Advertising has become an essential marketing activity in the modern era of large-scale production and severe competition in the market. Advertising educates the people about new products and their uses – Advertising message about the utility of a product enables the people to widen their knowledge.

It is advertising which has helped people in adopting new ways of life and giving up old habits. It has contributed a lot towards the betterment of the standard of living of the society.

The functions of advertising can be grouped as: 1. Primary Functions 2. Secondary Functions 3. Economic Functions 4. Psychological Functions 5. Social Functions

Additionally, It includes: 1. Disseminating Information 2. Identifying New Customers 3. Establishing Recognition 4. Supporting Salesmen 5. Motivating Distributors 6. Stimulating Primary Demand.


Functions of Advertising

Functions of Advertising – Top 7 Functions of Advertising

Advertising has become an essential marketing activity in the modern era of large-scale production and severe competition in the market.

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It performs the following functions:

(1) It promotes the sale of goods and services by informing and persuading the people to buy them – A good advertising campaign helps in winning the new customers both in the national as well as the international market.

(2) It helps in the introduction of new products in the market – A business enterprise can introduce itself and its products to the public through advertising. No new enterprise can make an impact over the prospective customers without the help of advertising. Advertising enables quick publicity in the market.

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(3) Advertising facilitates large-scale production – Advertising encourages production of goods on mass because the business firm knows that it will be able to sell on a large-scale with the help of advertising. Mass production reduces the cost of production per unit by making possible the economical use of various factory of production.

(4) It stimulates research and development activities – Advertising has become a competitive marketing activity. Every firm tries to differentiate its product from the substitutes available in the market through advertising. This compels business firm to do more and more research to find new products and their new uses. If a firm does not engage in research and development activities, it will be out of the market in the near future.

(5) Advertising educates the people about new products and their uses – Advertising message about the utility of a product enables the people to widen their knowledge. It is advertising which has helped people in adopting new ways of life and giving up old habits. It has contributed a lot towards the betterment of the standard of living of the society.

(6) It sustains press – Advertising provides an important source of revenue to the publishers of newspapers and magazines. It enables to increase the circulation of their publications by selling them at lower rates. People are also benefited because they get new publications at cheaper rates.

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(7) It builds up the reputation of the advertiser – Advertising enables a business firm to communicate its achievements and its efforts to satisfy the customer’s need to the public. This increases the goodwill and reputation of the firm which is necessary to fight competition in the market.


Functions of Advertising – 4 Important Advertising Functions

The persuasive advertisement influence people to buy the products advertised. Through advertisements, consumers should have the perfect knowledge and information about the products available in the market.

Society is affected by advertising in economic and social ways. Advertising encourages economic growth, maintains competition and informs consumers regarding the attributes of the products offered.

There are opinions that the advertising cost may lead to enhancement of cost of a product, but it may be counteracted by the arguments, that the generation of mass awareness and possibility of mass production shall reduce the production and distribution cost per unit substantially; Different studies have revealed that there is little evidence, that the presence of advertising leads to the concentration of power or that it erects barriers to the new entrants.

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Jagdish N Sheth in an article published in Journal of Advertising, has suggested a broader framework for advertising functions.

He described the functions as follows:

1. Precipitation

2. Persuasion

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3. Reinforcement

4. Reminder

1. Precipitation – Advertisement performs the function by stimulating needs and wants and creating a general awareness. It primarily focuses on what the product or services can do, offer, or provide.

2. Persuasion – The comparative advertising generates persuasion. The consumer knows about the product or service and that often leads consumers to purchase the product Persuasion may be through different appeals like, love, fear, shame, humour etc.

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3. Reinforcement – Advertisements reassure consumers that they have made the wise decision by buying a product or service. This generates a good feeling and serves the function of reinforcement.

4. Reminder – An effort is made through advertisements to keep the com­pany or brand name always fresh in the memory of the target audience.


Functions of Advertising – Primary, Secondary, Psychological, Economic and Social Functions

The basic function of advertising is to generate awareness, to fulfil the objectives of the organisation and to benefit the society as a whole.

The functions of advertising may also be grouped under following heads:

A. Primary Functions:

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1. To increase sales – through-

(i) Attracting new consumers,

(ii) Introducing new uses,

(iii) Generating more awareness about the product,

(iv) creating brand image and brand loyalty.

2. To help dealers, wholesalers and retailers to stock more goods.

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3. Buyers dependability is increased and which in turn enhance the volume of sale.

