Product Advertising
The stage of the Product Life Cycle (PLC) often determines the type of advertising that is used by advertisers for a particular product.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Define pioneering, competitive, and comparative advertising
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
- Pioneering advertising is heavily used in the introductory stage of product life cycle when a new product is launched.
- The goal of using competitive advertising is to influence demand for a specific brand.
- Comparative advertising compares two or more competing brands on one or more specific attributes, be it directly or indirectly.
Key Terms
- product life cycle: The stages through which a product or its category passes. From its introduction onto the market, growth, maturity, to its decline or lack of demand in the marketplace.
Product Advertising
The stage in the Product Life Cycle (PLC) of which a product is in often determines the type of advertising that is used by advertisers. The types of product advertising that marketers can choose from are:
- Pioneering
- Competitive
- Comparative
Product Advertising: The type of product advertising a company chooses depends on where the product is in its life cycle.
Pioneering Advertising
This form of advertising is designed to stimulate primary demand for a new product or product category (McDaniel et al, 2006). It is heavily used in the introductory stage of product life cycle when a new product is launched.
This type of product advertising provides in-depth information of the benefits of using a product or service. It is often used to create interest and to increase the public ‘s awareness.
Competitive Advertising
The goal of using competitive advertising is to influence demand for a specific brand (McDaniel et al, 2006). The advertisers usually provide information regarding a product’s attributes and benefits which may not available from competing products (Yeshin, 1998). Even when other brands own the same attributes or benefits, advertisers often create an impression that their products are somehow ‘much better’ than other, similar products available in the marketplace.
Comparative Advertising
Comparative advertising compares two or more competing brands on one or more specific attributes, be it directly or indirectly (McDaniel et al, 2006). Comparative advertising gives consumers a logical decision factor as most of them do not want to make decisions (MacArthur and Cuneo, 2007). This way, by comparing one company’s brand with other competing brands in the advertisement, the company most likely helps the consumers to choose which brand they would prefer to use.