Above the line advertising refers to the usage of the more prominent media formats to advertise the product. The irony with above the line advertising is that it came into being because of below the line advertising. Most of the conventional advertising was above the line. Companies would advertise in newspapers, magazines, billboards and television. This was a time when the aspirations, companies and products were limited.

As debt became cheaper and technology took rapid strides in the form of the Internet many wannabe entrepreneurs took the plunge. They realized that if they had a good idea, it would not be long before it could be brought to market. They did not have the budgets for above the line advertising. They had to resort to guerilla marketing techniques to get the message across to the target audience. They had to try out various tactics to get word-of-mouth promotion going. Viral marketing came into being. When all this was happening, marketers decided to draw a line between different advertising mediums. One part was called “above the line” while the other was called “below the line.”

In organizational business and marketing communications, Below the Line (BTL) is an advertising technique. It uses less conventional methods than the usual specific channels of advertising to promote products, services, etc. than Above the Line (ATL) strategies. These may include activities such as direct mail, public relations and sales promotions for which a fee is agreed upon and charged up front.
Above the line is a type of advertising through media such as TV, cinema, radio, print, banners and search engines. Below the line advertising typically focuses on direct means of communication, most commonly direct mail and e-mail, often using highly targeted lists of names to maximize response rates.
In addition, Above the Line is much more effective, when the target