Advertising Effectiveness

Advertising is a type of communication whereby people promote or persuade customers to utilize

their services.
The word advertising originates from a Latin word advertise, which means to turn to. The dictionary
meaning of the term is to give public notice or to announce publicly.

Advertising may be defined as the process of buying sponsor-identified media space or time in order
to promote a product or an idea.

Advertising Effectiveness

When a child writes the examination papers, he has to see the result come what it may be, so that he
comes to know where he is wrong and where he should pay more attendance. This will help him work
better in future.

This is exactly the case of the advertisement. The work is not complete if the effectiveness of
advertise is not measured. This is the only way to know how the advertisement is performing, is it
reaching the targets and is the goal achieved.

Advertising effectiveness pertains to how well a company's advertising accomplishes the intended.

It is not at all possible to measure advertisement effectiveness accurately as there are many factors
like making a brand image, increasing the sales, keeping people informed about the product,
introducing new product, etc, which affect the effectiveness of an advertisement.

We all know that there are some companies who advertise at very low level but still their products are
a hit and some companies indulge in very heavy advertisements but they dont get desirable results.
But then, there are some traditional and modern tools to measure most of the effectiveness of an
advertisement through which the advertiser can or may get more and more information about how
their ads and product are performing in the market. According to Philip Kotler and Armstrong, the
Gurus Of Marketing, there are two most popular areas which need to be measured for knowing the
effectiveness of advertisement and they are:

Communication Effect

Sales Effect

Selection of Advertising Media for a Company (14 Factors)

1. Objectives of Firm:

Companys general and advertising objectives are the prime considerations in media selection. Those

media capable to meet companys expectations are likely to be selected. Advertising objectives may

be to inform, remind, convince, create prestige, or to increase sales and profits. Different media have

varying capacity to meet these objectives.

2. Costs Media and Companys Financial Position:

Media selection decision is highly influenced by media costs and firms ability to pay. Company has

to pay for buying space or time and preparing advertising copy fit for the media to be selected. TV,

radio, films are costly in terms of buying time and preparing advertising copy. Print media are

relatively cheaper in both space and preparation of advertising message. Some outdoor media are
quite low in cost. As per media costs and companys financial capacity, the appropriate media should

be selected.

3. Reach or Number of People Exposed to the Message:

It is an important criterion to choose among ad media. Reach means the number of different people

exposed to a particular medium at least once during a specified time period. Mass media are capable

to reach millions of people by just one exposure. Television has more exposure capacity compared to

outdoor media in a particular time.

Local media can expose the message to limited persons. In the same way, frequency (the number of

times within a specified time period the average person exposed to the message), and impact (the

impact created on audience by an exposure through given medium) are also key criteria to choose

among advertising media. Reach, frequency, and impact are important variables that determine cost-

effectiveness of various media.

4. Companys Advertising Policy and Approach:

Companys advertising policy and approach determine which of the media should be selected. For

example, if companys policy is not to spend more money for advertisement and to offer the product

at a low price, it may go for cheaper media.

5. Type of Buyers:

People to be influenced should be taken into account while selecting the media. Buyers can be

classified into various classes as discussed in market segmentation. Each medium has its special

viewers, readers, or audience. For the firm, it is important to know whether the target groups can be

exposed by the particular medium.

Television is the most common medium, but can be made more particular by selecting the special

programme. Magazines are capable to appeal particular sex, age groups, or professionals. Daily

newspapers are again very general in nature.

6. Condition under which Customers are Influenced:

Readers/viewers mood and interest determine receptivity of message. Television is the best-fit

medium to associate advertising message when people are watching or enjoying related programmes.

For example, advertising TVS Victor motorbike on television during the live telecast of the TVS Cup

One-day Series.
However, it is difficult to determine mood or interest of readers for daily newspapers. It is relatively

easy to determine mood of people during a specific programme in radio or television. In case of

outdoors media, the place is very important to judge mood of people. For example, hoardings, posters,

or banner near gardens or picnic places are more likely to be attracted.

7. Circulation/Coverage:

The area covered by (or number of people exposed to) the medium is an important criterion. Some

media are capable to cover the globe while some can cover only the limited locality. For example, the

local newspapers cover limited areas, the national newspapers like The Time of India and The

Economic Times cover the whole nation.

Similarly, certain magazines have national and international circulation. And, the same is true with

audio-visual and outdoor media. As per geographical concentration of customers, the suitable media

should be selected.

8. Repetition or Frequency:

Repetition or frequency implies the number of times within specific time period an average person is

exposed to the message by specific medium. Most of the outdoor media hold the message for

relatively long time. Magazines or periodicals publish monthly or quarterly; mostly they publish

advertisements only in a particular edition.

The more is the repetition of advertising message, the more is the effect of the medium on people.

Naturally, advertisement appears frequently is more likely to read or attend than if it appears only

once. However, repetition in case of newspapers, TV, radio, etc., depends on companys ability to pay.

9. Credibility and Image of Media:

In case of newspapers and magazines, the factor is critical. Naturally, advertising message appears in

the reputed newspapers or magazines carry heavy impression and effect than substandard media.

People dont trust the appeal published in the lower standard media. Prestige of media becomes the

prestige of advertiser. Firms opt for credible or prestigious media to carry the advertising message.

10. Past Experience:

Companys own past experience may be instrumental to decide on advertising media. For example, if

company has satisfactory experience of using a particular medium, there are more chances to use the

same medium and vice versa.

11. Experience of other Companies:

Experience of other companies is one of the important considerations in media selection. Company

may try to know what other companies say about applicability and usefulness of various media. Views

of other companies must be followed with care and caution.

12. Expert Opinion:

Marketing experts or consultants who work on professional basis can be consulted to suggest an

appropriate medium to carry the message. These experts, on the basis of analysis of market situations

in relation to products to be advertised, can recommend the suitable media. Since they have

experience and expertise in the field, they are in better position to judge the suitability of each of the

media in relation to product and companys financial position. They charge fees for their consultancy

services.

13. Type of Advertising Message:

Each advertising message needs specific advertising vehicle. If a message is simple, print media are

sufficient. If a message is complicated, and the company wants to demonstrate and explain,

audiovisual media suit the needs.

14. Others:

Apart from above mentioned factors, there are certain factors that affect media selection decision.

They are listed as under:

a. Effectiveness of Media

b. Availability of Media

c. Government Rules and Regulations

d. Time and Place

e. Type of Products, etc.

Media selection is a crucial decision. It determines the cost-effectiveness of media. Failure of

advertising programme, in many cases, is attributed to use of inappropriate media. Advertiser should

consider all these factors carefully and should select the most favoured or suitable media.