There are many types of advertising; each has different attributes, such as price, viewing demographic, and medium.
The TV commercial is generally considered the most effective mass-market advertising format, as is reflected by the high prices TV networks charge for commercial airtime during popular TV events. The annual Super Bowl football game in the United States is known as the most prominent advertising event on television. The average cost of a single thirty-second TV spot during this game has reached $3.5 million (as of 2012).
Radio advertising is a form of advertising that is broadcast as radio waves through the air from a transmitter to an antenna and then to a receiving device. Airtime is purchased from a station or network in exchange for airing the commercials .
Billboard
Clarkes on Belmont billboard
Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web for the expressed purpose of delivering marketing messages to attract customers. Online ads are delivered by an ad server. Examples of online advertising include:
- Contextual ads that appear on search engine results pages
- Banner ads
- In-text ads
- Rich Media Ads
- Social network advertising
- Online classified advertising
- Advertising networks
- E-mail marketing, including e-mail spam
Covert advertising, also known as guerrilla advertising, is when a product or brand is embedded in entertainment and media.
Press advertising describes advertising in a printed medium such as a newspaper, magazine, or trade journal. This encompasses everything from media with a very broad readership base, such as a major national newspaper or magazine, to more narrowly targeted media such as local newspapers and trade journals on very specialized topics.
Mobile billboards are generally vehicle mounted billboards or digital screens. These can be on dedicated vehicles built solely for carrying advertisements along routes preselected by clients, they can also be specially equipped cargo trucks or, in some cases, large banners strewn from planes. The billboards are often lighted; some being backlit, and others employing spotlights.
In-store advertising is any advertisement placed in a retail store. It includes placement of a product in visible locations in a store, such as at eye level, at the ends of aisles and near checkout counters (aka POP—Point Of Purchase display), eye-catching displays promoting a specific product, and advertisements in such places as shopping carts and in-store video displays.
Street advertising first came to prominence in the UK by Street Advertising Services to create outdoor advertising on street furniture and pavements. Working with products such as Reverse Graffiti, air dancers, and 3D pavement advertising, the media became an affordable and effective tool for getting brand messages out into public spaces.
Outdoor advertising opens the possibility of combining outdoor with indoor advertisement by placing large mobile, structures (tents) in public places on temporary bases. The large outer advertising space exerts a strong pull on the observer while the product is promoted indoors, where the creative decor can intensify the impression.
Celebrity branding focuses upon using celebrity power, fame, money, or popularity to gain recognition for their products or promote specific stores. Advertisers often advertise their products, for example, when celebrities share their favorite products or wear clothes by specific brands or designers. Celebrities are often involved in advertising campaigns such as television or print ads to advertise specific or general products. The use of celebrities to endorse a brand can have its downsides, however. One mistake by a celebrity can be detrimental to the public relations of a brand.
Sales promotions are another way to advertise. Sales promotions are double purposed because they are used to gather information about what type of customers you draw in and where they are, as well as to jumpstart sales. Sales promotions include things like contests and games, sweepstakes, product giveaways, samples coupons, loyalty programs, and discounts. The ultimate goal of sales promotions is to stimulate potential customers to take action.