2. Is advertising necessary?

People starting a small business often assume they must advertise to attract customers. This always made good sense to me until I read and thought about some eye-opening ideas in Marketing Without Advertising, by Michael Phillips and Salli Rasberry (Nolo). Phillips and Rasberry argue convincingly that for small businesses, most money spent on conventional advertising radio and TV spots and display ads in newspapers is wasted. You're competing with thousands of other advertisers, and your message is unlikely to be noticed by enough potential customers to produce a profitable level of sales.

Here's more from Marketing Without Advertising:

The best and most economical way to attract and hold customers is through personal recommendation. A customer who is pre-screened and prepared for what you have to offer is far more likely to appreciate you and use your business than is someone responding to an ad offering a low price. The essence of marketing without advertising is to encourage personal recommendation. How do you do this? Lots of ways, all of which start with creating an atmosphere of trust. Central to doing this is to run an honest business.

Phillips and Rasberry recommend marketing strategies that don't rely on traditional advertising. For example, they discuss the importance of the physical appearance of your business (insist on scrupulous cleanliness and avoid clutter and unpleasant smells). They point out that listing your products or services where customers expect to find them such as the Yellow Pages, local business directories, trade publications and, depending on the business, the classifieds is often extremely cost-effective. Interestingly, Phillips and Rasberry distinguish between advertising and listings not on the basis of cost (although advertising does usually cost considerably more), but on whether customers are pre-screened to see your message. For example, someone who checks the Yellow Pages or a local free classified newspaper for a drain cleaning service needs that type of business. By contrast, someone who reads a display ad or hears a radio spot for the same business is unlikely to need that service immediately or to remember the ad months or years later when the need does arise.

From Forbes

• Can you think of some other ways of marketing a product?

• What should be taken into account when choosing the best advertising technique?

Exercise 1. Find a word to go in each of the boxes below, so that you have two compounds with the words on the left, and another two with the words on the right.

1.	television outdoor		advertising		campaign revenue
2.	B2B relationship				information mix
3.	home car				forecasting volume
4.	market brand				guru buyout
5.	fair world				embargo deficit
6.	target youth				segmentation share

Exercise 2. Fill in the gaps in the passage below. To help you, the first letter or letters of the missing words are given, and the dashes correspond to the number of missing letters.

The dictionary defines 'advertise' as 'to make (something for sale, services offered, etc) known to the public'. Advertising can therefore be considered a form of com_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ¹, the ultimate aim of which is to per_ _ _ _ _ ² consumers to choose a specific product or service.

Every company tries to di_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ³ its products from those of the competition, and a key element here is the strategy of branding.

A b_ _ _ _⁴ can be defined as the name attached to a product or service, how that name is visually expressed through a l_ _ _⁵ and how that name and logo are extended throughout a company's communications.

However, a brand is much more than just a noun. It also represents some whole co_ _ _ _ _ ⁶ is perceived by its cu_ _ _ _ _ _ _⁷.lt is a nexus of ideas, feelings, and perceptions about lifestyle and status, image and qu_ _ _ _ _⁸.

Creating a powerful brand identity is essential to g_ _ _⁹ a strong competitive a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _¹⁰. A successful brand will make customers think of your company first when they think of the particular product category to which the brand is attached. A classic example here is the 'Hoover' brand. The word 'hoover' became a synonym for 'vacuum cleaner', and many people still use the word 'hoover' even if the apparatus they use was manufactured by another company.

Exercise 3. Put the following paragraphs in their proper order, to produce an article about The Age of Advertising.

(A) In general, housewives will not understand much about science, but they feel that scientists know best. Scientists are looked upon as magicians, who can perform tricks. For example, before colour television was introduced the white clothes were being shown in washing powder advertisements were in fact bright yellow. Yellow looks whiter than white on black and white television. Let's hope that scientists will concentrate on improving the products they help to advertise, rather than improving the advertisements.

(B) Most companies say that advertising is necessary to give the public information and create competition. But advertising, which is very expensive, does not always inform. Instead it persuades. A man is persuaded that if he buys "Koolman" after-shave lotion he will immediately become attractive to all the pretty girls. In the same way a mother is persuaded that if she doesn't give her baby "Happibaby" food the baby will suffer. Recently anew angle has been added — science. In our technological age science is fashionable and many companies try to make us buy their goods by telling us how important science is in their production.

(C) We live in the age of advertising. In most countries the public is exposed daily to advertisements. From the minute they wake up people are influenced by publicity — in newspapers, on the train, on boards on the way to work. When they relax after work they watch television, or perhaps go to a football match where there are advertisements, or a cricket or tennis match which is organised by a large company.

(D) The housewife is perhaps the most influenced by advertising. While she is shopping she will be attracted by colourful packets, and by signs of reductions and free gifts.

• Now choose the best answer to complete each sentence. They are all about the article above.

  1. The public is _____ by advertising.

a) surrounded b) betrayed c) attracted

2. Large companies often _____ sports events.

a) invent b) go to c) arrange and pay for

3. Housewives are _____ by advertisements.

a) very much influenced

b) not influenced very much

c) influenced less than other people

4. Sales and free offers _____ housewives.

a) embarrass b) persuade c) frighten

5. Companies say that advertising _____

a) encourages games.

b) helps them to be competitive.

c) allows them to give prizes.

6. If a mother buys "Happibaby" _____

a) she won't suffer.

b) her baby will be less healthy.

c) her baby will be more healthy.

7. Advertisements became more scientific _____

a) a short time ago.

b) a long time ago.

c) when television started.

8. People think scientists _____

a) can perform miracles.

b) are well-informed.

c) understand magic.

9. Yellow clothes look _____ on television.

a) brighter b) white c) black and white.

10. In the future we hope scientists will _____

a) make better products.

b) make better advertisements.

c) perform better tricks.

Exercise 4. Finish the given sentences in your own words.

1. Advertisements are…

2. The role of advertising …

3. Businesses need to advertise because …

4. While planning the company’s activity …

5. Advertising strategy …

6. The art of advertising is to ….

7. To create a good advertisement …

8. Inadequate communication …

9. Advertising is often criticized because …

10. An alternative to advertising …

Activity 2. Controversial Advertising

The Italian clothing retail company Benetton is one of the most successful European franchisors. Its advertising has been highly successful but also extremely controversial, and has been banned in some countries.

In pairs, discuss the advertisement below.

1. What is it advertising?

2. What do you think of it? Does it shock you?

3. D o you think it was successful advertising campaign? Why / Why not?

Now read the article below about controversial advertising. Do you think the VW campaign was successful?