Author: indiafreenotes

Digital advertising is the practice of delivering promotional content to users through various online and digital channels.

Digital advertising leverages mediums such as social media, email, search engines, mobile apps, affiliate programs and websites to show advertisements and messages to audiences. 

Traditional (non-digital) advertising widely followed the spray and pray approach. It reached out to the masses, but the ROI was largely undeterminable. Digital advertising, as we know it today, is heavily data-driven and can give you minute details of your campaigns and outcomes. The availability of user data and rich targeting capabilities makes digital advertising an important tool for businesses to connect with their audience. It is useful to remember that while the connected world offers may ways to reach and engage with customers, there is a distinction between ways that are free or ‘organic’ and paid or ‘inorganic’. Digital advertising is an ‘inorganic’ way to reach and engage with customers and prospects.

Digital advertising encompasses all advertising efforts that use an electronic device or the internet. Businesses leverage digital channels such as search engines, social media, email, and their websites to connect with current and prospective customers.

Advertising has always been about connecting with your audience in the right place and at the right time. Today, that means you need to meet them where they are already spending time: on the internet.

Enter digital advertising in other words, any form of advertising that exists online.

Digital advertising is defined by the use of numerous digital tactics and channels to connect with customers where they spend much of their time: online. From the website itself to a business’s online branding assets digital advertising, email advertising, online brochures, and beyond there’s a spectrum of tactics that fall under the umbrella of “digital advertising.”

The best digital marketers have a clear picture of how each digital advertising campaign supports their overarching goals. And depending on the goals of their advertising strategy, marketers can support a larger campaign through the free and paid channels at their disposal.

A content marketer, for example, can create a series of blog posts that serve to generate leads from a new ebook the business recently created. The company’s social media marketer might then help promote these blog posts through paid and organic posts on the business’s social media accounts. Perhaps the email marketer creates an email campaign to send those who download the ebook more information on the company.

Scope and Importance

Digital Advertising industry is booming not just in India but all parts of the world. The year 2016 took the industry by surprise with over 1.5 lakh job opportunities in the Digital Advertising domain. Well, the following was a bigger surprise when only the first quarter of 2017 marked for 8 lakh job opportunities.

The surveys conducted by several forums have predicted this number to grow with Digitalisation in the nation. Our Prime Minister has been actively promoting the idea of Digital India. PM Modi’s digital India campaign gained massive popularity. The initiative of Government of India is aimed at providing easy services to its natives.

Now imagine when a nation’s government is promoting the digital interaction, what do you think will be the Digital Advertising scope in that nation.

Types of Digital Advertising

We’ve arrived! It’s time to dive head first into 9 types of digital advertising. Types of online digital advertising include:

1. Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization or SEO refers to the process of growing your online visibility in non-paid (organic) search engine results. SERPs or search engine results pages appear to users after they search for a given set of keywords using a search engine like Google or Bing. Each user receives an individualized results page based on keywords, the user’s location at the time of searching, and their browsing history.

Organic search results appear in a list and are ranked using the search engine’s algorithm. As users change the way they search and engage with online content, these algorithms change. The higher you rank on a SERP, the more traffic is directed to your site and the more chances of making a passive visitor an active customer.

2. Search Engine Advertising

Search Engine Advertising or SEM covers the ground SEO ignores, paid traffic from search engines. With SEM you purchase advertisement space that appears on a user’s SERP. The most common paid search platform is Google AdWords. Next, is Bing Ads.

The search engine charges a marketer a predetermined amount to display an advertisement in a number of places on a SERP generated from specific keywords or phrases. One example of SEM is pay-per-click advertising or PPC. PPC refers to a digital advertising method wherein search engines charge a company each time their advertisement is clicked.

3. Social Media Advertising

By now you know that social media is a crucial part of your advertising strategy. But do you know the ins and outs of social media advertising? Social media advertising gives you increased exposure. It allows you to connect with your consumers in a more intimate way. From this interaction, you can gain valuable customer feedback that allows you to improve your customer service, product, or service.

Using social media advertising you’ll gain more reach when you post quality content. Everything you do to increase traffic or business on your social media channels is social media advertising. Whether you’re on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, or LinkedIn these efforts all amount to social media advertising.

Most everyone benefits from social media advertising, but B2C companies stand to gain the most. Pay attention to what your target audience talks about on social media. Engage in the conversation. Use social media advertising as a way to gauge what content you put out does well by monitoring shares and likes.

4. Content Advertising

Content advertising refers to the practice of delivering a quality piece of content to your users to generate sales and leads. This content can live anywhere online. Tweets, a YouTube video, and blogs on your website all comprise content advertising. Content Advertising works because it melds together exceptional content with other types of digital advertising like SEO and Social Media Advertising.

5. Affiliate Advertising

Affiliate advertising refers to the process of paying for conversions. Think of it like hiring a sales person for your product or service. That affiliate earns a commission. You determine the rate for affiliate advertising.  You only pay for conversions. This means there is no upfront cost to affiliate advertising. Many bloggers or e-commerce websites use affiliate advertising.

When you choose to use affiliate advertising ensure that all of your terms and boundaries are discussed beforehand. The affiliate represents your brand, so you want them to carry your brand’s message close to them. Think about the kinds of words you want the affiliate to use. Of course, you need to make the deal work for the affiliate, too.

6. Influencer Advertising

Influencer advertising is among the newer types of digital advertising. Influencer advertising uses people with an enormous online reach considered experts by your target market to drive traffic and sales.

Influencer advertising is popular on social media channels like Instagram and Snapchat. Companies hire Instagrammers with large followings to promote their brand by posting one or more photos with the product. Companies now engage in Instagram or Snapchat “takeovers” where the hired influence controls the company’s social media platform for a given amount of time, most often a day. These social media takeovers drive the influencer’s following to your social media channels increasing your new followers and unique views.

7. Email Advertising

Email advertising allows you to update your email subscribers on a regular basis about your company. This fosters a relationship unlike any of the other types of digital advertising. Your email updates provide value to your consumer. As a result, you build brand trust and brand loyalty.

The best email advertising campaigns involve a list of subscribers earned by your content and company, not paid for by your company. People who opt-in to your email subscription prove more likely to become active buyers.

