What is an advertisement?
Understanding What is the Purpose of Advertising? makes it clear why advertisements are one of the simplest and most powerful tools for getting people to notice your brand. They help businesses meet their goals and bring in more money by reaching the right audience at the right time.
These days, you can find ads just about everywhere. Turn on your TV, and you’ll see commercials between shows. Listen to the radio during your commute, and you’ll hear sponsored messages. Scroll through Instagram or Facebook, and ads pop up in your feed. Even when you’re driving down the highway, billboards catch your eye.
Ads show up in newspapers and magazines, on websites you visit, in your email inbox, and even in your mailbox at home. When you search for something on Google, the first few results are often paid advertisements. Podcasts have sponsor reads, and streaming services are starting to include ads, too. The trick is figuring out where your customers actually spend their time and meeting them there. Different platforms work better for different audiences. You can also show your company’s ads on outdoor screens and on the digital vending machine screens
What Is the Purpose of Advertisements?
1. Increase brand awareness
The brand awareness stage means that to inform the potential of the brand to the customers. These advertisements are introducing the brand for specific products to the audience.
2. Generate website traffic
Another common way marketers use advertising is to bring people to a company’s website. At this stage, the goal is to encourage potential customers to click on an ad and visit a specific page. Once they arrive, the page usually shares helpful information, answers questions, or explains more about the company and its products. To achieve this, marketers often use pay-per-click ads and social media ads because they quickly reach the right audience and guide them straight to the website.
3. Boost online engagement
Many marketers use advertising to determine how much people interact with a brand online. Engagement means things like likes, comments, shares, clicks, and messages on social media or other digital content. The more people watch the ads of your brand, the easier it is for them to remember products and services.
4. Increase sales
Investing in advertisements also helps companies increase sales, revenue and their return on investment (ROI). One of the main goals behind advertisements is to convince or persuade an audience to take a specific action.
What is the Nature of All Advertisements?
1. Informative Advertising
Creates awareness of brands, products, services, and ideas. It announces new products and programs, and can educate people about the attributes and benefits of both new and established products.
2. Persuasive Advertising
Tries to convince customers that a company’s services or products are the best, and it works to alter perceptions and enhance the image of a company or product. Its goal is to influence consumers to take action and switch brands, try a new product, or remain loyal to a current brand.
3. Reminder Advertising
Reminds people about the need for a product or service, as well as the features and benefits it will provide when purchased promptly.
Techniques to create effective advertisements
Here are some additional tips to help you develop effective advertisements:
- Understanding what is the purpose of advertising? starts with knowing who you want to reach. Research your ideal customers—their age, location, interests, and habits to create ads that truly connect with them.
- Ask your audience for feedback through surveys, quick online polls, or by reading their reviews. This gives you a clearer idea of what matters to them and what types of ads catch their interest.
- Keep an eye on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as clicks, views, and overall engagement. These numbers help you see which ads are working well and guide you in improving future campaigns.
- Pick your advertising platforms carefully. Learn where your audience spends most of their time and create ads specifically for those channels to boost visibility and strengthen brand awareness.
Set your objectives
Local advertising
Advertising locally can benefit any business, especially small businesses and sole traders. Examples of local advertising include:
- leaflet drops
- supermarket boards, postcards in shop windows
- advertising space rented at railway stations, bus stops or on buses, roundabout islands, leisure centres or doctors’ surgeries
- local organisations’ newsletters, programmes and magazines
- a sign outside your business premises
- local and regional newspapers, magazines and directories
Internet/online directories
Advertising on the internet can be cost-effective and gives national and international coverage that you may otherwise be unable to afford. Examples of internet advertising include:
- Advertising on your own website – ensure your website is up to date, relevant and geared towards increasing sales. Make it easy for your customers to find their way around their website, and order from and contact you.
- Advertising your business on other websites – use banner and pop-up advertising to promote your business and link through to your own website.
- getting into an online directory – you get set up entries with directories.
Trade and technical press
If your business sells to other businesses, advertisements in these publications can be a useful way of gaining sales, product enquiries, higher profile, trade partnerships and even potential investors.
Radio
Most people listen to the radio for music or comment – often while doing other things – and so your advert will rely on repetition to have any effect. You could consider sponsoring certain features, such as the weather or travel news to make your adverts stand out.
Cinema
Local cinema advertising offers a captive audience with a long dwell time for your advertisements.
Outdoor advertising
Outdoor advertising includes every outdoor medium from static billboards to moving adverts, eg on buses. You may need planning permission for some types of outdoor advertising, ie most posters and some types of signs.
National papers, magazines and TV
These can be costly but can help you reach a wide audience. You should get guidance on readership and audience figures before deciding to advertise nationally.
Advertising on Vending Media
Some vending machines are put in different locations which have digital screens for advertising. You can run your company ads on the digital vending screens.
What is the best form of advertising?
The best form of advertising really depends on where your audience is most active. Now a days, digital ads, especially on social media and search engines, tend to work really well because they reach people directly. Still, combining both online and offline ads usually gives the strongest results.
