In this modern world, everything depends upon things that attract people more. Remember looking into some posters, wallpapers, etc., filled with some content on products or services? What are these and why are those put up everywhere? Have you ever wondered why visibility is so important?
Well, this information that you see is simply called “Advertisement”. Businesses largely depend on this mode of communication to reach out to target customers more effectively. Everyone has a question like, are they useful? If yes, how and what are the different ways of reaching people?
What Are Advertisements?
Advertisements are a very effective and crucial means of communication, supplying relevant information for the promotion of goods and services. It is a form of paid non-personal communication wherein business ideas and information on products are sent out to people.
We see advertisements for cement companies like Birla, Aditya, JK and many more. We have ads for laptops, TVs, bikes, cars, etc., where the company provides needful information about their products to attract customers to buy their products, increasing their sales and, in turn, their revenues.
Customers get easily attracted to catchy or interesting ads in newspapers, magazines, TVs and even social media. Social media helps companies in focused targeting. This means you can decide who sees your ad and when. This can be done through paid campaigns on various social media platforms like Facebook.
If your customers are in the age group of 18 and above, belonging only to your city, your ad will feature only on the devices of those people. Thus, such paid campaigns help firms target customers better and more effectively while also curtailing costs incurred in campaigning.
Unethical Advertisements
Ethics in advertising stand on the border of right and wrong. There are certain rules and restrictions that companies have to follow while advertising so that they do not offend or harm the interests of either their viewers or their competitors.
But what are unethical advertisements? Well, using advertisements in the wrong way or making misleading or false claims to lure people into buying products are some ways of unethical advertising.
Ads meant for children should be clear and transparent about the product, its uses, etc. Sometimes, children misrepresent ads and do not understand what the ad is about, especially children under 12. However, some say it is unethical to target children under 12 in the first place as they may not understand what an ad is and view it in a way they are not supposed to.
When Are Ads Considered Unethical?
- Provide false or wrong information.
- Degrade competitors.
- Are against public and national interest.
- Present immoral activities.
- Use others’ personal information.
- Derogate a caste, community or religion.
Ethical Advertisements
Simply put, ad ethics mean a set of moral principles and rules which companies should abide by while presenting their ads to the public. The best example of ethical advertisements is those of alcohol. To date, there has been no ad showing actual liquor; instead, they use sodas, water etc.
Similarly, ads for cigarettes and tobacco do not talk about these substances directly as these cause cancer and other diseases and have been banned in countries like India, Norway, Finland, etc. This type of advertising is called “Surrogate Marketing”, i.e. marketing the original product via other products.
Generally, big companies never lie as they have to prove their points to various ad regulating bodies. The truth is always said but not completely. Sometimes it is better not to reveal the whole truth in the ad, but the truth has to be shown for betterment.
Recently, the Vatican issued an article that said ads should follow three moral principles — truthfulness, social responsibility and upholding human dignity.
So, ethical ads are very important in building credibility. By being open in their communication, companies show how they have nothing to hide and genuinely care for those buying their products.
Ways Advertisements Help Businesses
Advertisements help businesses boost their profits by reaching more people and making them aware of their products and services, resulting in more sales. The following are some benefits of advertising:
- Advertisements make your company money:
What it means is ads attract more people within a short period and increase sales. When consumers see more strong and positive ads, they are more willing to buy those products.
Ads keep the consumers updated about your product. For example, when a new product is ready to launch, ads gives or provides information so that when the products enter the market, the sales are at their peak.
- Ads give an edge over competitors:
In this strong competitive world, people choose those who are more convincing over those who are not. Ads help businesses to stay ahead of competitors. They are how you convince the consumer that you are who they should choose.
- Advertisements attract new customers:
Ads bring new customers into your stores, thus, helping in market penetration. Again, more customers, mean more sales. Besides, the more times people see your ads, the greater is the possibility of them remembering your brand.
- Advertising increases company traffic:
More consumers visit businesses after seeing ads. More customers mean more sales and more business for you. A survey of 3,000 companies found that advertisers who maintained or expanded their advertising over 5 years found an increase of 100% in sales. Companies that cut their advertisements grew at half the rate than those who advertised steadily.
Free Advertisements, Zero Cost Ads
Creative and innovative methods of advertising are more effective than spending huge amounts on ads. Businesses get large benefits when they find “no cost ads”.
One of the best examples of this is “Starbucks”. They write down the customer’s names on the cups and call each customer by their name. Starbucks breaks the barrier of separating friends from strangers. This is how you make people feel welcome so that they buy from you again. You must have seen people posting pictures of their Starbucks cups with their names on them. This gives free promotions worth billions of dollars.
Can you think of any other similarly innovative promotional strategy?
Conclusion
We all must recognise the power advertising has in influencing our choice of brands, both consciously and subconsciously. Our society is now dependent on commerce and many businesses depend on advertising their brands in order to stay in business.
But it is probably better to keep it regulated. Nowadays, companies have to adjust according to their consumers for their long term benefits. Ads play a vital role in bringing customers to your business. So a business should keep in mind the cost of advertising and the number of returns from it.
Every business works differently. Ads should be unique in this super-competitive market. Brands that present efficient ads are more likely to be favoured over other brands.