Unit-II

Advertising as Mass Communication

Mass communication is the study of how people exchange information through mass media to large
segments of the population at the same time. In other words, mass communication refers to the
imparting and exchanging of information on a large scale to a wide range of people. It is usually
understood to relate newspaper, magazine, and book publishing, as well
as radio, television and film, even via internet as these mediums are used for disseminating
information, news and advertising. Mass communication differs from the studies of other forms of
communication, such as interpersonal communication or organizational communication, in that it
focuses on a single source transmitting information to a large number of receivers. The study of
mass communication is chiefly concerned with how the content of mass communication persuades
or otherwise affects the behavior, attitude, opinion, or emotion of the person or people receiving
the information.

Advertising, in relation to mass communication, refers to marketing a product or service in a

persuasive manner that encourages the audience to buy the product or use the service. Because
advertising generally takes place through some form of mass media, such as television, studying the
effects and methods of advertising is relevant to the study of mass communication. Advertising is
the paid, impersonal, one-way marketing of persuasive information from a sponsor. Through mass
communication channels, the sponsor promotes the adoption of goods, services or ideas.
Advertisers have full control of the message being sent to their audience.

Communication Mix
The key principle behind the marketing concept is that we should add value to our products so that
the customer will automatically buy our products above that of competition. However, how will the
customer know that we have value added products? This is the job of the Marcomm department
and hence the communications mix is needed.

Generally when a company makes a marketing communications plan, it combines multiple forms of
communication channels into the mix. This is done to ensure that the message of the company
reaches the end consumer. It is also done to ensure repetition so that the customer recalls
the brand because of the brand message being repeated in multiple channels at once.

The 6 most common variables of the communication mix are as follows:

1. Advertising: We are very well with the impact that advertising has on our purchase
behavior. Advertising may be in many forms but the two most common forms are ATL
advertising which includes television, radio and print and the other type is BTL
advertising which majorly includes out of home advertising. Advertising is strongly used by
brands who have deep pockets or who have a lot of competitors in the market. Advertising
requires that you have a unique advertising message as well. The more unique and
impactful the message, the more is the connect between the brand which is advertising and
the consumers.
2. Personal selling: Personal selling is the second most common method to communicate the
benefits of your products to the end customer and convert him from a lead to a prospect
 and ultimately to your customer. This is the reason that many top companies and even small
businesses nowadays are focused on personal selling. If you enter a branded retail outlet,
you will many times find that the company promoter is already present in the retail outlet.
The reason that the company appoints their own brand promoter is because this ensures
that the customer will have better attention from their individual brand. Along with this, the
company’s salesman will also have more knowledge of product and competition as he has
been dedicatedly hired by the brand.
3. Sales promotion: There are many different ways of running sales promotions and many
different tips and tactics present depending on the sector you are in. Where trade discounts
and freebies work very well in FMCG, in consumer durables, free services and value addition
(free installation) works better then discounts. Sales promotion also involves providing the
consumer with an incentive for the purchase of the product. At the same time, it may
involve giving incentives to dealers or distributors to get the product selling & moving in the
market. The expenses in Sales promotion is lower and the investment is very less because it
gets the product moving.
4. Public relations: Public relations is the art of spreading the news about your products or
services in the public domain so that some hype is created and people talk to each other
about it. One of the most commonly observed public relations exercise is when there is
some news related to a Movie or related to a product which is published in the newspapers
just before the movie is supposed to be released or the product is supposed to be launched.
Similarly, there are multiple public relation exercises which can be carried out by a brand. In
today’s date, social media is one of the biggest platforms for public relations exercise. You
will see a lot of news being published with regards to what is trending. Similarly, press
conferences, face to face interaction with consumers, newspaper advertorials, involving the
community are various ways that public relations exercises can be implemented.
5. Direct marketing / Internet marketing: In the last few years, Digital marketing was giving
tough competition to television advertising as well as newspaper advertising. As of end
quarter of 2016, digital marketing has practically overtaken Television advertising and has a
major spend amongst all media. The key attraction of digital marketing is the personal
connect that the brand makes with the consumer. Your email box, your facebook wall,
your twitter feed are your private space and via social marketing, brands can enter this
private space and make a connection. The brand which really does good campaigns can
actually walk away with a large population of digital followers.
6. Packaging: Although packaging is supposed to be a part of the marketing mix and not the
communications mix, lately, due to competition and the increasing rivalry between
businesses, even packaging is considered as an important medium of communicating with
your consumers. The packaging of the product is the last point of sales for the company.
When the consumer is standing in a retail aisle, he or she has a plethora of products in front
of them to choose from. Many a times, the decision is made looking at the overall packaging
of the product as well as the information written on the product. If a customer wants an
aloe vera shampoo, he might look at the packaging and decide against an Anti dandruff
shampoo. However, if the packaging is poor, and the distinguishing feature is not mentioned
clearly, the consumer might ignore the product altogether. As a result, BECAUSE even
packaging communicates to the consumer, it is now considered as an element of the
communications mix.

