Advertising and Sales Promotion Solved Question Paper May' 2020, Dibrugarh University B.Com 6th Sem

Advertising and Sales Promotion Solved Question Paper May’ 2020
COMMERCE (Specialty)
Course: 603 (Advertising and Sales Promotion)
Time: 3 hours
The figures in the margin indicate full marks for the questions
(New Course)
Full Marks: 80
Pass Marks: 24

1. Answer the following as directed: 1×8=8

(a) Marketing mix consists of

(i) the product and service mix

(ii) the distribution mix

(iii) the communication mix

(iv) All of the above (Choose the correct option)

Ans: (iv) All of the above

(b) Window display is a promotional advertising. (Write True or False)

Ans: True

(c) Outdoor advertising is

(i) poster, banner, flex, signboard, etc.

(ii) newspaper, journal

(iii) television, YouTube

(iv) None of the above (Choose the correct option)

Ans: (i) poster, banner, flex, signboard, etc.

(d) Sales promotion mix includes

(i) advertising

(ii) personal selling

(iii) direct marketing

(iv) All of the above (Choose the correct option)

Ans: (iv) All of the above

(e) The advertising department is a part of marketing division. (Write True or False)

Ans: True

(f) The advertisement expenditure is a direct expenditure. (Write True or False)

Ans: False

(g) Personal selling is the art of persuading people to purchase goods which gives lasting satisfaction. (Write True or False)

Ans: False, Salesmanship

(h) Desire to save is a buying motive. (Write True or False)

Ans: True

2. Write short notes on any four of the following: 4×4=16

(a) Advertising budget

 Ans: BUY DYNAMIC TUTORIALS EBOOKS FOR BCOM CBCS PATTERN- BCOM 6TH SEM CBCS PATTERN

(b) Advertisement message

Ans: BUY DYNAMIC TUTORIALS EBOOKS FOR BCOM CBCS PATTERN- BCOM 6TH SEM CBCS PATTERN

(c) Sales promotion aids

Ans: Sales Promotion: Sales promotion refers to short term use of incentives or other promotional activities that stimulate the customer to buy the product. Sales promotion techniques are very useful because they bring short and immediate effect on sale.

Sales promotion aids

(a) Rebate: - Sometimes, the product is made available at special prices less than the original prices for a limited period of time, e.g., recently Coke and Pepsi announced special price of their 500 ml bottles.

(b) Product Combination: - Product combination is the bonus items given free with the purchase of a product. For e.g. A milk shaker along with Nescafe, or mugs with Bourn vita or a diary along with a packet of chips. They are effective in getting consumers to try a new product.

(c) Lucky Draw: - A firm of purchased of a fixed amount gives a coupon to a customer which entitles them for a lucky draw, e.g., Bikanerwala restaurant in particular season gives lucky draw coupon on purchase of Rs. 200 or more to its customers which entitles them to win exciting prizes like car etc.

(d) Contests: - In these, consumer’ are required to participate in some competitive event involving application of skills or luck and winners are given some rewards. For instance, Golden Harvest, maker of premium bread usually has children drawing competition.

(e) Discounts: - These are like price promotion in which certain percentage of price is reduced as discount from the list price, e.g., most of the retailers of garment like Snow White and Shopper’s Stop offer their product at generous discount during a limited period at the end of the season.

(d) Media planning

Ans: Media Planning- the ultimate goal of advertising is to reach the target audience with the advertising message. Thus, the major decisions in media planning, which needs to be taken, are:

a)       Which media to be used?

b)      Where to advertise (geographic region)?

c)       When to advertise (timing and scheduling)?

d)      How intense the exposure should be (frequency)?

Media planning is a ‘behind the scene’ part of advertising. It plays an integral role in merging the science of marketing with the art of advertising. A media planner has to find out about the availability of various media, the media rates, their reaches and also analyze their effectiveness.

