Read up: Advertisement

Defintion of advertisement

One definition of advertising is: "Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media."(Bovee, 1992, p. 7) So much for academic doubletalk. Now let's take this statement apart and see what it means.

NONPERSONAL

First, what is "nonpersonal"? There are two basic ways to sell anything: personally and nonpersonally. Personal selling requires the seller and the buyer to get together. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. The first advantage is time: the seller has time to discuss in detail everything about the product. The buyer has time to ask questions, get answers, examine evidence for or against purchase.

A second advantage of personal selling is that the seller can see you. the person rhe's selling to. Rhe can see your face, see how the sales message is getting across. If you yawn or your eyes shift away, you're obviously bored, and the seller can change approach. Rhe can also see if you're hooked, see what features or benefits have your attention, and emphasize them to close the sale.
Finally, the seller can easily locate potential buyers. If you enter a store, you probably have an interest in something that store sells. Street vendors and door-to-door sellers can simply shout at possibilities, like the Hyde Park (London) vendors who call out, "I say there, Guv'nor, can you use a set of these dishes?", or knock at the door and start their spiel with an attention grabber. From there on they fit their message to the individual customer, taking all the time a customer is willing to give them.

Disadvantages do exist. Personal selling is, naturally enough, expensive, since it is labor-intensive and deals with only one buyer at a time. Just imagine trying to sell chewing gum or guitar picks one-on-one; it would cost a dollar a stick or pick.

In addition, its advantage of time is also a disadvantage. Personal selling is time-consuming. Selling a stereo or a car can take days, and major computer and airplane sales can take years.
Nonetheless, although personal selling results in more rejections than sales, and can be nerve-racking, frustrating and ego destroying for the salesperson, when the salesperson is good it is more directed and successful than advertising.

From the above, it appears that personal selling is much better than advertising, which is nonpersonal. This is true. Advertising has none of the advantages of personal selling: there is very little time in which to present the sales message, there is no way to know just who the customer is or how rhe is responding to the message, the message cannot be changed in mid-course to suit the customer's reactions.

Then why bother with advertising? Because its advantages exactly replace the disadvantages of personal selling, and can emulate some of the advantages. First let's look at the latter.
First, advertising has, comparatively speaking, all the time in the world. Unlike personal selling, the sales message and its presentation does not have to be created on the spot with the customer watching. It can be created in as many ways as the writer can conceive, be rewritten, tested, modified, injected with every trick and appeal known to affect consumers. (Some of the latter is the content of this book.)

Second, although advertisers may not see the individual customer, nor be able to modify the sales message according to that individual's reactions at the time, it does have research about customers. The research can identify potential customers, find what message elements might influence them, and figure out how best to get that message to them. Although the research is meaningless when applied to any particular individual, it is effective when applied to large groups of customers.

Third, and perhaps of most importance, advertising can be far cheaper per potential customer than personal selling. Personal selling is extremely labor-intensive, dealing with one customer at a time. Advertising deals with hundreds, thousands, or millions of customers at a time, reducing the cost per customer to mere pennies. In fact, advertising costs are determined in part using a formula to determine, not cost per potential customer, but cost per thousand potential customers.

Thus, it appears that advertising is a good idea as a sales tool. For small ticket items, such as chewing gum and guitar picks, advertising is cost effective to do the entire selling job. For large ticket items, such as cars and computers, advertising can do a large part of the selling job, and personal selling is used to complete and close the sale.
Advertising is nonpersonal, but effective.

Quotes

Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor.
- Anne Lamott
 
Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.
-W. Somerset Maugham
 
I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so his place will be proud of him.
- Abraham Lincoln...and women, too! - Hearts & Minds
 
Honest measures and weights are the Lord's delight
-The Bible
 
My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.
- The Dalai Lama
 

Perceptions of the world

Earth is home to all humanity and, as such, might be expected to be universally understood in a common way, but it is not. Differences about the nature of Earth are apparent than the similarities. Some authors have described the world as small, while others write that it is vast. In fact, people experience both. In daily living, the scale can be small as one-on-one encounters. Through travel and learning, the scope of interaction can increase to planetary proportions. The world is "us", but it is populated by a variety of people. The world seems constant, but it is always changing. Given these contradictions, people inevitably explain what goes on in the world very differently. Seeking such explanations becomes more difficult because we are a part of what we want to understand. Even the maps used to image the world are distinct from one another. To some, topographical features comprise the world; to others, the world is made up of political units or states; and to still others, the world consists of the different peoples inhabiting it. All these characteristics, and others, together define the world as we know it.

Online Journal

What is one value or belief you hold onto in life?
 
I believe that a person with a heart of gold is vital and neccesary to mould a person's character. Without that kind heart, many of us will live in a world of desitutes and loneliness. As society progresses and mankind advances, many of us tend to ignore the world of love, care and concern. Many of us became more self-centered and show people lesser attention.
 
In this world, the most important element in life is happiness. No other concrete materials can buy over happiness. Happiness is one which everyone can feel, experience. Nevertheless, a small proportion of people lacks it. Stress has become increasingly high for many working adults and students too. Many, due to power status and monetary rewards, work extremely hard and neglect anything in life that have happened around him. Especially in Singapore, money is the key for survival. No one can survive without it. And because of that reason, many work towards the common goal: to earn more revenue for himself. And most of the time, he missed the opportunity of gaining happiness around him in everyday life.
 
I once attended a talk by this volunteer. (can't remember her name) She was impressive in her talk and taught us many values in life that we never experience before. Being brought up in a concrete jungle and high competitiveness in the society, we tend to foget the simplicity of life. She is a German and became a volunteer in India. She began to learn their cultures and understand their way of living. MOst of them live in proverty and lack of the neccesary facilities such as lights. They can't afford an education and the food to fill their stomach is insufficient. However, they lead a simple life. They haven't been depressed or angry with their lives. They know to accept faith and proverty cannot make them feel deprived. Conversely, many in the developed society, our self satisfactory is high and nothing can satisfies our wants. We demand more and as a result do damage to the nature.
 
Some said, "Men are selfish creatures". This is true to some extent but we could not totally eliminate those who are generous and willing to help. War and political unrest in certain parts of the world can influence or affect the whole world's population. if every men is willing to give a 'meagre' love and concern, I bet, the world will be peaceful place to live in.