Question

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of various media. Please write at least 5 paragraphs.

Answer 1

The media may be defined as the communication tools that act as a medium to share information. Each type of media has its own distinctiveness and hence to develop an effective communication strategy it is necessary to identify or use a mix to reach the target audience. Choosing the media depends on various factors such as the type of target audience, the cost involved, duration, etc., Media can be classified in the following four types.

• Print media

• Broadcast media

• Outdoor media

• Internet

Print media: Newspapers and magazines.

Advantages:

• Print media widely reach the targeted audience. Most of the people but newspapers or magazines on a daily or a regular basis and hence advertising in a newspaper easily reach the people who are targeted. Several advertising agencies are now using a full-page advertisement in the newspaper or magazines even on the front page and hence it grabs much more attention from the readers. They also have special advertisement columns or sections where the message can be delivered.

• It acts as a marketplace for competitive price shopping where the promotional offers or coupons can be distributed through them. Many advertisers distribute pamphlets or coupons by attaching them along with newspapers or magazines.

• The target audience can be geographically selected and hence either a particular group of people can be the target or the advertisements can be modified based on the different sets of the target audience.

Disadvantages:

• The younger generations cannot be reached properly through the newspaper as with the increased use of smartphones among them, these sets of people do not read newspaper regularly.

• Because of several advertisements from different advertisers, there are higher chances for the message to get unnoticed. The shelf life for the newspaper is very short and hence the same message needs to be delivered regularly to catch the attention.

Broadcast media: Television and Radio

Advantages:

• The broadcast facilitates reaching a broad audience through a wide geographic coverage.

• The frequency is built very quickly. For example, the advertisement on the television and the radio are repeated regularly within a day.

• The broadcast media has been proven successful especially in delivering promotions for mass consumer products.

Disadvantages:

• The cost involved is comparatively high based on the production and the duration of the advertisement.

• Not everyone has a TV and people listening to Radio has been reduced drastically as the programs are not always at a convenient time. For example, working people have less chance to watch television or listen to the radio and hence the advertisements featured at the time are less effective.

Outdoor media: Public presentations, Billboards

Advantages:

• The attraction level is more in outdoor media. For example, Billboards suit best for delivering a one-line message or a slogan so that it attracts the people who are passing by such billboards. Public presentations help to get the audience interactive through dramas or events and hence it encourages creative brainstorming solutions.

• Outdoor media breaks down the barriers between formal and informal expertise.

Disadvantages:

• Messages that require more detailed information to be delivered cannot be achieved in the outdoor media and hence it can grab attention only if the message is shared in a creative or attractive way.

• It needs to be held only where the people are more and hence the other set of an audience cannot be reached. For example, If a billboard is placed on a specific road or a presentation planned in a shopping mall, only the people who are passing by the road or visiting the specific mall get to notice the media.

Internet: Website or Social media platforms, blogs

Advantages:

• Apart from the local or the regional audience, the global audience can be easily reached with the help of internet media.

• With the rise of technological advancements like smartphones, the young audience can be easily reached.

• The cost involved is comparatively low to cover the huge size of the audience.

• A specific set of people can be reached (Example: emails, messages) or a whole set of people can be reached (Example: sponsored ads in social media) based on the requirement.

Disadvantages:

• It needs an internet connection for the target audience and hence old generation people or the people in remote rural places cannot be reached effectively.

• It requires literacy in written or visual among the audience to receive the message properly.

• It needs to be kept short as people may not have patience to receive the whole message if it is large and has the ability to skip such advertisements.

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