(e) Direct advertising media

Ans: BUY DYNAMIC TUTORIALS EBOOKS FOR BCOM CBCS PATTERN- BCOM 6TH SEM CBCS PATTERN

(f) Advertising appeal

Ans: An advertising appeal is the device by which specific consumer response is solicited in the advertisement. It is the basic use of service or satisfaction which the product can render and which the advertisement is to present. An appeal in an advertisement, is an earnest request or plea to prospects. Every advertise aims to appeal to the prospects whether he succeeds or not in achieving his goals. In that sense, every piece of advertisement is an appeal – telling the story of his with reasons as to why a prospect should prefer his products to those of his competitors.

Classifications of appeals

Prof. William, M. Weilbacher of New York University classifies these advertising appeals into three clear categories:

1.       Product/service related appeals,

2.       Consumer related appeals, and

3.       Non-consumer or non-product related appeals. Let us try to have a clear cut idea as to each of these appeals with the help of day-to-day examples.

3. (a) Define advertising. Discuss the various factors that influence the sales promotional activities. 2+12=14

Ans: Out of Syllabus

Or

(b) Discuss the importance and objectives of sales promotion. 14

Ans: Out of Syllabus

4. (a) Explain the benefit of advertising to manufacturers, customers and community. 14

Ans: Importance/Benefits of Advertising to various section of the society

Advertising is an indispensable part of the marketing strategy of any product or service. A proper advertisement has a great impact on the sales of the product. Advertising is the most important tool in the marketing of products and services. Companies all over the world universally accepted this fact. Some of the important benefits of advertisement to various section of the society are listed below:

To the manufacturers

a)       Communication with Customers: The main function of advertising is to communicate with consumer’s area to increase the sale of products and services and economy expands, the manufacturer should get profits. 

b)      Contribution to economic growth: Advertising contributes to economic growth to expand the market and market segments for new products. Company invests in research and development to develop a new product and how to increase their purchasing sales. 

c)       Persuasion: Advertising is to influence the opinion of the customers to buy a product/service. The planned persuasion is to agree the customers to purchase our products in a satisfaction manner. 

d)      Catalyst for Change: Creativity in advertising leads to the discovery of new relationships can change the perception. The originality of message communicated and eventual effect on consumer’s standard of living. The ability of changes can from originality innovation and imagination of advertising. 

e)      Stimulates demand: Inform the consumers about the availability of product in the market. The general agreement of advertising has some effect on aggregate consumption. 

f)        Develops Brand Preference: Advertising develops brand preference of the product for brand trail. The products delivered the quality, service and value these should satisfy the customers. The satisfied customers develop the brand preference with strong brand preference. 

g)       Reduces Cost: Advertising is the instrumental in production and selling costs these by increasing unit sales decreases unit costs. By using advertising, we should reduce the cost of the product for remove stain on the sales persons. 

To the Customers

1. Lower Prices: In competitive economy the unit cost of product goes down it will effect on both internal and external factors. Then the companies should decrease the prices and it is advantage to the customers. 

2. Competitive weapon:  Advertising is a competitive weapon it builds a brand image and creates a value to the product for promotion. It helps to differentiate a company’s offer having the unique value having a definite identity.

3. Innovation: Advertising encourages the innovation of the new product development. Advertising generate the product demand to attract the large number of customers and encourage the competition of the product in marketing.

4. Fixed prices: As the prices are already advertised, the consumers cannot be over charged.

5. Improving quality of goods: It helps in improvement of the quality of the goods. The consumers are attracted by the quality of the products that are advertised. If the consumer is convinced that the quality is the same that is advertised, they continue buying.

To the Community

1. Build Brand Image: Advertising plays an important role in building the brand image of the products. Consumers develop mental images of brand that may appeal to the different market segments. If helps in building brand loyalty.

2. Growth of media: Advertising plays a crucial role to the growth of media for raising the revenues. This may help in introducing more publications and it will lead to the expansion of media.

3. Elimination of middlemen: By regular advertisement, the manufacturer can sell the goods directly to the consumers without depending on middlemen this eliminates the middlemen’s charges which leads to higher profit to the manufacturer and lower prices to consumers.

