Special characteristics

Retail advertising is characterised by four main aspects: creating an image of the shop, establishing its location, variety of goods offered, and competitive price offers. Nearly always, the object of the advertising is to persuade people to visit the shop, although telephone ordering and the use of credit accounts and credit cards is a growing feature.

Financial advertising

Introduction

It is probably difficult to put a limit on what can be contained under this heading, but broadly speaking financial advertising includes that for banks, savings, insurance and investments. In addition to advertising addressed to customers or clients it can also include company reports, prospectuses for new share issues, records of investments in securities and other financial announcements.

Some, like building society and National Savings advertisements, may be addressed to the general public while others will appear in the financial and business press only.

Purpose

The object of financial advertising may be to borrow or lend money, conduct all kinds of insurance, sell shares, unit trusts, bonds and pension funds or report financial results.

Classes of financial advertising

The main categories in this field are as follows.

(a) Banks advertise their services which today are not confined to traditional bank accounts but include deposits, loans, insurance, house purchase, wills and executorship and advice on investment portfolios. Some banks specialise in certain areas of banking, and others concentrate on certain kinds of business.

(b) Friendly societies and private medical care organisations like BUPA offer schemes to provide insurance in time of illness.

(c) Building societies both borrow money from savers and lend money to house-buyers. Most of their advertising is directed at not only raising funds but keeping funds so that they have sufficient money to meet loan applications. Competitive interest rates are important sales points, and today in Britain there is rivalry between building societies, banks and insurance companies for the same kind of business.

(d) Insurance companies exist to insure against almost any risk from big commitments like ships and aircraft worth millions to covering [he risk that rain may stop play. Some insurance not only covers risks but provides benefits to savers or pensions in old age. In the cases of fire and theft, insurance companies are also selling peace of mind should damage or loss be suffered.

(e) Investments are offered, not only in share issues but in unit trusts and other investments in which smaller investors can share in the proceeds of a managed portfolio of shares.

(f) Savings and banking facilities are offered through post offices which sell National Savings certificates and various bonds and operate the Giro and Post Office banks.

(g) Brokers offer insurance, pension and investment schemes and advise their clients on how to manage such financial commitments. The Automobile Association acts as a broker for motor insurance.

(h) Credit and charge card companies, such as Access, and Barclaycard, American Express and Diners' Club, promote plastic money facilities, often on an international scale.

(i) Local authorities borrow money from the public, usually on short-term loans which are advertised.

(j) Companies announce their intentions and final dividends, giving summaries of annual reports, and often offering copies of annual reports and accounts.

Media of financial advertising

Choice of media will depend on the target audience. Building societies appeal to small savers and therefore use the mass media of the popular press and television. The big national banks with branches everywhere also use the national press and television. Investment advertising will appear in the middle-class and business press. Prospectuses for share issues, which usually occupy two or more pages, appear in newspapers like The Times and Financial Times. Banks may take stands at exhibitions. They also produce sales literature about their services, as do insurance companies especially in the way of proposal forms.

Special characteristics

Financial advertising in the press, and especially the business press, tends to occupy large spaces and contain detailed information necessary to explain schemes and achieve confidence. The emphasis is generally on benefits which are usually represented by figures such as interest rates and returns on investments. Profit, benefits, security, confidence, credibility and reputation are the keynotes of the copy appeals.

Recruitment advertising

Introduction

This form of advertising aims to recruit staff (including personnel for the police, armed forces and other services) and may consist of run-on classified advertisements or displayed classified, although other media such as radio and television are sometimes used.

Different kinds

Recruitment advertising is mainly of two kinds, that inserted by employers whether identified or using box numbers, and that placed by employment or recruitment agencies which have been commissioned to fill vacancies.