Classification of Advertising

The principal means of classification are: (1) by geographical spread, such as

National, Regional and Local.
(2) by target group, such as consumer ad, Industrial ad or trade ad.
(3) by type of impact such as:
i) Primary demand or Selective Demand Ad
(ii) Direct or Indirect action ad
(iii) Institutional Ad.

a. National Ad: Some ‘manufacturers may’ think that their target is, the entire
country & select media with’ a countrywide base. Generally large, established
firms like Hindustan Lever, Brooke Bond, Larsen & Turbo, Escorts,
Associated Cement Companies opt for these ads.

b. Local Advertising: Small firms may like to restrict their business to state or
regional level. Some firms first localize their marketing efforts and once
success has been achieved, they spread out to wider horizons. Ex:Ad given by
Raymonds, Big bazaar etc.
A classic example :
•Nirma washing powder, which initially was sold only in Gujarat
and subsequently entered the other markets.
• Retail stores also undertake local advertising.
•The area to be covered would generally be a city/town.
• local media media would be selected .
•Sometimes large firms may also go in for local ad during pre-
testing of a consumer product in selected areas before embarking
on a promo campaign on a national level.
[Link] Advertising: Multinational firms treat the world as
their market. Firms such as National IBM or Sony or Ford
advertise globally, e.g., in periodicals like Times, Readers
Digest.
2. Target Group Basis: It is on the basis of target groups aimed
at it can further be divided into sub category as:
a. Consumer Advertising & d. Professional Adverting
b. Industrial Advertising
c. Trade Advertising
a. Consumer Advertising: A very substantial portion of total
advertising is directed to buyers of consumer products who
purchase them either for their own use or for their
household’s.
b. Industrial Advertising: Industrial ads refer to those which
are issued by the manufacturers/distributors to the buyers of
industrial products.

• This category would include machinery and equipment,

industrial intermediates, parts and components, etc.

• Media used are Industry publications, direct mail, telephone,

internet & trade Fairs.

• Directed towards specialised , small sized target audience.

• Helps to reduce personal selling costs & ads contain detailed
specification of products.
c. Trade Advertising: Ads, which are directed by the manufacturers to the
distribution channel members, such as wholesalers or retailers.
• The objective is to promote sales by motivating the distribution channel
members to stock more or to attract new retain outlets & to enhance purchase by
end users.
•Push ads & pull ads belong to these category.
d. Professional Ad: Firms operating in some market have to direct their ad to
some professional decision makers & the consumers themselves are not
responsible for the buying decisions.
•The classic examples are pharmaceuticals where the decision is made by
doctors while the consumers are the patient.
• Almost similar situation exists’ in the field of construction where architects,
civil engineers and contractors are the decision-makers.
3. By Type of Impact:
On the basis of impact, advertising can’ be primary advertising
for generic unbranded products like such as tea, coffee, paints
etc.
•At later stages, these commodities are branded and specific
brands are promoted with the selective advertising.

• Direct action advertising expects immediate response from the

buyers such as soliciting orders through direct mail.

•Mostly advertising is indirect action advertising which makes

the consumers favorably inclined towards so that they can later
on buy these products ‘ in future.
Purposes of PR Ad.
1. It projects a favourable image of the company.
2. It generates goodwill for the business.
3. It maintains relationship with the trade and suppliers.
4. It bursts the myths surrounding the corporate activities.
5. It creates conducive climate for the investing public.
6. It wins the confidence of the employees.
7. It takes up social causes for promotion such as- dowry, female
infanticide, cancer detection [Link] thus renders community
service & seeks public support for certain causes.
8. It is concerned with customer service and customer
relationship management
Sub-categories:
PR advertising can be put into three categories:
1. Institutional or Corporate Advertising.
2. Public Service Advertising.
3. Political Advertising
Institutional or Corporate Advertising:
The basic purpose of institutional or corporate advertising is to create
a favourable public image of itself. It emphasizes its “name, rather
than its products and services. Ex:Believe in the best” tagline &
“Let’s make things better”.
1. The institute may present its viewpoint about a national cause, say
prevention of blindness and the efforts it has taken to help this cause.
2. It may list its social contributions, or may emphasize its socially
oriented policies.
3. It may also stress on the mission of the organization and, its
philosophy.
4. It may speak about its R & D, plants, employee welfare schemes,
market position.
Public Service Ad/Public Awareness Ad/ Social Service Ad/
Social Awareness (SA) Ad.