Building of Advertising Program

1. Idea Generation
2. Copy-writing
3. Layout
1. Idea generation stage

1. Orientation: First of all in the process of idea generation, it is necessary to identify the
purpose or objective of communication.
2. Preparation: Relevant and sufficient information is required to be gathered.
3. Analysis: Once the information is collected, it is required to be properly organized under
different heads like: technical information, consumer behaviour information, competitors'
information etc.
4. Ideation: Ideation is the generation of actual ideas by trying different combinations of
facts and information available.
5. Incubation: Once ideas are generated, they are kept aside to incubate, i.e., to let
the subconscious mind work on them for sometime.
6. Evaluation: The various ideas generated in the previous steps are evaluated here.
The criteria used for evaluation are described here. The idea should be: (i) Relevant to the
communication objectives, (ii) Original and capable of catching the attention of the viewer,
& (iii) Flexible so that they can be modified or extended to other advertisements in the
future.

2. Copy Writing: The word 'Copy' has a specific meaning in the world of advertising. Advertisement
Copy is the soul of advertisement. An Advertisement Copy is the written and spoken matter
expressed in words, sentences, and figures designed to convey the desired message to the target
audience. In print media the elements of an ad-copy are head line, sub-headlines, illustrations,
slogans, and brand name.

Approaches to Copy Writing

A copy-writer has to answer the following questions to prepare an effective advertising copy:

• What am I advertising?
• To whom am I advertising?
• How can I convey best the advertising message to my readers?
• Where and how the product is being sold?
• When the product is purchased and used?
• What legal implications are involved?

3. Layout: A layout is a miniature sketch of the proposed advertisement. A rough layout is first
prepared in which the headline and subheads are lettered in artwork and photographs are drawn or
provided, and the position various elements of ad-copy is indicated. The rough layout is tested and
modified to prepare the final layout. The final layout is appended with many explanations and
mechanical designs to give a comprehensive view. It refers to specifications for estimating costs,
guidance for engravers and blueprints for advertisers.

‘Layout’ means two things; in one sense, it means the total appearance of the advertisement –
its design and the composition of its elements; in another sense, it means physical rendering of
the design for the advertisement – its blueprint for production purposes.

Functions of the Layout

• It organizes all the elements

• It brings together copy writer and art director
• It enables the advertiser to visualize his future advertisement.
• It acts as a guide to the copy specialists.
Copy Testing
Copy testing is a means of measuring the communication value of advertising. As a
diagnostic tool rather than an evaluative tool, copy testing can be instrumental to the creative
development process. There are two key objectives in a copy testing framework. One objective is to
determine whether the advertising can cut through the clutter and make people stop and notice the
ad. The second is to assess whether the ad communicates the intended message.

Advertisement Copywriting

“Baat karne se baat banti hai” Airtel

“Built For The Road Ahead” Ford

What does come in your mind? Remember, where did you hear these captions?

Some punch lines are eye-catching and grab attention at the very first time. Why?

It is because of the fascinating words that are used and arranged in a creative way.

What is Copywriting?
Copywriting is the skill of choosing the right words and technique of arranging them smartly to
promote business, product, service, idea, or a person. The selection of words and its presentation
largely depends upon the media through which it is planned to convey. For example, depending on
whether it is a newspaper, magazine, hoarding, radio, television, or internet, the script will vary
accordingly.
However, whatever is the type of media, the purpose of copywriting is the same i.e. promotion.
Therefore, it should be persuasive enough to be instantly attention grabbing.

