Is it the Role of Advertising to socialize readers on how to dress ,beauty, choose food, etc.?

What is Advertising?

Advertising have the special place and play major rule in business. In the business world which is very competitive now advertising is used to build a brand awareness, persuade the market and position a company/product/service against the competition. It delivers strategic message and elevates awareness within the given market.

Advertising is usually a paid form of exposure or promotion by some sponsor that reaches through various traditional media such as television, newspaper, commercial radio advertisement, magazine mail, outdoor advertising or modern media such as blogs, websites and text messages (Ahmed & Ashfaq, 2013)

Advertising is one of the communication mixes (Smith, Berry, & Pulford, 1999) such as Sales force as personal selling, direct marketing, public relations, sponsorships, exhibitions, corporate identity, packaging, point of sales promotion & merchandising, word of mouth, and internet and new media. 

Advertising and other marketing mix is part of the marketing communication which have three main roles.  According to (Clow & Baack, 2010) there are three main role of marketing communication:

Picture: Three Main Role of Marketing Communication

Source: (Clow & Baack, 2010)

Advertising as part of marketing communication play these main roles also, Informing, Persuading and Reminding. The major aim of advertising is to impact on buying behavior; however, this impact about brand is changed or strengthened frequently through people’s memories (Haider & Shakib, 2017). Consumer behavior itself is refers to the methods involved when individuals or groups choose, buy, utilize or dispose of products, services, concepts or experiences to suit their needs and desires (Solomon, 2018). A behavior that consumers display in searching for, paying for, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services that they think will satisfy their needs (Schiffman, 2010).It is a convergence of three fields of social science, they are, individual psychology, societal psychology and cultural anthropology (Ramachander, 1988). A theory that answers what, why, how, when and where an individual makes purchase (Green, 1992); it is particularly important to study the subject of consumer buying behavior as it facilitates firms to plan and execute superior business strategies (Khaniwale, 2015).

Memories about the brand are formed by associations that are related to brand name in consumer mind (Khan, Siddiqui, & Hunjra, 2012). The brands then continuously influence the consumer buying decision making process as described below:

Picture: Consumer Purchase Decision Process .

Source: (Solomon, 2018)

Advertising is an important part of the growth of a brand, one of the essential ingredients of “mental availability”. For the author, advertising works mostly by refreshing, or occasionally building, structures of memory. (SHARP & HARTNETT, 2016)

Is it the role of advertising to socialize readers on how to dress, beauty, choose food, etc.?

1.  Advertising as part of the Marketing Mix and how influence the consumer decision process.

Advertising in implementing the role of marketing communication (informing, persuading, reminding) inherently means socializing how the consumer can satisfy their need and wants based on their preference. How is consumer preference then influenced by some factor internally and externally. To answer the question above we can use the model below as an approach to understanding where is the position of advertising and how advertising then influences decision-making. The model is developed by (Schiffman, 2010). In the internal factor, where there is a firm marketing mix effort, advertising is part of the marketing communication mix which is part of the marketing mix (Promotion) as the firm marketing effort to influence consumers in the early stage of consumer decision-making. The advertising then plays the role of influencing the consumer decision process based on the stage with a specific message strategy align with the consumer position at each stage level in the consumer decision-making process. The known effects of advertising on consumers range from creating an awareness of the product or service to influencing a buying decision (Cyprus, 2013).

Picture: A Model of Consumer Decision Making. Source: (Schiffman, 2010)

B. Advertising builds consumer preference on how to dress, beauty, choose food, or anything with a specific message that aligns with the advertising objective. Consumer preference is built from many kinds of advertising models (information, persuasion, entertainment, Education, and Social Inspiration).