•(PSA) is also institutional advertising, which seeks to

promote important social issue.

• It is created to promote greater awareness of public causes.

•The examples of such social issues, are handicapped

children and their help, female foeticide, national integration,
flood donation, AIDS etc.
2. Political advertising includes communications supporting or
opposing an officeholder, a political party, or a measure (a ballot
proposition).
• Includes communications that
a) appear in pamphlets, circulars, fliers, billboards or other signs,
bumper stickers, or similar forms of written communication.
b)published in newspapers, magazines, or other periodicals & that
are broadcast by radio or television in return for consideration.
c) The mood of the people, the current scenario all has to be taken
into consideration. Although rational appeals are not rejected but
essentially there is an overdose of emotional appeal & mud slinging
too.
Directory Advertising
Another type of advertising is called directory because people refer
to it to find out how to buy a product or service.
• Yellow Pages & others perform the same function.
Direct-Response Advertising
Direct-response advertising can use any advertising medium,
including direct mail, but the message is different from that of
national and retail advertising in that it tries to stimulate a sale
directly. The consumer can respond by telephone or mail, and the
product is delivered directly to the consumer by mail or some other
carrier.
B2B Ads:Business-to-business advertising includes messages
directed at retailers, wholesalers, and distributors, as well as industrial
purchasers and professionals such as lawyers and physicians.
Interactive Advertising
Interactive advertising is delivered to individual consumers who ave
access to a computer and the Internet.
•Advertisements are delivered via Web pages, banner ads, and so
forth.
• In this instance, the consumer can respond to the ad, modify it,
expand it, or ignore it.
Product Advertising:
Ad plays an important role in promoting the product. Product
advertising is of 3 types
• Pioneering or Informative advertising: Here an attempt is made
to stimulate the primary demand of the product category rather
than a specific brand. For example Incredible India made an
indelible mark where pioneering advertisement was concerned.
Here the product category is introduced first, educative in intent
and it appeals to the consumer’s rational as well as to his
emotional being.
Competitive or Persuasive advertising: Here selective demand of a
specific product brand is stimulated. By now the product is
established in the market and has reached the growth in the market
and has reached the growth or maturity stage of the product.   
       
• Retentive or Reminder oriented: The product is now having a
firm footing in the market place. Its sales may start to decline at a
later point. The buyer must reminded about the product to sustain
his loyalty. It is a soft sell approach where the buyer is judged to
continue the usage of the product. The essence here is to keep the
brand name in front of the eye of the viewer. Used at both the
maturity as well as the declining stage. Ex includes soft drinks
ads.
Service ads:
Specialized services like consulting; being a doctor &even an
advertising agency is an example of service ad.
•They may talk about congenial environment, quickness and
promptness of service, economy, exclusiveness, and status
significance.
• Hotels and airlines, when advertising their services, attach
greater importance to service with a smile, courtesy,
thoughtfulness and claim that they offer a home away from
home.
Cooperative Advertising
Here a manufacturer offers retailers an advertising program for
the later to run. The program may include suggested
advertising format, materials to be used to create actual
advertisements, and money to pay a portion of the cost.
Certain merchandise quantity is also suggested for the retailer
to stock and perhaps display. There are 3 types of co-op
advertising:
1. Vertical: When the upstream manufacturer or service provider
pays for a downstream retailers ad.
2. Horizontal: When local dealers in a geographic area pool
money for advertising.
3. Ingredient producer co-op: When the producer of an
ingredient pays part of an ad run by the user product.
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