Role of Advertising

1. Manufacturers and Advertising

Manufacturers and producers, who intend to make available goods to the people at profit, do take full advantage of advertising as a major weapon to popularise their products and services.

The specific benefits that accrue to the manufacturers are:

(a) It increases and stabilizes the sales turnover

Even the best product cannot be sold on its own, though it is said “good wine needs no bush”. People should know that the product is the best. In a highly sensitive and competitive mechanism, profits of the firm cannot be maximized by mere reducing the costs but by multiplying the sales-turnover.

Advertising does this, by changing the consumer attitude favourably. Further, the sales turnover rate so attained should be maximized and maintained at any rate. Advertising does this by repeat sales. A regular, effective and frequent advertising helps in building more loyal class of customers at all times.

(b) It maintains the existing market and explores the new

A forward looking company always has its eyes on the future business prospects though it cannot lose sight of the current position. A company’s success is reflected not only in creating market but its maintenance and extension.

It is a natural feeling that when advertising campaign decreases, the products are not measured up to, the consumer expectations. Further, current business situations warrant a forceful entry into new markets. In such newly exposed markets, advertising does spade-work for the sponsor to sow the seeds of prosperity.

(c) It controls product prices

Through advertising, it is possible to control the product prices with profit, particularly the retail prices. Very often the greedy retailers exploit the needy consumers by charging higher prices.

If this consumer exploitation is not bridled, both the producers and consumers are to suffer for no fault of theirs. The manufacturer can help him and help consumers by printing the consumer prices on the product packages. Today, product package protects not only the contents of it but also the consumer interest.

2. Middlemen and Advertising

In the chain of distribution, middlemen act as the essential links between the producers and the consumers. Their existence is justified by the functions they perform and the services they render.

Here, benefits of advertising are seen from angle of retailer a last link in the chain of distribution:

(a) It guarantees quick sales

Every retailer holding the stocks of different producers is interested in quick turnover. Advertising, by bringing these whole ranges of products to the notice of consumers, quickens the pace of sales.

Faster sales imply the specific advantages such as reduced capital lock-up, loss of stock, and increased profits. Advertising gives him much leeway and freedom to better serve the needs of consumers. Therefore, he earns better by serving better.

(b) It acts as salesman

Advertising has been rightly described as salesmanship in print. What a travelling salesman does for the selling house is done by advertising at least cost. That is why; most retail organizations do not employ large army of travelling salesmen.

Instead, they are willing to spend on advertising which attracts consumers to the stores where the counter salesmen cater to their needs. In fact, advertising has been heralded as a boon to retailers who are freed from the problems of sales management. In fact, goods are sold in advance by advertising.

(c) It makes retail price maintenance possible

The consumers are very keen on getting quality products at stable price over a longer period of time. Each consumer has his or her own family budget which he or she strives hard to match the expenditure to the disposable income for a socially acceptable decent living.

If the prices go on changing abruptly, those individual budgets are likely to be distorted to such an extent that the consumers have to think of substitutes for the products they are enjoying at present.

The budget tally may involve even the shift in the brand preference. Consumers behave a sigh of relief because; the advertised products publish the retail prices that are likely to be in force at least for three to six months and in some cases over a year.

3. Sales-Force and Advertising

Sales of the selling house are the result of the efforts put in by both direct and indirect approached. Personal selling is the direct method of selling, while advertising is indirect. Both are important in the scheme of successful marketing. Both are to be dovetailed for the best results.

The sales-force stands benefitted as under:

(a) It creates colourful background

A good salesman is nothing less than an actor who by his skill in selling wins the hearts of consumers and sells the company products and services. All such sales acumen has value and the glamour only when he has a matching back-drop.

He may be agile, tactful, versatile salesman but the extent of his success is resting heavily on the colourful back-ground created by the advertising. Salesmanship without advertising is like a song without music or a whisky without water. Advertising creates stage for him for his acting to stage effects to magnify his performance.

(b) It reduces his burden of job

In case salesman alone is called upon to accept the challenge of selling, it goes much difficult. In absence of advertising, he is forced to play a double role the role of advertising and that of salesmanship both rolled into one.

Advertising provokes public interest, wins the confidence, and promotes conviction. With such ready back­ground, salesman can capitalise easily to sell well. As advertising sells between the calls, the work of salesman is rendered easier and cosier.

