Advertising to Consumers
On July 1, 1941, the first commercial advertisement aired on television and drastically changed the way consumers view advertising. In present times, consumers are confronted with advertisements not just on television, but also in magazines, on the internet, and, of course, the most common form, word of mouth. Companies spend millions of dollars each year on advertisements targeted to increase their brand awareness through marketing campaigns. Through advertisements, consumers are educated about the price of products or services and possible differences in quality, allowing them to find a solution that best fits their needs. Advertising is not just a way to promote items; it is also commonly used as a public service to bring attention to issues such as domestic violence, cancer awareness, or available job opportunities. How advertising is used is largely dependent upon the goals of the company, taking into account such factors as what target they want to obtain, the amount of money they’re willing to spend, and they’re target demographic.
TV advertising is one of the most popular forms of advertising and, in many ways, also the most effective. In 2008, about seventy billion dollars were spent on the creation of television advertisements. Some of the most prominent advantages of this form of advertising are that it can reach to millions of viewers while, at the same time, being selective in its target audience. Although television advertising can significantly impact the profitability of a company, it carries certain disadvantages as well. One such disadvantage is the cost; on average, it costs a company about $400,000 to produce a television ad. In the United States, it costs an average of $230,000 to run a 30 second commercial during prime evening time (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2009, p. 435). Although TV is a great and