Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach

Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/e

16. Advertising and Sales
    Promotion

Text © The McGraw−Hill

Companies, 2002

Advertising and Sales Promotion 463

of showing video ads while customers are waiting to get their money. Some gas sta-

tion pumps have similar displays.^18

The Internet is proving to be an even more important, and fast-growing, medium

that has the potential to be highly targeted. Because it involves different opportu-

nities and challenges, we will discuss it separately. First, however, we should briefly

discuss how the advertising budget that is available affects the choice of media.

Selecting which media to use is still pretty much an art. The media buyer may

start with a budgeted amount and try to buy the best blend to reach the target

audience.

Some media are obvious “must buys”—like thelocal newspaper for a retailer in

a small or medium-sized town. Most firms serving local markets view a Yellow Pages

listing as a must buy. Website advertising is increasingly being seen as a must buy.

It may be the only medium for firms trying to reach business buyers in overseas mar-

kets. Must buy ads may even use up the available funds.

For many firms, even national advertisers, the high cost of television may elim-

inate it from the media blend. The average cost just to produce a national TV ad

is now about $250,000—and a big impact ad can easily cost twice that. In the

United States, a 30-second commercial on a popular prime-time show like “Friends”

is well over $500,000. The price goes up rapidly for “big event” shows that attract

the largest audiences. Thirty seconds of advertising on the 2001 Super Bowl cost

sponsors about $2.3 million.^19

“Must buys” may use

up available funds

Advertising on the Internet is growing rapidly as more mainstream advertisers

join the quest for a more efficient way to reach target customers with promotion.

The advertising messages take many forms, ranging from displays that basically look

like traditional print ads to button and banner ads. An Internet banner adis a head-

line that appears on a web page. Its purpose is to attract the interest of people in

the advertiser’s target market and encourage them to visit the advertiser’s website

for more information. A button is usually much smaller—perhaps just showing the

advertiser’s name or symbol.

Whatever specific form an ad takes, it is usually “linked” to the advertiser’s web-

site. When a viewer responds to an ad by clicking on it with a mouse, more detailed

information appears. The information may include pictures, videos, sound, text, a

product database, order entry procedures, and much more.

Content on a website can be very different from traditional advertising. The adver-

tiser can put up a great deal more information and allow viewers to self-direct to those

pages that interest them the most. The website can also provide links to other out-

side sources of information. Or it can invite the viewer to e-mail or start a chat session

for more detailed information on a particular topic. It can offer a sign-up for a weekly

newsletter. The viewer may not buy right away and may not “bookmark” the website

to come back later. But if the viewer subscribes to the e-mail newsletter, all is not

lost. The advertiser will have another chance to make a sale.

We talked about this sort of interactive communication in detail in Chapter 14.

Now let’s take a look at how Internet ads reach a target audience in the first place.

Some advertisers are primarily interested in placing ads on websites that will give

their ads a lot of exposure—almost without regard to the content of the website or

who visits it. Although there are millions of websites on the Internet, a small subset

Advertising on the Internet: New Opportunities and New Challenges

Internet ads take many

forms

Internet ads seek a

direct response—a

click

Some websites

generate more

exposure