4. It helps controlling seasonal fluctuations in sales.

B. Secondary Functions:

1. Advertisement encourages the salesmen.

2. Necessary information are provided to sales persons, dealers and customers about the product.

3. It generates feeling of pride among working staff in the organisation.

4. Security feeling among the workers improve production.

C. Psychological Functions:

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1. Attempts to offset competitors’ advertising.

2. Helps to generate brand preference.

3. Provides an incentive to the sales force.

4. Helps to pursue immediate purchase.

D. Economic Functions:

1. Provides information about the economic advantage in comparison to the product of the competitors.

2. Provides information regarding the availability of the economic support.

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3. Extends the scope of large-scale economies.

4. Generates employment opportunities.

E. Social Functions:

1. Helps to generate the social awareness.

2. Medium for mass education.

3. Helpful for generation of national feelings and national integration. It educates the social habit of living together.

4. An avenue to highlight the achievements and deficiencies of the corporate and civic bodies.

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The functions of advertising may also be differentiated from the following perspectives.

The various functions may be analysed as follows:

1. Stimulates demand – The advertisements generate the awareness and stimulate the latent needs.

2. Strengthens other promotion mix elements – Advertisements focus the sales promotion messages and convey the special features of the products. This helps the sales force to penetrate the market smoothly.

3. Develops brand preference – The attributes of the products and services are highlighted through advertisement. The prospects or the consumers are assured of the quality and the use value of the product advertised. This will generate the consumer satisfaction and preference for the brand.

4. Reduce cost – Intensive advertising will increase the volume of sales. The large scale production will ultimately reduce the cost of production per unit and selling cost per unit.

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5. Lower Prices – If the production costs and the selling costs are reduced, the effective price of the product will also come down.

6. Competitive weapon – Advertising along with other promotional-mix elements, may prove to be an extremely powerful weapon to counteract the competitive market. The promotional efforts will generate brand image and loyalty and will help to develop the confidence of the consumers steadily.

To sum up, the effect and success of advertising, is judged from the reactions it generates among the audience. The advertiser should be careful about the nuisance value or the irritations, which may generate the negative effect of the exercise. The advertising, though often abused by itself, is not at all in conflict with social welfare, rather it elevates the welfare of the society if used with discretion and keeping social attitudes in mind.

The educational value of advertising helps the society in various ways. The competitive nature of advertising highlights the different features and use value of the products. The demand generated through advertisement nourishes the newly born products to grow and to survive in this tough competitive market. The community as a whole is benefited, because the ultimate objective of the advertiser is to promote goodwill and to establish relationship with the target group.


Functions of Advertising – Economic, Social and Psychological Functions

There is no doubt that advertising attracts all of us in number of ways, but there are also number of controversies associated with advertising .Generally, these controversies are concerned about the impact of advertising on economy, society and ethics.

1. Economic Functions:

i. Advertising communicates the message in persuasive language.

ii. It creates wide markets as the information is delivered to people far and wide.

iii. It inclines people favorably to the products and affects our attitudes.

iv. Therefore, advertising performs an economic function by being an art of persuasion.

v. Advertising is also an economic process – it helps the product to become known and it facilitates exchange between those who need the product and those who can satisfy the need.

vi. Provides employment opportunities (in advertising industry).

2. Social Functions:

i. Advertising affects the core cultural values and subsidiary cultural values.

ii. Advertising is a mirror to the society in which it operates…it reflects the cultural values of that society.

iii. Advertising can also transfer some cultural values of one society to other.

iv. Advertising has improved our standard of living e.g., we buy TV, AC, Computers, Cars etc., after getting interested in these products through advertising. We have accepted new ideas such as – microwave, electric shaving, detergents etc through advertising. Advertising protects the consumer by educating them and by forcing the manufacturers to maintain quality and to be fair.

Advertising brings about consumer welfare in two ways:

a. By improving standard of living.

b. By improving product quality.

3. Psychological Functions:

i. Advertising is closely linked to consumer behavior, therefore,

ii. It affects personality of consumer, his concept of self, his attitudes, beliefs, opinions, his life-style etc.

iii. Advertising appeals to our physiological and psychological motives.

Publicity is a broader activity to present goods and services to the end users. It is defined by National Association of Marketing Teachers of America as – “Any form of non- personal presentation of goods, services or ideas to a group. Such presentation may or may not be sponsored openly by the one responsible for it and it may or may not be paid for it”. It means that an agency presents the goods or services to users by making known about it. It involves mass or large scale appeal. Publicity involves advertisement also.