4. Feedback from customers: Advertisement can also lead to direct feedback from consumers. It has been researched that a lot of opinions and viewpoints are received by the advertisers on their products and services, which help them in improving their products and services further.

Or

Also Read: Advertisement Management Solved Question Papers

- Advertisement Management Solved Question Paper 2018

- Advertisement Management Solved Question Paper 2019

- Advertisement Management Solved Question Paper 2020

- Advertisement Management Solved Question Paper 2022 CBCS Pattern

(b) What do you mean by advertising media? Explain the merits and demerits of indoor advertising media. 2+12=14

Ans: Advertising Media

The advertising medium refers to the means through which the advertiser can convey his message to audience. Proper selection of the media enables the advertiser to achieve the desired results. Hence, advertising media selection is vital for the success of an advertising campaign. An advertising medium is any object or device that carries the advertising message. It should be capable of accomplishing following three objectives:

a)       To reach the largest number of people possible.

b)      To gain their attention.

c)       To be less expensive.

Indoor Media Advertising

1. Print media advertising: Print publications such as magazines, books, newspapers and Special Issue publications (such as annuals) offer a variety of advertising opportunities:

a)       Magazines, especially those that target specific niche or specialized interest areas, are more tightly targeted compared to broadcast media. Additionally, magazines offer the option of allowing marketers to present their message using high quality imagery (e.g., full color) and can also offer advertisers the ability to integrate interactive, tactile experiences through the use of scratch-it papers impregnated with scents (e.g., perfume).

b)      Newspapers have also incorporated color advertisements, though their main advantage rests with their ability to target local markets. For advertisers, the ability to insert catalogs or special promotional material into the newspaper is an advantage.

c)       Special Issue publications can offer very selective targeting since these often focus on extremely narrow topics (e.g., auto buying guide, tour guides, college and university ratings, etc.).

Advantages and disadvantages of Print Media of Advertising

Advantages of Newspapers

a)       Newspapers offers mass coverage or reach. Newspapers like Hindustan Times, Times of India enjoy circulation in lacs.

b)      Because of large circulation average cost per paper becomes very low.

c)       Messages given in newspaper tend to be more believable by customers.

d)      Newspaper allows flexibility in message and design etc.

Drawbacks of Newspaper

a)       The advertisement of newspapers has very short life of one day only.

b)      Through newspaper firms can reach literate customers only.

c)       The production and print quality of newspaper is poor.

Advantages of Magazine Advertisements

a)       The life of advertisement is longer.

b)      Audience spend more time in reading advertisement in magazines.

c)       Magazines add creditability to the message because of their reputation.

Drawbacks of Magazine Advertisement

a)       Magazines have less frequency.

b)      Magazines offer less flexibility in message.

c)       Dramatization like visual media is not possible in magazines.

2. Television advertising: Television advertising offers the benefit of reaching large numbers in a single exposure. Yet because it is a mass medium capable of being seen by nearly anyone, television lacks the ability to deliver an advertisement to highly targeted customers compared to other media outlets. Television networks are attempting to improve their targeting efforts. In particular, networks operating in the pay-to-access arena, such as those with channels on cable and satellite television, are introducing more narrowly themed programming (i.e., TV shows geared to specific interest groups) designed to appeal to selective audiences. However, television remains an option that is best for products that targeted to a broad market. The geographic scope of television advertising may vary, from local or regional advertising through to national coverage, depending on whether public broadcasting or subscriber-based cable services are used.

Advantages of Television Advertisement

a)       This medium is audio visual which combines sight, sound and motion.

b)      Great dramatization is possible.

c)       It has high reach.

d)      Television advertisement has catching power and better impact on customers.

Drawbacks of Television Advertisement

a)       It involves high cost.

b)      The advertisements are shown for a short span only.

