the work and paying
the agency for its work on the account. That use of the word account is the
reason agency people refer to the advertiser as the account and the agency
person in charge of that advertiser’s business as the account manager. The
marketing team makes the final decisions about strategy including the target
audience and the size of the advertising budget. This team approves the
advertising or marketing communication plan, which contains details outlining
the message and media strategies.
Big companies may have hundreds of agencies working for them, although they
normally have an agency-of-record (AOR) that does most of their business and
may even manage or coordinate the work of other agencies.
The Agency - The second player is the advertising agency (or other types of
marketing communication agencies) that creates, produces, and distributes the
messages. The working arrangement between advertiser and agency is known as
the agency–client partnership. An advertiser uses an outside agency because it
believes the agency will be more efficient in creating advertising messages than
the advertiser would be on its own. Successful agencies typically have strategic
and creative expertise, media knowledge, workforce talent, and the ability to
negotiate good deals for clients. The advertising professionals working for the
agency are experts in their areas of specialization and passionate about their
work. Not all advertising professionals work in agencies. Large advertisers, either
companies or organizations, manage the advertising process either by setting up
an advertising department (sometimes called marketing services) that oversees
the work of agencies or by setting up their own in-house agency. Tasks
performed by the company’s marketing services department include the
following: select the agencies; coordinate activities with vendors, such as media,
Advert 1101 - INTRODUCTION TO ADVERTISING
production, and photography; make sure the work gets done as scheduled; and
determine whether the work has achieved prescribed objectives.
The Media - The third player in the advertising world is the media. The
emergence of mass media has been a central factor in the development of
advertising because mass media offers a way to reach a widespread audience. In
traditional advertising, the term media refers to all of the channels of
communication that carry the message from the advertiser to the audience and
from consumers back to companies. We refer to these media as channels
because they deliver messages, but they are also companies, such as your local
newspaper or radio station. Media vehicles are the specific programs, such as 60
Minutes or The Simpsons, or magazines—The New York Times, Advertising Age,
Woman’s Day. Note that media is plural when it refers to various channels, but
singular—medium—when it refers to only one form, such as newspapers. Each
medium (newspaper, radio or TV station, billboard company, etc.) has a
department that is responsible for selling ad space or time. These departments
specialize in assisting advertisers in comparing the effectiveness of various
media as they try to select the best mix of media to use. Many media
organizations will assist advertisers in the design and production of
advertisements. That’s particularly true for local advertisers using local media,
such as a retailer preparing an advertisement for the local newspaper. The
primary advantage of advertising’s use of mass media is that the costs to buy
time in broadcast media, space in print media, and time and space in digital
media are spread over the tremendous number of people that these media
reach. For example, $3 million may sound like a lot of money for one Super Bowl
ad, but when you consider that the advertisers are reaching more than 100
million people, the cost is not so extreme. One of the big advantages of
mass-media advertising is that it can reach a lot of people with a single message
in a very cost-efficient form.
There isn’t just one kind of advertising. In fact, advertising is a large and varied
industry. Different types of advertising have different roles. Considering all the
different advertising situations, we can identify seven major types of advertising: