What is Advertising?

Advertising is a form of communication for marketing which is used to encourage, persuade or manipulate an audience to take some new action. Advertising messages are usually paid for by sponsors and viewed via various traditional media including:

• Newspapers
• Magazines
• TV commercials
• Radio Advertisement
• Billboards

or new media such as;

• Blogs
• Websites
• Text messages.

Commercial advertisers use 'branding' to aid their persuasion. This involves associating a product name or image with certain qualities in the consumers mind. Moreover, some advertisers state there is an advertising theory known as the Hierarchy effects model. The model suggests that there are 6 steps a consumer moves through when making a purchase. These are:

1. Awareness

2. Knowledge

3. Liking

4. Preference

5. Communication

6. Purchase

This means that the advert should contain a message that leads the consumer to a desired end state ie. wanting them to buy/use your product/service.