Advertising Agencies - Meaning, its Role and Types of Agencies

“The work of a tailor is to collect the raw material, find matching threads, cut the cloth in desired shape, finally stitch the cloth and deliver it to the customer.”

Advertising Agency is just like a tailor. It creates the ads, plans how, when and where it should be delivered and hands it over to the client. Advertising agencies are mostly not dependent on any organizations.

These agencies take all the efforts for selling the product of the clients. They have a group of people expert in their particular fields, thus helping the companies or organizations to reach their target customer in an easy and simple way.

The first Advertising Agency was William Taylor in 1786 followed by James “Jem” White in 1800 in London and Reynell & Son in 1812.

Role of Advertising Agencies

1. Creating an advertise on the basis of information gathered about product
2. Doing research on the company and the product and reactions of the customers.
3. Planning for type of media to be used, when and where to be used, and for how much time to be used.
4. Taking the feedbacks from the clients as well as the customers and then deciding the further line of action

All companies can do this work by themselves. They can make ads, print or advertise them on televisions or other media places; they can manage the accounts also. Then why do they need advertising agencies? The reasons behind hiring the advertising agencies by the companies are:

• The agencies are expert in this field. They have a team of different people for different functions like copywriters, art directors, planners, etc.
• The agencies make optimum use of these people, their experience and their knowledge.
• They work with an objective and are very professionals.
• Hiring them leads in saving the costs up to some extent.

There are basically 5 types of advertising agencies.

1.   Full service Agencies

§  Large size agencies.

§  Deals with all stages of advertisement.

§  Different expert people for different departments.

§  Starts work from gathering data and analyzing and ends on payment of bills to the media people.

2.   Interactive Agencies

§  Modernized modes of communication are used.

§  Uses online advertisements, sending personal messages on mobile phones, etc.

§  The ads produced are very interactive, having very new concepts, and very innovative.

3.   Creative Boutiques

§  Very creative and innovative ads.

§  No other function is performed other than creating actual ads.

§  Small sized agencies with their own copywriters, directors, and creative people.

4.   Media Buying Agencies

§  Buys place for advertise and sells it to the advertisers.

§  Sells time in which advertisement will be placed.

§  Schedules slots at different television channels and radio stations.

§  Finally supervises or checks whether the ad has been telecasted at opted time and place or not.

5.   In-House Agencies

§  As good as the full service agencies.

§  Big organization prefers these type of agencies which are in built and work only for them.

§  These agencies work as per the requirements of the organizations.

There are some specialized agencies which work for some special advertisements. These types of agencies need people of special knowledge in that field. For example, advertisements showing social messages, finance advertisements, medicine related ads, etc.

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Objectives / Importance of Advertising

Objectives of Advertising

Four main Objectives of advertising are:

1. Trial
2. Continuity
3. Brand switch
4. Switching back

Let’s take a look on these various types of objectives.

1. Trial: the companies which are in their introduction stage generally work for this objective. The trial objective is the one which involves convincing the customers to buy the new product introduced in the market. Here, the advertisers use flashy and attractive ads to make customers take a look on the products and purchase for trials.
2. Continuity: this objective is concerned about keeping the existing customers to stick on to the product. The advertisers here generally keep on bringing something new in the product and the advertisement so that the existing customers keep buying their products.
3. Brand switch: this objective is basically for those companies who want to attract the customers of the competitors. Here, the advertisers try to convince the customers to switch from the existing brand they are using to their product.
4. Switching back: this objective is for the companies who want their previous customers back, who have switched to their competitors. The advertisers use different ways to attract the customers back like discount sale, new advertise, some reworking done on packaging, etc.

Basically, advertising is a very artistic way of communicating with the customers. The main characteristics one should have to get on their objectives are great communication skills and very good convincing power.

Importance of Advertising

Advertising plays a very important role in today’s age of competition. Advertising is one thing which has become a necessity for everybody in today’s day to day life, be it the producer, the traders, or the customer. Advertising is an important part. Lets have a look on how and where is advertising important:

1. Advertising is important for the customers

Just imagine television or a newspaper or a radio channel without an advertisement! No, no one can any day imagine this. Advertising plays a very important role in customers life. Customers are the people who buy the product only after they are made aware of the products available in the market. If the product is not advertised, no customer will come to know what products are available and will not buy the product even if the product was for their benefit. One more thing is that advertising helps people find the best products for themselves, their kids, and their family. When they come to know about the range of products, they are able to compare the products and buy so that they get what they desire after spending their valuable money. Thus, advertising is important for the customers.

