Q.What are the main media of advertising? What factors govern the choice of a suitable medium?

Advertising media are the channels that carry the message to the audience — print, broadcast, outdoor, direct and digital — and the advertiser chooses among them by weighing product, audience, cost and message. …

The advertising media are the vehicles that carry the advertiser's message to the audience.

A. Print media — newspapers (large, quick, cheap reach, but short-lived and poor print quality) and magazines/periodicals (a selected, interested readership, good print quality and longer life, but fewer readers and less frequent).

B. Broadcast/electronic media — television (sight, sound and motion; huge audience; very costly, message fleeting), radio (wide reach including non-readers, cheap, but appeals only to the ear) and cinema (sight and sound to a captive local audience).

C. Outdoor (mural) media — hoardings, billboards, posters, wall paintings, neon signs and transit advertising on buses and trains; they catch the eye and remind repeatedly but carry only a short message.

D. Direct and other media — direct mail (letters, catalogues and leaflets to selected persons), point-of-purchase displays, and fast-growing internet/digital media (websites, search engines, social media, e-mail, mobile) that target audiences precisely, allow two-way response and measure results at low cost.

Factors governing the choice of medium:

• The nature of the product (a technical product may need a magazine or direct mail; a mass consumer good, television or newspapers).
• The audience to be reached — its size, location and habits.
• The cost of the medium and the firm's budget. …

Two errors are common: listing media without their merits and limitations, and forgetting the factors that govern media choice. The question has two part …