Module 4 : The Purpose of Adverts

4.1 Introduction

This module includes information
about the purpose of advertising and the reason that it is used.
The module will also outline the effects of advertising and the reaction that
it gets for businesses. You will also learn about the history of advertising, which
can give you a solid understanding of how and why we do things the way we do
them today in the advertising field.

4.2 A Little History of Advertising

At a basic level, advertisements are
thought to be a form of entertainment and art.
The main reason that advertising came into being was to educate people and
provide them with information about businesses and products. Advertisements
date back to the Egyptian era when the people of the time used to promote their
businesses using wall posters and carvings. Advertisements were also found from
the ruins of Pompeii. In this case, they were mostly used to promote political
messages.



It was not until the 18th century that advertisements started to take a
more familiar form. People started to publish ads in weekly newspapers, which
were mostly used to promote books in England. It was in the 19th century that
ads began to include slogans, images, and phrases.

The most famous advertisement maker in the 19th century was Thomas J.
Barratt, and he is known as the Father of Modern Advertising, by many.

Thomas J. Barratt's adverts were different
to the ones that were previously made by others. He added slogans, images,
and interesting phrases to target the audience, which is more in line with what
we know of today. Barratt was the one who introduced the world to the idea of
brand image and the adverts that he made clearly presented a brand's image. He
also believed that just like trends and fashion, adverts also needed to change
over time...and they did. When industrialisation expanded in the 20th
century, so did adverts.

Companies realised the importance of advertisements to sell their
products/services, which resulted in increased advertising budget. It was then
that advertisers began to use subliminal methods to evoke people to buy
products. Sigmund Freud and Edward Bernays were the first ones to make use of
the subliminal theory for advertising, which is the reason they are known as
the founders of the modern advertisement. Commercial advertisement began to play
on television in the 1950s and from there they expanded to every possible form
of media.



Today, we have digital media, which has given a huge shift in advertising.
Advertisers no longer need to wait for the audience to watch their ads on
television or billboards when they can simply find them on every social network
or website they visit. The introduction of mobile phones and devices has also
created an exciting dimension for advertisers who can reach their customers
anywhere they like, and in some cases, has changed advertising as we know it.

4.3 What Does Advertising Really Do for Modern Businesses?

The simplest
answer to the question above would be that adverts are used to sell a
product/service.

Advertisements are used to educate the audience about a particular product,
service, or idea. When a manufacturer makes a product, they want to sell it to
earn money. If no one knows the product, however, they will not buy it. If a
new product is not being advertised, no one will know anything about it, its
uses, and features, and it will be left on the shelf to gather dust. Think
about this...when we go to the supermarket for groceries, we quickly grab the
products that we already recognise from advertisements, right? Companies know
this, and use this reason to advertise.



How do adverts help educate the audience of a product or service? These adverts
tell the audience about the features and its uses, which is a way to reach the
target audience and make them want to purchase. Adverts also help teach the
audience to use a product in the right way.

Adverts Communicate a Message or
Piece of Information

Advertising is also a means of communicating information to the audience. There
are new products and services being introduced every day and to tell the
audience about these items, manufacturers use advertising. With the help of
advertising, people know what products and services are available in the
market.



Manufacturers also want their audience to become accustomed to their products,
which is another reason to advertise. If there is a change or update to a
product, businesses also share this information through advertising.
Advertisers also share the message that their product or service can solve a
problem or offer a previously unknown solution. Advertisers also use adverts to
share information about the features of a product.

Adverts Spread Awareness

Whenever a company manufactures a product or service, it wants the audience to
learn about it. Without anyone knowing about the product/service, it is
impossible to make sales. That is the reason companies invest in advertising.
With the help of advertisements, consumers become aware of products that are
available in stores and the market. Awareness through advertisement also helps
build preference for a particular product over its competitors. The success of
advertisements has a great impact on a company's sales.



Though it is true that when consumers see a particular product's adverts, they
are more likely to choose it as their next purchase, it is still extremely
important to invest more money in advertising to keep the product in the minds
of the consumers.

