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4 things that changed advertising forever

Posted on the 20st of May 2014

Advertising has been around for a long time. From the first man to try and sell a cow, all the way through to you, trying to flog your wares online.

And fundamentally, it’s the same as it was way back when: the simple act of trying to get your name out there, making people aware of you or your product.

But the way that we do this has changed. And there have been hundreds of things that have influenced the way we advertise.

Some of which have made a bigger impact than others…

Print

Once upon a time there was no such thing as the internet. And TV was something reserved for the rich and elite. Hard to imagine, right?

But it’s true. People relied on print to receive their news, find out about deals, and do pretty much everything else. Newspapers were the hot way to get your advert out there. And when people started to realise the power of print advertising, it blew up. The right combination of words and pictures could sell a product. And you could target your advert to the right audience. All you needed to know was which paper or magazine they bought!

Print truly was the start of the advertising age.

Television

Let’s fast forward a few years to when televisions were being wheeled into homes across the nation. They were becoming affordable, accessible and more importantly for advertising, very, very popular.

The smart advertisers of the age jumped at the opportunity to show off their products in their audience’s living room. And they could do it to millions of people in one go. And eventually, just like it was with print, they realised they could target their customers specifically.

All they needed to do is find out what programmes their customers watched!

TV was the natural next step.

The internet

Fast forward again, and we come to an age where most of us have more than one television in our house. We avoid TV adverts like the plague. We just want to watch our programme.

We’ve become so accustomed to seeing ads in the newspaper and on the TV that it’s rare that we take note. Are they losing their effectiveness? Well no. You’re just sub-consciously seeking out the ads that interest you and avoiding the ones that don’t.

There hasn’t been any huge leap in advertising in a while. It lacks a new medium. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, comes the internet.

 The gargantuan web space. The perfect place to spot ads, throw discount offers at people and target your market.

Smart phones

And finally, but by no means least we have the smart phone. The internet made a huge difference to the advertising world. And it’s now bigger than both print and TV. But we’re seeing a decline in the amount of time people are spending on their computers.

Because they have all the computer they need in their pocket. They’re searching for local businesses on their phone. Talking to their friends. Networking. Doing everything on there. And that’s why it’s the best place to advertise to your audience.

You’d think that with every new advancement in advertising, the previous thing would fade away. Soon be forgotten and left choking on the dust of its newer medium (the case for most things). But advertising is a little different. Today, businesses and organisations are using all of the above and more. They’re utilising print one way, TV another and then complementing it all with an advert on your social feeds. It’s a complete mash up to grab your attention.

And why are they using all these techniques?

Because you’re using them all.

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