Elements of Copywriting
Copywriting has some essential elements required to develop a convincing ad. Following are the
significant elements −
• Heading: Headline gives the first impression and lasts on readers’ mind; therefore, it should
be eye-catching. Heading should tell – what it is all about your ad in a very few words,
ranging from 3 to 30 words.

• Body copy: Write body copy in such a way that it seems as the continuity of the heading.
Provide details of all the features and benefits that you are claiming for. The language
should be promising and trustworthy.

• Slogans: Think of "The ultimate driving machine" (BMW); “Just do it” (Nike); "Because I'm
worth it" (L'Oréal), what comes to your mind? The moment, you hear the slogans, you link
it with the respective brand not only because you have heard it many times, but rather it
works. A well-written and effective slogan is a trustworthy brand representative. However,
your slogan should be small and crispy giving meaning to your brand.

• Taglines: Taglines are usually used for literary products to reinforce and strengthen the
audience's memory of a literary product. For example, “she went in search of answers, and
discovered a love she never expected,’ Book Name “Faithful” and Writer - Janet Fox. Thus,
 tagline tells the gist of the products for marketing purpose. Like, a slogan, it should be small
and eye-catching.

• Jingle Lyrics: More often accompanied with background music, jingle lyric is a short slogan,
tune, or verse written to be easily remembered (especially used in advertising). For
example, Fanta: "Wanna Fanta, Don’t You Wanna?" It should be small, crisp, and rhythmic
(like a song) so that it registers with people at once and they remember it.

• Scripts (for audio and video ad): Scripts are the descriptions of an ad that narrates the
dialogues, actions, expression, and movements of characters. Since, script is a complete
guidelines of an ad; therefore, it should be written meaningfully, orderly, and nicely.

• Others (White Paper, Press Release, & other written material such as emails, articles, and
blog (for the internet)): These are all promotional write-ups written purposefully to
promote a particular product/service. So, while writing white paper, press release, articles,
blog, or even an email you need to focus or emphasize ONLY on one product that you want
to promote. You need to describe all features and offers of the respective product in simple
and plain language.

Art of Copywriting
The basic purpose of an ad is to fascinate people. Only after catching people’s attention, an ad
arises interest and desire to buy the product. Therefore, it should be an eye-catching and
interesting. Copywriters play a very important role in the advertising industry, as they are the ones
to choose the right word or phrase to connect with the audience.
Copywriting is the art of creative and persuasive writing that goes a long way to sell the product or
an idea. One of the most traditional, but successful techniques of copywriting is “AIDA” i.e.
Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.

Copywriting Techniques
Following are the techniques of persuasive copywriting −
• Use Action Words − Such as watch, look, ask, get, etc.
• Use of Buzzwords − Normally, buzzwords are eye-catching such as now, today, etc.
• Use Exciting or Emotive words − Such as amazing, wonderful, beautiful, etc.
• Use Alliteration − Use meaningful words of similar sound. For example, Don’t be vague, ask
for Haig.
• Use Colloquial words − Colloquialisms in copywriting is pretty popular and effective. For
example, ‘Pick ‘n Choose.’
• Use Punctuation − Proper use of punctuations and grammar is an important aspect so that
you can pass the right message.
Pay Attention while Writing Headlines

• Try to keep headline as small as possible (5 to 10 words are ideal).

• Use meaningful and striking words to make heading persuasive.
• Try to use brand name in the headline.
• Stick with the typeface in a headline.
Pay Attention while Writing Subheading

• Subheading should support the headline.