3. Radio advertising: Promotion through radio has been a viable advertising option for over 80 years. Radio advertising is mostly local to the broadcast range of a radio station. In many countries there are radio networks that use many geographically distinct stations to broadcast simultaneously. In the United States such networks as Disney (children ‘s programming) and ESPN (sports programming) broadcast nationally either through a group of company-owned stations or through a syndication arrangement (i.e., business agreement) with partner stations. In many ways radio suffers the same problems as television, namely, a mass medium that is not highly targeted and offers little opportunity to track responses. But unlike television, radio presents the additional disadvantage of limiting advertisers to audio-only advertising. For some products advertising without visual support is not effective.

Advantages of Radio Medium

a)       Messages could reach the remotest area.

b)      Cost is low.

c)       Suitable for illiterate customers also.

Drawbacks of Radio

a)       It has only audio effect so less attention is grabbed.

b)      Noise and disturbance bring interruption in message.

c)       It has short message life and leaves less impact.

4. Internet advertising: The fastest growing media outlet for advertising is the Internet. Compared to spending in other media, the rate of spending for Internet advertising is experiencing tremendous growth. Internet advertising ‘s influence continues to expand and each year more major marketers shift a larger portion of their promotional budget to this medium. Two key reasons for this shift rest with the Internet ‘s ability to:  narrowly target an advertising message and track user response to the advertiser ‘s message.

Advantages of Internet Advertising

1. Internet advertising allows for specific prospect targeting: Mass marketing is easier with internet advertising, but so is sending a message to a specific population demographic as well. Brands are able to identify the traits of their key customers and clone them into their advertising campaign. 

2. There are numerous price points to consider: Everyone from the sole proprietor to the large multinational organization has a chance to expand their customer base thanks to internet advertising. Niche sites offer advantageous solutions to small businesses that are industry-related, while mass marketing can attract all demographics across several different platforms simultaneously.

3. Internet advertising is more responsive to changing conditions: Printed media has to be changed every time the marketing environment evolves or adjusts. These costs begin to add up quickly with traditional media and there is a time gap between each evolutionary period. With internet advertising, responsive changes can happen almost instantaneously. 

Disadvantages of Internet Advertising

1. There is a healthy amount of competition: There are many prospects that can be found on the internet, but that isn’t a secret that only a select few know about. Everyone realizes that there is a lot of potential with internet advertising and they are thinking about getting involved just like you may be. There are plenty of businesses already running an internet advertising campaign as well. The market is saturated to the point that any industry-related advertising will likely be displayed next to a direct competitor. If your product’s value proposition doesn’t stand out from the rest of the pack, then people won’t inspect your offer.

2. It is incredibly easy for internet users to block advertising: All current Internet browsers have options available which block all advertising. It’s not just the pop-up ads we’re talking about here. Banner advertising, link advertising, affiliate efforts – they can all be blocked. The browser extensions are so good that even when advertising agencies attempt a work-around, the browser is able to adapt to it. This means there will always be a core group of people who will never see an internet advertising campaign, no matter what it is you may choose to do.

3. It creates a moment of distraction: The problem with internet advertising is that it distracts people from what their ultimate purpose for being online happened to be. Most people don’t log onto a website that offers free dinner recipes and expect to see an advertisement that they’ll want to click on, right? They’re looking for a new way to make one of their favorite dishes. That moment of distraction may seem like a good thing, but it really is not. When people shift their perspective to a new task, there is an attention deficit which occurs. It may take someone up to 15 minutes to recover their faculties. This means even clicks on an internet ad may not be as effective as they could be.

5. (a) Discuss the legal and ethical aspects of advertisement in India. 14

Ans: Legal Aspects of Advertising

Advertising has a responsibility within our economic system to provide information on new and existing products and services. Most of what is purchased is advertised. Thus, the economic and social well-being of the buyer and other competitors is affected if the advertising is full of false claims and misleading statements. The results can be misallocation of resources, disappointment of the customers, injury to the health of the buyers and unhealthy and damaged competition. In view of above, two schools of thoughts present their idea of regulation of advertising. One school advocate government intervention and legislation in regulating the advertisement professions. The second school feel that advertising profession should self-regulate itself by following ethical values.

