SOCIAL BENEFITS OF ADVERTISING

Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade its viewers,

readers or listeners to take some action. It usually includes the name of a
product or service and how that product or service could benefit the consumer,
to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume that
particular brand. Advertising, a collective term for public announcements is
designed to promote the sale of specific products or services. Advertising is a
form of mass selling employed when the use of direct, person-to-person selling is
impractical, impossible, or simply inefficient. Everyday, everywhere we are
surrounded by ads, whether we know it or not, they are always there. By the
means of television, radio, magazines and even clothing, we are encouraged to
buy products. It is unimportant weather or not we really need the product, but
rather the importance lies in the ads making us think we need the product in
which they are endorsing. The economy is greatly dependent on people today for
their buying power. As our country has started to consume much more than it
produces, advertisements have started to reflect this by increasing their volume.

ADVERTISING CREATES AWARENESS:

As advertisers learn more about what people want and pay attention to,
they create new ways to appeal to the general public. Wherever we may find any
sort of entertainment, advertising is sure to follow close by. Advertising is the
best way to let the public know that a product is on the market. People and
companies advertise everything from FMCG products, example, Pepsodent
Toothpaste to two week vacations, example, Club Mahindra Holidays. We have
the freedom to buy almost anything as long as we hear about it and decide that
we want the product. Advertisements are everywhere. In or on magazines,
newspapers, televisions, billboards, radios, and even on the sides of busses and
cars, advertisements can be found. Advertising is a mode for companies to
explain what they sell and why they believe the consumer should buy their
product or service. Advertisers try to convince consumers that they need the
product and that the services that the product supplies will make life easier and
better. As long as the audience or reader notices who is selling the product then
the ad has done well for the company. The reason for this is that
people remember things for a short term weather they want to or not. If the ad is
remembered, then it is successful. Advertisers attempt to directly inform
consumers through their ads. The advertiser creates an ad that will be attractive
and send a message to the reader so that the consumer will then buy the
product. As such,advertisements create awareness regarding new
products available in the market, new services that would be beneficial to
the consumers, etc. Thus advertisements not only create a need, which is the
aim of advertisers, but also give the information needed to fulfil a need.
Consumers, on learning about the availability of products and services and
various other related information, purchase productsto satisfy their needs. In
other words, one can say that advertisements are a link between consumer’s
problems and the products/services being the solution.

It has been debated several times whether marketers create artificial

needs. For example, is there a need for Livon hair serum when a number of
conditioners performing the same are present? However, hair serums have
become important today even for day-to-day hair grooming. Cars are consumer
durables that define the owner’s status, but is it important for one to possess a 3
doors car inparticular, for the same purpose? However, this is a highly debatable
issue as it is difficult to distinguish between real needs and artificial needs.
Generally, real needs are satisfied by a good’s “real value” and artificial needs
are satisfied by a good’s “symbolic value”. For instance, satisfaction for want of
music is a real need or an artificial need, is hard to determine. Thus, another
perception of this issue could be that marketers may also be performing the role
of making people aware of certain needs which they might not have
recognised if it was not for advertisements. The Emami Fair & Handsome
Fairness Cream for Men was introduced and accepted in the market by breaking
the stereotype that fairness creams are only for women. Advertisements are
perhaps responsible for the onset of metro sexuality in the Indian scenario.

Besides enabling the recognition of needs, advertisements also perform the

important function of “reminding” people of available products. This is particular
true in the case of FMCG products, for example: Colgate toothpaste, Sunsilk
shampoo, Dettol Soap, Surf Detergent, etc. such reminder advertisements are of
importance since these products are purchased frequently and constant
reminder would increase their purchase.

ADVERTISING EDUCATES & INITIATES CHANGE:

When marketing and advertising principles are applied to promote health

and social issues and bringing about positive behaviour change, it can be called
as Social Advertising. It's what nonprofits and organizations like the Center
for Disease Control have been engaging in for years. NGOs like CRY, CARE, ets
are generally a part of this. Social Advertising represents ad formats that engage
thesocial context of the user viewing the ad. Whereas in traditional, non-social,
advertising the ad is targeted based on what it knows about the individual
person or the individual page, in social advertising the ad is targeted based on
what it knows about the individual user's social network. Social Advertising is the
first form of advertising that systematically leverages historically "offline"
dynamics, such as peer-pressure, friend recommendations, and other forms
of social influence.