2. Advertising is important for the seller and companies producing the products

Yes, advertising plays very important role for the producers and the sellers of the products, because

• Advertising helps increasing sales
• Advertising helps producers or the companies to know their competitors and plan accordingly to meet up the level of competition.
• If any company wants to introduce or launch a new product in the market, advertising will make a ground for the product. Advertising helps making people aware of the new product so that the consumers come and try the product.
• Advertising helps creating goodwill for the company and gains customer loyalty after reaching a mature age.
• The demand for the product keeps on coming with the help of advertising and demand and supply become a never ending process.
2. Advertising is important for the society

Advertising helps educating people. There are some social issues also which advertising deals with like child labour, liquor consumption, girl child killing, smoking, family planning education, etc. thus, advertising plays a very important role in society.

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Social aspects of Advertising

Social role of Advertising:

There are some positive and some negative aspects of advertising on the social ground. They are as follows.

Deception in Advertising:(धोखा)

The relation between the buyers and sellers is maintained if the buyers are satisfied with what they saw in advertise and what they got after buying that product. If seller shows a false or deceptive image and an exaggerated image of the product in the advertisement, then the relation between the seller and buyers can’t be healthy. These problems can be overcome if the seller keep their ads clean and displays right image of the product.

The Subliminal Advertising:(प्रभावशाली)

Capturing the Minds of the consumers is the main intention of these ads. The ads are made in such a way that the consumers don’t even realizes that the ad has made an impact on their minds and this results in buying the product which they don’t even need. But “All ads don’t impress all consumers at all times”, because majority of consumers buy products on basis of the price and needs.

Effect on Our Value System:

The advertisers use puffing tactics, endorsements from celebrities, and play emotionally, which makes ads so powerful that the consumers like helpless preys buy those products.

These ads make poor people buy products which they can’t afford, people picking up bad habits like smoking and drinking, and buy products just because their favorite actor endorsed that product. This affects in increased the cost of whole society and loss of values of our own selves.

Offensiveness:(अप्रिय)

Some ads are so offensive that they are not acceptable by the buyers. For example, the ads of denim jeans showed girls wearing very less clothes and making a sex appeal. These kinds of ads are irrelevant to the actual product. Btu then there is some ads which are educative also and now accepted by people. Earlier ads giving information about birth control pills was considered offensive but now the same ads are considered educative and important.

But at the last, there are some great positive aspects which help

• Development of society and growth of technologies
• Employment
• Gives choices to buyers with self interest
• Welcomes healthy competition
• Improving standard of living.
• Give information on social, economical and health issues.

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Economical aspects of Advertising

Economic role of Advertising

Value of Products:

The advertised products are not always the best products in the market. There are some unadvertised products also present which are good enough. But advertising helps increase value for the products by showing the positive image of the product which in turn helps convincing customers to buy it. Advertising educates consumers about the uses of the products hence increasing its value in minds of the consumers. For e.g. mobile phones were first considered as necessity but nowadays the cell phones come with number of features which makes them mode of convenience for consumers.

Effect on Prices:

Some advertised products do cost more than unadvertised products but the vice versa is also true. But if there is more competition in the market for those products, the prices have to come down, for e.g., canned juices from various brands. Thus some professional like chartered accountants and doctors are not allowed to advertise.

But some products do not advertise much, and they don’t need much of it and even their prices are high but they are still the leaders in market as they have their brand name. e.g., Porsche cars

Effect on consumer demand and choices:

Even if the product is heavily advertised, it does not mean that the demand or say consumption rates will also increase. The product has to be different with better quality, and more variety than others. For E.g., Kellogg’s cornflakes have variety of flavors with different ranges to offer for different age groups and now also for people who want to loose weight thus giving consumers different choices to select from.

Effect on business cycle:

Advertising no doubt helps in employing more number of people. It increases the pay rolls of people working in this field. It helps collecting more revenues for sellers which they use for betterment of product and services. But there are some bad effects of advertisements on business cycle also. Sometimes, consumer may find the foreign product better than going for the national brand. This will definitely effect the production which may in turn affect the GDP of the country.

The economic aspects are supported by the Abundance Principle which says producing more products and services than the consumption rate which helps firstly keeping consumers informed about the options they have and secondly helps sellers for playing in healthy and competitive atmosphere with their self interest.