 • It should be appealing so that the reader is impressed to read the body copy.
• Use minimum, but meaningful and fascinating words in subheading.
Pay Attention while Writing Body Copy

• Try to keep the sentences in present tense

• Use simple and familiar words
• Keep the sentences small, and do not lose the link between the sentences
• Use singular noun
• Use active verbs
• Convey message as if it is a new information to grab attention
• Avoid using clichés and superlative words
Protect yourself from
• Using any vague word or sentence
• Using many adjectives
• Copying any others’ sentences (Copyright issue)
• Using unfamiliar words; your target audiences are not language expert
• Be honest; do not promise something, which is not there
• Do not use too many words (avoid wordiness); you have limited space
• Your message should not be violating anyone’s right or feelings; you have to be honest and
true

Advertising Message

There are thousands of techniques available for creating effective advertising messages. However,
the vast majority of effective advertising campaigns share four common characteristics. By paying
attention to your would-be customers, what they need, and how you can benefit them, you can
create an advertising message that speaks directly to them and provides them with the motivation
to buy your product and service, as well as establishing your brand within their minds.

Common Ground
The best advertising campaigns focus on finding common ground with the consumer. There is a
perception among consumers that companies do not have their best interests at heart. It is vital to
build trust with a consumer before selling her anything. Effective advertising messages focus on
building that common ground -a link- that binds the company and the consumer together. Think
about your customer and the similarities you share and create your advertising message around
these similarities.

Fulfill a Need
If consumers feel they "need" something, rather than just plain "wanting" it, they are much more
likely to buy whatever it is you have to sell. One of the key components of an effective advertising
message is establishing a need in your consumer's mind. Even if he didn't know he needed your
product five minutes ago, your message should make him think he does. Everyone wants his needs
met, and is much more apt to buy a product that fulfills a basic need.

Offer a Solution
Another way to create effective advertising messages is the problem/solution dynamic. In this type
of advertising message, the consumer has a problem -even if she didn't know it was a problem
before- and you have the solution. You can look at many late night infomercials for key examples of
these types of messages. You have to create the problem in the consumer's mind first, sympathize
with her problem and then offer her the solution - your product or service.

Clear Benefit
Benefit-based advertising messages are among the most successful. Consumers want to know what's
in it for them. They want to feel as though they are buying something that is going to make them
prettier, happier, thinner or more worry-free. By focusing on the direct benefit that your consumer
will receive by purchasing your product or service, you are creating a powerful message in his mind.

Advertising Appeal
Advertising is a form of non-personal communication about a product, service, organization, or idea
by an identified sponsor. At the core lies advertising appeal which is used to attract the attention of
the consumers, effectively influence their feelings and change their attitude in favor of the
advertised product/service. It is the connect that consumers feel with the ad. Creating such an
appeal encompasses understanding what the consumers want or need and what excites them. As a
basis for advertising messages, several different appeals can be used.

Types of informational advertising appeals- Some of the most common appeals include:
1. Favorable Price Appeal: The offer price dominates the message. This is used extensively during
sales promotions e.g. end of season sales, special offers, everyday low process. McDonald’s Happy
Price Menu campaign is designed around this appeal.
2. Feature Appeal: The major traits or attributes of the product/service dominates the message.
Such ads tend to be highly informative and try to build a favorable attitude for the attributes to
trigger a rational purchase. L’oreal’s Total Repair ad campaign featuring Aishwarya Rai talks about
the product’s effectiveness against 5 hair problems.
3. Competitive advantage appeal: Ads featuring this appeal directly or indirectly include
competitor’s product/service and compare specific attributes. Dettol Kitchen Cleaning Gel ad
comparing it with Vim saw a lot of controversy.
4. News appeal: Announcement or news about the product/service dominates the ad’s message
5. Product/service popularity appeal: This emphasizes the popularity of a product/service by
pointing out the buyer base. Times of India is often found reiterating its “India’s Number 1 English
daily” status.

Types of emotional appeals- Although this category includes many different feelings and needs on a
personal level (safety, security, love, affection, joy, nostalgia, pride, achievement, pleasure, sorrow,
self-esteem, actualization etc.) and social level (recognition, status, respect, rejection, approval etc.),
the two common ones include:
1. Fear Appeal: The best example is the anti-smoking ad that plays in movie theatres featuring a
smoker Mukesh who died of mouth cancer.
2. Humor Appeal: Humorous ads are often the best remembered as they can hold consumers’
attention and put them in a positive disposition towards the product. Chlormint’s “Dobara mat
poochhna” campaign works on humor appeal.