Advertising is a part and a method of publicity. Publicity is wider term which does not have specific sponsor and may be paid or not paid form. It is spreading of information by a person or group of persons to another person or group of persons. It is a kind of non-sponsored sharing of information among public; that is why it is publicity.

On the other hand, advertising is sponsored, paid and intentional attempt to persuade and motivate consumers by creating awareness about the product. It is non-personal form of placing the message of goods and services, specifically to a target group.

For a layman, the distinction between advertising and publicity is not important and they are used as synonymous and complimentary to each other.


Functions of Advertising in Marketing

Even a partial listing of the functions which advertising can perform would include such important and varied ones as informing customers and prospects about the seller and his products, identifying new cus­tomers, winning recognition, supporting salesmen, motivating distribu­tors, and stimulating primary demand.

1. Disseminating Information:

A primary function of all advertising is to inform people about the products and services of the advertiser. This function is particularly important in industrial marketing because purchases are so frequently made on the basis of facts and logic. If a professional buyer reads an ad at all, he will probably read it carefully, for trade journals and the ads they contain are one of his sources of information about product availability.

Consequently, industrial advertising copy is often studded with facts—facts which are precise, documented, and provable. Their presentation is generally colorful, illuminated with personal interest, and embellished with all the skills of the copywriter’s art, but facts form the core of the message.

2. Identifying New Customers:

It is very unlikely that an industrial buyer would commit himself to the purchase of a product solely on the basis of information supplied by an advertisement. But buyers frequently can be induced to request ad­ditional information about a product or even to order small test lots of it on the basis of information that is presented in a well-written, highly factual advertisement.

Generating inquiries through advertising is a widely practiced method of identifying new customers. Some inquiries may come from present buyers concerning uses or processes with which they are not familiar, and / or from prospects to whom the advertiser’s salesmen have failed to gain access.

For the most part, however, a well-planned advertising effort designed to probe new markets can be expected to generate in­quiries chiefly from firms which currently are not customers of the advertiser.

A very common procedure in dealing with such inquiries is first, to reply by mail or by whatever other means of communication the inquiry is received, and then to turn them over to the salesmen or distributors from whose territories they originated for personal follow-up. It is ob­viously meaningless to invest in such advertising without a plan for aggressively following up the sales leads it generates. Such a plan should be developed when the advertisement is planned.

This use of advertising is especially important in the introduction of new products. A company which introduced a new cord strapping device advertised it in nine different publications during the first year. About 5,000 inquiries were received as a result of the ads and at a cost of about $10 each.

Approximately 40 percent of these leads were subsequently turned into sales. Another company endeavoring to penetrate a new market learned that 23 percent of its new customers attributed their initial interest in the company’s product to its advertising. Much adver­tising is wasted by poor follow-up work.

3. Establishing Recognition:

A resource file containing the names of firms selling products which the company regularly buys is standard equipment in many purchasing departments. This record generally contains pertinent information about each supplier, such as his reputation for quality and service, his financial standing, his price performance, his reliability, and other facts that bear on his usefulness as a source.

When bids are to be solicited, invita­tions to bid may be sent to all names in the file or to a list selected from it. When existing buying relationships are disturbed and new suppliers must be selected, candidate sources are apt to be chosen from the file.

When an industrial goods manufacturer moves into a new market or introduces a new product to be sold to a new group of buyers, one of the first promotional tasks the advertising department faces is to get the company’s name in the resource files of as many firms in the new market as possible. Advertisements with well-researched copy in the appropriate trade journals are usually an effective way of accomplishing this end.

Many industrial buyers consult trade journals as a means of keeping their files up to date. Moreover, when a firm changes its manufacturing processes or its product line so as to require unfamiliar equipment or materials, buyers must compile new lists or files of possible suppliers. They are almost certain to consult trade journal advertisements in this process.

Another form of recognition that is important to the industrial seller is that associated with trademarks. A manufacturer of stainless-steel valves learned that, although the product had been on the market for nearly two years, his trademark was relatively unknown.

Design engineers, plant managers, and purchasing officers were accustomed to specifying more familiar names when buying new valves or ordering- replacements. Distributors did not find the product particularly profit­able and, therefore, made no special effort to sell it.

In order to increase sales, the company embarked on an advertising program with two objectives in mind- (1) build an image of product reliability comparable to that enjoyed by its most important competitors, and (2) gain recognition as a leader in the technical development of stainless alloys.

The core of the program consisted of trade journal advertising, with heavy emphasis on institutional copy. A new external house organ was adopted, which featured articles describing the applications of steel valves and castings, as well as the company’s association with important industrial users. Industrial catalogs and directories also were used liberally.

