After determining the target audience for a product or service, advertising agencies must select the appropriate media for the advertisement. We discuss here major types of media used in advertising.
Television
Television is an attractive medium for advertising because it delivers mass audiences to advertisers. When advertisers create a brand, for example, they want to impress consumers with the brand and its image. Television provides an ideal vehicle for this type of communication. But television is an expensive medium, and not all advertisers can afford to use it.
Newspapers
Newspapers are a less expensive advertising medium than television and provide a way for advertisers to communicate a longer, more detailed message to their audience than they can through television. Given new production techniques, newspapers are also a quick way of getting the message out. Newspapers are often the most important form of news for a local community, and they develop a high degree of loyalty (忠诚) from local readers.
Radio
Advertising on radio continues to grow. Advertisers are likely to use radio because it is a less expensive medium than television, which means advertisers can afford to repeat their ads often. Radio provides a way for advertisers to communicate with audience members at all times or the day. Consumers listen to radio on their way to school or work, at work, on the way home, and in the evening hours.
Magazines
Magazines are popular with advertisers because of the narrow market that they deliver. A broadcast medium such as network television attracts all types of audience members, but magazine audiences are more homogeneous (具有共同特点的). If you read Sports Illustrated, for example, you have much in common with the magazine’s other readers. Advertisers see magazines as an efficient way of reaching target audience members.
Out-of-home advertising
Out-of-home advertising, also called place-based advertising, has become an increasingly effective way of reaching consumers, who are more active than ever before. More consumers travel longer distances to and from work, which also makes out-of-home advertising effective.
Internet
As consumers become more comfortable with online shopping, Internet advertising will play a more prominent (显著的) role in organizations’ advertising in the near future. The challenge to Internet advertisers is to create ads that audience members remember.