AIDA Concept Creation and Production in Advertising

Several advertising formulas are in existence today but one of the most commonly used is the
acronym AIDA — Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. This refers to specific techniques necessary
to implement when creating an ad. Correctly combine these four components in an ad campaign,
and you can accomplish your advertising and marketing objectives.
Attention
You must first capture the viewer’s attention — an essential component of any ad campaign. Most
campaigns rely on a mix of visual stimuli to accomplish this, using images to help an ad stand out and
create a lasting impression. Text is then employed to further grab attention, enticing the reader to
continue reading in search of more information. That is why the first paragraph of a sales letter,
direct mail piece or ad needs to be the strongest.
Interest
Now that you have their attention, you need to keep them reading. This is accomplished a few
different ways. Establish a need, create a bond and let them know they are about to learn something
very special. Consumers don't actually need most of the products they buy but think they do. Being
able to establish a need in the mind of a consumer is the cornerstone of an effective ad campaign.
Creating a personal link helps build trust; hinting at something special to come cements their
interest in what you have to say.
Desire
You've got your reader this far, and they think they may need your product but are not sure. This is
the stage where you stoke the flames of their desire until they are absolutely certain they have to
have what you are selling. This is often accomplished through the problem-solution technique. Your
consumer has a problem — you have the solution. The solution is so amazing, they simply cannot
live without it. This phase also covers another vital facet in any advertising campaign — what's in it
for them. This will build the desire you need them to feel to make that decision.
Action
You've attracted their attention, built their interest and fanned their desire. Now it's time to get
them to take action. A call to action should be in every single ad, regardless of format. Whether it is
a special offer, a free gift or time-limited discount, you need your customer to act and act now.
Whether it's going to your website, picking up the phone or sending an order, the last section of
your advertisement needs to contain a powerful call to action.

TV Commercial
A television advertisement is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an
organization. It conveys a message, aimed to market a product or service. Advertisers
and marketers may refer to television commercials as TVCs.
Advertising revenue provides a significant portion of the funding for most privately owned television
networks. During the 2010s, the number of commercials has grown steadily, while at the same time,
the length of each commercial has diminished. Advertisements of this type have already promoted a
wide variety of goods, services and ideas even from early times in the history of television.
The effects of television advertising upon the viewing public (and the effects of mass media in
general) have been the subject of philosophical discourse by such luminaries as Marshall McLuhan.
The viewership of television programming, as measured by companies such as Nielsen Media
Research, is often used as a metric for television advertisement placement, and consequently, for
the rates which broadcasters charge to advertisers to air within a given network, television program,
or time of day.
In many countries, including the United States, television campaign advertisements are
considered indispensable for a political campaign. In other countries, such as France, political
advertising on television is heavily restricted, while some countries, such as Norway, completely ban
political advertisements.
The first official, paid television advertisement came out in the United States on July 1, 1941, over
New York station WNBT (subsequently WNBC) before a baseball game between the Brooklyn
Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. In Asia, the first TV ad broadcast appeared on Nippon Television in
Tokyo on August 28, 1953, advertising Seikosha (subsequently Seiko); it also displayed a clock with
the current time.
The television market has grown to such an extent that it is estimated to reach $69.87 billion for TV
ad spending in the United States for 2018.
TV Ad started in India in 1982.
Advertising expenditure in India is expected to grow at 13% to touch Rs69,346 crore in 2018 over
2017, according to a forecast by WPP-owned media agency GroupM in its report This Year Next Year
(TYNY). This is higher than 10% that GroupM put out for 2017.

