Advertising.

Text 1.

In a capitalistic economic system, the distribution of goods from producers to consumers is accomplished through the selling process—would-be sellers of goods seek out prospective buyers, inform them of the availability of the merchandise, and endeavor to persuade them to buy preferred wares. The selling process involves advertising, or impersonal selling, as well as personal selling. The basic purpose of advertising, as it is of any form of selling, is that of moving goods through the channels of distribution from producers to consumers.

The Role of Advertising in Marketing. According to the Definitions Committee of the American Marketing Association, advertising is "any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor." As such, then, advertising assumes a most important role in the marketing of goods and services in this country.

When a manufacturer has completed the production of his wares, his salesmen seek out prospective buyers at whatever level his goods are first sold—industrial buyers, wholesalers, retailers, or, in the case of direct sellers, consumers. As a means of assisting his salesmen, he may advertise. He may use this method of acquainting his prospective customers with his product before the salesmen arrive, thus shortening their tasks and making them easier.

Likewise, wholesalers send their salesmen to call on retailers, and they frequently augment their efforts with advertising designed to inform the retailers of the goods handled by the wholesalers and particularly of new merchandise that they are carrying. Here again advertising is an adjunct to personal selling.

As a general rule, retailers depend mainly on advertising to secure their customers. Only rarely do they send out salesmen to call on consumers. About the only exceptions are to be found in the fields of automobiles, electrical appliances, and household and building specialties, such as storm windows, aluminum siding, and conversion burners. Hence, retail advertising not only must tell consumers about the merchandise that the retailers have for sale but also must impel them to visit the stores and ask to see the advertised goods.

The phenomenal expansion of self-service in the field of food retailing in recent years has placed additional emphasis on the selling aspects of advertising in this commodity area. The absence of salesclerks, among whose duties was that of suggesting certain items to customers, has put the burden of this activity on advertising, particularly on the medium of store display. This condition affects the advertising of retail food stores and manufacturers of food products.

The Demand-Creation Concept. Many advertisers believe that demand creation is one of the main functions of advertising. A demand for a commodity cannot exist without a knowledge of the availability of the commodity on the part of potential users. But demand must be more than mere knowledge of the existence of a commodity. It must involve the desire for it on the part of pro-spective purchasers.

It is very difficult for consumers to make their wishes known to the producers in such manner as to serve as a guide for production schedules. In order to avoid the stalemate that might otherwise theoretically follow this situation, it is only natural that manufacturers should make what they think the public wants and then try to convince consumers that they should buy the advertised goods. There is obviously the possibility that the goods produced and promoted may be of little value to consumers, but this seems to be a risk inherent in a situation where the buyers are practically inarticulate. It seems. therefore, that the demand-creation concept is a perfectly defensible philosophy, considering the inability of buyers to make known their wants in advance.