Media Advantages and Disadvantages

When trying to select a medium that is right for your advertising message, it's helpful to know some of the advantages and disadvantages of the various forms of media to assist you with your decision.

Newspapers

Advantages

Your ad has size and share, and can be as large as necessary to communicate as much of a story as you care to tell.
The distribution of your message can be limited to your geographic area.
Split-run tests are available to test your copy and your offer.
Free help is usually available to create and produce your ad.
Fast closings. The ad you decide to run today can be in your customer's hands two days from now.

Disadvantages

Clutter. Your ad has to compete for attention against large ads run by supermarkets and department stores.
Poor photo reproduction limits creativity.
A price-oriented medium. Most ads are for sales.
Short shelf life. The day after a newspaper appears, it's history.
Waste circulation. You're paying to send your message to a lot of people who will probably never be in the market to buy from you.
A highly visible medium. Your competitors can quickly react to your prices.

Magazines

Advantages

High reader involvement means more attention will be paid to your advertisement.
Less waste circulation. You can place your ads in magazines read primarily by buyers of your product or service.
The smaller the page (generally eight and half by eleven inches) permits even small ads to stand out.

Disadvantages

Long lead times (generally 90 days) mean you have to make plans a long time in advance.
The cost for space is higher in addition to higher creative costs.

Yellow Pages

Advantages

Everyone uses the yellow pages.
Ads are reasonably inexpensive.
You can easily track your responses.

Disadvantages

All of your competitors are listed so you run the ad as a defensive measure.
Ads are not very creative since they follow certain formats.

Radio

Advantages

A universal medium. Can be enjoyed at home, at work, and while driving. Most people listen to the radio at one time or another during the day.
Permits you to target your advertising dollars to the market most likely to respond to your offer.
Permits you to create a personality for your business using only sounds and voices.
Free creative help is ususally available.
Rates can generally be negotiated.
Least inflated medium. During the past ten years, radio rates have gone up less than other media.

Disadvantages

Because radio listeners are spread over many stations, to totally saturate your market you have to advertise simultaneously on many stations.
Listeners cannot refer back to your ads to go over important points.
Ads are an interruption to the entertainment. Because of this, radio ads must be repeated to break through the listener's "tune out" factor.
Radio is a background medium. Most listeners are doing something else while listening, which means your ad has to work hard to be listened to and understood.
Advertising costs are based on ratings which are approximations based on diaries kept in a relatively small fraction of a region's homes.

Television

Advantages

Permits you to reach great numbers of people on a national or regional level.
Independent stations and cable offer new opportunities to pinpoint local audiences.
Very much an image-building medium.

Disadvantages

Ads on network affiliates are concentrated in local news broadcasts and on station breaks.
Creative and production costs can quickly mount up.
Lead time can result in items being sold out before ad runs.
Most ads are ten or thirty seconds long, which limits the amount of information you can communicate.

Direct Mail

Advantages

Your advertising message is targeted to those most likely to buy your product or service.
Your message can be as long as necessary to fully tell your story.
You have total control over all elements of creation and production.
A "silent" medium. Your message is hidden from your competitors until it's too late for them to react.

Disadvantages

Long lead times required for creative printing and mailing.
Requires coordinating the services of many people: artists, photographers, printers, etc.
Each year over 20% of the population moves, meaning you must work hard to keep your mail list up to date.
Likewise, a certain percentage of the names on a purchased mailing list is likely to be no longer useful.

Telemarketing

Advantages

You can easily answer questions about your product/service.
It's easy to prospect and find the right person to talk to.
Cost effective compared to direct sales.
Highly measurable results.
You can get a lot of information if your script is properly structured.

Disadvantages

Many business use telemarketing.
Professionals should draft the script and perform the telemarketing in order for it to be effective.
Can be extremely expensive.
Most appropriate for high-ticket retail items or professional services.

Specialty Advertising (balloons, sandwich boards, key charms, etc.)

Advantages

Can be attention grabbers if they are done well.
Can give top-of-mind awareness.
Gets your name in front of people.

Disadvantages

Difficult to target your market.
Can be an inappropriate medium for some businesses.
Difficult to find items that are appropriate for certain businesses.