8. Viral Advertising

Viral advertising refers to a post of some sort that is trendy, funny, or strange enough to garner a massive amount of shares online. Viral advertising causes an enormous spike in website traffic over a short period of time. This is hard to do but the benefits alone make the effort worth your time.

B2C companies stand to gain the most from viral advertising. B2C companies can use social media to reach an enormous audience across all of their active platforms.

9. Mobile Phone Advertising

Each of the types of digital advertising can happen on a mobile device. Some types of advertising using a mobile phone do not fit the above types of digital advertising.

These include SMS advertising which could prove an asset to local advertising efforts. You can prompt your consumers to use SMS to receive special offers, coupons, and updates from your company.

Promoting a brand is more important than opening a store. It is essential to create brand awareness for the customers to know about the brand’s existence. The retailer must strive hard to communicate the USPs (Unique selling Proposition) of the brand to influence the buying behaviour of the customers. In simpler words, advertisements help the end-users to know to which brand a particular product belongs.

Advertisements play a crucial role in promoting a brand and creating its awareness amongst the masses.

They help in creating an image of a particular product or brand in the minds of the potential customers. Such a mechanism is also called Brand Positioning.

Advertising is a medium through which an individual or organization highlights the USPs and benefits of a product or service to influence the buying behaviour of the individuals.

It helps to create a positive image of a particular brand in the minds of the customers and prompts them to buy the same.

Role of Advertising in Retail

• The retailer through various ways of advertising strives hard to promote his brand amongst the masses for them to visit the store more often.
• Advertisements attract the customers into the store. They act as a catalyst in bringing the customers to the stores.

The advertisement must effectively communicate the right message and click on the customers. It should be a visual treat and appeal the end-users.

Advertisements have taglines to create awareness of a product or service in the most effective way.

• The tagline has to be crisp and impressive to create the desired impact.
• The tagline should not be lengthy else the effect gets nullified.
• It has to be catchy.
• It should be simple to memorize.

The moment an individual hears “Just Do it”, he knows he has to visit a “Nike Store”. That’s the importance of a tagline.

Modes of Advertising

1. Nothing works better than promoting a brand through signboards, billboards, hoardings and banners intelligently placed at strategic locations like railway stations, crowded areas, heavy traffic crossings, bus stands, near cinema halls, residential areas and so on. Such advertising is also called as out of home advertising.

Out of home advertising is a way to influence the individuals when they are out of their homes. The hoarding must be installed at a height visible to all even from a distance.

Make sure it catches the attention of the passing individuals and influences them to visit the store.

Keep it simple and make sure it doesn’t confuse the customers; instead it should convey the information in its desired form.

2. Print media is also one of the most effective ways to promote a brand. Newspapers, magazines, catalogues, journals make the brand popular amongst the individuals. Retailers can buy a small space in any of the leading newspapers or magazines; give their ads for the individuals to read and get influenced.
3. Television also helps the brand reach a wider audience. Now a days retailers also use celebrities to endorse their products for that extra zing. Celebrities are shown using the particular brand and thus making it a hit amongst the masses.

Sachin Tendulkar – the famous Indian cricketer endorses Castrol India, MRF tyres, Adidas, Boost etc.A child gets influenced to drink Boost because his favourite cricketer drinks the same.

4. Radio Advertisements also help in creating brand awareness.
5. Social networking sites have also emerged as one of the easiest and economical ways to promote a product or brand.

A lifestyle is a mode of behavior based on a set of interests, activities, ideas, attitudes, opinions and other characteristics that set a particular group of people or culture apart from other groups and cultures.

A lifestyle defines who people are, how they see themselves, or who they aspire to be and gives a sense of meaning and purpose to their lives.

When applied to marketing, lifestyle marketing becomes a marketing approach that where a brand ties itself to and embodies the aspirations, ideals, values, and aesthetics that their target market identifies with.

By doing so, lifestyle brands create the idea that using their products or being associated with their brand takes people closer to the kind of lifestyle they want to live.

Advertising in a Customer-centric World, introduces the idea of Lifestyle Advertising as advertising that allows marketers to respond to consumer feedback in an ongoing and interactive way via continuous dialogue, e.g., online discussion boards, chat rooms, blogs, user-review forums and social networks.

According to the report, when implemented, it should help influence conversations around your brand, drive consumer purchasing behavior and monetize ongoing customer relationships.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the three principles of Lifestyle Advertising are:

1. Be relevant. Marketers have to understand the issues that are important to customers’ lives and build strategies around them.
2. Engage them. Converged media redefines engagement as it combines both brand-level and product-level interactions in the same consumer experience.
3. Build trust. To successfully engender trust with the consumer, efforts must be genuine and transparent, and companies must act on what they hear when listening to consumers.

But be warned: If you’re considering the Lifestyle Advertising path, you’ll need to implement new media strategies and significant organizational changes. Specifically:

Listen to the Market. You will need to view your audience not as a collection of consumers or a portfolio of demographic profiles but rather as individual customers.

Change and Respond. To maximize and monetize Lifestyle Advertising potential, you’ll have to be more open, have real-time flexibility and enable informed risk-taking. You must organize around the ongoing conversations in which you participate.

Consumer audiences now have the ability to talk directly to you as well as about you. If you engage them in a worldwide forum, consumers can very publicly impact brands, products and services. They can skip, ignore or avoid whatever they don’t want to view or engage. This new consumer empowerment can dramatically affect the programming and media distribution channels that rely on advertising support.

Ambush marketing also known as coat-tail marketing or predatory ambushing is the practice of hijacking or coopting another advertiser’s campaign to raise awareness of another company or brand, often in the context of event sponsorships.

Ambush marketing or ambush advertising is a marketing strategy in which an advertiser “ambushes” an event to compete for exposure against other advertisers.

The term was coined by marketing strategist Jerry Welsh, while he was working as the manager of global marketing efforts for American Express in the 1980s. Most ambush marketing campaigns aim to associate a brand with the prominence of a major event, without actually being an “official” partner or sponsor of said event. An advertiser may indirectly ambush an event by alluding to its imagery and themes without referencing any specific trademarks associated with it, or in “direct” and “predatory” means where an advertiser engages in the fraudulent use of official names and trademarks to deliberately mislead consumers.

