Today’s advertising is used in very extended field of efficacy. This includes all the ingredients used to build a brand name, or to sell a product. Usually graphic designers and marketing students understand the media or the type of communications that can be used in advertising purposes. Let’s say we understand that advertising is the promotion of a company’s products/services to drive more sales, build identity and present updates. But the client usually doesn’t know this, so after bad experience and misinterpretation the client is confused and disoriented. The company that produces dairy products should involve proper advertising model like TV commercials and radio songs for kids or outdoor presentation near milk bars. Also, can include internet advertising that involves understanding of SEO and social networking.

These fields of communications to the customers are very important and useful in driving sales if the target audience is known. Every graphic designer should understand first the discipline he is creating visual art for. If the designer knows the discipline (outdoor, indoor, print, TV, radio, Internet, etc.) than the workmanship has the perspective to evolve in reality.

There are several categories or important separations usually connected and used in groups, in the advertising industry:

Print Advertising

Newspaper, Magazine, Brochure, Flyer…

The newspaper and magazine advertising is printed medium and the most used term for this is Press Publishing. This type of advertising belongs in a small and narrowly targeted media which allows companies to advertise for a low fee. The brochure and other POS (Point of Sales) materials can be very expansive and used in defined target area. The print media have always been a popular advertising medium.

Outdoor Advertising

Billboards, Kiosks, Trade-shows, Events….

The most popular type in this category is Billboard advertising and usually the most effective one. This type of advertising attracts the attention passers by. Billboards can be typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads or long streets in the city. The most affordable and most effective are the Bulletins most impacting standard size billboards. Located primarily on major highways, expressways or outside roads afford greatest visibility because they allow creative “customizing” through extensions and embellishments. Billboard can help your customers to find your advertising or presentation.

Broadcast advertising

Television, Radio, Internet…

The most treated and the best known popular advertising medium in the world. Television advertisements have been very popular ever since they have been introduced. The cost of television advertising often depends on the duration of the advertisement, the time of broadcast, and the popularity of the television channel on which the advertisement is going to be broadcasted. The same process is usually used in the radio broadcasting, but the Internet is a different story.

Internet the new medium or the new market is also known as On-line advertising. This form of promotion is using the World Wide Web, includes the social media, video streaming and much much more from Google’s point of view. Examples of this type of advertising are contextual ads that appear on search engine results pages, banner ads, in text ads, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, on-line classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail marketing, including e-mail spam.

Indoor Advertising, Covert Advertising (Advertising in Movies), Surrogate Advertising (Advertising Indirectly), Public Service Advertising (Advertising for Social Causes), Celebrity Advertising and so on, are more advanced types of advertising. The visual communications in this forms demand specific research, well defined target audience and location. The most important and most effective way of promoting your product or services is to hire or ask advice from advertising agency. Or the best way to understand advertising is to read books about it.

Next article is Outdoor advertising: Billboards.