Within two years the program began to bear fruit. Distributors who had previously been reluctant to stock the valves were now trying to convince the company of their ability to sell them. Every prospect on the sales department’s list of important potential customers had placed an order.

The number of inquiries about valve applications had in­creased 25 percent. Moreover, the company’s sales goal had been sur­passed by 25 percent. While this kind of success does not accompany every advertising endeavor of this nature, it is not uncommon when the objectives are realistic and the elements of the program fit them.

A favorable company image is also an important aspect of recognition. Although its existence is sometimes difficult to determine, the market impact of an image is nonetheless real. The manufacturer firmly estab­lished in one industry may have difficulty penetrating a new industry because its image in the old industry overshadows its entry into the new one.

Advertising directed toward the second market may fail to attract the attention or gain the interest of its intended readers, because in their minds the company’s image associates it with a different industry.

This problem was faced by a watch manufacturer that sought to establish itself as a supplier of precision components for military weapons systems. A market survey showed that industry buyers thought of the company primarily as a manufacturer of consumer products.

In order to create an industry image, the company embarked on a two-pronged campaign, one series of advertisements directed at top management and the other at research, development, and production personnel.

The same format appeared in general business publications used to contact top management and in specialized journals read by technically trained individuals. The company name was featured prominently enough to gain the advantage of the goodwill established in the consumer field.

At the same time, use of a symbolic drawing or design, with photos and copy describing the company’s technical capabilities, served to identify the firm as a manufacturer of precision instruments.

4. Supporting Salesmen:

Advertising can also be effective in preparing prospective customers for salesmen, in reaching personnel inaccessible to them, and in over­coming prejudice about the company or its products.

5. Motivating Distributors:

The industrial goods producer who sells through distributors or manu­facturer’s agents must convince them to devote sufficient time and energy to his products to sell them successfully. Otherwise, neither the manufacturer nor the middleman will derive much benefit from them.

However, commanding adequate attention from middlemen is often difficult because other manufacturers whose products they carry are attempting to do the same thing.

Advertising can be used in several ways to aid a manufacturer com­peting for middlemen’s time. Copy directed at middlemen may point out the advantages of pushing the company’s line, such as wide margins, large sales potential, rapid turnover, or the relatively small investment required. The company may identify distributors or agents in regional or national advertising and on direct mailing lists.

Sales leads in the form of inquiries obtained through company advertising may be forwarded to the agent or distributor in whose territory the prospective customer is located.

It is a common practice to undertake cooperative promotion, either by supplying literature with the imprint of the middle­man, which he can mail to his customers, or, less often, by bearing a portion of the cost, typically 50 percent, of space advertising up to a certain percentage of sales.

6. Stimulating Primary Demand:

It is sometimes profitable for the industrial goods manufacturer to promote demand for the products of his customers and prospective customers. This may be an effective way of increasing the use of ma­terials or machinery manufactured by the advertiser. Steel companies, for example, have for years placed advertisements in consumer media promoting the virtue of products made of steel.

Manufacturers of fibrous glass have pursued the same strategy, using a variety of consumer media to advertise the superiority of fiber-glass reinforced plastic in making such varied products as boat hulls, molded chair bottoms, draperies, automobile bodies, fishing rods, and luggage.

If a material or component part is trademarked, or otherwise retains its identity in the finished end product, its maker may be wise to ad­vertise the product to its end users. In this way, he may be able to induce them to specify end products containing his materials or components.

A leading maker of diesel truck engines consistently directs much of its advertising to trucking companies, construction companies, mining companies, and other users of medium and heavy trucks rather than to truck manufacturers themselves.

The purpose is to induce these users to specify that their new trucks come equipped with the advertiser’s en­gines. Since truck manufacturers would rather accommodate a buyer’s request for a particular engine than lose a sale, this advertising strategy has been very successful.


Functions of Advertising – Primary and Secondary Functions based on the Marketing Objectives

The functions of advertising are based on the marketing objectives.

These are divided into two parts:

1. Primary Functions

2. Secondary Functions

1. Primary Functions:

(i) To Help MiddlemenThe main function of the advertising is to help middlemen. Due to advertising middlemen do not face any difficulty regarding sale.

(ii) To Increase Sales – The second primary function of advertising is to increase sales. Advertising wins the confidence of the public for a product. It educates them and does a publicity of fashion.

(iii) Increase in Production – When a product is introduced in the market, it is meant for a specific use. But when the product is put into use, consumers may come to know of its new uses. It leads to large-scale production. Large-scale production decreases the per unit cost. It facilitates the producer to earn more profits.

