Advertising

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

Advetising

Techniques and practices used to bring products, services, opinions, or causes to public notice for the purpose of persuading the public to respond in a certain way. Weekly newspapers in London first carried advertisements in the 17th century; by the 18th century such advertising was flourishing. The first advertising agencies were established in the 19th century to broker for space in newspapers, and by the early 20th century agencies were producing the advertising message itself, including copy and artwork. Most advertising promotes goods for sale, but similar methods are used in public service messages to promote causes, charities, or political candidates. In many countries, advertising is the most important source of income for the media through which it is conducted. In addition to newspapers, magazines, and broadcast media, advertising media include direct mail (see direct-mail marketing), billboards and posters, transit advertising, the Internet, and promotional items such as matchbooks or calendars. Advertisers attempt to choose media that are favoured by the advertisers’ target audience.

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US History Encyclopedia: Advertising

Industrialization and Advertising

Diffusion of steam power in the 1850s paved the way for a wave of technological change in the 1870s and 1880s. The American system of mass production characterized much of American manufacturing by 1890. Increased mechanization generated increased fixed costs, creating an economic incentive to build large factories that could enjoy economies of scale in production but which were dependent on mass demand. The transcontinental railroad allowed relatively low-cost shipment of goods, making regional or national markets economically feasible. Telegraph wires allowed low-cost and fast nationwide transmission of information. Manufacturers created brand names and sought to familiarize buyers nationally with their product. Where a housewife had once ordered a pound of generic baking powder, now she was encouraged to insist on known quality by requesting only Royal Baking Powder. Similar national advertising campaigns were undertaken in the 1880s and early 1890s by, among others, Corticelli Best Twist Silk Thread, Quaker Oats Company, and Procter & Gamble’s Ivory soap.

Manufacturers believed that buyers were primarily interested in the quality of the product; competition by price was uncommon. National firms included drawings of sprawling factories and factory owners in their advertisements; the larger the factory and thus the more successful the firm, the higher quality the merchandise could be presumed to be. Singer Sewing Machines, Steinway Pianos, and McCormick Harvesters and Reapers all produced advertisements of this sort.

Following industrialization, seasonal or cyclical declines in demand could drive firms to bankruptcy because the now high fixed costs continued unabated even when sales and production dropped. The need to maintain demand became especially apparent during the 1893–1897 economic depression. Many businesses failed; many more came close. Businesses needed methods to insulate themselves from cyclical downturns in sales and production. Advertising was one tactic they employed.

The U.S. population increased from 31 million in 1860 to 76 million in 1900. Only 20 percent of the population lived in urban areas in 1860, increasing to nearly 40 percent by 1900. The need for easy provision of consumer goods increased as more people therefore lived divorced from the land. Standardized production and transportation improvements further contributed to the development of the department store. Stores such as R. H. Macy and Company of New York City, John Wanamaker’s of Philadelphia, and Marshall Field of Chicago, all established by 1870, advertised regularly in newspapers. Rural families turned to mail-order catalogs—in essence, large books filled cover-to-cover with advertisements. Montgomery Ward’s first catalog was issued in 1872; Sears, Roebuck and Co. entered the field in 1893.

By 1900, advertising in newspapers was supplemented by advertising on streetcars, on billboards, and in magazines. Full-page advertisements, especially in women’s magazines, sought to influence women’s choices. Ladies’ Home Journal, established in 1883 by Cyrus H. K. Curtis, led the way. The Crowell Publishing Company founded Women’s Home Companion. William Randolph Hearst began Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and Harper’s BAZAAR. Between 1890 and 1905 the monthly circulation of periodicals increased from 18 million to 64 million.

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Date: 28 October 2010