Advertising appeals are communication strategies that marketing and advertising professionals use to grab attention and persuade people to buy or act. In rhetorical theory, the idea of an “appeal” dates back to Aristotle, who identified the three main appeals of communication (also known as the rhetorical triangle): ethos, pathos, and logos, or, in modern language, credibility, emotion, and logic. The idea was that, if you can establish yourself as credible (ethos), for example, you are more likely to persuade people. Likewise, if you tugged on your audience’s heartstrings (hit their emotions, pathos) or presented a logical argument (logos), you could persuade people to act. In other words, you (or your communication) appealed to people because you were credible, you affected their emotions, or you made logical sense.
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.
Advertising Agencies
“The work of a tailor is to collect the raw material, find matching threads, cut the cloth in desired shape, finally stitch the cloth and deliver it to the customer.”
Advertising Agency is just like a tailor. It creates the ads, plans how, when and where it should be delivered and hands it over to the client. Advertising agencies are mostly not dependent on any organizations.
These agencies take all the efforts for selling the product of the clients. They have a group of people expert in their particular fields, thus helping the companies or organizations to reach their target customer in an easy and simple way.
The first Advertising Agency was William Taylor in 1786 followed by James “Jem” White in 1800 in London and Reynell & Son in 1812.
Role of Advertising Agencies
1. Creating an advertise on the basis of information gathered about product
2. Doing research on the company and the product and reactions of the customers.
3. Planning for type of media to be used, when and where to be used, and for how much time to be used.
4. Taking the feedbacks from the clients as well as the customers and then deciding the further line of action.
All companies can do this work by themselves. They can make ads, print or advertise them on televisions or other media places; they can manage the accounts also. Then why do they need advertising agencies? The reasons behind hiring the advertising agencies by the companies are:-
- The agencies are expert in this field. They have a team of different people for different functions like copywriters, art directors, planners, etc.
- The agencies make optimum use of these people, their experience and their knowledge.
- They work with an objective and are very professionals.
- Hiring them leads in saving the costs up to some extent.
10 Major Functions of Advertising Agency
1. Attracting clients
Advertising agency needs clients (advertisers). Without them, it cannot survive.
2. Account Management
Within an advertising agency the account manager or account executive is tasked with handling all major decisions related to a specific client.
The account manager works closely with the client to develop an advertising strategy.
3. Creative Team
The principle role of account managers is to manage the overall advertising campaign for a client, which often includes delegating selective tasks to specialists.
Advertising agency put the advertising-plan into action under its creative function. Creation of ads is the most important function of an ad agency.
These jobs are done by experts like copy writers, artists, designers, etc. These people are highly skilled and creative. They make an advertisement more appealing. Attractive ads help to increase the sales of the product.
4. Researchers
Full-service advertising agencies employ market researchers who assess a client’s market situation, including understanding customers and competitors, and also are used to test creative ideas. Advertising agency gathers information related to the client’s product. It collects following information about a product under its research function: –
Features, quality, advantages and limitations of a product, Present and future market possibilities, Competition in the market, Situation in the market, Distribution methods, Buyers’ preferences, so on
Ad agency analyses (studies) all this collected information properly and draws conclusions for its research. It helps in planning an advertising campaign, selecting proper media and creation function.
5. Media Planners
- Advertising agency helps an advertiser to select a proper media (ad platform) to promote his advertisement effectively.
- Media selection is a highly specialized function of an ad agency. It must select the most suitable media for its client’s ad.
- Advertising agency plans the entire ad campaign of its client. Advertising planning is a primary function of an ad agency. It is done when its research function is completed. That is, after analyzing the client’s product, its competitors, market conditions, etc. It is done by experts who use their professional experience to make a result-oriented advertising-plan.
- Once an advertisement is created, it must be placed through an appropriate advertising media.
- Each advertising media, of which there are thousands, has its own unique methods for accepting advertisements, such as different advertising cost structures (i.e., what it costs marketers to place an ad), different requirements for accepting ad designs (e.g., size of ad), different ways placements can be purchased (e.g., direct contact with media or through third-party seller), and different time schedules (i.e., when ad will be run). Understanding the nuances of different media is the role of a media planner, who looks for the best media match for a client and also negotiates the best deals.
6. Advertising budget
- Advertising agency helps an advertiser to prepare his ad budget. It helps him to use his budget economically and make the best use of it.
- Without a proper advertising budget, there is a risk of client’s funds getting wasted or lost.
7. Coordination
Advertising agency brings a good coordination between the advertiser, itself, media and distributors.
8. Sales promotion
Advertising agency performs sales promotion. It helps an advertiser to introduce sales promotion measures for the dealers and consumers. This helps to increase the sales of the product.
9. Public relations
Advertising agency does the public relations (PR) work for its clients. It increases the goodwill between its clients and other parties like consumers, employees, middlemen, shareholders, etc. It also maintains good relations between the client and media owner.
10. Non-advertising functions
Advertising agency also performs many non-advertising functions:
It fixes the prices of the product, It determines the discounts, It designs the product, It also designs its package, trademarks, labels, etc.
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