Advertising is the art of communication between a company and the intended consumer. Advertisements are the promotional messages sent to the consumer, and paid for by the company seeking to influence said consumers. Advertisements, or ads as we commonly know them, are commercials that intermittently interrupt television programming, pop-ups on select websites, and fliers that come in the mail. The purpose of advertising is the persuade the targeted consumer to act in the interest of the company, by purchasing product, using services, or encourage other forms of trade. When advertising is effective, targeted consumers are excited about the product, and seek out the product in order to try it.

Forms of Advertising.

There are many different forms of advertisements in the marketplace.

• Print Media: One of the oldest forms of advertising. Includes newspaper ads, mailers, flyers, coupons, and even magazines.
• Support Media: Frequently used for local businesses. This type of advertising includes bus banners, billboards, aerial ads, bench seats, and directories.
• Broadcast Media: Commonly known as television and radio commercials. These may include traditional commercial advertisements, but also may include product placement. Consumers have gotten savvy through the years, using DVR to fast forward through commercials. With agreements with entertainment agencies, companies can place their product within programming to get their product back in front of consumers.
• Social Media: One of the most recent types of advertising, social media campaigns are highly effective at getting a company’s message in front of the right customers. A company can target a customer based on a specific set of demographics. These include: Age, Gender, Interests, Physical Location, among others. This helps to ensure that the customers intended to see the message are the ones receiving it. As a bonus, social media campaigns also encourage customer engagement,
• Internet Advertising: Similar to traditional print ads found in newspapers and magazines, internet advertising consists of banners, text ads, and paid search placements.

Online Advertising.

As previously mentioned, online advertising can take multiple forms. Much of what we automatically identify as marketing material in the online arena is that which looks like more traditional forms of print advertising, specifically banner and text advertisements. However, there are other forms of online advertising that are less overt.

• Videos: Companies often pay YouTube vloggers to feature their products in their videos. These are especially popular with children and young adults. For example: the toy industry is taking advantage of “unboxing” videos to encourage the purchase of mystery box purchases.
• Email: Email marketing is not a new concept in online advertising, but new tools are making it more popular than ever. Abandoned cart emails are actively pursuing customers that left items in their carts, as well as informing customers of when products they’ve viewed previously have gone on sale.
• Remarketing: Sites can “remarket” their product or their business to customers who have viewed their site in the past by opting for remarketing ad space, which will show their advertisements to customers who are actively viewing other websites.