Media of Advertising

The advertising media are the channels or vehicles that carry the advertiser's message to the audience. Choosing the right medium — the one that reaches the intended buyers at the least cost per head — is one of the most important decisions in advertising. The main media may be grouped as follows.

A. Print media

• Newspapers. Reach a very large audience quickly, are suited to local as well as national advertising, and are cheap; but a newspaper is read once and thrown away, so the message is short-lived, and printing quality is limited.
• Magazines and periodicals. Reach a selected, interested readership (for example, a women's magazine or a trade journal), give good printing quality and a longer life; but they appear less often and reach fewer people than newspapers.

B. Electronic / broadcast media

• Television. Combines sight, sound and motion, giving a powerful, lifelike demonstration to a huge audience; but it is very costly and the message is fleeting.
• Radio. Reaches a wide audience, including those who cannot read, and is relatively cheap; but it appeals only to the ear and the message is quickly gone.
• Cinema (film) advertising. Short films and slides shown in cinema halls to a captive local audience, combining sight and sound; limited to cinema-goers.

C. Outdoor (mural) media

• Hoardings and billboards at busy public places, posters, wall paintings, neon signs and electric displays. They catch the eye of passers-by and remind repeatedly, but can carry only a short message and reach only those who pass by.
• Transit advertising on and inside buses, trains and railway stations.

D. Direct and other media

• Direct mail — letters, catalogues, leaflets and price lists sent by post to selected persons, allowing a personal, detailed message to a chosen audience.
• Point-of-purchase and window displays at the shop itself.
• Internet and digital media — websites, search engines, social media, e-mail and mobile messages — now a rapidly growing medium that can target chosen audiences precisely, allow two-way response, and measure results, at a relatively low cost. …