Many people are critical as to the enormous sums of money
being spent on advertising, particularly those advertisements aimed at younger
people. While there is no doubt that some advertising budgets are way over the
top – for example, just look at some of
the budgets of large companies like Coca Cola, MacDonalds and Nestle – I believe
that it is still important for advertisers to make people aware of their
products.
There are a number of reasons for this. First of all, how
can an advertiser attract new customers. Word-of-mouth might work in some cases;
however, advertisements, be they print, on television or radio, or on the
internet, are needed to reach potential new customers over a wider area. In
addition, advertisements are needed to inform current customers of any
improvements or additional services to their existing range of products. Without
this, products will not be used to their full capacity. Furthermore,
advertisers are always worried about losing market share to rivals.
Well-delivered advertising campaigns can ensure that advertisers not only gain
new customers but also keep their existing ones. Finally, like it or not, the
advertising industry is a very important source of employment. Many people are
employed in the area of market research, advertisement design and sales;
without advertisements, many people would be without relatively well-paid jobs.
In conclusion, advertisers need advertisements to ensure
that they attract new customers, keep existing ones and to keep their current
sales and marketing employees in work. However, advertisers also need to
justify how they spend each of their advertising dollars.
