Advertising is one of the ways in which merchants and manufacturers market their goods. It has become an important and specialized branch of modern economic life. The word “advertising” comes from a-French word which means “to bring to notice”. Advertising does two things. It tells would-be buyers that a certain article is on sale, and where they can buy it, and, when many firms supply the same article, it tries to persuade people to buy the advertisers own brand. Most people think of advertising in terms of television commercials, bill posters, and press advertisements. But there is also a great deal of industrial advertising: of capital goods in specialized trade magazines; retailer adverting in local papers; and classified advertising. These and other forms bring in large sums of money, which help to subsidize, and make cheaper to the public, newspapers, magazines, cinema tickets, television programmes, and even public transport.
Publicity means much the same as advertising, though usually with a rather special sense. If a manufacturer is about to open a new factory, he may advertise in newspapers and put up posters. But he may also give publicity to the opening of the factory by inviting a famous musician or actor, like Zebrudiah, to attend as well as the Eze, Oba, Emir, and other important dignitaries in the neighboring villages and towns. Crowds would collect to watch their arrival, while press photographers and newsreel cameramen would record the scene. Businessmen also talk of a “publicity campaign” when, for example, the brewery industry draws attention to the superiority of local maize in beer production or when the government encourages people to patronize locally made shoes instead of imported ones. A campaign” usually means a more concerted effort at publicizing the product.
Advertising and publicity both really date from an early stage in man’s economic life. Every trade sign over a shop is a kind of advertisement, and trade signs certainly go back at least as far as the days of ancient Rome. An actual display of the goods is another old form of advertising. In medieval times, a good deal of such advertising took place at the regular trade fairs held in important centres. Fairs and exhibitions are still held today in the various parts of the world, including our country, Nigeria.
Most firms which spend money on advertising use advertising agencies-often important firms with a team of writers and artists. The agency employed to conduct an advertising campaign must first be told for what market, that is, for what kind of people, the goods to be advertised are intended. Sometimes the seller of the goods is not himself quite clear what his market will be. In that case, the advertising specialist may be asked to discover what kinds of people are likely to buy the article offered, where they live, and in what quantities they are likely to buy it. Investigations of this kind are called “market research”.
This is often carried out by most advertising firms as a branch of their own business, but there are firms that specialize in this alone. When the nature of the market has been studied, it is then decided what means shall be used for the advertising campaign. This depends upon the nature and the extent of the market, and the kinds of people likely to be interested in the goods. The medium or media must be chosen to reach most effectively, at the lowest cost, a public which is not a single group, all with the same reactions, but many widely differing groups of people with minds working very differently from each other’s. An advertising specialist must know what people buy and the reasons why they buy it. Some people can be convinced by exaggeration or overstatement, particularly if these are repeated long enough; other people can only be convinced by understatement or restraint.
It is often said that it is the buyers of the goods who really pay for the advertisement. This is true, for the cost of advertising is one of the costs of producing the article, and the selling price must be fixed to cover all costs. But a successful advertising campaign may so broaden the demand for a product, and increase the quantity produced, that the cost of producing each item may fall, and the selling price may then the lowered.
There are various ways of advertising. Direct advertising includes not only circulars, booklets, and pamphlets sent through the post, but also handbills distributed in the streets, or to people’s homes. Advertising at trade fairs and exhibitions may include other forms of advertising than display; posters may be used on the exhibitor’s stand, and pamphlets may be handed to any inquirer. Cinema advertising can be done in two ways: either short films which work up to a climax disclosing the television advertising is of great importance,and from 1969, commercials have been made in colour. The radio is also a great medium of advertisement. National paid announcements” and “commercials”. The volume of
these commercials is regulated by the government.
Publicity means much the same as advertising, though usually with a rather special sense. If a manufacturer is about to open a new factory, he may advertise in newspapers and put up posters. But he may also give publicity to the opening of the factory by inviting a famous musician or actor, like Zebrudiah, to attend as well as the Eze, Oba, Emir, and other important dignitaries in the neighboring villages and towns. Crowds would collect to watch their arrival, while press photographers and newsreel cameramen would record the scene. Businessmen also talk of a “publicity campaign” when, for example, the brewery industry draws attention to the superiority of local maize in beer production or when the government encourages people to patronize locally made shoes instead of imported ones. A campaign” usually means a more concerted effort at publicizing the product.
Advertising and publicity both really date from an early stage in man’s economic life. Every trade sign over a shop is a kind of advertisement, and trade signs certainly go back at least as far as the days of ancient Rome. An actual display of the goods is another old form of advertising. In medieval times, a good deal of such advertising took place at the regular trade fairs held in important centres. Fairs and exhibitions are still held today in the various parts of the world, including our country, Nigeria.
Most firms which spend money on advertising use advertising agencies-often important firms with a team of writers and artists. The agency employed to conduct an advertising campaign must first be told for what market, that is, for what kind of people, the goods to be advertised are intended. Sometimes the seller of the goods is not himself quite clear what his market will be. In that case, the advertising specialist may be asked to discover what kinds of people are likely to buy the article offered, where they live, and in what quantities they are likely to buy it. Investigations of this kind are called “market research”.
This is often carried out by most advertising firms as a branch of their own business, but there are firms that specialize in this alone. When the nature of the market has been studied, it is then decided what means shall be used for the advertising campaign. This depends upon the nature and the extent of the market, and the kinds of people likely to be interested in the goods. The medium or media must be chosen to reach most effectively, at the lowest cost, a public which is not a single group, all with the same reactions, but many widely differing groups of people with minds working very differently from each other’s. An advertising specialist must know what people buy and the reasons why they buy it. Some people can be convinced by exaggeration or overstatement, particularly if these are repeated long enough; other people can only be convinced by understatement or restraint.
It is often said that it is the buyers of the goods who really pay for the advertisement. This is true, for the cost of advertising is one of the costs of producing the article, and the selling price must be fixed to cover all costs. But a successful advertising campaign may so broaden the demand for a product, and increase the quantity produced, that the cost of producing each item may fall, and the selling price may then the lowered.
There are various ways of advertising. Direct advertising includes not only circulars, booklets, and pamphlets sent through the post, but also handbills distributed in the streets, or to people’s homes. Advertising at trade fairs and exhibitions may include other forms of advertising than display; posters may be used on the exhibitor’s stand, and pamphlets may be handed to any inquirer. Cinema advertising can be done in two ways: either short films which work up to a climax disclosing the television advertising is of great importance,and from 1969, commercials have been made in colour. The radio is also a great medium of advertisement. National paid announcements” and “commercials”. The volume of
these commercials is regulated by the government.
