Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

Advantage - advertising can get the word out about your product

Disadvantage - advertising costs money (sometimes lots of money - such as a 30 second TV ad on the Super Bowl costing $1 million just for air time).

I disagree with Sanjeev's opening statement, but I do agree with his second sentence. Follow Randall's advice.

The reason I disagree with Sanjeev's opening statement ("Advertising is a necessary evil ...") is that it's a "glass-is-half-full" view of the world. I think advertising is one of the most exciting things that's ever happened for manufacturers and marketers. It's a way to communicate your brand's positioning to a broad audeince very effectively.

Without advertising, how would anyone ever find out about your products? And if they never found out about them, how would they buy them? And if nobody ever buys them, how will you ever make enough money to pay back the investment you've made in bringing them to market?

Advertising is God's answer to every entrepreneur who had a great idea and wondered how to share it with the world (or at least to a well-defined target audience).

Now I'll get off my soapbox and ask you to give us your thoughts, and we'll be glad to react. We don't do homework here.