Actions against ambush advertising are most common in sport (where major events such as the FIFA World Cup, Olympic Games, and the Super Bowl are prominent targets), as the practice can devalue and dilute exclusive sponsorship rights, and in some cases, infringe upon the organizers’ intellectual property rights. Such actions may include restricting advertising in “clean zones” around an event site, removing or obscuring references to non-sponsors at venues, and requiring host countries to pass laws to grant the organizer legal rights to enforce clean zones, and to restrict the use of specific words and concepts to create unofficial associations with the event.

Anti-ambush marketing regulations have attracted controversy for limiting freedom of speech, and for preventing companies from factually promoting themselves in the context of an event.

One of the earliest known examples of ambush marketing is the bitter feud that erupted between MasterCard and Visa during the 1992 Winter Olympics, which was held in the town of Albertville in southeastern France.

Ambush Marketing is a marketing technique which involves riding on the coattails of a major event or campaign without actually paying for or participating in the sponsorship or event.

It is a tactic that many vendors use to get free promotion and compete with those vendors actually paying for the sponsorships and/or event without having to dish out the big bucks themselves.

Direct ambush marketing is an approach where a brand works aggressively to associate itself with an event or property, when that brand has not purchased rights as the official sponsor. Indirect ambush marketing, on the other hand, doesn’t force the association, but seeks to align a brand through suggestion or reference to an event or property.

Pros and Cons of Ambush Marketing

Pros:

• For the company running the Ambush Marketing campaign, it is a much cheaper option to get your brand noticed and in some cases with the same amount of impact if not more.
• Ambush Marketing is a great way to jump-start your business in the beginning because most start-ups don’t have the financial capability to sponsor something as large as the Olympics or Super Bowl.
• Ambush Marketing creates more competition among companies jockeying for market share which is good for consumers; more competition usually means lower prices.

Cons:

• Successful Ambush Marketing diminishes the value of the actual sponsorships and brands who invest.
• Some say that Ambush Marketing is a sneaky and less honest way to market and therefore, in a smaller, more local approach, it may not be a good solution. A smaller local business may not be able to handle the negative media and brand impact surrounding it.
• The word “Ambush” itself carries a negative connotation with it.
• The actual sponsors of events get certain advantages and privileges that the “Ambush” company will never have.

Global advertising or international advertising consists of collecting, processing, analyzing and interpreting information.

There are two main purposes of international advertising research:

(1) To assist business executives to make profitable international advertising decisions for their specific products and services and

(2) To contribute to general knowledge of international advertising that is potentially useful to a variety of business executives, educators, government policy makers, advertising self-regulatory organizations and others interested in understanding the process and effects international advertising.

Common characteristics and cultural differences

Product or Service Offering

In global marketing, a company offers the same products and services across the board, in multiple countries. Think about banks, insurance companies and large retail chains like Wal-Mart.

In international marketing, products and services are tailored to specific countries. Think about Sharia finance products, which are only offered in Islamic countries or to Muslim customers in non-Muslim countries or meat that is banned from Israeli or Muslim diet.

Marketing Staff

Global marketing personnel tend to work at the company’s headquarters and generally are a diverse group of people. They possess various skills that collectively mesh well together, and take a global view of the company’s market.

Conversely, in international marketing, team members tend to hail exclusively from the same country or a country with linguistic or cultural affinity with the primary country.

Marketing Budget

The budget of a global marketing team is managed directly from the corporate headquarters. For example, Nike sets a global marketing budget, which then trickles down to local offices.

In international marketing, however, budget issues are negotiated and handled at the local level, within the subsidiary. Take for example McDonald, which runs local ads, some of which you will never see in another country.

Promotion Tactics

When it comes to promotion tactics, global marketing teams try to run ads and other communication ploys that are in sync with a global audience.

An excellent way to understand is to see ads that were run during the 2014 FIFA World Cup a perfect mix for global marketing: global sports event, billions of viewers, one passion for the game.

In international marketing, commercials and other promotion tactics are tailored for the local market.

Operational Autonomy

Marketing does not mean you sit in a corner office and think about how to sell a product. The typical marketing mix has four components, what experts call the 4Ps: product, price, promotion and place (of distribution).

So in terms of operational autonomy, global marketing teams tend to run everything from A to Z, from the corporate headquarters, whereas international marketing teams handle things domestically.

Social Media

By reviewing their social media pages, you can quickly see which companies favor global marketing over international marketing and vice versa. For example, you will notice that McDonald adopts an international marketing strategy, with Facebook pages as diverse as McDonald’s Malaysia, McDonald’s Brazil, McDonald’s Italia and McDonald’s Polska (Poland).

Conversely, Nike or Caterpillar runs a single page.

Customer Engagement

Customer engagement is more active in international marketing. By setting multiple communication channels, a company can better engage with fans and customers at a local level.

That is not to say that global marketing is less effective when it comes to customer engagement the tactics are just different.

But it is clear that international marketing tends to produce a higher level of engagement than global marketing.

Advertising

In global marketing, commercials are run all over the world, whereas international marketing favors ad airing in the local market exclusively or in similar markets, at most.

Some products lend themselves pretty well to global advertising. We already talked about sport gear; you also have movies and songs as well as technology products.

Other products, conversely, cannot exist in some countries because of cultural prohibition or legal censorship.

Market Research and R&D

Market research and R&D are as deep and broad in global marketing as they are in international marketing.

Sometimes, though, global marketing can produce big flops when market research has not properly conducted or local customs thoroughly studied. Think, for example, of Chevy Nova’s and Mazda LaPuta’s unfortunate stints in the Spanish market (in Spanish, ‘no va’ and ‘la puta’ mean ‘it doesn’t go’ and ‘the whore,’ respectively.).

Other product flops include the Ben-Gay aspirin, McDonald’s Arch Deluxe, and the Cocaine Energy Drink produced by Redux Beverages.

Hybrid Structure

Our number 10 example is not really an example of comparative global marketing vs. international marketing analysis, but an illustration of how a hybrid structure – international and global can help companies succeed.

Coca-Cola used that mixed tactic effectively in the earlier days, and is nowadays followed by every company, from Mercedes Benz to Frito Lay to Procter & Gamble to McDonald’s.

