OUTDOOR AND TRANSIT MEDIA
Outdoor advertising is the oldest form of advertising. The modern outdoor media include outdoor advertising in several form such as posters, billboards, hoarding, roadside signs, highway advertising; and transit advertising placed on vehicles and rail, bus and air terminals.
Advantages of outdoor media:
• The outdoor offers long life.
• It offers geographic selectivity. The marketer can vary the ad message according to the particular segment of the market. The ads can be local, regional, national and
even international.
• The advertiser can incorporate the names and addresses of his local dealers or agents at the bottom of the poster. These dealer imprint strips are called snipes.
• The outdoor ads offer impact. Shoppers are exposed to last minute reminder by the stores when they drive down the lane where the store is located. Since the display is huge it creates an impact on the prospective consumer. SHOPPERS STOP generally follows this type of advertising.
• Outdoor ad allows displaying the slogan, product name and logo properly which are an integral part of the product.
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Disadvantages of outdoor media:
• Outdoor advertising when employed on a national basis proves to be expensive.
• Outdoor advertising is not selective in the sense that once the outdoor ad is put it is seen even by people who are not the target audience.
Blind spot is the most dangerous thing marketer’s fear. The term is used to refer to a campaign that is sustained for a long time. The audience gets bored seeing at the
same hoardings.
Advantages of transit advertising:
• Low cost medium.
• It offers a sure exposure and repetitiveness
• Reaches a large population
Disadvantages:
• Cannot reach the rich urbanites who move about in their own automobiles.
Direct marketing, cinema and miscellaneous media
Direct marketing is defined as any activity whereby you reach your prospect or customer directly as an individual – or they respond to you directly.
Advertising can initiate a sale but it is only through DM that the sale is finally made. DM also helps in maintaining customer relationships.
One time communication does not built a relationship. We have to get married to our customers. This is possible largely due to DM. DM is affordable only when the margins
in the business can afford the cost of sustained contact. DM helps in long term.
There is a huge opportunity for DM in India. DM may exploit new technologies like E-mail, TV, etc. For DM to be successful the customer database has to be really good.
The pharmaceutical industry is most acquainted with this type of marketing.
Cinema advertising is when the ads are shown in the movie theatres before the start of the movie, interval and at the end.
The following are the merits of cinema advertising:
• Cinema ensures captive audience: The people coming into cinema halls come with their own wish and their enthusiasm to see a movie is very high. They are very
engrossed into the screen as soon as they arrive.
• Cinema is ideal media for niche marketing: The advertiser reaches the audience of his choice.
• Economical: the cost is very negligible.
Miscellaneous media:
Video and cable TV, Point of Purchase advertising, window display, trade shows, exhibitions and fairs, etc.