The primary aim of ads is to solicit for the
business. It is in the way that they attempt to perform this function
that the various mediums differ. When Online Advertising started around
1997, it initially continued the tradition of the media that preceded
it. Up it went on the podium with a drum around its neck and a scroll
primary divided into two parts: the USP of the business and a call to
buy! Thankfully, the newer and broader opportunities of the medium were
soon seen and realized. The most prominent change was the change of
tone. With the Online Medium, Advertisements are no longer mere calls of
action but extended greetings for building conversations that may lead
to relations, associations and conversions.

Reasons for the Change

Conventional advertising had reached a saturation point in the late
twentieth century. In spite of the manifold attempts of advertisers and
publishers, the audiences had largely learnt to stop bothering about
them. They served as menus only when the consumers were hungry. The
ability to charm new consumers was lost by the media in general. Online
Advertising brought in new opportunities of reviving that charm. Soon,
the one-way communication of Advertising changed into a two-way process
with the internet users being able to reply in response to
Advertisements. The inflow of feedbacks was seen as the beginning of a
new dimension. Then, with the social media activating the buttons of
like and share, the power of Online Advertising to start a conversation
has reached trendsetting proportions.

Advantages

The most important advantage of starting a communication, rather than
persuading, is the development of a base for long term relationships.
Persuading might work for the initial few times but there are only a
certain number of times that you can persuade someone to buy the same
product or service. Non-committed, short-term consumers are the best
that can be achieved by persuasion. A conversation, on the other hand,
leads to more than just one entry of sales. It leads to a long term
customer relationship. Any management knows that retaining an existing
customer is far easier and lower on cost than chasing new leads.

It is much easier to convince a consumer with whom you have interacted
before than convincing someone with whom you are talking for the first
time. Companies that know the worth of a loyal consumer have very active
customer care departments. Online Advertising initiates that relation
with the consumer right from the first contact.

An established communication line helps solve a problem with promptness which can do wonders for enhancing brand reputation.

Constant and fluent communication provides opportunities for real time
monitoring of the impact of the ads among users. When necessary, changes
can be done (sometimes even before they become necessary) at a speed
that is the trademark of Online Advertising.

Disadvantages

An open-ended communication line may create a very tedious task for the
ones monitoring the influx of comments, opinions, queries, etc. It
requires intelligent strategies to be able to manage the additional
tasks like these that are created along with the opportunities by Online
Advertising.

In all fairness, there cannot be many
disadvantages of being in active communication with the consumers. The
only care that needs to be taken is a successful monitoring of the
reactions to the ads. This can be easily achieved by any worthy Online
Advertising Agency.

Airports

Hardly any other
platform has enjoyed the levels of success attained by Airport
Advertising in the country. Nowhere else, can an audience be found, that
is as pristine for Advertising as the Indian airports. 77% of the air
travelers are SEC AB males and 87% are in the age group of 25-55,
including key decision makers of companies from across the world. So we
have an audience that is interested in buying and with the power to buy.
Since it began with AAI’s first advertising tender in 1987, the medium
has constantly been a favorite platform of various brands.

DMRC

The DMRC, along with providing a faster and better organized means of
transportation, opened up another avenue for Advertising India. Even
though the medium had gone through a struggling period in the initial
years, it is beginning to attract a host of advertisers as seen in the
period between December 2013 and January 2014. The initial struggle
happened primarily as the medium was overhyped. It has since then,
sprung right back into action. Going by the innovative approaches that
are being taken, it is bound to grow at an even faster rate.

Mobile and Internet

India woke up a little late to the boom of the Online Medium. However,
since that time, the rate of progress shown by the online agencies has
been commendable. The nation was soon put on the world map of digital
advertising, providing the latest services in the field. The 229% growth
in the sales of smartphones and availability of fast internet services
fuelled the growth of this sector by huge margins. The consumers here
have now grown accustomed to clicking on the web banners in order to
land at the pages offering purchase or key specifications of the
products or services. With the world consumers moving towards the mobile
medium, the Indian audience is completely prepared to match every step
in the march towards buying on the go.

Mall Activations

Indian buyers have always been more accustomed to buying from a
brick-and-mortar sale point. This is one of reasons why the mall culture
was successfully incorporated here at such a fast pace. Mall
Activations provide opportunities of promoting before an audience that
has come to a mall for the purpose of buying. In short, they are already
in the buying mood. Mall Activations offer one of the rare
opportunities of attracting an audience that is already primed for
buying. They have always remained popular platforms for promotional
campaigns.

Roadside Hoardings & Unipole

Placing Roadside Displays is another prominent way in which Indian
audiences can be attracted. This is one of the oldest mediums of Outdoor
Advertising and still thrives in India. It is a very effective way
reaching the interior areas that are still without any access to the
other means of promotions.

Looking at the above top platforms,
it is obvious that the Indian audience has not lost its affinity for the
traditional mediums while embracing the latest digitalized versions.
Predictions for the coming times, based on the above study, largely
reflect a continued growth for the above 5 mediums. Airport Advertising
is set to continue being the king of Advertising in India, DMRC will see
increased activity, and the Online Medium will speed up to stand along
the best in the world.