The 28 types of advertising: ways to advertise a product

We understand by advertising the set of strategies that are carried out by a subject or entity in order to get certain people to act or think in a certain way. Generally what is intended by this means is the purchase or acquisition of a good or service, although it is also used to propagate ideologies and ways of thinking regarding various topics.

These strategies can be carried out in multiple ways and with different objectives. In other words, we can find different types of advertising to be categorized according to different criteria. In this article we are going to indicate some of the best known.

1. Types of advertising depending on the objective

We can find different types of advertising depending on the objective of the person who carries it out, that is, the goal pursued by the advertisement in question. In this sense we find different typologies.

1.1. Commercial advertising

A type of advertising in which the viewer is asked to act by acquiring a product or a good either immediately or deferred. The former would be stimulated using persuasive elements such as limited availability or temporary price reduction. It is one of the most common.

1.2. Pioneering advertising

Subtype of commercial advertising. We are facing the type of advertising that tries to promote and generate demand for a new good or service for which there is still no idea at the social level that it is necessary. It seeks to create awareness that we need this new type of product, often through the vindication of values.

1.3. Competitive or comparative advertising

It refers to the type of advertising that is usually carried out with products that society already considers necessary and in which there is competition. It pretends that the advantages of the advertised product are observed, trying to stand out from the competition and often comparing it directly. It is one of the types of commercial advertising related to products.

1.4. Booster advertising

It is considered as such the type of advertising aimed at reinforcing the fact of having acquired a product or, remembering the characteristics of what is offered and strengthening the customer's sense of satisfaction with their choice. It can facilitate brand affiliation.

1.5. Institutional / corporate advertising

This type of advertising does not have the direct objective of selling us a product, but of generating expectations that make the organization or business look good and desirable so that potential customers come in a future. Create brand image. More than a good or service, the advertiser is advertising himself.

1.6. Public service advertising

It is the type of advertising that does not intend to advertise a product or promote brand affiliation, but rather to generate an attitudinal change or raise awareness in society about any issue. For example, the issuance of advertisements referring to the prevention and reporting of intimate partner violence or bullying, or advertising that attempts to raise awareness of the risks of drug use.

2. Who is it for? Types according to the target

If we classify the types of advertising according to the type of audience or target to which it is directed, we can find different classifications.

2.1. B2B advertising

Business to business (B2B refers to "Business to Business"). It refers to the type of advertising that a business or company carries out in order to attract attention and go to another or others. It is, for example, the type of advertising that can be carried out by production chains, manufacturers or advertisements aimed at professionals such as doctors or psychologists.

2.2. B2C advertising

This type of advertising refers to the one that a company or business directs towards consumers (business to consumer). It is usually the best known type, and the one we see the most on television trying to sell a palatable product for the end user.

3. Types of advertising taking into account the scope

Looking at where the advertising element is broadcast or how far it reaches also allows other categories to be established.

3.1. International advertising

International advertising is one that is directed from a company to the market and population located outside the national territory.

3.2. National advertising

This is the type of advertising that addresses the entire nation, without establishing geographic limitations within the State.

3.3. Regional advertising

We are facing a type of advertising that is broadcast in a region, province or autonomous community, affecting a relatively large number of the population but without affecting the entire national territory.

3.4. Local or retail advertising

This type of advertising is limited to a specific area, having little reach but wide possibilities of being viewed by the target audience.

3.5. Advertising at the point of sale

It is the type of advertisement that is carried out in the same location or establishment where the good or service is offered.

4. Classification according to the communication channel

One of the easiest classifications to imagine and interpret is the one that takes into account the media in which the advertising element in question appears. In this sense we can find the following types of advertising.

4.1. Mouth to mouth

Although it is not generally considered as a type of advertising, word of mouth from acquaintances and relatives is in fact what is most easily predisposes a customer to accept or reject a product. That is why we include it in this article.

4.2. Print advertising

Brochures and advertising included in various publications such as newspapers or magazines are part of print advertising, one of the best known along with television. Advertising that reaches our mail is also considered as such, often through post office practices.

4.3. Outdoor advertising at street level

Advertising can easily be found in any area of ​​life, without having to dispose of any type of advertising. This is the type of advertising that we see on billboards, which can be placed at different points on buses.

4.4. Television advertising

We are facing one of the most recognized types of advertising as such, usually in the form of television advertisements. It can also appear integrated into other formats, as with some television series.

4.5. Radio advertising

Advertising can also reach us through radio waves, transmitting advertising messages through this medium, as is the case with television.

4.6. Online advertising

This type of advertising is the one that jumps to us or appears on different pages while we surf the internet. The sending of announcements and messages by e-mail can also be included within this type of advertising, although in this case it has the particularity that it involves the use of personal information (the email address in question).

4.7. Telephone advertising

As with sending advertising by mail (be it traditional or electronic), it involves the use of data of the specific target to offer them a good or service, specifically their number of telephone. In this case it also has the peculiarity that it is established a real and active interaction between the recipient of the advertisement and the person in charge of transmitting it.

5. Depending on the way the message is conveyed

Not only where, but also how the message is transmitted allows the generation of advertising typologies. Some of those that stand out are the following.

5.1. Advertising Above The Line (ATL)

ATL advertising is one that uses the mass media such as television, radio or social networks to reach its objective. It is the mechanism used to distribute information to society as a whole and the one that has traditionally been identified as advertising the most.

5.2. Below The Line (BTL) Advertising

It refers to the type of advertising that uses non-mass media to spread and that seeks to create new communication mechanisms to access the target population. An example is the creation of social events, spaces and activities aimed at said population, or the creation of merchandising.

5.3. Viral advertising

Type of advertising that is transmitted in order to be shared by different media, so that the targets themselves facilitate the cost-free propagation of the ad. They usually include some kind of element that makes people find them funny, emotional, or deeply thoughtful. They are frequently transmitted through social networks.

5.4. Interactive advertising

It refers to the type of advertising in which an active interaction is established between the recipient and the advertising element, as is the case with many visible advertisements on tactile elements or online. Telephone advertising could also be considered as such.

6. Types of illegal advertising

Not all types of advertising are allowed by law. Below are some of the advertising cases that are prohibited and may incur a crime.

6.1. Subliminal publicity

It is about that type of advertising in which the message is so fast or is produced so hidden that it is not perceptible on a conscious level. However, it only exists theoretically, as it is based on a myth.

6.2. Misleading advertising

That advertising that manipulates the recipient by providing totally or partially false information or that it varies with time without indicating it, omitting the disclosure of fundamental characteristics or being carried out in a covert manner.

6.3. Unfair advertising

Competition between companies and various businesses can make them decide to discredit said competition, using advertising elements for that purpose.

6.4. Aggressive advertising

This type of advertising is what generates the imposition of doing or not doing something that undermines personal freedom. Often incurs coercion or harassment.