Samuel Levinson The Role Advertising Plays in Our Economic System In our economic system, advertising contributes to our

free-mar et economy! It allo"s for com#etition to ta e #lace, "ith similar and different #roducts, giving us a choice of "hich #roduct to #urchase! Advertising is virtually a re$uirement for a free-mar et that involves com#etition! %ithout advertising, our economy "ould not be as strong, and there "ould #otentially be mono#olies for some, if not all, #roducts and services! &y having advertising in a free-mar et economy, it gives consumers an advantage in finding the #roducts they see at a reasonable #rice! There "ould not be as many com#anies flourishing "ithout the use of advertising, and less 'obs "ould be available to the "or ers! A com#any(s self-interest involves ta ing care of oneself, ho"ever, "ith the ability to advertise, the consumer has more #o"er! &y advertising #roducts, consumers are more li ely to no" the #rices and advisability of good, so that they may #urchase the items they see , hel#ing our economy and su##orting local businesses! %ith various com#anies, the #roducts "ill be #roduced based on "hat the various consumers are demanding, and advertising allo"s the consumer to have choices on a "ide range of items! &rand loyalty may be built in combination "ith advertising, and one "ill have an e)#ectation based on "hat is being #urchased! The advertising is used to sell #roducts and to inform the #ublic! %ith a lac of advertising, the #ublic may not be a"are of some #roducts, and there "ould be a dro# in sales! Eventually, this "ould create a disadvantage for our economy, "ith less consumers #urchasing #roducts! Advertising becomes an essential for countries "ith a com#licated economic system, and an increase in com#etition! It is not only the com#anies and local stores that benefit from advertising! It is also the television channels "e "atch and the maga*ines "e read! &oth formats of

delivering information are reliant on adverting! The entire economy "ould be negatively affected if com#anies ceased to advertise their #roducts to the #ublic!

+ommon ,orms of -igital .edia and /o" They -iffer ,rom .edia in The Past0 The most common forms of digital media include "ebsites, online videos, e-mail, banner ads lin ing to other #ages, and social media! These digital advertisements differ from #ast media, due to the consumer(s involvement in see ing the advertising! These ads are also not confined by time limits, and a lot of the content may be available on the same

#age! Instead of a thirty to si)ty second ad that may #lay seemingly at random for a consumer "atching a television ad, the online media is al"ays #resent and available on demand! I believe that the digital media may also be less e)#ensive to distribute, as o##osed to trying to ac$uire ad s#ace during a highly commerciali*ed event, such as the Su#er &o"l! Radio and television served as some of the #rimary outlets for advertising in the #ast! These outlets are still valuable to com#anies, ho"ever, no" they have more tools at their dis#osal! A benefit of digital advertising is that it may be #erceived by the consumer as more #ersonal! Through e-mail, a com#any may directly contact a consumer, and even mention him or her by name! Some com#anies are using s#ecific mar eting, using an advantage such as sending cou#ons or #romotional codes to a consumer to encourage a #urchase! This serves as an incentive for the consumer and it advertises the #roducts simultaneously! This allo"s the com#any to have a one-on-one interaction "ith the consumer! .ost recently, social media online allo"s re#resentatives of a com#any to directly communicate "ith a consumer and allo" the customers to ma e suggestions! %ith social media, a com#any may ma e itself a familiar grou# to consumers, hel#ing to establish brand loyalty and recognition! The com#any "ould have more #o"er in communication, "ith consumers directly follo"ing the com#any on "ebsites such as 1ou Tube and T"itter! %ith digital media, com#anies have ne" o##ortunities to #romote #roducts, in addition to already established sources such as #rint, television, and radio adverting! Product demonstrations may be #resented "ithout a time limit in an online video! All of these ne" methods "ill increase consumer attention and lead to further sales!