Every culture could benefit from Nike, since shoes are a benefit to everyone with feet (which is virtually everyone). The same is true of Caterpillar, since industrial machinery helps to advance mankind in general through more efficient construction. On the other hand, if it is a product that only serves one sub-set of people, or otherwise excludes certain subsets, then an “international marketing” approach is necessary. Companies with risqué or culturally insensitive products can’t use the same approach everywhere. For example, alcohol and lingerie companies wouldn’t have much fortune in many middle eastern companies where drinking and dressing inappropriately are not widely viewed as acceptable. Cigarette companies would need to modify their message for more socially conscious populations. In these scenarios, international marketing would work better and either no marketing, or specifically tailored marketing would be of greater benefit.

Challenges

Though the world is advancing in terms of information technology, innovative and superior methods of organizing marketing efforts (like horizontal organisation, network organisation, virtual organisation), global efforts for smooth international trades, and so forth, yet international marketing is not that much easy to pursue, it has become a challenge to accept.

1. Tariff Barriers:

Tariff barriers indicate taxes and duties imposed on imports. Marketers of guest countries find it difficult to earn adequate profits while selling products in the host countries. Sometimes, to prevent foreign products and/or promote domestic products, strategically tariff policies are formulated that restricts international marketing activities. Frequent change in tariff rates and variable tariff rates for various categories of products create uncertainty for traders to trade internationally. Antidumping duties levied on imports and defensive strategies create difficulty for exporters.

2. Administrative Policies:

Bureaucratic rules or administrative procedures both in guest countries and host countries make international (export and/or import) marketing harder. Some countries have too lengthy formalities that exporters and importers have to clear. Unjust dealings to get the formalities/ matters cleared create many problems to some international players. International marketers have to accustom with legal formalities of several courtiers where they wants to operate.

3. Considerable Diversities:

Different countries have their own unique civilization and culture. They pose special problems for international marketers. Global customers exhibit considerable cultural and social diversities in term of needs, preferences, habits, languages, expectations, buying capacities, buying and consumption patterns, and so forth. Social and personal characteristics of customers of different nationalities are real challenges to understand and incorporate. Compared to local and domestic markets, it is more difficult to understand behaviour of customers of other countries.

In the same way, as against domestic markets, to design and modify marketing mix over time for international markets seem more difficult. Market segmentation, product design, pricing, and distribution need more information and efforts. Promoting products in international markets is a formidable task. Message preparation and execution in suitable media in international markets is not easy game to play.

Language and religious diversities are the real challenge for international business players. There are 6000 languages in the world. China (20%) is the largest in term of native speakers, followed by English (6%), and followed by Hindi (5%). Yet English is recognized as global business language.

English speaking countries can contribute the largest share (40%) in global business. Religious diversities seem difficult to cope with as they determine needs and wants of people. At present Christianity is the largest in the world (1.7 billion), followed by Islam (1.0 billion), followed by Hinduism (750 millions), and followed by Buddhism (350 millions).

4. Political Instability or Environment:

Different political systems (democracy or dictatorship), different economics systems (market economy, command economy, and mixed economy), and political instability are some of real challenges that international markers have to face. Political atmosphere in different courtiers offer opportunities or pose challenges to international marketers.

Governments in different nations have their priorities, philosophies, and approaches to the international trades. They may adopt restrictive (protectionist) or liberal approach to international business operations. Especially, political approaches of dominant nations have more influence in international marketing activities.

Long-term trend of global political environment is unpredictable and uncertain. Economic policies of different nations (industrial policies, fiscal policies, agricultural policies, export-import policies, etc.,) do have direct impact on international trade. Drastic change in these policies creates endless difficulties to international traders. While dealing with international markets, international political and legal environment needs a special attention.

5. Place Constraints (Diverse Geography):

Trade in foreign countries of far distance itself practically difficult. In case of perishable products, it is a real challenge. Exporting and importing products via sea route and making arrangements for effective selling involves more time as well risks. Segmenting and selecting international markets require the marketers to be more careful.

6. Variations in Exchange Rates:

Every nation has its currency that is to be exchanged with currencies of other nations. Currencies are traded every day and rates are subject to change. Indian Rupee, European Dollar, US Dollar, Japanese Yen, etc., are appreciated or discounted at national and international markets against other currencies. In case of extraordinary and unexpected moves (ups and downs) in currency/exchange rates between two courtiers create serious settlement problems.

7. Norms and Ethics Challenges:

Ethics refers to moral principles, standards, and norms of conduct governing individual and firm’s behaviour. They are deeply reflected in formal laws and regulations. In different parts of the world, different codes of conduct are specified that every international business player has to observe. However, globalization process has emphasized some common ethics worldwide. Corruption is another issue relating to business ethics.

8. Terrorism and Racism:

Terrorism is a global issue, a worldwide problem. People of the world are living under constant fear of terrorists attracts anywhere in the world. To trade internationally is not economically risky, but there is the threat to life. Racism also restricts international trade activities.

9. Other Difficulties:

Besides these problems, there are many obstacles in international markets, such as:

1. Changing ecological environment and global warming
2. Difference in weathers and natural climates
3. Inappropriate or inadequate role of international agencies supporting and regulating international trades
4. Natural and man-made calamities
5. Difference in currencies, weights, standards, measures, and marketing methods
6. Protectionist approach of some countries
7. Economic crisis across the globe.

Some of the giants in advertising and media planning that most students dream of working with are as follows:

Hindustan Thomson Associates (HTA), McCann Erickson, Leo Burnett, Grey, R K Swamy – BBDO, Bates, Redifussion Dy and R, Lintas India Ltd., Ogilvy & Mather Ltd., and Mudra Communications Ltd..

Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising. – Mark Twain

Advertising is the art of conveying a message to the masses. Advertisements generally persuade people about commercial products, services and even draw attention towards social issues. Advertising is one of the chief divisions of any industry that ensures the industry’s competitiveness in the corporate milieu. Indian advertising industry is on a roll and is all set to provide quality job to thousands of individuals in next few years.

A career in advertising is a lucrative employment option that one can choose in the rapidly growing Indian economy. Advertising agencies generally prefer highly creative and talented individuals who can think independently and at the same time work as excellent team players. If you are interested in pursuing a career in advertising, you must be highly target oriented and willing to work in a pressure cooker like environment. Since this industry is very competitive, you must be willing to give your best at all times to make a successful career.

