The 25 Types Of Advertisements (explained And Classified)
We see, hear and read them every day, finding them on TV, on the radio and, of course, while browsing the Internet: advertisements have invaded our lives, and it is not something new.
There are many types of advertisements , depending on what type of criteria we use to classify them. Below we will discover the 25 main types.
There are hundreds, thousands of advertisements present in our lives. Whether in printed format, appearing on television or in the form of a banner when we browse the Internet, the truth is that there are many types of advertising with which brands, large and small, try to offer us their products and services.
Advertising is an art but also a war. Companies try to sell their products and services in the most varied ways in order to attract the attention of their target audience and take it away from your competitors. When creating a marketing plan, one of the most important parts is the communication strategy and this can be done in the most creative but also aggressive ways, bordering on the illegal if it involves defamation or attacks against a company. rival.
Next We will discover the wide and extensive world of types of advertising ads taking into account several criteria.
Types of advertising according to the distribution channel
We can find different types of advertising depending on the distribution channel.
1. Digital advertising
Digital advertising is experiencing the greatest growth with the rest of the media, especially because many people, especially young people, make almost exclusive use of the Internet, making more traditional media such as radio and television beginning to become obsolete.
Large companies know this and, therefore, it turns out that digital advertising is one of the few ways to advertise products and services for which their investment has not decreased. In fact, it has skyrocketed.
Within digital advertising we can find subcategories.
1.1. Social media advertising
One of the types of advertising that companies use to reach their target audience, especially the youngest. It consists of ads on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter or Tik Tok, in addition to hiring influencers to market their products and services on their accounts
1.2. Email Marketing
Email marketing is usually one of the most effective digital advertising methods, consisting of Send ads to email accounts of potential clients, taking into account their tastes, age group, geographic area.
1.3. Mobile Ads
Mobile ads, that is, advertising on mobile phones, are a method that has experienced great growth. These are the ads that appear when we are using any application that we have downloaded on our phone.
1.4. Video advertising
Videos are one of the most used channels for content consumption Whether to watch a tutorial, find out about news or get the opinion of a Youtuber, we turn to videos rather than reading an article on the Internet, and companies take advantage of this by placing their ads when pressing play.
1.5. Banner advertising
Banner or display advertising are those ads that are found in the margins of a page when we visit it or, when we are watching a video, the small rectangle that appears at the base. They can be made up of images but there are also videos and audio.
Search engine advertising or SEM are all paid campaigns carried out on the main search engines. For example, when we are searching using Google, the first results that appear are usually from companies that have paid for their pages to appear among the first and, thus, increase the chances of being consulted.
2. Print Advertising
Print advertising is one of the oldest forms of advertising, in fact it could be considered the first except for word of mouth and announcing things in the town square as it was done in the past. It consists of all forms of advertising that are done in paper format, such as the advertisements we find in the press, magazines, posters, direct mail or flyers.
3. Radio advertising
Radio advertising consists of the advertisements that we hear on the radio. In this modality We would also include the ads that sneak in when we are listening to a Podcast both being announced by the commentators themselves making reference to their sponsors or in the form of an advertisement that jumps out and offers us its service or product.
4. Television advertising
television advertisements Until relatively recently, they were the most impactful way that companies had to promote their offers It has not become a better story, since today the silly box continues to have a great influence and, in fact, the idea has been spreading that advertising on television implies a certain prestige since it does not exactly come cheap.
Among the advertisements that make up television advertising we find advertorials, telesales, advertising spots and also sponsorship that appears in news programs, gossip programs and other television spaces.
5. Outdoor advertising
Outdoor advertising is what we find in public spaces such as billboards and advertising banners or messages placed on street furniture. The impact of this type of advertising is difficult to measure, in addition to being unselective since anyone can see it.
6. Word of mouth advertising
Word-of-mouth advertising, despite being quite rudimentary, can be considered one of the most effective types of advertisements especially when talking about high-cost products and services.
As consumers, the first thing we do when we are interested in purchasing a good or service is to look for opinions from other people to see if they have been satisfied with that same product or service.
Furthermore, the closer the people we ask for their opinion are or the more influential they seem to us, the more effective it will be because we will trust the product or service in question more.
You may be interested: “The 5 differences between advertising and propaganda”
7. Telephone advertising
Telephone advertising is, ironically, the most used by telephone companies themselves to offer their services and products, in addition to attracting new customers This type of advertising does not have a good reputation, and it is not strange since it is somewhat uncomfortable and even violent to have to tell someone that you are not interested in what they offer us, despite their insistence.
But curiously, this is one of the most recommended types of advertising to close sales, since if it is possible to capture the customer’s attention, they can be convinced to purchase the offered service.
