Advertising: Meaning

Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor, carried to the public through the mass media. When a company pays a newspaper to print a message about its product, or a television channel to broadcast a commercial, it is advertising. The word comes from the Latin advertere, meaning "to turn towards" — advertising turns the attention of the public towards a product.

The definition contains four essential elements, each worth noting:

• Paid form. Advertising space or time is bought and paid for; this distinguishes it from free publicity, where a favourable mention in the news costs the firm nothing.
• Non-personal. The message is addressed to many people at once through a medium, not delivered face-to-face; there is no direct, personal contact between the advertiser and the audience, as there is in personal selling.
• Identified sponsor. The advertiser is known and openly named; the audience can see who is speaking to them. This separates advertising from propaganda, where the source may be hidden.
• Presentation of ideas, goods or services. Advertising may promote not only products but also services, ideas, institutions and causes (for example, an appeal to save electricity or to vote).

How advertising differs from the other promotional tools:

• Unlike personal selling, advertising is impersonal and reaches large numbers cheaply per head, but it cannot answer an individual buyer's questions or close a sale on the spot.
• Unlike sales promotion, advertising is a continuing effort that builds awareness and a favourable image over time, whereas sales promotion is a short-term push for immediate sales. …