Notes & Important Question.

Du SOL NCWEb
B.Com. (Programme)
Semester 6
ADVERTISING, PERSONAL SELLING & SALESMANSHIP

Important Question with Answer

Lesson 1 What is Advertising?

WHAT IS ADVERTISING?
Advertising refers to the practice of promoting products, services, or ideas to a target audience
through various media channels, such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards,
social media, and the internet. The main goal of advertising is to persuade potential customers
to buy a product or service, or to engage with an idea or brand. Advertising can also be used to
create brand awareness, increase brand loyalty, and establish a company's reputation in the
market. Effective advertising campaigns often rely on persuasive messaging, eye-catching
visuals, and strategic placement across different media platforms to reach the intended
audience.
 Promotion is the communication arm of marketing and includes marketing
activities used to inform, persuade, remind the target market about the
organisation, its products, services, and other activities to build a favourable
image.

Promotion Mix constitutes specific group of marketing activities concerned with

the communication aspect with existing or potential consumers and the relevant
public. It involves activities such as advertising, personal selling, sales promotion,
direct marketing, publicity/PR , events and sponsorships.

According to Dunn and Barban,

“Advertising is paid, non personal communication through various media by

business firms , non profit organisations and individuals who are in some away
identified in the advertising message and who hope to inform or persuade
members of a particular audience”

According to William J Stanton, “Advertising consist of all activities involved in

presenting to a group, non personal, oral or visual, openly sponsored message
regarding a product, service or idea. This message called an advertisement, is
disseminated through one or more media and paid for by the identified sponsor”

According to Philip Kotler, “Advertising consist of non personal forms of

communication conducted through paid media under clear sponsorship”

Features of Advertising
Paid form: The paid aspect of the definition reflects the fact that the as oppose to
publicity that refers to the stories or brand mention in mass media without any
payment, space or time for an advertising message are usually paid for. For
example: many magazines, newspapers and other media voluntarily donate space
and time and also prepares ads for certain public service announcements and
social causes.

Non Personal presentation and promotion: Advertising is non personal offering no

personal interaction, delivered through mass media as oppose to personal selling
where there is face to face personal interaction.

Ideas, Goods and Services: Advertising as communication tool is used not only to
present and promote goods and services with the intend of selling them, it is also
increasingly used to further the goals f public interest and social causes For eg:
ads discouraging female infanticide, making people aware of AIDS , asking for
donations to help victims of natural disaster.

Identified Sponsor: These words clarify the difference between advertising and
propaganda. Just like advertising propaganda attempts to present certain
opinions and ideas which may influence public attitude and action, however the
source of propaganda remains unknown and therefore authenticity of
information available is doubtful. People generally do not know who is the
originator however in advertising the sponsor of ideas, goods or services is
known.

Controlled: The advertiser controls the content of the advertising message, its
time and direction. Advertisers say what they want to say by selecting appropriate
medium, direct the message to audience whom they want to target. In publicity it
is not under the control of the advertiser.

Mass Communicated Media: The broad group of audience can be best reached by
mass media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio etc.

Persuasion: The major objective of advertising inherent in presentation and

promotion of ideas, goods and services is to achieve pre determined objectives
through persuasive communication or reinforcement of desired attitude or
behaviour.
Role of Advertising
Advertising can also be explained in terms of the role it plays in business and
societ.

Marketing Role: Advertising is the most popular marketing tools used by

marketers. The importance of advertising within the marketing function can be
interpreted in terms of the purpose it serves in marketing efforts of the
organization.

 It helps in building and sustenance of the brand

 It facilitates segmentation , targeting , positioning of the offerings of the

marketer

 It helps in generation of revenues and profits

 Communication Role: Advertising is form of mass communication. Advertising

informs and also create an image that goes beyond the straight forward facts.

 Economic Role: There are two points of view about how advertising affects an
economy in the first place advertising is persuasive communication that it
decreases the likelihood that consumer will switch to competing brand regardless
of price change. By featuring other positive attributes and avoiding price the
consumer makes decision on these non price factors.