Radio Jingles
A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising, podcasts and for other commercial uses.
Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that
explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually through the use of one or
more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television commercials; they
can also be used in non-advertising contexts to establish or maintain a brand image. Many
jingles are also created using snippets of popular songs, in which lyrics are modified to
appropriately advertise the product or service.
History:
The Wheaties advertisement, with its lyrical hooks, was seen by its owners as extremely
successful. According to one account, General Mills had seriously planned to end production
of Wheaties in 1929 on the basis of poor sales. Soon after the song "Have you tried
Wheaties?" aired in Minnesota, however, sales spiked there. Of the 53,000 cases of
Wheaties breakfast cereal sold, 40,000 were sold in the Twin Cities market. After advertising
manager Samuel Chester Gale pointed out that this was the only location where "Have You
Tried Wheaties?" was being aired at the time, the success of the jingle was accepted by the
company. Encouraged by the results of this new method of advertising, General Mills
changed its brand strategy. Instead of dropping the cereal, it purchased nationwide
commercial time for the advertisement. The resultant climb in sales single-handedly
established the "Wheaties" brand nationwide.
After General Mills' success, other companies began to investigate this new method of
advertisement. Initially, the jingle circumvented the ban on direct advertising that
the National Broadcasting Company, dominant broadcasting chain, was trying to maintain at
the time. A jingle could get a brand's name embedded in the heads of potential customers
even though it did not fit into the definition of "advertisement" accepted in the late 1920s.
The art of the jingle reached its peak around the economic boom of the 1950s. The jingle
was used in the advertising of branded products such as breakfast
cereals, candy, snacks, soda pop, tobacco, and beer. Various franchises and products aimed
at the consumers' self-image, such as automobiles, personal hygiene products
(including deodorants, mouthwash, shampoo, and toothpaste), and household cleaning
products, especially detergent, also used jingles.
Radio Jingle
Most often the term "radio jingles" can be used to collectively describe all elements of radio
station branding or identification. Accurately the term in the context of radio used to
describe only those station branding elements which are musical, or sung. Sung jingles are
the most common form of radio station branding otherwise known as imaging. A radio jingle
therefore is created in a studio by session singers and includes a musical representation of
the radio station name and frequency. Radio stations will sub contract to specialist radio
jingle producers who will create the musical sound and melody, along with the recording
the session singers. The elements, termed a donut, will then be dispatched to the radio
station in various time variations to be edited by local radio producers before being
broadcast in between songs, or into and out of commercial breaks. Alternatively, Jingles can
be made in-house by production staff..

Print Advertising
Print advertising is a widely used form of advertising. These advertisements appear in newspapers
or magazines and are sometimes included as brochures or fliers. Anything written in the print
media to grab the attention of the specific target audience comes under the purview of print
advertising.

People who read newspapers or other publications have a tendency to browse the print ads that
they come across. The decision to buy the product might not be instantaneous, but it does settle
down in their subconscious mind. Next time they see the product in the market, they are tempted to
buy it.

Print advertisements are only effective when people see them. When people browse through
newspapers and publications, these advertisements should grab the attention of the potential
customer. Therefore, these advertisements should be created in such a manner that they can hold
the attention of the customer to some extent. Usually a team of individuals is required in order to
design the advertisements.

The newspaper or magazine ad should be such that it should compel people to spend money on
the products. This is just what the advertising team does. To create such an ad, the team members
work on a concept and develop the wordings and images of the ad. These wordings and images are
then brought together to form the final ad. Then there are people who deal with the placement of
the ad. They have to make sure that if the client has paid for premium place, they get the desired
exposure. For example, an ad on the first page will get instant attention of the reader than the ad on
the subsequent pages. Likewise, an ad which occupies greater space is likely to get more attention.
All these factors have to be looked into while designing the ad.

The sales team of the publication makes sure that it gets ads regularly. In fact, these ads are a major
source of income for the publication and hence it is expected that there should be a constant flow of
the ads. The sales team does just that.

Mailers are another type of print ads. These can range from well-designed postcards to simple
paper leaflets. These are usually delivered by the postal workers in people’s mailboxes. The problem
with these mailers is that they get least attention and are usually considered as junk and thrown
away even without reading. To reduce this occurrence, companies sometimes make use of fliers.
These are paper ads which are handed over to individuals in person. The logic is that if the ad is
given to people personally, they will pay more attention to it, which is actually true to some extent.

Though print advertising is still very popular, it does take a hit from time to time. For example,
during the recession phase, when people’s budgets were tight, they did not resort to print ads. In
addition, with the advent of Internet, the print ads in the publications have gone down because
Internet has a wider reach online. To overcome this scenario, new strategies have to be developed
by advertisers and the print media. Globally, advertisers keep on developing strategies which benefit
the business of print publications. Therefore, it can be said that print advertising is here to stay.