Regulatory Authorities in India:

There have been increasing efforts to protect the public interest by regulating the content and the influence of advertising. Some examples include restrictions for advertising alcohol, tobacco or gambling imposed in many countries, as well as the bans around advertising to children, which exist in parts of Europe. Advertising regulation focuses heavily on the veracity of the claims and as such, there are often tighter restrictions placed around advertisements for food and healthcare products. A number of institutions are involved in regulating advertising:

1) Self-regulation by the industry

2) Regulation by the government

1) Self-regulation by the industry: In 1985, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) was established as an independent body under Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI). ASCI created a code of advertising practices known as ASCI code. All advertising agencies and all media channels are expected to follow this code.

ASCI Codes:

a) Ensure Truthfulness and honesty

b) Advertisements should not be offensive

c) Safeguards against promotion of hazardous products/services.

d) Observe fairness in competition.

Complaints can be made by any person or group or department against the advertiser for false, misleading, unfair or offensive ads. Independent consumer’s complaints council evaluates the complaints. Public pressure groups and consumer protection group also exist. However, consumer boycott is the best form of self-regulation.

2) Regulation by the government: Various laws are framed to regulate the advertisements. Competition Commission of India (CCI) looks after the issues of unfair competition and trade practices. Some laws are listed below:

a) IPC’s provisions governs obscenity and vulgar contents.

b) The Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1956

c) The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950

d) The Incident representation of Woman Act, 1986.

Several other laws cover aspects like magic remedies, human organ transplants, cigarettes and tobacco products, cable TV network and more govern advertisement representations. Various laws were enacted to govern changes – Like radio, Televisions, Cable Network, etc.

Ethics means “Good Conduct” or “Conduct which is right in view of the society and the time period”. By common consent, various modes of behaviour and conduct are viewed as “good” or “bad”.

In other word, we can say that Ethics are moral principles and values that govern the actions and decisions of an individual group. Ethics is a choice between good and bad, between right and wrong. It is governed by a set of principles of morality at a given time and at a given place and in a given society. Ethics is related to group behaviour in ultimate analysis, thus setting norms for an individual to follow in consistence with the group norms.

A particular action may be within the law and still not be ethical; Target Marketing is a good example for this. There is no law to restrict tobacco companies from promoting their brands to Africans & American, though it is in India but for Doordarshan only. Similarly, the alcoholic – beverage companies promote their brands & target not only college students but underage drinkers as well. These advertisements have increased alcohol related problems. Advertisements exposing pornography is another serious issue in advertising industry today. Advertisements promoting permissiveness & objectifying women are heavily criticized in the society.

Therefore, even advertising has ethical value. The mixing of Art and facts in advertising communication are subservient to ethical principles. In today’s competitive and buyer’s market, an advertisement has to be truthful and ethical. If an advertisement is misleading, the credibility of the organization is lost. To view the truth in advertisement, it has to be seen from to consumer’s point of view rather than from legal point. The advertising industry has been frequently criticized for putting out misleading or exaggerated claims in respect of product, goods and services advertised. It is also perceived as guilty of glorifying certain habits or tendencies regarded as undesirable and encouraging consume rest culture. However, it is very difficult to demarcate a clear line of difference between what is true and what is untrue. But the advertisement as such is judged by its impact, and by its acceptance by the consumers. The product must fulfill its advertised claims.

Or

(b) What is advertising copy? Discuss the salient features of a good copy. 2+12=14

Ans: An advertising copy is the means by which the advertiser’s ideas are given expression to in a message to readers.  Regardless of its length and brevity copy refers to all the reading matters of an advertisement, including the headline, sub- headlines, text or body, and the name of the firm or the standard initials of the advertiser.  As we have seen that advertising has so many immediate purposes but its ultimate goal is to stimulate sales.  As a reader turns the pages of a magazine or newspaper, he notices so many advertisements but a great variation in copy.  Some copy may be so sticking that the reader takes immediate action and rush to the nearest dealer to purchase it while there may be some other copy or copies that he does not like or it does not click to his mind.  The first copy conforms to the requisites of a good copy.  A copywriter must take pains in making up a sound advertisement copy containing its various components i.e. headlines, subhead lines, illustrations etc.

