|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Tuesday, 16 March 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Business | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
The world of advertising What would the world be without advertising ? Very dull, indeed. Advertisements help us make a choice from among thousands of competing brands and products. Without ads, this newspaper would cost you far more than its current cover price. There will be no gloss in glossy magazines without ads. TV and radio stations will struggle to make ends meet without their daily staple of advertisements. Roads will lead nowhere without attractive billboards that take the strain away from a long drive. Advertisements help us to sort fiction from fact, the truth from lies. Advertising, like the media and communications spheres with which it is closely associated, is developing fast in line with modern trends and consumer preferences. It is also venturing in new directions, using non-traditional methods. The global advertising industry is in good health, with economies in most major markets recovering from a prolonged recession. Sri Lanka's advertising industry is no exception. It recently celebrated another successful year at the SLIM Awards ceremony, where ad agencies were feted for their outstanding creations. The proliferation of TV and radio channels - electronic advertising outlets - posed a challenge to the agencies, but they had adapted remarkably well. Judging by the high standards of the ads that received awards, it was apparent that Sri Lankan advertising agencies are on par with the best in the world. Some of them are multinationals with offices all over the world, but the brains behind the award-winning ads were Sri Lankan. It was heartening to see the rise of wholly local agencies. The fact that some of the advertisements were designed for local as well as international publication/broadcast indicates that our advertising professionals can take on the world. Another interesting trend is the rise of 'social responsibility' advertising for health and safety issues. A recent analysis in the prestigious weekly 'The Far Eastern Economic Review' notes that clients and advertising agencies are increasingly turning to media other than TV, which is getting expensive. TV stations across Asia have increased their advertising rates, driving clients in search of less expensive options. It quotes the example of Cathay Pacific Airways, which employed three actors dressed in the furry hats and red jackets of Britain's Grenadier Guards to march around Hong Kong's Central District. The story was "all over the newspapers" the next day according to Cathay sources. The result: everybody in the Special Administrative Region learned that Cathay had three daily flights to London. The cost was a fraction of the expenditure for a couple of TV spots. And it was far more effective. Soft-drinks giant Coca Cola created a stir in the late 1980s when it announced a 'new flavour' for the fizzy drink. Newspapers and magazines dedicated pages for the story, resulting in free coverage for Coca Cola. A thousand TV spots could not have matched the publicity generated by the controversy. Such Public Relations approaches and new advertising techniques are likely to figure prominently in the coming years. More clients will turn to Billboards, bus/train advertising, point of sale advertising, direct propaganda, event sponsorship and loyalty programs. Of course, no advertiser will totally abandon TV, radio and print media, which are still the most powerful outlets for advertising. For example, a prime time TV commercial in Sri Lanka can potentially reach more than one million households. Radio is even more popular, especially in rural areas. Newspapers will also continue to be a prime channel for advertising in Sri Lanka, one of the few developing countries with a highly literate population. That said, some of the advertisements that we see on TV and in newspapers leave a lot to be desired. Sri Lankan authorities and advertising professionals should explore the possibility of establishing an Advertising Standards Authority which entertains public complaints and provides guidelines for ad makers. In the meantime, local and international accolades will help them soar to new heights. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