(iv) To Win the Confidence of Public – The buyer’s dependence on well-advertised goods is increased because he knows their quality. Regular, effective and frequent advertising helps in building more loyal class of customers.

(v) Production of New Goods – Advertising encourages the production of new products. Whenever, a manufacturer produces a new product, advertising helps him create demand for his product because it is the advertisement through which a producer can explain the merits of his products to consumers.

(vi) Creation of Goodwill – Almost every firm wants to establish a good name in the market. If a firm offers good products different from others, better and cheaper than other products, it earns good name and fame. Such firms may ever be remembered by customers. Thus a firm can build go for its products.

2. Secondary Functions:

(i) Helpful in Distribution – Advertising saves the time and efforts of a middleman. He can contact many customers in a short period. Advertising helps in easy and quick sales. This increases the rate of turnover and reduces the level of stock. Due to the above reasons, it helps in the distribution of products.

(ii) Information Regarding Price – Prices are generally announced by the manufacturer. Thus the consumer is aware of the price and he cannot be cheated.

(iii) Less Risk – Advertising reduces the risk of manufacturers and middlemen.

(iv) Helpful in Competition – Advertising helps the producer and the middleman face competition successfully.

(v) To Remind – An advertisement reminds customers about products.

Other Functions:

Some marketing experts also discuss some other functions of advertising as under:

i. Psychological Functions:

Psychological functions include the following:

(a) Attraction – This is the most important function of marketing. Marketing cannot fulfill its objectives without drawing the attention of customers. In order to attract, it is necessary to employ proper resources, and use proper place and also there must be proper coordination about different colours.

(b) Motivation – Advertising motivates the customers to purchase the product.

(c) Creating Confidence about the Product – The psychological function of the advertising is to create confidence in the minds of consumers about the product. In the absence of this confidence no buyer will be ready to purchase the product.

ii. Social Functions:

Social functions include the following:

(a) Entertainment – Advertisement is a source of entertainment for the public. Programmes advertised on radio & T.V. is quite entertaining and musical.

(b) Increase in Knowledge – Consumers come to know about the new uses of goods, precautions in the use of certain goods and the latest changes introduced in products. With the help of advertising people start purchasing goods after getting acquainted with the features of products.

(c) Happy Life – Advertising brings happiness in the lives of people. People start buying goods like fans, refrigerators, radio, etc. after gaining knowledge about them through advertising. These goods are instrumental in making their lives comfortable ones.

(d) Convenience in Buying – According to American advertisement experts, advertising helps buyers purchase goods wisely. They become capable of selecting right goods from right places at right time.

(e) Saving in Time – Advertising helps save the time of consumers because they need not waste their precious time in searching for the goods which they need. Advertising helps them find right goods from right places at appropriate prices.

iii. Economic Functions:

Economic functions include the following:

(a) Advantages of Large-Scale Production – Advertising increases the quantity of sale and this leads to the increase in production so the cost per unit is less. Due to advertising manufacturers and consumers are directly connected. So, the commission of middlemen is not added to the cost. As a result, customers get products at cheap rates.

(b) Advantages to Consumers – Consumers get economic profit due to advertising. Then, they can afford to buy many products with their limited incomes.

(c) Income to Newspapers – 75% of the total income of newspapers comes from advertising. That is why they don’t have to depend on politicians or industrialists for financial help. Therefore, they can publish their opinions in a free and impartial way.


Functions of Advertising

Advertising performs the following functions:

i. It helps in the introduction of new prod­ucts in the market. A business firm can intro­duce itself and its product to the public through advertising.

ii. It helps to promote the sale of products by informing and persuading the people of purchase them. A good advertisement helps to win new customers for the product.

iii. Advertising educates the people about new products and their uses. It provides knowledge about the utility of a product. Advertising has helped in improving the standard of living in so­ciety by developing new habits and better ways of life.

iv. Advertising helps in building up the repu­tation and goodwill of a firm which is essential to face competition in the market.

v. Advertising encourages research and de­velopment. Business firms conduct research to find new products and new uses of existing prod­ucts.


Functions of Advertising – 6 Key Functions

The main functions of advertising are as follows:

(i) Promotion of Sales:

It promotes the sale of goods and services by informing and persuading the people to buy them. A good advertising campaign helps in winning new customers both in the national as well as in the international market.

(ii) Introduction of New Products:

It helps in introduction of new products in the market. A business enterprise can introduce itself and its product to the public through advertising. A new enterprise can’t make an impact on the prospective customers without the help of advertising.

