History of Advertising Development
The advertising industry is dynamic and is affected by changes in technology, media, and the economic and social environment. Time has shown how the principles and practices of a billion-dollar industry have evolved.
The timeline divides the evolution of advertising into six stages reflecting historical eras and the changes that led to different advertising philosophies and styles.
The Early Era of Printing, Advertising in the early years looked like what we call classifieds today. The purpose of advertising is to identify products and convey information, including where they are sold. The main media nowadays are print media, especially newspapers, leaflets and posters.
The Early Age of Agency, 19th Century brought the beginning of what we now know as the advertising industry. As advertisers and marketers became more concerned about creating successful advertisements, professionalism in advertising began to take shape.
Advertising professionalism was originally an agent or broker who bought space and time on behalf of a client who received a commission, a percentage of the media bill. At the end of the 19th century, advertisers began to give brand names to their goods. The purpose of advertising during this period was to create demand as well as a visual identity for these new brands.
The Scientific Age, At the beginning of the 20th century, modern professional advertising adopted scientific research techniques. Advertising experts believe they can improve advertising by blending science and art. Advertisers realize they can be more efficient by identifying those who are most likely to buy a product and also looking for the best way to reach buyers. The scientific age helps the media better identify their audience. This period also saw marketing practices, such as product differentiation and market segmentation incorporated into advertising strategies.
The Creative Era, the Doyle, Dane, and Bernbach Agency (DDB) opened in 1949. From the start, Bernbach with his keen sense of words, designs and creative concepts was considered the most innovative advertising creative of his time.
His ads touch people and persuade them by focusing on feelings and emotions. He explains: “There are a lot of great technicians in advertising. However, they forget that advertising is persuasion, and persuasion is not a science, but an art. Advertising is the art of persuasion.”
The Age of Accountability and Integration, The emphasis on accountability became more important in the 1980-1990s, and advertisers demanded evidence that their advertising was actually effective in achieving its objectives as stated in the strategy. Almost as soon as the digital age brought the means of communication by spreading word of mouth between consumers' social networks, companies became more concerned about their practices and brands or reputation.
In today's era of integrated marketing communication becomes important because this technique is adopted from other techniques as a way to better coordinate brand communication. Integration that leads to consistency makes marketing communications more efficient and thus more financially accountable.
The Age of Social Media, The widespread use of social media has turned advertising and marketing communication practices upside down since 2008. In today's era, consumers generate brand messages through social media, now brand messages no longer depend on the design of targeted marketing communication programs and only through one direction.