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6 Major Industrial Clusters Regions of India

 

6 Major industrial clusters regions of India are: 1. Hooghly Industrial Belt 2. Mumbai-Pune Industrial Region 3. Ahmedabad-Vadodara Region 4. Madurai-Coimbatore-Bengaluru Region 5. The Chhotanagpur Plateau Region 6. Agra-Mathura-Meerut-Saharanpur and Faridabad-Gurgaon-Ambala Belts.

1. Hooghly Industrial Belt:

This belt developed around Kolkata as the nucleus. The mouth of River Hooghly presented ideal conditions for development of a port. The Ganga and Brahmaputra linked the belt with rich hinterland.

These links were later supplemented and strengthened by rail and road links.

The following factors helped in industrialisation of this belt:

(i) Kolkata was the British Indian capital from 1773 to 1911. This ensured continuous British capital investment.

(ii) Tea plantations in close proximity in Assam and Bengal, processing of indigo earlier and jute later coupled with the discovery of coal and iron ore in the Chhotanagpur Plateau region contributed to the industrial development of the Hooghly industrial region.

(iii) Cheap labour was easily available from thickly populated and out-migrating states of Bihar, Orissa and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

By 1921, the Hooghly region accounted for two- thirds of the total factory employment in the country. Presently, this region supports a variety of industries which include iron and steel, heavy engineering, rail equipment, transport equipment, chemicals, oil refining, agro-processing, textiles, paper, fertilisers and diverse consumer goods.

The major problems faced by this region, after independence, include the following.

(i) Eighty percent of the jute hectarage went to Bangladesh, while most of the factories were located on the banks of Hooghly.

(ii) The direct inland link with Assam got broken.

(iii) Silting of Kolkata port is a major problem. The Farakka barrage is expected to help the situation, while the new Haldia port may ease the pressure to some extent.

2. Mumbai-Pune Industrial Region:

In 1774, the British acquired the island of Mumbai as a site to develop a port. In 1853, the 34-km Mumbai- Thane rail ushered in industrialisation. Opening of routes through Bhorghat to Pune and through Thalghat to Nasik extended the region’s influence to the hinterland. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 established closer links with Europe.

The Mumbai region had a favourable climate for cotton textiles because of the following reasons:

(i) Easy availability of raw cotton from the black soil belt of the Narmada and Tapti;

(ii) Coastal humid climate which was ideal for weaving and spinning;

(iii) Easy availability of hydel power from the Western Ghats;

(iv) Location of the port on the west coast which ensured ready access to western markets; and

(v) Easy import of capital goods through the port.

Thus, this region emerged as the ‘cottonopolis’ of India. With cotton textiles, a chemical industry also developed soon. Today, the belt has extended to Kurla, Jogeshwari, Ghatkopar, Villeparle, Andheri, Kalyan, Pimpri, Pune, Bhandup and Thane. The product range of the industry in the Mumbai-Pune belt includes textiles, chemicals, engineering, electrical, drugs, transport equipment, plastic and synthetic goods, leather goods and ship-building.

The major problems faced by this belt after independence include the following:

(i) Eighty per cent of the irrigated, long staple cotton growing areas went to Pakistan.

(ii) Congestion is a serious problem and reclamation of more land from the sea is not going to be economical.

3. Ahmedabad-Vadodara Region:

This region is characterised by an inland location in the cotton growing Gujarat plains.

The following factors helped the industrialisation of this region:

(i) The decline of cotton textile industry of Mumbai due to high transportation costs of cotton from the peninsular region and easy access of Ahmedabad-Vadodara region to raw cotton worked to the advantage of this belt.

(ii) The petrochemical industry around Vadodara and Ankaleshwar developed after oil was discovered in the Gulf of Cambay.

(iii) Location of Kandla port is an obvious advantage.

(iv) The densely populated northern plains in close proximity provided an easy market.

Now the region has diversified into diesel engines, textiles machinery, pharmaceuticals and food processing.

4. Madurai-Coimbatore-Bengaluru Region:

It is a predominantly cotton and sugarcane growing region, and has developed around silk textiles, sugar, chemicals, machine tools and leather goods industries. The region receives hydel power from the Mettur, Sharavathi, Sivasamudram, Papanasam and Pykara projects. Various public sector enterprises located in this belt include the Hindustan Machine Tbols, the Visveshwaraiya Iron and Steel Works, the Bharat Electronics, BHEL, the Indian Telephone Industry and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The important industrial centres in this belt include Madurai, Sivakasi, Tiruchirappalli, Bengaluru, Madukottai, Mandya, Mettur, Mysore and Coimbatore.