Types of advertising according to geographic area of reach
Ads can also be classified based on the geographic area they cover. This criterion must be taken into account in the event that what is offered is linked to some type of regional or national sentiment or there are geographical differences in terms of what the product in question is consumed. In marketing, you must always take into account that customs and cultures influence consumer behavior
Local advertising is essential for any business that wants to impact its community, especially if you are just starting out and need to create some fame in your city
This type of advertising is also used by brands that want to reinforce their image, personalizing their ads according to the region, making its inhabitants feel especially taken into consideration.
9. National advertising
National advertising aims to impact the entire nation, understood as the sovereign state in which a certain good or service will be promoted. That is to say, There are no regional limits or differences between one region and another in terms of the adaptation of advertisements unlike what happened in the previous case.
10. International advertising
With international advertising, the aim is to spread a product or service worldwide or, at least, in several countries at the same time. These types of advertisements are a bit complicated, since although the basic message is the same for each country, it must be modified depending on the language, culture and values of each target society that is addressed.
Types of advertising based on their content
In this section we are going to see the types of advertising depending on the content of the advertisement. This will depend on several factors, including:
Price of the product
Degree of product knowledge
Product use
11. Informative advertising
The objective of informative advertising is educate customers about the possible uses of a product and what benefits they entail These types of ads are usually used on high-priced products or products that have a high level of involvement to try to make potential customers understand what day-to-day problems this product solves. An example of informational advertising is teleshopping ads.
12. Comparative advertising
Comparative advertising consists of comparing our product with that of the competition Its main objective is to highlight the benefits and characteristics of what we offer, comparing them with those of a rival brand’s product, implying that ours is better.
It is a somewhat controversial type of advertising, something that is evident in the fact that there are countries in which products from different brands cannot be compared in advertising, which is considered unfair competition. In those states where this advertising practice is legal, it is necessary for the company to be very careful when comparing its product with that of the competition, offering real data on both products and being “objective.”
13. Transformative advertising
Transformative advertising aims transmit values, offering your product or service as that object or function that has come to transform our lives especially highlighting them as something that will solve several of our problems.
14. Emotional advertising
Emotional advertisements are those whose viewing involves arousing emotions in the intended audience. These advertisements are the result of the fact that we live in a society where there is extremely high commercial competition, so much so that it no longer serves only to highlight the benefits of a product or service. It is necessary to go one step further, pulling imagination and provoking an emotional response in the recipient
Types of advertising according to the number of advertisers
Ads can also be classified based on the number of advertisers behind them. We can mainly talk about two typologies.
Individual advertising is any advertisement in which there is only one advertiser
16. Collective advertising
Collective advertising is usually used when complementary products are promoted in their consumption, being the collaboration of two or more brands We have an example of this in advertisements where a type of alcohol is offered and it is indicated that it combines very well with a soft drink of a specific brand.
Types of advertising depending on who it is directed to
We can distinguish between different types of advertising depending on the type of people to whom they are directed. As a general rule, we think that advertisements are only directed at consumers, understood as individuals, but the truth is that They can also be directed towards businesses
17. B2B Advertising
B2B or “Business to Business” advertising is that which goes from companies to other companies, that is, advertisements that are directed towards organizations not individual consumers.
18. B2C Advertising
B2C or “Business to Consumer” advertising is the classic advertising carried out by companies for consumers, being the most common in media such as television, newspapers and the Internet.
19. C2C Advertising
Finally we have C2C or “Consumer to Consumer” advertising. that in which the commercial activity occurs between the consumers themselves These types of ads would be those we find on second-hand pages where individuals put up for sale products that they no longer use, such as Milanuncios, Wallapop, vibbo…
Types of advertising depending on who broadcasts it
We can talk about different types of advertising depending on which business or government organization is doing it.
20. Advertising of private companies
Advertising from private companies is what we are most accustomed to, consisting of the advertisements made by large companies to promote their products and services These advertisements are intended to influence the purchasing behavior of the target audience, motivating them to purchase what the brand offers.
21. Nonprofit Advertising
In advertising advertisements made by non-profit organizations, no product or service is sold, but rather the aim is to raise awareness among society about the activities carried out by the organization. Its objectives are to collect donations and motivate caring people to join the organization and help it with its mission
22. Public administration advertising
Advertisements issued by government companies and other public administration bodies are not intended to sell a product directly, but rather to enhance the brand image of the state administration. These may be announcements made by the autonomous community itself, state, province, island council, region… and They can be guided to obtain more tourist visits or to inform about certain services available to citizens
Types of illegal advertising
Finally, it is time to talk about the types of advertising that imply the commission of some type of crime or illegal act.
23. Misleading advertising
Misleading advertising is understood to be any type of advertisement in which the recipient is deceived or lied to, giving them false information about the product or service.
24. Aggressive advertising
By aggressive advertising we mean one in which the personal freedom of the consumer is being attacked , harassing you or threatening you that if you do not buy your product or acquire your service there will be consequences. An example of this type of advertising are after-hours calls made by unscrupulous companies.
25. Unfair advertising
Unfair advertising is one in which contempt is caused towards a person or company, either directly or indirectly attacking you or explicitly saying that your products or services are fraud.