Qualities of an Advertisement Copy/Layout

The important of a good advertisement copy can hardly be overemphasized.  All the planning, research and expense would go waste if proper care is not taken in drafting an advertisement copy that will achieve the purpose of advertising.  The psychological aims of an advertisement are that the public must be made to (i) look, (ii) like, (iii) learn and (iv) buy.  In other words, a scientifically drafted copy should (a) attract primary initial attention, (b) hold attention in an interesting way, awaken and stimulate interest, (c) bring about an association of impression which will have permanence or memory value, (d) convince persuade, and induce to purchase the product, and (e) suggest and lead to specific response to encourage the decision to buy. The person who drafts and prepares the copy, must be thoroughly acquainted with the mental process and be imaginative enough to think of words and patterns which may produce at desired effect on prospects i.e., it must create an urge in the minds of prospects to go for the product advertised. A good copy of advertisement should possess the following characteristics or qualities or values:

1. Focus on dominant element: Good layouts have a starting point. It is called dominant element. This element is the most important part of the advertisement. It may be the headline, the illustration, the body copy, etc. The copywriter has to decide which part is the dominant part. Normally, there is only one dominant element in the ad. The dominant element must be large. It must have a bright colour. It must look better than the other parts of the ad. The consumer must get attracted towards the dominant part of the ad.

2. Unity of all ad parts: The advertisement consists of many parts. All parts of the ad have a relation with each other. All these parts must have one objective. The objective must be to inform the consumer about the product and to persuade them to purchase the product. So, all parts of the ad must work together. They must not work against each other. There must be unity among all the parts of the ad. If unity is maintained, then the combined effect will also be good. We can have unity by keeping proper space between words and lines. We can also use the same style of printing.

3. Good use of contrast: Contrast means to use opposite colours, like black and white, etc. Contrasted ads stand out because they appear different. For e.g. If all the ads in a magazine are in colour and if one ad is in black and white. Then the black and white ad will stand out in contrast. We can also use contrast for different parts of the ad. So that each part of ad stands out in contrast. We can also use contrast for a dominant part of the ad.

4. Right balance of elements: The advertisement must have a right balance. Balance means the relationship between right-hand side and left-hand side of the ad.

There are two types of balance:

Formal balance: Here, the words and pictures on the right side are equal to the words and images on the left-hand side of the ad. So, the right-hand side and the left side matches each other in size, shape and colour. They are placed exactly on the opposite side of each other. Such a balance is called a formal balance.

Informal balance: Here, each part of the ad is placed on the page at random. There is no balance between right-hand side and left-hand side. But, as a whole the ad looks balanced. Informal balance is quite difficult to achieve. It requires more imagination and a high level of creative skill. It looks better than the formal balance.

5. Maintain proportion of space: The advertisement must maintain proportion. The entire space must get divided among the different parts of the ad. The division must not be equal. If all the parts have same space, then the ad will not look good. More space must be provided to the dominant (important) part of the ad. Less space must be given to the less important parts.

6. Follow the eye movement: The advertisement must be prepared to cover the movement of the eye. The movement of the eye is from left to right. A person first looks up then he looks down. So, the advertising idea must move from left to right and from top to bottom. The advertiser can control the eye movement by using the following points:

a) Gaze movement: According to research, a person's eyes will follow other eyes. That is, if many people are looking in one direction, then a new person will also look in that direction. Such behaviour is natural. So the readers will also follow the gaze of the people, animals and birds appearing or presented in the ad.

b) Size: Generally, large size parts attract people. So the main part of the ad must also be large.

c) Pointing devices such as hands, fingers, arrows, etc., are used to attract the attention of the reader.

d) Cartoons and comic pictures are also used to grab the attention of the readers.