5. The Chhotanagpur Plateau Region:

The factors which favoured industrialisation of this region include the following:

(i) Discovery of coal and iron in the Bihar- Orissa belt and location of these resources in close proximity to each other facilitated easy utilisation.

(ii) Easy availability of power from the Damodar Valley Project and from coal-based thermal power projects helped in industrialisation.

(iii) Availability of cheap labour from Bihar, Orissa and eastern Uttar Pradesh was of great advantage.

(iv) Proximity to port and access to large market in the vicinity also worked to the advantage of this belt.

The important nodal centres in the Chhotanagpur region include Ranchi, Dhanbad, Chaibasa, Sindri, Hazaibagh, Jamshedpur, Daltonganj, Garwa and Japla. The important industries in this region include iron and steel, heavy engineering, machine tools, fertilisers, cement, paper, locomotives and heavy electricals.

6. Agra-Mathura-Meerut-Saharanpur and Faridabad-Gurgaon-Ambala Belts:

Both these belts merge in an agglomeration in the vicinity of Delhi. A number of industrial clusters have assumed importance in this belt after independence, helped by hydel power from Bhakra and thermal power from Harduaganj and Faridabad. The majority of industries in this belt are agro-based industries like sugar and textiles.

The important nodal centres and the industries they support are given below:

Agra: glassworks, iron foundries, leather goods;

Mathura: oil refinery, petrochemicals;

Faridabad: engineering, electronics;

Saharanpur, Yamunanagar: paper mills;

Meerut: sugar.

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Crafts in India

Handicrafts commonly refer to handmade crafts or artisanry. Skilled people create varied types of items starting from consumer goods to decorative pieces out of paper, wood, clay, shells, rock, stone, metal, etc. with the help of simple tools. These kinds of items are called handicrafts owing to the fact that these crafted items are solely handmade without the usage of any machine.

Watch Crafts in India

Are handicrafts popular in India?

India is known for its ethnicity. As far as art and culture is concerned, India features amongst the culturally rich countries in the world. The country is fortunate enough to possess some highly skilled artisans. They have increased the fame of Indian handicrafts around the globe. Many rural people still earn their livelihood from their creative pieces of art.

Different kinds of Handicrafts in India

India is a manufacturing hub of varied kinds of handicrafts, which are popular even in international markets. The most known form of handicrafts in India, are discussed below:

Bamboo Handicrafts: Being a producer of bamboo, handicrafts made from bamboo are one of the eco-friendly crafts in India. The varied items made from bamboo are baskets, dolls, toys, chalani, furniture, mats, wall-hangings, umbrella handles, crossbows, khorahi, kula, dukula, kathi, jewellery boxes and many more. Bamboo handicrafts are mostly made in West Bengal, Assam and Tripura.

Cane Handicrafts: Cane products, a famous form of Indian handicraft, include utilitarian objects like trays, baskets, stylish furniture, etc. Vellore district of Tamil Nadu is famous for cane handicrafts in India.

1. Bell Metal Handicrafts: The hard form of bronze, which is usually used to make bells, is referred as bell metal. This kind of hard alloy is used to make crafts like vermilion boxes, bowls, candle stands, donari (pendants) and many more. This bell metal crafts are mostly prevalent in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Manipur. In Madhya Pradesh, this form of handicraft is even regarded as "tribal craft".

2. Bone and Horn Handicrafts: Originated in the state of Odisha, the bone and horn handicrafts are famous for creating birds and animal figures, which seem real and alive. Besides, goods like pen stands, ornaments, cigarette cases, table lamps, pepper and salt sets, chess sets, napkin rings, laughing Buddha etc. are prepared in Odisha, Karnataka, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.

3. Brass Handicrafts: Durability of brass items adds to the fame of brassware. Items made of brass like crawling Krishna, Lord Ganesha's figure in different postures, vases, table tops, perforated lamps, ornament boxes, hukkas, toys, wine glasses, plates, fruit bowls and many more are extensively used in many Indian houses till now. These artisans are famously known as "Kansaris". The manufacturing of brassware is mainly done in Rajasthan.

4. Clay Handicrafts or Pottery: With its origination during the Indus Valley Civilization, clay craft or pottery is said to be one of the most primitive forms of handicrafts in India. People engaged in pottery are called "Kumhaars". Besides its world famous Terracotta form, pottery has got different forms like red ware, grey ware and black ware. Uttar Pradesh is known for its painted black wares. Besides, Krishnanagar in West Bengal, Bikaner, Lucknow, Pune and Himachal Pradesh even prepare clay ware. Items like clay pots, decorative items, jewellery, etc. are widely used all over the country.

