Introduction
Selection of appropriate medium to advertise a product is often based and measured on frequency and spread of the medium. Factors such as: product’s stage in life cycle; marketing/advertising objectives; budget constraints; message type; branding; social/industry trends; time and location considerations; product’s characteristics; audience reach and customer characteristics, are all put into consideration.
Media advertising options could consist of: mass media; television; radio; internet; newspapers; magazines; web advertising; print advertising (billboards, signage, posters, brochures and business cards, catalogues); magazines; and specialty advertising/branding on bits and pieces such as matchbooks, pencils, calendars, telephone pads, shopping bags and so forth (Donnelly,1996).
Suitable medium of advertisement: MASS MEDIA
Mass media in terms of this product which is a wine will be the most suitable medium of advertising for the company. This is so due to certain reasons which include: 1) its ability to reach a wider platform and make sense at the same time, while still being able to target a worldwide audience; 2) mass media is easily accessible; 3) certain types generate cultic followings and this will be advantageous to the company depending on the target audience it’s targeting; 4) in terms of technology, the internet offers diverse options for passing on of information to those clients that are techno savvy; 5) television, movies, the internet and the radio are some of the best forms of entertainment/mass mediums that the company can employ/consider; 6)it can also be used for educational purposes in an effective manner (Schultz & Barnes, 1996).
Unsuitable medium of advertisement: NEWSPAPERS
They are not the preferable medium to settle on when considering advertising a product of this kind. Reasons that make it not suitable include: 1) it is very difficult to target specific target audiences that that the company is intending to reach; 2) there is heavy competition as many advertisers recommend this as the best option thus resulting to it becoming very expensive; 3) The popularity of newspapers is not spread across all age groups and diversities; 3) the current form of newspaper is static and two dimensional; 4) photo reproduction is a big letdown as newspapers use inexpensive paper to keep production costs down and therefore pictures are not of good quality (Granat, 1994).
Primary media and Secondary media
Primary media: this is the medium that has the capability and ability to have a far more reach to delivering of information effectively and efficiently. This results in effective communication strategy which promotes the company and in turn the company enjoys brand recall, further Brand attitude, brand awareness and building of their brand recognition (Gregory, 2000).
Secondary media: on the other hand this is a repackaging of original media gotten from primary media without questioning. Secondary media more often than not presents findings of a compromise between the generated and repackaged content and the original media (Primary media): – “an experience that is not quite what the original medium provides, in exchange for increased convenience” (Gregory, 2000).
Selection criteria
Selection of the medium to use for the advertising campaign will be based on a number of factors which include: the company’s advertising initiate; product’s stage in life cycle; audience reach; budget constraints; branding; customer characteristics; product’s characteristics; type of message being passed on to the customer; the marketing or advertising objectives; social/industry trends; and the reach capability of the medium(s) (Seitel, 1995).
Legal and Ethical issues relevant to advertising
The advertisements and advertising campaign should be compliant to the state law and the company should avoid being embroiled in any legal tussles whatsoever. The essential ethical issues raised in advertising industry are that advertisements should be legal (Collins, 1986).
References
Collins, R. 1986. Media, culture, and society: a critical reader. New York: SAGE.
Donnelly, J.W., 1996. Planning media: strategy and imagination. New York: Prentice Hall.
Granat, J. 1994. Persuasive advertising for entrepreneurs and small business owners: how to create more effective sales messages. New York: Routledge.
Gregory, A. 2000. Planning and managing public relations campaigns. London: Kogan Page Publishers.
Schultz, D. and Barnes, B. E., 1996. Strategic advertising campaigns. 4th ed. New York: NTC Business Books.
Seitel, F. 1995.The practice of public relations. Kent: Prentice Hall.