Advertising

Advertising is often used to make consumers aware of a product’s special low price or its benefits. But an even more important function of advertising is to create an image that consumers associate with a product, known as the brand image. The brand image goes far beyond the functional characteristics of the product. For example, a soft drink may have a particular taste that is one of its benefits. But when consumers think of it, they not only think of its taste, but they may also associate it with high energy, extreme action, unconventional behavior, and youth. All of those meanings have been added to the product by advertising. Consumers frequently buy the product not only for its functional characteristics but also because they want to be identified with the image associated with the brand.

By adding meaning to a product, advertising also adds value. For example, when Philip Morris Companies Inc. purchased Kraft Foods, Inc. in 1988 for nearly $13 billion, Philip Morris paid 600 percent more than Kraft’s factories and inventory were worth. Over 80 percent of the purchase price was for the current and future value of the Kraft brand, a value that was created in large part by advertising. Advertising plays such an important role in promoting products and adding value to brands that most companies spend considerable sums on their advertising and hire specialized firms, known as advertising agencies, to develop their advertising campaigns.

Advertising is most frequently done on television, radio, and billboards; in newspapers, magazines, and catalogs; and through direct mail to the consumers. In recent years, numerous advertising agencies have joined forces to become giant agencies, making it possible for them to offer their clients a comprehensive range of worldwide promotion services.