Advertising media are the devices by which and through which the advertising messages are transmitted by the advertisers to the prospective and existing customers. The message regarding the product or service is passed on to the consumers or persons concerned through the media.

In advertising, media are the facilitating functions and constitute an industry. Media are the carriers of message of an advertiser whose aim is to reach to the public so that he and his product or service may come to the knowledge of the public and in turn public may turn to him and his product or service.

Merits of Advertising Media

1. Introduces a New Product in the Market

Advertising plays significant role in the introduction of a new product in the market. It stimulates the people to purchase the product.

2. Expansion of the Market

It enables the manufacturer to expand his market. It helps in exploring new markets for the product and retaining the existing markets. It plays a sheet anchor role in widening the marketing for the manufacturer’s products even by conveying the customers living at the far flung and remote areas.

3. Increased Sales

Advertisement facilitates mass production to goods and increases the volume of sales. In other words, sales can be increased with additional expenditure on advertising with every increase in sale, selling expenses will decrease.

4. Fights Competition

Advertising is greatly helpful in meeting the forces of competition prevalent in the market. Continuous advertising is very essential in order to save the product from the clutches of the competitors.

5. Enhances Good-Will

Advertising is instrumental in increasing goodwill of the concern. It introduces the manufacturer and his product to the people. Repeated advertising and better quality of products brings more reputation for the manufacturer and enhances goodwill for the concern.

6. Educates the Consumers

Advertising is educational and dynamic in nature. It familiarizes the customers with the new products and their diverse uses and also educates them about the new uses of existing products.

7. Elimination of Middlemen

It aims at establishing a direct link between the manufacturer and the consumer, thereby eliminating the marketing intermediaries. This increases the profits of the manufacturer and the consumer gets the products at lower prices.

8. Better Quality Products

Different goods are advertised under different brand names. A branded product assures a standard quality to the consumers. The manufacturer provides quality goods to the consumers and tries to win their confidence in his product.

9. Supports the Salesmanship

Advertising greatly facilitates the work of a salesman. The customers are already familiar with the product which the salesman sells. The selling efforts of a salesman are greatly supplemented by advertising. It has been rightly pointed out that “selling and advertising are cup and saucer, hook and eye, or key and lock wards.”

10. More Employment Opportunities

Advertising provides and creates more employment opportunities for many talented people like painters, photographers, singers, cartoonists, musicians, models and people working in different advertising agencies.

11. Reduction in the Prices of Newspapers and Magazines

Advertising is immensely helpful in reducing the cost of the newspapers and magazines etc. The cost of bringing out a newspaper is largely met by the advertisements published therein.

12. Higher Standard of Living

The experience of the advanced nations shows that advertising is greatly responsible for raising the living standards of the people. In the words of Winston Churchil “advertising nourishes the consuming power of men and creates wants for better standard of living.” By bringing to the knowledge of the consumers different variety and better quality products, it has helped a lot in increasing the standard of living in a developing economy like India.

Limitations of Advertising Media

The following are the main limitations of advertising

1. Less Forceful

Absence of personal touch makes advertising less forceful. Paying attention to the message is not compulsory for the customers.

2. Lack of Feedback

It is very difficult to judge the effectiveness of an advertising message as there is no accurate feedback regarding its impact.

3. Inflexibility

Advertising message is standardized and hence cannot be changed according to the requirements of different customers.

4. Low Effectiveness

An increase in the volume of advertising has made it difficult to make any advertising message in general to be received properly by the target customers. Many messages don’ts really get even noticed, not to speak of being effective etc.