The Advertising Media
Advertisements are messages intended to inform or influence the people who receive them. If there is no one to receive the message, there is no point in sending it. This briefing is about the advertising media – the places where advertisements appear.
In Britain the main media for advertising are the Press and television.
Others include:
- Direct mail
- Internet
- Posters
- Commercial radio
- The cinema,
- Show-cards
Other advertising material in shops
Novelty’ items such as
- beer-mats
- coasters,
- T-shirts
- key-rings.
Things are different in other countries.
In the United States, for example, radio is a far more important advertising medium than it is in Britain. In India, where there are few TV sets but millions go to see films each week, the cinema is important to advertisers.
1. The Press
The Press - newspapers and magazines - makes up the largest group of media, these are distributed all over England and Wales, and in most cases also in Scotland. Most of the Sunday papers include a ‘free’ colour magazine.
2. Consumer magazines.
The BBC’s Radio Times and ITV’s TV Times, are in this group. So are the weekly and monthly women’s magazines, the magazines for teenagers and magazines for men.
3. Special Interest Magazines.
Whatever your interest is, from angling to keeping caged birds, from hot rod cars to bell ringing, you can be sure that there is at least one weekly or monthly magazine to suit you. Consumer and special interest
magazines, put together, total over 2,100.
4. Business and Professional Magazines.
Grocers, teachers, electronics engineers, doctors, nurses, builders and plumbers all have their own newspapers or magazines. So does almost anyone you can think of, whatever job they do. There are over 4,000 titles serving this very diverse market.
5. Controlled Circulation Magazines.
These cannot be bought from newsagents. They are posted to members of certain professions or trades and carry advertising of interest to their particular readership.
6. Television
In the UK, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, show advertisements between programmes and in intervals within the programmes themselves. These are a number of commercial television channels licensed and regulated by the Independent Television Commission.
7. Radio
The public service organisation in the United Kingdom, the BBC (44 stations), does not take advertising. However, there are now over 170 commercial stations, licensed and regulated by the Radio Authority, that
pay for themselves by taking money from advertising. There are now national, regional and local commercial stations broadcasting.
8. Outdoor Advertising
Poster sites in Britain are mainly in the big cities and alongside main roads close to the cities. Outdoor advertising also includes the sides and backs of buses, banners and boards at football and other sports events, both the inside and outside of London and other city taxis, bus shelters, and boards at bus and railway stations.
9. Direct Mail
This is advertising that is brought to the door by the postman, addressed by name. It may consist of a fairly long letter describing the goods or services on offer, together with a leaflet with more details, a coupon and
post-paid envelope for your reply and often information about a competition or ‘lucky draw’ to get you interested. Books and records are often advertised by this method.
10. Leaflet Distribution
Leaflets are sometimes brought round by the postman and sometimes by other distributors. They are not personally addressed, and, to save costs, several leaflets are sometimes distributed together.
11. Point of Sale
Point of sale (POS) advertising includes posters for the shop window, complete window displays for the advertiser’s products, ‘Open’ and ‘Closed’ notices for the door with a product name on them, and the
various other small advertising items that you see in shops.
12. Cinema
Since the 1950s, when television became the most popular form of entertainment for most people in Britain, fewer people have gone to the cinema regularly.
This article has been put together by the distance learning organisation Start Learning who are experts in home study.
If you want to find out more about Starting Your Own Business or many other distance learning courses please browse their website: http://www.start-learning.co.uk
Kerrana McAvoy
Academic Director – Start Learning
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