Picture: The Development of Advertising Function. Source :Source: (Wijaya, 2011)

The Example of Advertising for Cloth, Beauty and food

No.	Advertisement	Description
01.	Picture: H&M Advertisement for cloths. Source: Shop Online Fashion In Indonesia | H&M Indonesia (hm.com)	Advertisement in website, Introduce new item of H&M product-The Jogger set.  The USP for this item, more comfortable and environmentally friendly   This Advertising not only introduce the item but also build image and association as environmentally friendly to build connection with customer value.
02.	Picture: Maybelline Mascara.Source: https://www.bing.com/images/	Maybelline advertisement introduce the False Mascara and at the same time make the value to the market how beauty is (especially for eye product)
03.	Picture: Pizza Advertisemtn. Source: https://www.bing.com/images/	Pizza Advertisement, Introduce the new package with affordable price and the size of package-4 personal pizza. At the same time, this advertising builds the occasion position of the product. We can enjoy the package of Pizza with friends. Friendly and affordable.

After consumer preference is built the next step is to the behavioral/conative stage (conviction and purchase). This is the behavior stage. At this stage, consumers decide their preference in buying process/decide to buy the product. We can see the step below:

Picture: Hierarchy of Effect- Robert J Lavidge and Garry A Steiner (1961)

(Lavidge & Steiner, 1961)

Advertising is not only about introducing the brand/product to the consumer. This is only one example of an advertising role. Advertising has many roles depending on consumer behavior. Advertisers should have a different focus for every stage of consumer behavior. It will help advertisers optimize the communication message and tools.

References

Ahmed, S., & Ashfaq, A. (2013). Impact of advertising on consumer buying behavior through persuasiveness, brand image and celebrity endorsement. Global Media Journal, 2.

Clow, K. E., & Baack, D. E. (2010). Integrated Advertising, Promotion and Marketing Communications: Global Edition, 4th Edition. London: Pearson Education.

Cyprus, S. (2013). infoBloom. Retrieved from What Are the Effects of Advertising on Consumers?: https://www.infobloom.com/what-are-the-effects-of-advertising-on-consumers.htm

Green, A. (1992). Male/female behavioural differences in an advertising sales environment. Industrial and Commercial Training, 24(4), 32-49, Green, A. (1992).

Haider, T., & Shakib, S. (2017). A Study on The Influences of Advertisement on Consumer Buying Behavior. Business Studies Journal.

Khan, N., Siddiqui, J. S., & Hunjra, A. (2012). Effective advertising and its influence on consumer behavior. Information Management and Business Review, 114-119.

Khaniwale, M. (2015). Consumer buying behaviour. International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research,, 14(2), 278-286.

Klein, K. M. (2013). Why Don't I look like her? The Impact of social media on female body image. Claremont McKenna College, 1.

Lavidge, R., & Steiner, G. (1961). Hierarchy of Effect.

Pereira, J. J., & Iglesias, F. (2020). Influencing attitudes and behaviors with advertisements: bridging theories and practice. Intercom, 1.

PRATKANIS, A. (2008). The science of social influence: advances and future progress. . Nova Iorque: Psychology Press.

Ramachander, S. (1988). Consumer behavior and marketing: Towards an Indian approach. Economic and Political Weekly, 23(9), 22-25, Ramachander, S. (1988).

Schiffman, L. G. (2010). Consumer behavior. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc.

SEITER, J., & GASS, R. (2004). Perspectives on persuasion, social influence, and compliance gaining. 1 ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2004.

SHARP, B., & HARTNETT, N. (2016). Generalizability behavior of advertising persuasion principles. European Journal of Marketing,. European Journal of Marketing, 955-958.

Smith, P., Berry, C., & Pulford, A. (1999). Strategic Marketing Communication, revised edition. London: Kogan Page Limited.

Solomon, M. (2018). Consumer Behavior. London: Pearson.

Sugiyama, K., & Andree, T. (2010). The Dentsu Way: Secrets of Cross Switch Marketing from the World’s Most Innovative Advertising Agency. New York: McGraw Hill Professional.

Wijaya, B. S. (2011). New Model of Hierarchy of Effects in Advertising. Proceeding International Seminar on scientific issue and trends.