The .ain Pur#oses of Sales Promotion and %hy &rands Em#loy Push-and-PullStrategies in Their Promotional Efforts +om#anies use sales #romotions to educate the #ublic about a ne" #roduct that is about to be released to the mar et! This may be used to increase the demand for a #roduct, by using conventional television advertising and in some cases contacting the media to further #romote a #roduct! Product availability may increase demand for a #roduct, due to the sales #romotion! +om#anies may de#loy cou#ons, contests, and #roduct sam#les in order to further engage the consumer! In the #romotional effort, the #ush-and-#ull-strategies may be used to create an increase in demand, in an attem#t to

#ull the consumers to"ards and #roducts and bring forth an o##ortunity to sell the items to local stores for distribution! The #ush strategy encourages the stores to ee# u# "ith demand, so that #roducts may reach consumers! If the com#any is successful "ith their mar eting cam#aign, advertising "ill increase, the #roducts may ma e their "ay into #o#ular culture 2only if this is tem#orary3, and further interest "ill increase as consumers communicate "ith family and friends! +om#etition may follo" the lead of another com#any, ho"ever, the original com#any to #romote a uni$ue #roduct may still hold the lead! In the mar eting cam#aign, the com#any must convince the #ublic that the #roduct is necessary, the it "ill im#rove one(s daylily activities, and that it is a #art of a trend to o"n the #roduct! &y ma ing arrangements "ith numerous stores and television channels, the #roducts "ill be featured every"here and consumers "ill be familiar "ith them! I believe this "ould be a successful sales #romotion!

/o" Public Relations -iffer from Advertising Public relations and advertising are beneficial to com#anies, ho"ever, they are t"o se#arate entities! Adverting may directly a##roach a consumer through the use of visuals and audio as a means to sell a #roduct and create brand a"areness! It is delivered through means of #aid advertising, "hereas #ublic relations is a felid that is more narro" that allo"s a com#any to have an e)change of information bet"een a com#any and ey #ublics! Public relations allo"s the com#any to communicate and e)change information "ith various members of the #o#ulation! It is not necessarily a form of advertising! &y having a #ublic relations de#artment, a com#any "ill have the means of ans"ering $uestions, and having a re#resentative to bridge the s#ace bet"een the #ublic and the

com#any! Any misunderstandings or misinformation may also be addressed by the #ublic relations de#artment! &y contacting the ne"s media, a com#any may have more creditability "ith consumers, as their #ublic relations de#artment "ould not be a #art of entertainment! Public relations is a more #ersonal field, allo"ing re#resentatives to establish #ersonal contact "ith consumers! The sales de#artment that may use advertising do not involve themselves "ith the organi*ation-"ide res#onsibilities of a #ublic relations de#artment, in that #ublic relations is the communication tool for a com#any to reach a target audience and the ne"s media! Tele#hone conversations and #ersonal meetings may be a #art of the #ublic relations re#resentative(s tas s! Advertising "ill cost a com#any a significant amount of money, "hereas #ublic relations #romotions are usually free or lo" cost! Advertising may lead to a s e#tic #ublic on some issues, "hereas #ublic relations may have less resistance and be vie"ed as a source of information and ne"s! Through a #ublic relations de#artment, the com#any may fre$uently communicate "ith the #ublic!

%ays That Advertising Affect Our 4alue System A com#any(s adverting may allegedly affect our value system, or a##eal to a s#ecific set of customer values! %e are encouraged to buy #roducts, and #sychology is used by some com#anies to sell the items to us! %e may believe that our lives "ill im#rove if "e buy a s#ecific #roduct, and the results may be e)aggerated in an advertisement! The advertising that fits into this category is tailored on a #sychological level to #romote the #roduct! Our system of values may be a##roached, selling us #roducts based on our fears and attitudes! Our values may #ortray the #roduct in a #ositive light, and encourage us to ma e a #urchase! If "e believe the #roduct "ill beneficial to ourselves or a loved one, and if "e believe the claims to be true, "e "ill be inclined to buy the item so that "e "ill gain the advantage sho"n in an ad! Some #roducts may be #urchased under moral obligations, such as a security system to #rotect ourselves and our families, or the claim that "e need to buy a certain ty#e of insurance! %e may communicate a lifestyle or develo# our #ersonalities based on the #roducts "e buy! Some brands a##eal to different #ersonality ty#es, engaging already established values, some based on our culture! An advertisement must be constructed carefully, so as to avoid #romoting negative values or

dangerous behaviors! If an advertisement is ta en out of conte)t or vie"ed as uncouth, sales may lo"er! %hen a##ealing to our values, a com#any should be careful to avoid stereoty#es, or the target audience may feel insulted by the re#resentation