(iii) Creation of Good Public Image:

It builds up the reputation of the advertiser. Advertising enables a business firm to communicate its achievement and its effort to satisfy the customers’ need to the public. This increase in the goodwill and reputation of the firm is necessary to face competition in the market.

(iv) Mass Production:

Advertising facilitates large scale production. Advertising encourages production of goods on large scale because the business firm knows that it will be able to sell on large-scale with the help of advertising. Mass production reduces the cost of production per unit by making possible the economical use of various factors of production.

(v) Research:

Advertising stimulates research and development activities. Advertisement has become a competitive marketing activity. Every firm tries to differentiate its product from the substitutes available in the market through advertising. This compels every business firm to do more and more research to find new products and their new uses.

If a firm does not engage in research and development activities, it will be out of the market in the near future.

(vi) Education to People:

Advertising educates the people about new products and their uses. Advertising message about the utility of a product enables the people to widen their knowledge. It is advertising which has helped people in adopting new way of life and giving up all habits.


Functions of Advertising in Retail Advertising

The retailer is the last link in the channels of distribution. He is closest to the consumer. He is sensitive to the changes in consumer needs and wants. He must offer the kinds of merchandise in the assortments and at prices the customers want.

1. The primary function of retail advertising is to keep the store’s customers informed about the various items currently featured.

2. From the consumer’s viewpoint, retail advertising functions as a shopping guide telling where to go to get the best buys.

3. To recover the cost of advertising and make a profit and also advertises items that build traffic the retailer advertises those items that are expected to see in sufficient volume. These would include special purchases offered at sharply reduced prices, regular sales events, seasonal items, and new fashions.

4. Item and price advertising accounts for nearly all of the advertising of supermarkets, mass merchandisers, and drug chains.

5. Department stores and specialty shops have a dual advertising job to do. They must not only sell specific items, but also sell the store as an attractive place to shop. The store’s location, its architecture, fixtures, interior design and displays communicate much about its character. The store’s advertising should project its character (image) to current and potential customers.

Through the use of white space, style of art, language, graphics and tone, newspaper ads can clearly say that the advertiser is an elegant, exclusive top-of-the-line store where one does not expect to find anything but the very best at substantial prices or that the advertiser offers middle-of-the line merchandise at modest prices for people who must stretch their shopping dollars.


Functions of Advertising – As a Tool of Marketing

Advertising is major tool of marketing. Advertising is an integral part of marketing as it helps in communication or promotion of the product.

It acts as a tool of marketing in the following ways:

i. Helps in Increasing Sales Turnover:

Advertising helps in increasing the sales turnover. It helps in creating awareness amongst its consumers and thus, improving the customer base of the product. It helps in creating as well as increasing the demand for the product. Due to this all the companies have huge advertising budget.

ii. It Builds Customer Loyalty:

Advertising not only helps in generating demand for a product but also helps in maintaining the customers. In-order to retain a customer, the advertiser had to make him feel that he is paying much less than what he is supposed to. The real asset of a company is the loyal customer who creates his own tribe which is the plus point for the company where customers believe in the products and services of the company for the longest period.

iii. Helps in Future Growth of the Business:

Advertising helps in future growth of the business. Advertising is a creative activity which involves research and different dimensions of research will pave way for understanding the future needs of changing customer behaviours. Thus whenever the marketing mix undergoes changes, target market changes and accordingly product-portfolio also changes.

iv. Promotion Mix is the Strongest Component:

Marketing mix involves four points including place, price, product and promotion. Each mix is important and complementary to each other. But promotion mix does a lot more. One may have a product of quality, reasonably priced, available at different outlets in right quantities and at the right time, but if the customers are not aware of the product then all the effort to increase the sales of the product will be futile.


Functions of Advertising – 8 Main Functions of Advertising

The following are the main functions of advertising:

1. Provide Information:

The manufacturer needs to provide the information related to the products, services or ideas to customers. To address the masses the manufacturer uses appropriate media of advertising. The advertiser needs to provide complete and true information. The advertiser expects to create a favourable attitude which leads to immediate sales. For example – The producer of laptop provides the information through television advertising about various aspects of laptop such as the price, quality, features, size, utility etc.

2. Consumer Choice:

The advertising facilitates consumer choice. It enables consumers to purchase goods as per their requirements. The effective advertising needs to provide a right choice to consumers and ensure customer satisfaction. If the manufacturers provide more choice to customers it results in customer loyalty. For example – If a television manufacturer provides various product lines with regard to size, shape, colour, features etc. The customers will have the choice to purchase according to their requirements.