What would it cost me

Studying at institutes such as the MICA (Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad) could cost you up to Rs.1 lakh per year. But at government and some other private institutions, the fee is much lower.

Step-by-step

Advertising firms employ people with different educational backgrounds in various departments at various levels. Possessing a professional Degree or Diploma in a particular field of study can give you a head start in this industry. Further, flair for language and excellent communication skills are other factors essential for breaking into the realm of the advertising business.

To get into a specific department of an advertisement agency, you could choose from the following courses:
1. Client Servicing: A post graduate diploma or an MBA in marketing
2. Studio: Course in commercial art or fine arts (BFA or MFA)
3. Media: Journalism, Mass Communication or an MBA
4. Finance: CA, ICWA, MBA (Finance)
5. Films: Specialisation in audio visuals
6. Production: A course in printing and pre – press processes.

The best way to get into this field after a course is to get on- the- job training. All good institutions offer internship as part of the curriculum.

Start early

The first and the foremost requisite to take up a position in advertising world is to have a creative spark in one’s life. This creativity can be in any form, be it in language, communication skills, drawing, innovative thinking, and so on.

Eligibility for most of the advertising postgraduate courses is graduation in any discipline with a minimum of 50 percent marks. Admission to most of these courses is based on an entrance exam and/or interview. Some institutions also offer graduate level courses in advertising, for which they admit students who have cleared class XII.

Is it the right career for me?

If you are enthusiastic, naturally driven, creative, optimistic, and have the ability to multi task then advertising is the best career option for you. People skills are a vital requirement for this career as it makes one understand what a client needs and also helps in effective decision making. An institution running advertising related courses can help train and develop students to pick up traits such as:

1. Effective communication
2. Presentation and management
3. Team and leadership skills
4. Stress and pressure management
5. Persuasiveness
6. Confidence
7. Competitiveness

Various domestic and multinational companies in India certainly need highly qualified and experienced manpower for advertising. However, individual creativity and capability for innovation any day counts more than academic degrees in this fast paced business.

Funding/Scholarship

Earning a scholarship may be a difficult task.  In most cases, scholarships are awarded to applicants on the basis of excellent academic performances.

Job prospect

Job opportunities in advertising include openings in private advertising agencies; advertising departments of private and public sector companies. Job seekers can also find openings in newspapers, journals, magazines; commercial section of radio or television; market research organizations and so on. One can also work as a freelancer.

Advertising manager, sales manager, public relations director, creative director, copy writer, and marketing communications manager are some of the major job opportunities in this field.

Market watch

The Indian economy is on the move in spite of the global financial meltdown and the ad market is on a continuous trail of expansion. Growth in businesses has lead to a consecutive boom in the advertising industry as well.
 
Advertising in India is quite superior and the local talent boasts of high production values with interesting ideas and concepts. All this has made India a desirable hub for recruiters within the country as well as internationally.

Positives/Negatives

+ives

• Challenging and satisfying job
• Hefty growth prospects that are one of the best in the country
• Heavy pay packets with dollops of project related incentives
• Chances of meeting the legends of advertising

-ives

• An industry that is known for its extremely long working hours
• High pressure and stress inducing work environment

International focus

The global impact of the Indian aptitude with respect to the advertising industry is not only being noticed but appreciated worldwide. Indian agencies today handle both national and international assignments. This is primarily because of the reason that the industry offers a host of functions to its clients. Some of the offerings include end-to-end solutions that consist of client media planning, servicing, media buying, pre and post campaign analysis, creative conceptualization, market research, marketing, public relation services, and branding. With all these services, there is definitely no looking back for the Indian advertising industry that is all set to win accolades worldwide.

Pay packet

Pay Structure can vary from one agency to another depending on the size and turnover. Accredited agencies have a large set up while small agencies may have just a handful of employees looking after all the various jobs.
Salary is generally not a constraint for the suitable candidate in this industry. This will, of course, depend on the individual’s merit, qualifications, and experience. As a beginner, you get to do the basic stuff but experience enables you to negotiate deals.
You can easily get into an agency at the lowest levels but sheer quality is demanded as you move up the ladder. However, the pay packets get heavier and heavier as the workload and level of experience rises. A beginner in the creative department usually starts with an average monthly salary of 8 to 15 thousand rupees.

Demand and supply

There is ample scope for talented individuals in the advertising industry in India. Those who are qualified in commercial art have great opportunities. MBAs can also play a significant role in client servicing. The advertising industry always has a perennial demand for creative talent. In order to succeed in the advertising arena, one has to have proficiency that is accompanied with varied talents.

Tips for getting hired

1. For many people interested in a career in advertising or public relations, internships are the key to unlocking the door to the industry.
2. The advertising industry has a voracious appetite for creativity and innovative thinking. Though the industry is said to be in its infant stage as compared to the western world it has been receptive to the changing times.
3. Excellent communication skills along with a specialisation in your field of study from a reputed institution give you a cutting edge over fellow job seekers in this industry.

Different roles, different names

Advertising field offers a range of lucrative and interesting careers. The job in this field is categorised into two broad categories, namely, Executive and Creative.

• Executive: The executive side includes: Client Servicing, Market Research and Media Research.
  The executive department understands client requirements, seeks new business opportunities and retains existing business. This department also selects the appropriate media, analyses timing and placement of advertisements, and negotiates the financial aspects of a business deal.
• Creative: The creative team comprises of copywriters, scriptwriters, visualizers, creative directors, photographers, typographers, animators, and so on. The creative department creates the actual advertisement in different media formats. They verbalize and visualize the specific need of the client.
  Since ads are of different kinds depending on the media- print (newspapers, magazines, billboards,etc) and broadcast(radio, television and the internet), you can choose the area of specialisation depending on your interest.

Account executive is a role in advertising, marketing, and finance involving intimate understanding of a client company’s objectives and products and a professional capability to provide effective advice toward creation of successful promotional activities and strategies. The account executive directly works with, and provides services to, one or more delegate officers or executives of the client company.

