As the world is moving faster than ever before where the market is full of cut-throat competition, advertising is more than a communication tool. Advertisements have a strong influence in our day-to- day life right from morning tea to bed-time. From browsing through newspapers in the morning, turning on the TV, driving past billboards, listening to the radio, to surfing the Net, it is difficult to keep count of the number of advertisements that we are subjected to every day.
Traditionally,
advertising has been considered as a tool to promote products and services of
a company. Advertising in its most traditional sense can be understood as a mode
of promoting a product, make it known to potential buyers and persuade them to
own it. In the case of governmental campaigns, advertising aims at informing the
public about social issues and changing their attitude and behavior (e.g., anti-smoking
campaign, polio vaccine campaign, AIDS awareness campaign, etc.).
At
the same time, commercial campaigns aim to differentiate a product from its competitors'
products in order to make it more striking to the target audience. It can also
be used to enhance the company image and build brand equity over a period of time
as well as build a distinct brand image and act as a potent brand differentiator
offering sustainable competitive advantage. Brand image also helps a company to
gain market share, command price premium and shield from discounting brands. |