 The second approach views advertising as vehicle for helping consumers assess
value.

 Societal Role: Advertising also has number of social roles. It informs us about
the improved products helps to compare features and make informed decision. It
mirrors fashion design trends and add to our aesthetic sense However there is
question whether advertising follow trends or does it lead them? Does it cross the
line between reflecting social values and creating social values?
Difference between Advertising and Publicity

Basis Advertising Publicity

Source The message originates from the The message originates from the
advertiser/ sponsor media

Sponsor The identity of the sponsor is
clearly known
Control The sponsor has entire control
over the contents and timing of
the message
Nature of Persuasive message designed to
Message persuade consumer to favour the
product, service or idea
Payment The sponsor/ advertiser pays to
get the message delivered paid
form
Credibility Since the message is paid for by
the advertiser- it is considered
less credible
The identity of the sponsor is not
clear
Media has control over the
contents and timing
Informative message designed to
inform public.
The sponsor/ advertiser does not
have to pay directly-Non paid
form
Since it is third party opinion – it
is considered more credible than
advertising
Importance of Advertising.

To Business:
Steady Demand: Advertising create steady demand by smoothing out the
seasonal or cyclical fluctuations. By suggesting new and more frequent use of the
product advertising helps to maintain demand throughout the year.

Economies of Scale. Advertising facilitates mass distribution of goods ,

direct distribution and rapid sales turnover helps to reduce cost of distribution.
Mass distribution and steady demand further leads to large scale and regular
production thus bringing in the scale economies.

Build Goodwill: Advertising helps in creating good image of the firm and
favourable image of its products, which increases the capacity of the firm to
survive completion and develop a foothold in the market.

Supplements Salesmanship: Advertising makes the job of personal selling

easy by making consumers aware of the firm’s offering. It creates prospective
buyer ready for purchase.

Meet Competition: Advertising plays pivotal role in establishing and

maintain brands by creating brand loyalty, it supplements personal selling and
sales promotion. It creates preference for particular product thus helps the firm in
meeting growing competition in the market.

Introduction of New Product: Advertising is helpful in introducing new

products by creating awareness and gaining their acceptance. By informing about
the product it stimulates their interest and persuades them to buy it.
For Consumers
Facilitates Purchasing: Advertising makes purchasing easy by reducing the
time and effort involved in shopping. People become aware of the source and
availability of different products and need not search them out

Wide variety: Consumers get to know about the availability of various brands
in the market with their unique features. This provides them with the wider
variety to choose from.

Educates Consumer: Advertising provides education and knowledge to

consumers about the new products and their diverse uses.

Reduced Price: Due to large scale production and distribution, economies of

scale factors in that lowers the cost per unit of product. As a result consumers get
goods at lower price.

Middlemen
Quick Turnover: Successful advertising creates increasing and steady demand
of the goods which facilitate the middlemen in the form of quick turnover of the
goods and their quicker margins.

Mode of Communication: Advertising plays important role in informing

the consumers about various features of the product or service, it facilitates the
job of middlemen and saves them the botheration of spending time, energy and
effort with each and every consumer in order to convince them about the product
attributes.

Low Cost of Doing Business: Because of quick turnover, considerable

savings in terms of inventory costs is achieved.
Society
Employment: Advertising creates not only direct employment in the field of
advertising but also helps in generation of more jobs in production, finance,
marketing , research and development fields.

Sustains Media: Advertising provides a major source of revenue to newspapers,

magazines, radio, and television. The benefit is passed on to the society in the
form of reduced prices.

Encourage art and creativity: Advertising promote the creative energies of

the people involved in designing and developing advertisements.

Stimulate research and development: In absence of advertising many

products and innovations would remain confined to laboratory.

Incentive to progress: Advertising is a great motivating factor , it creates desire

for better standard of living. People are induced to work hard and earn more to
buy new products brought to their knowledge through advertising.

Creates Social Awareness: Advertising is an effective medium for spreading

awareness and educating people about their social and cultural values