Marketing and advertising industries

In the marketing and advertising industries, account executives are typically responsible for client servicing and client acquisition. The account executive serves as the direct link between the advertising agency or financial service company and the existing client, managing day-to-day affairs and ensuring customer satisfaction. The account executive is also tasked with bringing more clients into the agency to increase revenue. The account executive will typically have 1-2 assistants and reports to the respective account supervisor/manager and/or to the client service director/account director. This depends on the country and on the account (s)he is working for.

Duties and responsibilities

Account executives have many different duties and responsibilities that they have to fulfill, such as day to day liaising via a contact method which can include email and telephone calls. This job role includes many different responsibilities such as:

• Responsible for existing account management and clients communications and conflict resolution
• Discovering client’s business needs and proposing appropriate solutions
• Track and coordinate all activities occurring for each account
• Preparing regular client reports and attending client meetings
• Analyzing marketing trends and predictions and researching market conditions to develop sales goals and marketing strategies
• Developing plans to target new customers
• Developing company’s account strategies, marketing strategies and promotional communication channels to introduce and promote the products and services to potential markets
• Retaining existing customers
• Negotiating and closing contracts, maintain excellent client relationships, and continually build opportunity pipeline
• Evaluating the financial aspects of business development

Working with clients

Mentioned above are a few of the duties and responsibilities in becoming an Account Executive. One big responsibility would be to help produce a successful campaign for clients as the marketing sector could possibly need some further help. Where the role would be to act as an important link between advertising agency and the clients. They will have a routine and have required tasks that they have to complete for the clients. For example:

• Account planners: Working with account planners to analyse the clients brief and the chosen budget
• Meetings: Having regular meetings to discuss the advertising needs and their requirements
• Deadlines: Agreeing to deadlines for specific tasks with the clients
• Management: Having to manage accounts and different invoicing the clients

The bases of this role is to be able understand what the task the client has set out. From this they will then have to organise the agency’s creative and administrative staff in order for the clients request to be completed to the standard.

Required skills

Working in this field as an Account Executive, there are many skills that they have to have to perform numerous of account executive tasks, where they have to have the ability to demonstrate many different skills in different areas. The skills that are required consist of the following:

• Motivational and Excellent communication skills
• Having the ability to prioritize tasks as well as multitasking
• Have a good understanding of Business processes
• Being organized
• Taking on task independently
• Working well in a team

These skills are a requirement when applying for a position as an Account Executive. For example, good communication skills are needed because the employee will need to be confident in addressing with a variety of clients. Motivational skills are required as they need to motivate junior employees and represent the company as efficient to the general public and the clients.

In any company when working as an Account Executive, each agency will be expecting and looking for different sets of skills from the employees. It is important that they have these skills and have a developed the skills. These include:

• Having a keen eye for detail and an understanding of budgetary constraints
• Self-confidence and trust-building
• Fluency of digital platforms
• The ability to work under pressure

When an employee has developed or enhanced their skills and built a trustworthy reputation within the company, they can then go forward and request for a higher position such as Account Director.

A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. Solid marketing strategy is the foundation of a well-written marketing plan so that goals may be achieved. While a marketing plan contains a list of actions, without a sound strategic foundation, it is of little use to a business.

A marketing plan is a comprehensive document or blueprint that outlines the advertising and marketing efforts for the coming year. It describes business activities involved in accomplishing specific marketing objectives within a set time frame. A marketing plan also includes a description of the current marketing position of a business, a discussion of the target market and a description of the marketing mix that a business will use to achieve their marketing goals. A marketing plan has a formal structure, but can be used as a formal or informal document which makes it very flexible. It contains some historical data, future predictions, and methods or strategies to achieve the marketing objectives. Marketing plans start with the identification of customer needs through a market research and how the business can satisfy these needs while generating an acceptable return. This includes processes such as market situation analysis, action programs, budgets, sales forecasts, strategies and projected financial statements. A marketing plan can also be described as a technique that helps a business to decide on the best use of its resources to achieve corporate objectives. It can also contain a full analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a company, its organization and its products.

The marketing plan shows the step or actions that will be utilized in order to achieve the plan goals. For example, a marketing plan may include a strategy to increase the business’s market share by fifteen percent. The marketing plan would then outline the objectives that need to be achieved in order to reach the fifteen percent increase in the business market share. The marketing plan can be used to describe the methods of applying a company’s marketing resources to fulfill marketing objectives. Marketing planning segments the markets, identifies the market position, forecast the market size, and plans a viable market share within each market segment. Marketing planning can also be used to prepare a detailed case for introducing a new product, revamping current marketing strategies for an existing product or put together a company marketing plan to be included in the company corporate or business plan.

Outline

A marketing plan should be based on where a company needs to be at some point in the future. These are some of the most important things that companies need when developing a marketing plan:

Market research: Gathering and classifying data about the market the organization is currently in. Examining the market dynamics, patterns, customers, and the current sales volume for the industry as a whole.

Competition: The marketing plan should identify the organization’s competition. The plan should describe how the organization will stick out from its competition and what it will do to become a market leader.

Market plan strategies: Developing the marketing and promotion strategies that the organization will use. Such strategies may include advertising, direct marketing, training programs, trade shows, website, etc.

Marketing plan budget: Strategies identified in the marketing plan should be within the budget. Top managers need to revise what they hope to accomplish with the marketing plan, review their current financial situation, and then allocate funding for the marketing plan.

Marketing goals: The marketing plan should include attainable marketing goals. For example, one goal might be to increase the current client base by 100 over a three-month period.

Marketing Mix: The marketing plan should evaluate the appropriate marketing mix. This includes setting up the marketing 4 P’s the product, price, place, and promotion. These four elements are modified until the best combination have been found that will cater the needs of the product’s customer that would result to the maximum profitability of the company.

Monitoring of the marketing plan results: The marketing plan should include the process of analyzing the current position of the organization. The organization needs to identify the strategies that are working and those that are not working.

Purpose

One of the main purposes of developing a marketing plan is to set the company on a specific path in marketing. The marketing goals normally aligns itself to the broader company objectives. For example, a new company looking to grow their business will generally have a marketing plan that emphasizes strategies to increase their customer base. Acquiring marketing share, increasing customer awareness, and building a favorable business image are some of the objectives that can be related to marketing planning. The marketing plan also helps layout the necessary budget and resources needed to achieve the goals stated in the marketing plan. The marketing plan shows what the company is intended to accomplish within the budget and also to make it possible for company executives to assess potential return on the investment of marketing dollars. Different aspects of the marketing plan relate to accountability.