(c) It instills self-confidence

The victory of a selling house is conditioned by the nature or quality of sales-force rather than its quantity or number. A sales-force that is self-confident and drive-packed is an asset than the army needing a big push without self-start.

Advertising, by educating sales-force, acts a creative force as it instills self-confidence, initiative and drive in them. Advertising gears the salesmen to the top by making them self- confident and self-starting.

4. Consumers and Advertising

The final aim of all marketing efforts is to satisfy the needs of consumers by transmitting the benefits of productive efficiency to the final users.

Advertising is an essential concomitant of modern marketing mechanism that helps consumers in three ways:

(a) It is a driving-force in decision-making

The present-day complex world of industry has been able to provide with the largest possible varieties of products to such an extent that the consumers are at loss to decide. Further, each producer claims that his own products are the best.

In such situation, it is advertising that comes to the rescue of a consumer to select the best by providing him with comparative account of each in terms of features, prices, utility, quality, durability, convenience and the like, the consumer finds it easy to decide with such ready information.

(b) It ensures better quality products at reasonable prices

Advertising stimulates the sales of a good product and accelerates the destruction of bad product or products by imprinting the image of the product on the minds of the consumers and earn a long standing reputation for the manufacturing house.

It is the work of branding to build the image because; every brand stands for quality, value, guarantee, price and service. This means that a rupee paid has definite value received. Maintenance of quality and price of a product is important not only as an objective but as a bench-mark for quality improvement and price reduction.

(c) It saves good deal of time

The modern gracious living has made the members of the family to put forth their best to make both the ends to meet. In the past, the things were cheaper and the requirements were limited.

Hence, it was enough for a single member to earn the bread for the entire family. However, today’s crazes for too many things and the mounting inflation have made more members of the family to contribute to the family income.

Each one has joined the rat race of earning more where he is racing against the limited time. Today, the people are so busy that they pant for the arrival of Sunday to have badly needed rest.

For such people, advertising is a great time- saver. Advertising saves time in the sense that it sells the goods and services well in advance. That is, through the ads, people know about products and services they are to only contact the selling outlets to get them.

5. Society and Advertising:

Advertising is both a business and social force and institution. As a business and social process, it affects every-one in the society.

The society stands to benefit as under:

(a) It uplifts the living standards

Advertising nourishes the consumer power and creates wants for better standard of living. Standard of living depends on the national income and its distribution on one hand and the consumption pattern on the other hand with relevance to disposable income.

Advertising gives kick to the consumption pattern making them to buy more and more; this results in more, better and cheaper production; increased production means more employment and more earnings and, therefore, more spending. Thus, more, better and cheaper production will be in the easy reach of people with low income packets even enabling them to enjoy higher standard of living.

(b) It generates gainful employment opportunities

Advertising is capable of generating gainful employment opportunities directly and indirectly for those who have talent and courage. Direct employment opportunities are wide open in the varied branches of the every growing field of advertising.

It is highly specialised and challenging area requiring the services of talented people like artists, painters, photographers, message writers, singers, campers, musicians, carpenters, press men, actors and actresses, technicians, agents and executives too.

It is these persons who handle the meticulous and delicate tasks. Indirectly, it has given employment by supporting all those industries that supply input to these advertising activities such as paper paints, colours and dyes, electric, electronic, steel and other metal industries. This employment generation is of special importance to the developing countries like India.

(c) It provides new horizons of knowledge

Advertising is a great educator. It is a form of education. Every advertiser has something to share with the society. Thus, employer speaks of job vacancies and an idle candidate solicits job; parents hunt brides and bride-grooms; some announces the arrival of a baby while others the departure of old; producers speak of their products, service or the idea that they propose to sell.

Each ad is a piece of information and has a theme behind. To convey the theme, the advertising copy tells a story, gives a statistical profile, narrates a history, gives enchanting illustrations that we have never heard and seen. Thus, it is educator and entertainer.

(d) It up-holds the culture of a nation

Culture is man-made environment in which he lives along with others. It stands for the values of life and living. These values are subject to change and are guided by the dynamics of social, political, economic and ethical dimensions.

The cultural function of advertising is to understand, reflex and accept the value structure of society well before it vanishes. Advertising, within the limits, set by the culture, is to create new expectation for the consumers.