Adverts Build Brand Image

Advertisements are a verbal or visual representation of a company's message.
These messages are often used to create goodwill for the company. In many
adverts, many companies portray that they care about their customers in order
to create a positive brand image. Some companies also depict that they are
fulfilling their social responsibilities by helping the society. This technique
makes the audience believe that the company is honest and believes in giving
back to the society. The use of advertisements to create a positive brand image
helps create an everlasting impression, which also gives the company an edge
over its competitors.

Adverts Create an Identity for a
Product/Service

Advertisements are also used to create an identity or image for a product or
service. With the help of adverts, brands promote the features and benefits of
their products/services, trying to impress the audience. For instance, adverts
for four wheelers often represent a fierce and powerful scenario. The reason
that advertisers do that is to create a personality and image of the product to
make it look realistic to the audience. Advertisers also make use of other
tactics to create a good image of the brand and the product. These tactics
include telling the consumers that they offer the lowest rates, that they use
the highest quality materials, and that they have the best customer service.

Adverts Create and Extend Demand

Advertisements also help companies increase the demand of their offerings. If
companies stopped advertising their products/services, no one will remember
them, and in turn, stop buying them. This will result in decreased demand of
the product and poor sales. In order to keep selling their products, companies
need the help of advertising to increase the demand. When people learn about
the product through adverts, they will be more interested in buying it.

Adverts also help create demand. When a company is offering a unique solution
to a problem, it is helping create demand. So, if people have the problem that
the company has a solution for, their adverts will result in an increased
demand, allowing the company to make a lot of money, even if customers do not
necessarily need the product.

Adverts Attract Dealers

Advertisements are not just targeting consumers, they are also targeting
retailers and merchants. Retailers sell a variety of products in their
stores, and the product that is being pictured in an attractive way through
adverts is the one that they are more likely to offer in their stores.
Therefore, the better the adverts, the higher the chance retailers have to get
the products for their stores.

Adverts Serve as Competition

Without advertisements, companies would be unable to compete with other brands
offering products similar to theirs. This is a competitive market and every
company needs to make use of advertising to survive. If a brand manufactures
crisps and does not advertise them, then all the other crisp manufacturers will
take over the market by advertising. Therefore, in order to sell products and
tell the consumers that your products exist, you need to advertise. That is the
reason companies today are investing millions of pounds in advertising.



Advertisements are of great help to companies that want to promote their
products, increase awareness, and earn lots of money. Without advertising,
companies will be unable to make customers come to them to purchase their
products/services. Advertising has come a long way from the olden times. Today,
businesses have an array of options to reach their target audience, from the
classic magazine or newspaper advert to social media or internet advertising.

FACT

As a result of receiving direct mail 92% of people were driven to online
activity, 87% were influenced to make online purchases and 54% engaged in
social media.

Source: royalmail.com

4.4 The Phenomenon of Viral Advertising

Now that you know the history of
advertising and the reason for advertising, you should know about modern
advertising, and there is nothing more modern than the phenomenon of viral
advertising.



A viral advert is one that is anywhere and everywhere. These are the adverts
that your colleagues, friends and family are all talking about, and those that
you see and hear about constantly. Creating viral advertising is the goal of
all businesses, but many see this as an impossibility. However, it is certainly
possible that you can do this with your own company, and it is certainly not
impossible.

What is the secret of creating a viral campaign?

The answer is a bit complicated because it is almost impossible to predict when
an advertising campaign will go viral and which will fall flat. With that in
mind, however, there are some things that you can do to increase the chance
that any advertising campaign you start will go viral.



Here are some tips that can help you create a viral advertisement for your own
goods and services:

Make Sure It is Visual

One of the things that every viral advertisement has is visual appeal. Adding
images to your campaign, or at least something that really stands out, is one
of the first things that you should do if focusing on a viral advertising campaign.
Even if your main message is text-based, finding a compelling image to go along
with it is imperative. When choosing this image, make sure that it complements
and matches your brand. Viral visuals are also often informative, humorous or
surprising, and the more the advert has of these elements, the better the
chance is that they will become viral.

