Page 5 - Lesson Note 6

(ii) Impersonality: There is no direct face-to-face contact between the prospect and the

advertiser. It is therefore, referred to as impersonal method of promotion. Advertising
creates a monologue and not a dialogue.

(iii) Identified Sponsor: Advertising is undertaken by some identified individual or company,
who makes the advertising efforts and also bears the cost of it.

Merits of Advertising

Advertising, as a medium of communication, has the following merits:

(i) Mass Reach: Advertising is a medium through which a large number of people can be

reached over a vast geographical area. For example, an advertisement message placed in a

national daily reaches lakhs of its subscribers.
(ii) Enhancing Customer Satisfaction and Confidence: Advertising creates confidence amongst

prospective buyers as they feel more comfortable and assured about the product quality
and hence feel more satisfied.

(iii) Expressiveness: With the developments in art, computer designs, and graphics, advertising
has developed into one of the most forceful medium of communication. With the special

effects that can be created, even simple products and messages can look very attractive.
(iv) Economy: Advertising is a very economical mode of communication if large number of

people is to be reached. Because of its wide reach, the overall cost of advertising gets
spread over numerous communication links established. As a result the per-unit cost of

reach comes low.

Limitations of Advertising

The following are the major limitations of advertising as a tool of promotion:

(i) Less Forceful: Advertising is an impersonal form of communication. It is less forceful than

the personal selling as there is no compulsion on the prospects to pay attention to the
message.

(ii) Lack of Feedback: The evaluation of the effectiveness of advertising message is very difficult
as there is no immediate and accurate feedback mechanism of the message that is

delivered.