Role of Advertising in Today's World

In the modern world advertising has grown from a mere aid to selling into a powerful force that touches business, the consumer, the media and society as a whole. Markets today are vast and scattered, products are many and often similar, and the buyer must be reached quickly and repeatedly — conditions in which advertising has become almost a necessity rather than a luxury.

The role of advertising in the present-day economy may be seen from several sides.

For business:

• It makes mass marketing possible, carrying a seller's message to millions of buyers who could never be met in person.
• It supports mass production by assuring the large, steady demand on which low-cost, large-scale manufacture depends.
• It launches new products rapidly and builds strong brands that command customer loyalty.
• It strengthens competition, letting new and small firms announce themselves and challenge established names.

For the consumer:

• It informs and educates, telling buyers of the goods, services and improvements available, and helping them compare and choose.
• It raises the standard of living, by spreading knowledge of new and better products.
• It offers, through modern digital media, two-way communication — the buyer can respond, review and interact, not merely receive.

For the media and society:

• Advertising revenue sustains newspapers, magazines, television and free internet services, often keeping their price to the public low.
• Through public-service advertising it spreads socially useful messages — on health, hygiene, literacy, the environment and safety.

The changing face of advertising. The most striking feature of advertising today is the rise of digital and social media. The internet, search engines, social networks and mobile phones now let advertisers reach a chosen audience precisely, address them personally, invite an immediate response, and measure the exact result of every rupee spent — something older mass media could never do. Advertising has thus become more targeted, more interactive and more accountable than ever before. …