Plan Out the Message Carefully

There are a handful of viral advertisements out there that became viral via
accidental means, but most of these are very carefully planned out. The truth
is, however, you cannot plan enough to ensure, without a doubt, that your
material will become viral, but you can plan that the message is clear to the
target audience. Make a plan for this advert, and check and recheck it to
ensure that it is clear to those who see it.

Focus on
the Audience's Emotions

One of the hallmarks of all viral campaigns is that they tug on people's
emotions. This does not necessarily mean that they have to evoke tears or pull
on the heart strings, however. They can also be humorous, which is a good
method to use when creating a viral campaign. As you plan for the campaign,
make sure that there is some sort of emotional aspect in the advert.



Now, this is not to say that an informative advert cannot go viral, but it has
been proven time and time again, that information alone is often not good
enough. Play on the hopes, fears, dreams or humour of your audience, and you
can put yourself in the best position to ensure your campaign goes viral.

Get to Know Your Audience
Before You Publish

As you think about what emotional triggers may help your campaign become viral,
you also want to think about the triggers that might affect your audience. Ask
yourself, what does the audience want from your business or your products? Are
they looking for secret information? Do they want to be entertained? Do they
want to feel as if they learned something?



If you can identify what your audience wants by getting to know them, and then
work this into your content, it is going to be much more effective for your
campaign. Remember, your audience is specific to you, not someone else, so you
must focus this on your audience. For example, a beauty care company may use
make-up free celebrities for their viral video, but if you sell computer
equipment, a make-up free celeb as your spokesperson will surely fall flat. In
other words, get to know your audience, cater your campaign to them, and you
will easily trigger success.

Keep Things Simple

You must make sure that your campaign is not complicated and not lengthy. If
you are trying to explain the point of your product or service with several
paragraphs, people are likely not going to share it. A short video, concise
wording or simple infographic are all useful ways to create a viral advert. It
is best to stick to a couple of marketing messages in a campaign, and nothing
more. One the audience of your viral campaign has grown, you can then give them
the additional information you wish to share.

Plan to Make a Successful
Launch

Planning your campaign is only the first step when planning a viral marketing
campaign. Once this campaign is planned, you have to then make sure that it is
properly launched. To launch a viral campaign, begin by knowing your audience.
For instance, if you are launching an Internet or social media campaign, you
want to know when your audience is online and visiting their favourite social
media site? This is the best time to launch your campaign. Release your
advertisement at this time on your social media account, and encourage your
followers to share it. If your followers like it, you can sit back and watch it
go.

Stop Trying to Force It

A lot of people really try to force the issue of creating a viral advertising
campaign, but this is not the best thing to do. You do not want to hit the
audience too hard with the new campaign. If it is meant to go viral, it will.
If it is not, there is nothing you can do to force it to happen. Launch a
campaign at the best time, remind your audience about it, and then see what
happens.



Remember, the goal of any viral marketing campaign has two parts. First, it is
meant to increase exposure for your brand, and second, it is meant to improve
your relationship with your existing audience by offering them something that
is valuable. If you can keep these goals in mind, you can easily create a
campaign that is not only on track to be successful, it also has the potential
to become viral.

Module Summary

Advertising is one of the most important elements of your company, and without
it, your business will be unable to sell its goods or services. Advertising has
been done in some form or another since ancient times, and over the centuries,
it has grown, changed and evolved into the industry that it is today. In the
early days of advertising, it was done by individuals who were attempting to
sell their goods, be elected to office or simply to share a message. In some
sense, this is also done today. However, there are also advertising agencies
today that have professional advertisers on staff. Some of these have hundreds
or even thousands of employees, others have a handful. You may also find that
there are freelancers out there that can help. As you can see, the world of
advertising is deep and complicated, yet it is also a necessity. As you
consider what advertising option is right for you, remember to keep the
history, methods and techniques of viral advertising in mind.