3. Enhances Brand Image:

Brands are the identification that differentiates one business from another through name symbol etc. The advertising enhances the goodwill of the company. It increases the market receptiveness of the company’s products, services or ideas. It helps the salesmen to win customers easily. For example – Most of the people like to have branded products compared to local products.

4. Enhancing Demand:

The producers make use of advertising in different media to enhance the demand for then- products, services or ideas. It creates a favourable climate for enhancing sales. The advertising helps to create a positive impact on customers about the products and the brand. It is an effective tool to motivate potential customers to purchase, avoid brand switching and encourages repetitive purchase.

For example – The mobile phone manufacturer has come out with additional features in the existing mobile phone. It is very much required for the manufacturer to select appropriate media to communicate the targeted population to ensure increase in demand for mobile.

5. Effective in the Market:

In present scenario we find many companies manufacturing the same kind of products and services. It is essential for the manufacturer to create a positive image of his products and services. For example – When competitors are adopting intensive advertising as their promotional strategy, it is sensible to follow similar practices to neutralize their effects.

6. Profit Maximisation:

The objective of a company is to earn maximum profits. The advertising is a tool to achieve their profits. The effective advertising motivates the targeted audience to purchase and repurchase, thus resulting in enhanced sales volume.

7. Cost Effective:

Advertising is a good idea as a sales tool. It helps to communicate the masses. It takes less time to communicate the information. It reduces the cost per customer. It is cost effective as it does most of the selling job for small items. For example – The advertising of small items such as biscuits, chocolates, ice cream etc. It can do a large part of the selling job for durable goods.

8. Barring New Entrants:

The advertiser builds up a certain monopoly through advertisement. The advertiser ensure enhanced brand image though advertising over a period of time. The new entrants find it difficult to enter into the existing market.


Functions of Advertising – 17 Essential Functions

Following are the functions of advertisement:

1. To introduce a product into market.

2. To attract and create interest in customers towards a product.

3. To encourage consumers to purchase a particular product.

4. To win loyalty and faith of consumers for a particular product.

5. To communicate different information about a product to existing and potential customers.

6. To create, maintain and raise demand for a product.

7. To capture a share or place in the market.

8. To raise standard of living of society.

9. To face competition successfully.

10. To eliminate or minimise role of middlemen.

11. To explain and convince reasons for justifying price rise.

12. To reach far-away consumers for communicating massages.

13. To make a popular brand.

14. To make it easy for middlemen to sell products of an enterprise.

15. To communicate success of product/enterprise to the business world.

16. Immediate objective is to provide support for personal selling and other methods of sales promotion.

17. Long-term objective is to increase firm’s net profits over and above what they would be without it.


Functions of Advertising – Top 7 Significant Functions

Advertising performs a variety of functions and when they are executed correctly, the effects of advertising may be dramatic. These functions of advertising make it the most important function of marketing in any situation in any part of the world.

1. Advertising differentiates the producer’s product from others:

Advertising differentiates the product of the producer from all others as it speak about the product being unique or innovative or new. The best example is the advertisement of Coca-Cola where the marketer suggest that you should drink Coca-Cola because it is delicious, exhilarating, refreshing and invigorating. Hence, advertising not only communicates about the product but also speaks about its uniqueness vis-a-vis other products in the market.

2. Advertising induces consumers to try new products and to suggest reuse:

Advertising is a way of communicating to the consumers that the marketer has a new product which should be tried. Free sample of Bourn vita were given by the company to children in schools to induce them to try and buy the products for regular use. Many companies mail coupons for free drinks to the residents of a particular region so as to attract them towards their product and suggest the reuse of it.

3. Advertising increases market distribution of the brand/product:

Advertisements increases the demand of the brand / product by the customers. Distributors also supplement the companies advertising with their own promotions and event sponsorships. Through various activities they are able to succeed in accomplishing yet another function of advertising, to stimulate the distribution of a product on a global level.

4. Advertising increases the product use:

Another most important function of advertising is to increase the product use. Whenever there is a cut in the market share of a product due to aggressive competition with another brand, advertisements by the marketer crashes through this situation by announcing more and more uses of the same product. Bourn vita if was good for children, now endorsements can be had from top officers in army training camp for the same product.

This bid will make bourn vita the official drink for the trainees of the armed forces. Likewise, the same product can be advertised for more categories e.g., women, athletes etc., by getting it endorsed from well-known athletes etc. Thus, advertising increases the product use by masterfully and strategically blending it with health, revitalizing and well-being of people from different walks of life.