7. Simple and uncomplicated layout: The layout must be simple. It must have very few elements in it. The lesser the elements, the stronger will be the impact (impression). Too many parts of the ad will make it useless. So the ad must have many empty spaces. It must not look very crowded and complicated.

8. Ease of readability: The reader must be able to read the advertisement easily and quickly. The words in the ad must not be small sized. Avoid using capital letters for full paragraphs. Only significant words or sentences must be written in capital letters.

9. Use of whitespace: The advertisement must not appear stuffed and crowded. There must be enough white (blank) space to make it look uncluttered and pleasing. White space will attract the attention of the reader by making the ad look rich and classy.

10. Clarity of ad message: The advertisement must be very clear about its objective. The reader must easily understand the ad message. He must not be confused to grasp the central message of the ad. He must also not have any doubts about the ad.

11. Good ad atmosphere: The atmosphere surrounding the advertisement must not be ignored or overlooked. The surrounding of an ad is also essential to make the ad appear attractive and pleasing. A shabby background or atmosphere makes even an attention-grabbing ad less appealing.

12. First impression: The first impression is the best impression. If the impact of the first impression is good, then the reader will read the full ad message and react positively. He may desire to purchase a product or try a service. However, if the first impression fails to create a good impression, then the reader won't read the full ad message. He may not remember and lose interest in the advertised product or service. In such a case, sales won't happen and the advertisement will fail to achieve its goal.

Therefore, the copywriter must make the first impression of the ad impactful. A positive impact can be achieved by using a catchy slogan, attractive colours, lots of white space, good illustration, so on.

6. (a) Discuss the role of an advertising agency to promote a fast-moving consumer product. 14

Ans: Role & Functions of Advertising Agency

Advertising agency performs following functions

1)      Contacting Clients: Advertising agency first of all identifies and contact firms which are desirous of advertising their product or services. Ad-agency selects those firms which are financially sound, makes quality products or services, and have efficient management.

2)      Planning Advertisement: Advertising agency's next function is to plan ad for its client. For ad planning following tasks are required to be performed by ad-agency:

a)       Study of client’s product to identify its inherent qualities in relation to competitor’s product.

b)      Analysis of present and potential market for the product.

c)       Study of trade and economic conditions in the market.

d)      Study of seasonal demand of the product

e)      Study of competition and competitor’s spending on advertising.

f)        Knowledge of channels of distribution, their sales, operations, etc.

g)       Finally, formulation of advertising plan

3)      Creative Function: Creative people like - the copywriters, artists, art-directors, graphic-specialists have to perform the creative function which is most important part of all advertising function.

4)      Developing Ad-Copy: Ad-agency with the help of their writers, artists, designers, animators, graphic-designers, and film-directors prepares and develops Ad-copy.

5)      Approval of Client: Ad-copy is shown to the client for his approval.

6)      Media Selection and scheduling: It is very important function of ad-agency to select appropriate media for its clients. Ad agency has to consider various factors like- media cost, media coverage, ad-budget, nature of product, client's needs, targeted customer, and etc. while selecting media.

7)      Ad-Execution: After approval, verification, and required changes, the ad-copy is handed to the media for ad-execution.

8)      Evaluation Function: After execution, it is the responsibility of ad-agency to evaluate the effectiveness of ad to know how beneficial the ad is for its client.

9)      Marketing Function: The advertising agency also performs various marketing function like- selecting target audience, designing products, designing packages, determining prices, study of channel of distribution, market research, sales promotion, publicity, etc.

10)   Research Function: Ad-agency performs various research functions like- research of different media, media cost, media reach, circulation, entry of new media, information regarding ratings, and TRP's of TV programmes, serials.

Or

(b) Describe the various sales promotion schemes in detail. 14

Ans: Out of Syllabus