Media Selection for Advertisements
    After determining the target audience for a product or service, advertising agencies must select the appropriate media for the advertisement. We discuss here the major types of media used in advertising. We focus on attention on seven types of advertising: television, newspapers, radio, magazines, out-of-home, Internet, and direct mail.
    Television
    Television in an attractive medium for advertising because it delivers mass audiences to advertisers. When you consider that nearly three out of four Americans have seen the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? you can understand the power of television to communicate with a large audience. When advertisers create a brand, for example, they want to impress consumers with the brand and its image. Television provides an ideal vehicle for this type of communication. But television is an expensive medium, and not all advertisers can afford to use it.
    Television’s influence on advertising is fourfold. First, narrowcasting means that television channels are seen by an increasingly narrow segment of the audience. the Golf Channel, for instance, is watched by people who play golf. Home and Garden Television is seen by those interested in household improvement projects. Thus, audiences are smaller and more homogeneous (具有共同特点的) than they have been in the past. Second, there is an increase in the number of television channels available to viewers, and thus, advertisers. This had also resulted in an increase in the sheer number of advertisements to which audiences are exposed. Third, digital recording devices allow audience members more control over which commercials they watch. Fourth, control over programming is being passed from the networks to local cable operators and satellite programmers.
    Newspapers
    After television, the medium attracting the next largest annual as revenue is newspapers. The New York Times, which reaches a national audience, accounts for $1 billion in ad revenue annually. It has increased its national circulation (发行量) by 40% and is now available for home delivery in 168 cities. Locally, newspapers are the largest advertising medium.
    Newspapers are a less expensive advertising medium than television and provide a way for advertisers to communicate a longer, more detailed message to their audience than they can through television. Given new production techniques, advertisements can be printed in about 48 hours, meaning newspapers are also a quick way of getting the message out. Newspapers are often the most important form of news for a local community, and they develop a high degree of loyalty from local readers.
    Radio
    Advertising on radio continues to grow. Radio is often used in conjunction with outdoor bill-boards (广告牌) and the Internet to reach even more customers than television. Advertisers are likely to use radio because it is a less expensive medium than television, which means advertisers can afford to repeat their ads often. Internet companies are also turning to radio advertising. Radio provides a way for advertisers to communicate with audience members at all times of the day. Consumers listen to radio on their way to school or work, at work, on the way home, and in the evening hours.
    Two major changes—satellite and Internet radio—will force radio advertisers to adapt their methods. Both of these radio forms allow listeners to tune in stations that are more distant than the local stations they could receive in the past. As a result, radio will increasingly attract target audiences who live many miles apart.
    Magazines
    Newsweeklies, women’s titles, and business magazines have all seen increases in advertising because they attract the high-end market. Magazines are popular with advertisers because of the narrow market that they deliver. A broadcast medium such as network television attracts all types of audience members, but magazine audiences are more homogeneous. If you read Sports Illustrated, for example, you have such in common with the magazine’s other readers. Advertisers see magazines as an efficient way of reaching target audience members.
    Advertisers using the print media—magazines and newspapers—will need to adapt to two main changes. First, the Internet will bring larger audiences to local newspapers. These audiences will be more diverse and geographically dispersed (分散) than in the past. Second, advertisers will have to understand how to use an increasing number of magazines for their target audiences. Although some magazines will maintain national audiences, a large number of magazines will entertain narrower audiences.
    Out-of-home advertising
    Out-of-home advertising, also called place-based advertising, has become an increasingly effective way of reaching consumers, who are more active than ever before. Many consumers today do not sit at home and watch television. Using billboards, newsstands, and bus shelters for advertising is an effective way of reaching these on-the-go consumers. More consumers travel longer distances to and from work, which also makes out-of-home advertising effective. Technology has changed the nature of the billboard business, making it a more effective medium than in the past. Using the digital printing, billboard companies can print a billboard in 2 hours, compared with 6 days previously. This allows advertisers more variety in the types of messages they create because they can change their messages more quickly.
    Internet
    As consumers become more comfortable with online shopping, advertisers will seek to reach this market. As consumers get more of their news and information from the Internet, the ability of television and radio to get the word out to consumers will decrease. The challenge to Internet advertisers is to create ads that audience members remember.
    Internet advertising will play a more prominent role in organizations’ advertising in the near future. Internet audiences tend to be quite homogeneous, but small. Advertisers will have to adjust their methods to reach these audiences and will have to adapt their persuasive strategies to the inline medium as well.
    Direct mail
    A final advertising medium is direct mail, which uses mailings to consumers to communicate a client’s message. Direct mail includes newsletters, postcards, and special promotion. Direct mail is an effective way to build relationships with consumers. For many businesses, direct mail is the most effective form of advertising.