5. Dhokra Handicrafts: Dhokra, the oldest form of handicraft is known for its traditional simplicity. This tribal handicraft originated in Madhya Pradesh. The other states involved in the making of such handicrafts are West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. Dhokra is famous for its unique items portraying folk characters. Dhokra jewellery, candle stands, pen stands, ash trays and varied kinds of showpieces are available at every handicraft shop.

6. Jute Handicrafts: Jute craftsmen have created a worldwide niche in the field of jute handicrafts. The huge range of jute crafts includes bags, office stationeries, bangles and other jewellery, footwear, wall-hangings and many more. West Bengal, Assam and Bihar, being the leading jute producers, lead the jute handicrafts market in India.

7. Paper Handicrafts: Vibrant coloured papers are combined together to form varied crafts like kites, masks, decorative flowers, lamp shades, puppets, hand fans etc. Papier Mache, developed in the Mughal Era is even a famous form of paper handicraft in India. This craft industry is mainly located in Delhi, Rajgir, Patna, Gaya, Awadh, Ahmedabad, and Allahabad. Besides that, paper crafters are found on the outskirts of almost every major town.

8. Rock Handicrafts: Prevalence of rock carving, one of the primitive rock art can be seen in the states of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Odisha and Nagpur. Rajasthan, Jaipur and Madhya Pradesh are famous for marble stone carvings. Green coloured stone art is the specialty of Madhya Pradesh, whereas, Patharkatti is the unique rock craft of Gaya. Age old temples of Odisha are the world famous examples of rock craft in India. Numerous utensils, decorative pieces, stone jewellery and statues are made from rocks.

9. Shell Handicraft: From time immemorial, shell handicrafts are one of the demandable crafts in India. Shell handicraft can be made out of three types of shells like conch shell, tortoise shell and sea shell. Different kinds of goods like bangles, forks, decorative bowls, lockets, spoons, buttons, curtains, chandeliers, mirror frames, table mats, etc. are the products of shell crafting. Generally, the places located on the sea shore like Gulf of Mannar, Goa, Odisha, etc. are the places for shell handicraft. Silver Filigree or Meenakari or Tarakashi Handicrafts: Silver filigree or Tarakashi is a creative form of handicraft created from the twisted threads of silver or gold. Silver filigree can be of three distinctive types, Meenakari, Khulla Jaal and Flowers and Leaves. The most famous works of silver filigree includes paandans, tea trays, trinket boxes, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and other different jewellery. Besides, Cuttack in Odisha, Karimnagar in Telangana is known for its silver filigree work. 

10. Weaving or Embroidery Handicrafts: Weaving mainly refers to the process of cloth production by two thread sets known as weft and warp crossed with each other. This traditional form of handicraft is mostly found in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Bandhanis, the famous form of weaving, are created in Jamnagar and Rajkot. Bihar and Karnataka are known for their embroidery work. 

11. Wood Handicrafts: Wood craft is prevalent in India even before the time stone sculpture came into existence. Varied goods are created by the skilled craftsmen by shaping a piece of wood. Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh are known for their unique form of woodwork. Axes, toys, utensils, decorative pieces, jewellery and many more designer household goods like lamp shades, candle stands, vermillion boxes, jewellery boxes, bangle holders etc. are some of the common wood crafts used in almost every Indian house.

Other Kinds of Handicrafts in India

Apart from the ones discussed above, the other handicrafts prevalent in India are:

• Enamel Handicrafts
• Glass Handicrafts
• Kiritams Handicrafts
• Lac Handicrafts
• Lace or Zari Handicrafts
• Leather Handicrafts
• Marble Handicrafts
• Metal Handicrafts
• Painting
• Stone Handicrafts
• Tilla Juttis

Government handicrafts shops

Handicrafts can be best bought from the state based government handicrafts shops. However, the type of handicrafts varies from one state to other. Besides, there are numerous handicrafts emporium in almost every big city and town. Some of the famous handicrafts shops all over India are:

• Dilli Haat in Delhi
• Kala Madhyam in Bangalore
• MESH in Hyderabad and Delhi
• Khazana in Taj Group of Hotels
• Ekamra Haat in Bhubaneshwar
• Rajasthali in Jaipur

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