5. Advertising builds value, brand preference and loyalty towards a brand:

In a free market economy, when one company starts to make good profits, other companies in the market place jump up to compete with that company. Over the years, to handle the constant competitive threat, companies like Procter & Gamble and Hindustan Unilever have been spending more funds towards their marketing communication campaigns to accomplish yet another function of advertising called building brand value, brand preference and brand loyalty.

An advertising campaign which consistently keeps giving upbeat messages about a brand/product always promotes it against others who are not upright in their campaigns. Thus, advertising campaigns not only build brand value but also create brand preference and loyalty for the marketers.

6. Advertising lowers the overall cost of sales:

Organizations can reach thousands of prospects through media advertising as compared to personal selling where you reach out to just one customer each time. The cost of face-to-face field sales is enormous as compared to advertisement expense. Through Radio and Television, advertisers can talk to thousands of prospects at less than twenty percent cost of what it costs to talk to a single prospect through personal selling. Thus, advertising lowers the overall cost of sales for any product or service.

7. Advertising communicates information about the product, its features, its costs and its location of sale:

Advertisements lets the customer know what the product is all about. Advertisement identifies the products and their source and differentiates them from other products in the market. Advertising not only differentiates the product from others but also speaks about the ingredients of the product, its features, its price and also the location of sale.

This comprehensive information given to the prospects makes it easier for the personal sellers to complete the sale. Besides, the impact of advertisements is such that minimum effort is required by all other promotional efforts for the products which have been duly advertised. When details about the product are flown through advertisements, prospects and consumers take the decision about the purchase much faster. The Advertisement of above product speaks about its ingredients etc.


Functions of Advertising – Includes Economic, Social and Psychological Functions

Advertising is primarily a means by which sellers communicate to prospective buyers the worth of their goods and services. Advertising is not a game, toy or a racket. It is a basic tool of marketing for stimulating demand and for influencing the level and character of the demand. It has economic, social and psychological functions.

1. Economic Functions:

All that advertisement has to do is to sell a product or service. This the advertisement accomplishes by communicating properly and effectively, by communicating to the right people, by communicating the right message, put across through brilliant and persuasive language, making use of appeals to different human motives.

Advertisements sometimes do the sales job in a subtle and indirect manner. They incline us favourably to the products, they affect our attitudes. So advertising performs the economic function by being an art of persuasion.

It also is helped by a science of layout, visualisation, print reproduction, special effects on films etc., advertising has created wide markets. Sales information is conveyed to millions of people far and wide. This makes mass production and mass distribution possible.

Advertising is a subject of study in journalism, mass communication and management schools. It is a profession which employs both creative and noncreative persons- persons as account executives, media planners, art directors, administrative heads, copy writers etc.

It indirectly gives employment to a host of other functionaries like commercial artists, media employees, studio people, free lancers, street-walkers and talkers, radio and TV announcers, jingle singers, video production unit and what not.

Advertising is also an economic process-it helps the products to become known, to facilitate ultimately an exchange between those who need the products and those who can satisfy this need. Advertising is in marketing mix consisting of Four P’s (Product, Price, Promotion and Place).

2. Social Functions:

Advertising has affected not the core cultural values but the subsidiary cultural values. For example, to get married is a core cultural value. Advertising cannot effectively change it by telling people that you do not marry. Yes, to marry late and not at an early age is a subsidiary cultural value. Advertising can definitely affect it and can persuade people to marry late.

Advertising has improved our standards of living. We realised how comfortable we could be in presence of AC, pressure pans and cookers, compact discs (CD’S) and music systems, autos and two-wheelers, polyesters and pop-corns, ball-point pens and antibiotics.

We used these articles after getting interested in them through advertising. We’ve accepted some new ideas like micro-wave cooking, electric shaving, bucket washing though detergents etc., through advertising. Advertising has created new markets. It has contributed to our standard of living substantially.

3. Psychological Functions:

Advertising is closely linked to consumer behaviour. So it affects personality of the consumer, his concept of self, his attitudes, beliefs and opinions, his life-cycle and life-style etc. Advertising appeals to our physiological and psychological motives. Its appeals may be rational or emotional.

Advertising is an icon of our times – Advertisements are not mere sellers. They reflect the contemporary society. Whatever is used in the society is reflected in advertising. Women are used not as sexual symbols in advertisement- there are other-beds, bathroom fitting, cars and what not yes; the use of woman’s anatomy in a childish manner is a transitory which we will soon grow out.


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