The fact that advertisers are looking to reach out to many social
networks at once means that they often look to Ad Networks to deliver ads
across these networks through custom applications. The key factor that enables
Social Ads are independent applications within social networks - now when open
known as open social networks or open social platforms.
 As such, advertising not only creates awareness of needs, but
it educates masses by way of spreading awareness regarding socially
ethical issues. Concern is always expressed over the impact of advertising on
society, particularly on values and lifestyles. Since birth, individuals are
conditioned by influence of culture, family, peers and lifestyle. However, it has
been argued that the overwhelming amount of advertising plays a major role in
influencing and transmitting social values. The concept of birth control was
introduced by way of advertising in India. The introductions of I Pill and 72 Hour
Pill are gaining popularity. Many have begun to believe that advertisements have
become a social guide. It provides ideas about style, morality and behaviour.
Advertisements have helped bridge gaps between the rich and poor, reduced
gaps between the backward classes and higher classes. Even Homosexuality has
become acceptable in the Indian society due to advertising. Advertisements of
McDonald’s and Pizza Hut have influenced food habits in Indians too. As such,
due to advertising, the educated class has grown and has emerged to the extent
of causing the much required beneficial changes in the Indian Society. Issues
such as AIDS which were initially suppressed are now openly spoken about and
masses have become well aware of its preventive measures like use of condoms.
Celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan have played an active role in AIDS awareness.
The TATA Tea Jaago Re ad. campaigns have made the masses aware of
importance of voting during elections and fighting against bribery, a social evil
so grave in India that it has become the soul of corruption. Aaj Tak, a news
channel, has campaigns touching on issues like eve-teasing, anti-smoking, etc.
Masses have become aware of grave issues like Global Warming, Water Wastage
and Electricity Wastage, which has enabled them to initiate programmes to
control these problems. Therefore, advertising also initiates change
essential for the benefit of the society.

ADVERTISING: AN INTEGRAL PART OF ECONOMY

Advertising may be local, regional, national, or international in scope. The

rates charged for the different levels of advertising vary sharply, particularly in
newspapers; varying rates also are set by newspapers for amusement, political,
legal, religious, and charitable advertisements. Advertising messages are
disseminated through numerous and varied channels or media. In descending
order of volume, the major media are newspapers, television, direct mail, radio,
magazines, business publications, outdoor advertising, and farm publications. In
addition, a significant amount of all advertising is invested in miscellaneous
media, such as window displays, free shopping-news publications, calendars,
blimps, sky writing by aeroplanes, and even sandwich boards carried by people
walking the streets.

According to 2009 statistics, Television Advertisements accounted for a

total of 3396.7 Billion US $ while Radio accounted for 16150 Million US $; Print
Media accounted for 2485.9 Billion US $.
 Thus Advertising is an integral part of the economy. The purpose for
advertising is to commercialize a product or anything else to a certain audience
or to any audiences. Another purpose for advertising is to make the company a
bigger name by getting more buyers. For example, the purpose of an
advertisement is to persuade Football players to buy Reebok. Advertising is
necessary in the point of view of a company owner. Because for his company to
prosper, he needs buyers, and without advertising he would have less buyers
which will slow down his company's growth.

Advertising has a major role in businesses and advertising is a business in

itself. How else would businesses get their name and product or service out to
the consumer by efficient means and time? A business may create a product and
within a couple days reach consumers across the nation to sell that
product. Without advertising businesses would not expand into
nationwide companies, they would only exist as bricks and mortars in towns
where they exist and the community knows them. Without advertising
competition would only exist between companies by positive feedback of
consumers and their price. Without advertising our society would move at a
snails pace to grow. Spending would be minimal as well as sales. Advertising
creates more business to be done and more spending to be done. Furthermore,
advertising is a paid link between the business and the consumer to inform and
persuade them about a product or service to promote consumer sovereignty of
products available to the consumer.

Advertising is a huge business with a revenue turnover of more than

60Billion rupees a year. Television Channels survive on advertisements. So do
other media like Radio and Print. Thus, advertising forms a cycle because unless
products of companies are not advertised for, they wouldn’t be purchased. If
these products are not purchased, companies will crash along with all mass
media like television, radio and print. It would then lead to the social evil of
unemployment as the absence of companies would mean the absence of work
and hence creation of unemployment. Advertising is also important to boost
the economy. When products and services are advertised for, a need is
generated, turning it into a demand when people have the will and the money to
purchase. Greater the advertising, greater are the demands. Thus companies
can make greater profits which would flourish newer industries and new
industries would lead to greater employment.

Advertisements have become omnipresent and one cannot escape them

one may think that advertisements are merely for the profit of companies and
industries, but this is not true as needs of masses for new products, employment
and awareness are satisfied by the advertising industry.