The marketing plan is a general responsibility from company leaders and the marketing staff to take the company in a specific direction. After the strategies are laid out and the tasks are developed, each task is assigned to a person or a team for implementation. The assigned roles allow companies to keep track of their milestones and communicate with the teams during the implementation process. Having a marketing plan helps company leaders to develop and keep an eye on the expectations for their functional areas. For example, if a company’s marketing plan goal is to increase sales growth then the company leaders may have to increase their sales staff in stores to help generate more sales.

The marketing plan offers a unique opportunity for a productive discussion between employees and leaders of an organization. It provides good communication within the company. The marketing plan also allows the marketing team to examine their past decisions and understand their results in order to better prepare for the future. It also lets the marketing team to observe and study the environment that they are operating in.

Marketing planning aims and objectives

Though it’s not clear, behind the corporate objectives, which in themselves offer the main context for the marketing plan, will lie the “corporate mission,” in turn provides the context for these corporate objectives. In a sales-oriented organization, the marketing planning function designs incentive pay plans to not only motivate and reward frontline staff fairly but also to align marketing activities with corporate mission. The marketing plan basically aims to make the business provide the solution with the awareness with the expected customers.

This “corporate mission” can be thought of as a definition of what the organization is, or what it does: “Our business is …”. This definition should not be too narrow, or it will constrict the development of the organization; a too rigorous concentration on the view that “We are in the business of making meat-scales,” as IBM was during the early 1900s, might have limited its subsequent development into other areas. On the other hand, it should not be too wide or it will become meaningless; “We want to make a profit” is not too helpful in developing specific plans.

The marketing objectives must usually be based, above all, on the organization’s financial objectives; converting these financial measurements into the related marketing measurements. He went on to explain his view of the role of “policies,” with which strategy is most often confused: “Policies are rules or guidelines that express the ‘limits’ within which action should occur. “Simplifying somewhat, marketing strategies can be seen as the means, or “game plan,” by which marketing objectives will be achieved and, in the framework that appears here, are generally concerned with the 8 P’s. Examples are:

Price: The amount of money needed to buy products

Product: The actual product

Promotion (advertising): Getting the product known

Placement: Where the product is sold

People: Represent the business

Physical environment: The ambiance, mood, or tone of the environment

Process: The Value-added services that differentiate the product from the competition (e.g. after-sales service, warranties)

Packaging: How the product will be protected

The most important element is, the detailed plans, which spell out exactly what programs and individual activities will carry at the period of the plan (usually over the next year). Without these activities the plan cannot be monitored. These plans must therefore be:

Clear: They should be an unambiguous statement of ‘exactly’ what is to be done.

Quantified: The predicted outcome of each activity should be, as far as possible, quantified, so that its performance can be monitored.

Focused: The temptation to proliferate activities beyond the numbers which can be realistically controlled should be avoided. The 80:20 Rule applies in this context too.

Realistic: They should be achievable.

Agreed: Those who are to implement them should be committed to them, and agree that they are achievable. The resulting plans should become a working document which will guide the campaigns taking place throughout the organization over the period of the plan. If the marketing plan is to work, every exception to it (throughout the year) must be questioned; and the lessons learnt, to be incorporated in the next year’s.

Content of the marketing plan

A Marketing Plan for a small business typically includes Small Business Administration Description of competitors, including the level of demand for the product or service and the strengths and weaknesses of competitors

1. Description of the product or service, including special features
2. Marketing budget, including the advertising and promotional plan
3. Description of the business location, including advantages and disadvantages for marketing
4. Pricing strategy
5. Market Segmentation

Medium-sized and large organizations

The main contents of a marketing plan are:

1. Executive Summary
2. Situational Analysis
3. Opportunities / Issue Analysis: SWOT Analysis
4. Objectives
5. Marketing Strategy
6. Action Program (the operational marketing plan itself for the period under review)
7. Financial Forecast
8. Controls

Advertising is a marketing communication that employs an openly sponsored, non-personal message to promote or sell a product, service or idea.[1]:465 Sponsors of advertising are typically businesses wishing to promote their products or services. Advertising is differentiated from public relations in that an advertiser pays for and has control over the message. It differs from personal selling in that the message is non-personal, i.e., not directed to a particular individual. Advertising is communicated through various mass media, including traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, outdoor advertising or direct mail; and new media such as search results, blogs, social media, websites or text messages. The actual presentation of the message in a medium is referred to as an advertisement, or “ad” or advert for short.

History

Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters.[9] Commercial messages and political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Arabia. Lost and found advertising on papyrus was common in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another manifestation of an ancient advertising form, which is present to this day in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. The tradition of wall painting can be traced back to Indian rock art paintings that date back to 4000 BC.

In ancient China, the earliest advertising known was oral, as recorded in the Classic of Poetry (11th to 7th centuries BC) of bamboo flutes played to sell confectionery. Advertisement usually takes in the form of calligraphic signboards and inked papers. A copper printing plate dated back to the Song dynasty used to print posters in the form of a square sheet of paper with a rabbit logo with “Jinan Liu’s Fine Needle Shop” and “We buy high-quality steel rods and make fine-quality needles, to be ready for use at home in no time” written above and below is considered the world’s earliest identified printed advertising medium.

In Europe, as the towns and cities of the Middle Ages began to grow, and the general population was unable to read, instead of signs that read “cobbler”, “miller”, “tailor”, or “blacksmith”, images associated with their trade would be used such as a boot, a suit, a hat, a clock, a diamond, a horseshoe, a candle or even a bag of flour. Fruits and vegetables were sold in the city square from the backs of carts and wagons and their proprietors used street callers (town criers) to announce their whereabouts. The first compilation of such advertisements was gathered in “Les Crieries de Paris”, a thirteenth-century poem by Guillaume de la Villeneuve.

In the 18th century advertisements started to appear in weekly newspapers in England. These early print advertisements were used mainly to promote books and newspapers, which became increasingly affordable with advances in the printing press; and medicines, which were increasingly sought after. However, false advertising and so-called “quack” advertisements became a problem, which ushered in the regulation of advertising content.

