Advertising is an attempt to send information to people to convince them to spend their money on certain product, offered by a specific company. An advertisement can appeal to either of the senses; sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste; or even a combination thereof. Essentially, advertising's purpose is to inform potential customers about the products and services offered, how to obtain them, and how to use them.
Many advertisements are also designed to produce increased consumption of those products and services, through the creation and reinforcement of brand image and brand loyalty. For these purposes, advertisements are often made up of both factual information and persuasive messages.
Every major medium is used to deliver these messages, including television; radio; movies; magazines; newspapers; video games; billboards; and the internet. Advertisements are usually placed anywhere that an audience can easily and frequently access visuals and/or audio and print.
Although advertising can be seen as necessary for economic growth, it is not without social costs. Unsolicited emails and other forms of spam have become so prevalent that they have indeed become a major nuisance to users of these services, as well as being a financial burden on internet service providers.
The same advertising techniques used to promote commercial goods and services can be used to inform, educate and motivate the public about non-commercial issues. Such issues might include AIDS; political ideology; energy conservation; religious recruitment; deforestation etc. Advertising in this non-commercial manner is an influential educational tool capable of reaching and motivating large audiences.
Different types of advertising include:
-Media: Wherever an "identified" sponsor pays to deliver their message through a medium is advertising.
-Covert Advertising: where a product or brand is rooted in entertainment and media.
-Television Commercials: this is generally considered to be the most effective mass-market advertising format.
-Newer Media and Advertising Approaches: for example; advertisements on the World Wide Web, email, word-of-mouth, sms, etc.
-Outdoor Advertising: this is essentially all types of advertising that reaches the consumer while he/she is outside of their home. Outdoor products are divided between three primary categories; namely billboards, street furniture, and transit. However, the most common product is the billboard.
