Different Types Of Advertising

If you are a brand then you must be familiar with the different types of advertising. Advertising has always been a powerful tool when it comes to connecting with the audience, enhancing brand reputation, building consumer trust, increasing brand awareness, and most importantly generating sales. Whether we talk about 2025 or 1925, advertising was always a part of marketing campaigns of various businesses, brands to promote their products and reach a wider audience.

In this blog, we will have a look at the various types of advertising and advertisements, what are the different platforms where you can promote your product, and much more about the different advertising techniques that brands follow.

What Is Advertising?

Advertising is a process by which business owners, brands and companies promote their products to gain popularity, build an audience base, and generate sales. Advertising can be of different types and can be done through different mediums and platforms depending on multiple situations and factors like location, consumer behaviour, and the time.

Types of advertising

For example, Digital advertising in India in the 1900s would have been a waste of money and time because there weren’t many people who accessed internet services at that time. Types of advertising evolved through many stages generating different source of presenting brands.

Similarly, if you stick to the traditional methods of advertising even today, you won’t be able to get results because now everyone is shifting towards the use of technology, therefore brands are also focusing on building their online presence and promoting their products or services through the right medium. Let us know more about the common types of advertising popular in the market.

The Evolution of Types of Advertising

Though the advertising looked completely different in 1925 as compared to the current advertising methods and techniques. Today, advertising is mostly done digitally through social media, email marketing, etc.

The traditional methods of advertising like radio advertising, print advertising still exist but they are now used only by limited companies. By 1925, radios had gained popularity and thus it was highly used for advertising products. Many top companies and brands used radio advertising to promote their products.

Advertising vs Advertisement

Many people often confuse advertising with advertisements. They are often used interchangeably and might sound similar but are different from one another. Let’s understand the difference between advertising and advertisements.

Advertising is a process of promoting a product or a service. Types of advertising include the platforms or the medium where the product or the service can be promoted. For example, Social media, emails, television, etc.

Advertisement is the final outcome in which you are advertising your product or a service. Types of advertisements refer to the format and the style of advertisement. For example, video ads, display ads, retargeting ads, etc.

What Are The Different Types Of Advertising

There are various mediums and platforms that can be used to advertise your product or service. It is essential that you choose the right platform according to the type of product you are selling or the type of audience base you have. Some of the most common types of advertising are:

1. Television Advertising

Television Advertising focuses when commercials are aired on tv channels. The duration for such ads remains around 30-40 seconds. Television advertising still works but the methods for the same has been changed.

2. Radio Advertising

Radio Advertising is a popular advertising medium which was used in the 1900s when the people were not well-versed with digital technology. It basically consists of audio ads and jingles.

3. Print Advertising

Print Advertising is a process by which you can promote your products or services by getting them printed in newspapers, magazines, flyers, or brochures.

4. Outdoor Advertising

You must have seen various hoardings on the road while travelling, that is outdoor advertising. It includes promotion through putting posters, billboards, etc.

5. Social Media Advertising

Social Media Advertising is a part of digital advertising in which you promote your product online through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

6. Search Engine Advertising

Platforms like Google and Bing helps businesses appear at the top of search results through Google Ads, Bing Ads, etc. by running paid campaigns.

7. Influencer Advertising

Influencer Advertising or Influencer Marketing is when you promote products by collaborating with influencers on different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube etc.

8. Mobile Advertising

Mobile Advertising is when ads are put up on different applications, it also includes sms marketing and sending push notifications.

9. Email Advertising

Email Advertising is done by promoting products or services through email, by sending letters, postcards, or catalogues to the people.

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Advertising and Advertisements are two different parts of promoting a product or a service. By now, you must’ve understood what Advertising is and what types of advertising are. So, let’s have a look at the different types of advertisements. Types of Advertisements refers to the format and the style of an Ad.

1. Video Ads

Types of advertising

Video Ads are the ones where you advertise your product or service by creating a video. TV Ads, YouTube Ads, Social Media reels are all a type of video ads. It helps grab the user’s attention and leave an impact in user’s mind. For example, a 30 second advertisement showing how maggi can be made in 2 minutes.

2. Display Ads

Types of advertising

Display Ads or banner ads are a part of digital advertising which are placed on websites or applications generally as banners, pop-ups, or sidebars. You can choose the right website according to your niche and promote your product or service through a banner ad. For example, a banner on a website like Times of India (news website) showing a discount offer of Amazon.

3. Native Ads

Types of advertising

Native Ads are the ones which smoothly blend into the platform’s content. They look like normal content but are actually paid promotions. It helps in targeting the right audience. It is used in sponsored articles, promoted social media posts, in-feed ads, etc. For example, A post on instagram that looks normal but has a tag mentioned ‘sponsore’d’.

4. Search Ads

Types of advertising

Search Ads are text-based ads that appear on search engines like Google or Bing when users search for specific keywords. It helps you to get your brand or business noticed by getting it ranked on SERPs (Search Engine Results Page). For example, if you search best sneakers and see ‘Nike’ on top, it means that Nike is ranking on the keyword ‘best sneakers”.

5. Social Media Ads

Social Media Ads is one of the most popular types of digital advertising that are specially designed for platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (now X), etc. These Ads are in the format of carousel ads, story ads, or sponsored posts which can be efficient for social media and get you high audience engagement. For example, you see an Ad while scrolling through reels about a new watch collection of a brand.

6. Retargeting Ads

Retargeting means targeting users who have already visited you website or interacted with your brand but haven’t completed the action (like purchasing a product). In such a case, you can run ads specifically targeting these users which is known as retargeting advertisement. For example, seeing an Ad for the product you added to your Amazon cart but didn’t purchase.

7. Comparative Ads

Types of advertising

Comparative Ads show the comparison between two or more products. You can use comparative advertisement to highlight how your product is better than that of your competitors (directly or indirectly). These are mainly used for television advertising, print advertising, or online advertising. For example, Burger King Ads compare their burgers with McDonald’s.

8. Interactive Ads

Interactive Ads are the ones which allow users to participate through the ad and create an engaging experience. The Ads can be in the form of polls, quizzes, etc, to allow people to engage and interact with the advertisement. For example, a Snapchat lens (filter) allows you to try on sunglasses before actually buying them.

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