Commercial ads often seek to generate increased consumption of their products or services through “branding”, which associates a product name or image with certain qualities in the minds of consumers. On the other hand, ads that intend to elicit an immediate sale are known as direct-response advertising. Non-commercial entities that advertise more than consumer products or services include political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies. Non-profit organizations may use free modes of persuasion, such as a public service announcement. Advertising may also help to reassure employees or shareholders that a company is viable or successful.

Modern advertising originated with the techniques introduced with tobacco advertising in the 1920s, most significantly with the campaigns of Edward Bernays, considered the founder of modern, “Madison Avenue” advertising.

Worldwide spending on advertising in 2015 amounted to an estimated US$529.43 billion. Advertising’s projected distribution for 2017 was 40.4% on TV, 33.3% on digital, 9% on newspapers, 6.9% on magazines, 5.8% on outdoor and 4.3% on radio. Internationally, the largest (“Big Five”) advertising-agency groups are Dentsu, Interpublic, Omnicom, Publicis, and WPP.

In Latin, advertere means “to turn towards”

An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and concepts into one large media base. Advertising campaigns utilize diverse media channels over a particular time frame and target identified audiences.

The campaign theme is the central message that will be received in the promotional activities and is the prime focus of advertising campaign, as it sets the motif for the series of individual advertisements and other marketing communications that will be used. The campaign themes are usually produced with the objective of being used for a significant period but many of them are temporal due to factors like being not effective or market conditions, competition and marketing mix.

Advertising campaigns are built to accomplish a particular objective or a set of objectives. Such objectives usually include establishing a brand, raising brand awareness, aggrandizing the rate of conversions/sales. The rate of success or failure in accomplishing these goals is reckoned via effectiveness measures. There are 5 key points at which an advertising campaign must consider to ensure an effective campaign. These points are, integrated marketing communications, media channels, positioning, the communications process diagram and touch points.

Traditional media

Virtually any medium can be used for advertising. Commercial advertising media can include wall paintings, billboards, street furniture components, printed flyers and rack cards, radio, cinema and television adverts, web banners, mobile telephone screens, shopping carts, web popups, skywriting, bus stop benches, human billboards and forehead advertising, magazines, newspapers, town criers, sides of buses, banners attached to or sides of airplanes (“logojets”), in-flight advertisements on seatback tray tables or overhead storage bins, taxicab doors, roof mounts and passenger screens, musical stage shows, subway platforms and trains, elastic bands on disposable diapers, doors of bathroom stalls, stickers on apples in supermarkets, shopping cart handles (grabertising), the opening section of streaming audio and video, posters, and the backs of event tickets and supermarket receipts. Any situation in which an “identified” sponsor pays to deliver their message through a medium is advertising.

New media approaches

A new advertising approach is known as advanced advertising, which is data-driven advertising, using large quantities of data, precise measuring tools and precise targeting. Advanced advertising also makes it easier for companies which sell ad-space to attribute customer purchases to the ads they display or broadcast.

Increasingly, other media are overtaking many of the “traditional” media such as television, radio and newspaper because of a shift toward the usage of the Internet for news and music as well as devices like digital video recorders (DVRs) such as TiVo.

Online advertising began with unsolicited bulk e-mail advertising known as “e-mail spam”. Spam has been a problem for e-mail users since 1978. As new online communication channels became available, advertising followed. The first banner ad appeared on the World Wide Web in 1994. Prices of Web-based advertising space are dependent on the “relevance” of the surrounding web content and the traffic that the website receives.

In online display advertising, display ads generate awareness quickly. Unlike search, which requires someone to be aware of a need, display advertising can drive awareness of something new and without previous knowledge. Display works well for direct response. Display is not only used for generating awareness, it’s used for direct response campaigns that link to a landing page with a clear ‘call to action’.

As the mobile phone became a new mass medium in 1998 when the first paid downloadable content appeared on mobile phones in Finland, mobile advertising followed, also first launched in Finland in 2000. By 2007 the value of mobile advertising had reached $2 billion and providers such as Admob delivered billions of mobile ads.

More advanced mobile ads include banner ads, coupons, Multimedia Messaging Service picture and video messages, advergames and various engagement marketing campaigns. A particular feature driving mobile ads is the 2D barcode, which replaces the need to do any typing of web addresses, and uses the camera feature of modern phones to gain immediate access to web content. 83 percent of Japanese mobile phone users already are active users of 2D barcodes.

Some companies have proposed placing messages or corporate logos on the side of booster rockets and the International Space Station.

Unpaid advertising (also called “publicity advertising”), can include personal recommendations (“bring a friend”, “sell it”), spreading buzz, or achieving the feat of equating a brand with a common noun (in the United States, “Xerox” = “photocopier”, “Kleenex” = tissue, “Vaseline” = petroleum jelly, “Hoover” = vacuum cleaner, and “Band-Aid” = adhesive bandage). However, some companies[which?] oppose the use of their brand name to label an object. Equating a brand with a common noun also risks turning that brand into a generic trademark turning it into a generic term which means that its legal protection as a trademark is lost.

From time to time, The CW Television Network airs short programming breaks called “Content Wraps”, to advertise one company’s product during an entire commercial break. The CW pioneered “content wraps” and some products featured were Herbal Essences, Crest, Guitar Hero II, CoverGirl, and Toyota.

A new promotion concept has appeared, “ARvertising”, advertising on augmented reality technology.

Controversy exists on the effectiveness of subliminal advertising (see mind control), and the pervasiveness of mass messages (propaganda).

Rise in new media

With the Internet came many new advertising opportunities. Pop-up, Flash, banner, pop-under, advergaming, and email advertisements (all of which are often unwanted or spam in the case of email) are now commonplace. Particularly since the rise of “entertaining” advertising, some people may like an advertisement enough to wish to watch it later or show a friend. In general, the advertising community has not yet made this easy, although some have used the Internet to widely distribute their ads to anyone willing to see or hear them. In the last three quarters of 2009, mobile and Internet advertising grew by 18% and 9% respectively, while older media advertising saw declines: −10.1% (TV), −11.7% (radio), −14.8% (magazines) and −18.7% (newspapers).[citation needed] Between 2008 and 2014, U.S. newspapers lost more than half their print advertising revenue.