What Is Advertising?
Let’s face it, we’re all bombarded with ads daily. But have you ever stopped to think about what advertising really is and why it’s so crucial?
Simply put, advertising is a paid communication that aims to inform or persuade an audience to take a specific action, such as buying a product, subscribing to a service, or simply engaging with your brand.
Businesses use advertising to grab attention, spark interest, and drive action through various channels like TV, social media, search engines, and more.
But here’s the thing: advertising isn’t just about shouting your message at people. It’s about creating a connection and ensuring your brand is seen and remembered when it matters most.
“Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and beliefs.” – Leo Burnett, Advertising Legend.
As advertising continues to evolve, especially with the rise of digital channels, its importance has grown exponentially.
Global advertising spending is expected to hit $1.3 trillion by 2025, which shows just how crucial it is for businesses to have a clear, effective advertising strategy.
In the fast-paced digital world, advertising doesn’t just help you sell products, it also plays a massive role in building brand awareness and establishing trust with your audience.
Why Advertising Is Crucial for Businesses in 2025
So, why exactly is advertising such a big deal for businesses today? With countless options and distractions, it’s more important than ever for companies to ensure their message cuts through the noise and grabs the attention of their target audience.
Building brand awareness
One of the primary goals of advertising is to make sure your brand stays top-of-mind for potential customers.
Whether they’re browsing social media, watching a YouTube video, or even just walking down the street, you want them to think of your brand when they need what you offer.
Coca-Cola is a fantastic example here. Their advertising isn’t just about selling soda, it’s about connecting their brand with happiness, celebration, and unity.
The “Share a Coke” campaign, for example, did more than promote a drink, it made people feel like they were part of a larger, joyful community.
Coca-Cola’s brand is familiar and consistent worldwide, making it an easy choice for consumers. This accessibility and familiarity are key factors in Coke’s popularity over its competitors.
Advertising builds visibility and reminds people that your brand exists, so when they’re ready to make a purchase, they know exactly where to turn.
Targeted Messaging
In 2025, advertising is smarter than ever. Gone are the days of throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks.
Today, targeted advertising allows you to deliver your message to the exact people who are most likely to engage with your brand.
94% of marketers say targeted advertising delivers better ROI.
It’s quickly become a favourite because it reaches the right people at the right time while minimising losses on advertising expenditures.
By using data to segment audiences based on demographics, interests, and online behaviors across media platforms, you can ensure your ads are seen by the people who are most likely to take action.
Driving Action
Ultimately, advertising is about driving action.
Sure, building brand awareness is important, but if your ads don’t lead to conversions your efforts aren’t reaching their full potential.
Great advertising triggers action, whether by clicking on an ad, signing up for a newsletter, or making a purchase.
Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign is a textbook example of advertising that inspires action.
The message resonates with people’s inner drive to succeed and be their best, motivating them to push forward in sports and everyday life.
It taps into something more profound than just buying shoes. It makes people feel like they’re buying into a lifestyle of empowerment.
Creating Emotional Connections
One of the most powerful things advertising can do is create an emotional connection with your audience.
When you connect with people on a personal, emotional level, they’re not just buying from you, they’re investing in your brand.
This connection fosters loyalty, and loyalty drives long-term success.
Take Maybelline and their iconic “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline” campaign.
It’s not just about selling makeup; it’s about helping women feel confident, beautiful, and empowered.
The emotional appeal of this campaign isn’t just about the product, it taps into a feeling of self-expression and confidence.
This emotional pull builds brand loyalty and turns customers into lifelong advocates, reinforcing Maybelline as more than just a beauty brand; it becomes a source of empowerment for its audience.
Types of Advertising: What Works Best in 2025?
Understanding the different types of advertising and when to use them can make all the difference in the success of your campaign.
Let’s take a closer look at each type and explore when they shine and when they might not be the best option.
Traditional Advertising
Print Ads:
Newspapers, magazines, brochures, and billboards fall are the original traditional advertising methods. While digital advertising is on the rise, print ads remain a reliable option for reaching local or niche audiences.
● When it’s effective: Print ads are ideal when targeting older demographics who still consume print media.
They’re also great for local businesses looking to reach a specific geographic area, like neighborhood shops or regional services.
● When it’s not as effective: Print ads may struggle to track real-time engagement and are less effective for younger, tech-savvy audiences who primarily interact with digital platforms.
The lack of targeting options can also make it harder to reach specific audience segments.
Broadcasting Ads (TV and Radio):
Broadcasting ads have long been staples of advertising strategies. While TV and radio ads still have massive reach, they are most effective when trying to reach a broad, general audience.
● When it’s effective: Broadcasting is excellent for building brand recognition on a large scale, especially for national campaigns or consumer goods.
It’s highly effective when promoting products or services that appeal to a wide audience (e.g., food, cars, entertainment).
● When it’s not as effective: Broadcasting can be costly, especially for small businesses. Moreover, the lack of audience targeting means that you may end up spending money on reaching people who aren’t interested in your product.
It can also be less effective for targeted advertising where you need more specific data.
Outdoor Ads (Billboards, Posters, Transit Ads):
These are great for high-visibility locations where a lot of people pass by.
Outdoor advertising uses large-scale visual ads like billboards, posters, or digital screens placed in public places, targeting people as they commute or travel through busy areas.
● When it’s effective: Outdoor advertising works well for local businesses, especially those in high-traffic areas like busy city streets, bus stations, and highways.
It also helps reinforce brand awareness through constant exposure.
● When it’s not as effective: It’s not ideal for targeted messaging, as you can’t control who sees the ad.
If your audience doesn’t frequent the area where your ad is located, it may not generate much engagement.
Digital Advertising
Search Engine Advertising (PPC):
These are pay-per-click ads on search engine platforms that target users based on keywords in their search queries.
● When it’s effective: PPC is most effective when your product or service is something people actively search for.
It works best for businesses looking to target people who are already showing interest or intent to purchase in real time.
It’s also great for local businesses looking to target nearby customers.
● When it’s not as effective: PPC ads can be expensive if you’re targeting highly competitive keywords.
It also may not be effective if you’re trying to build brand awareness rather than convert ready-to-buy customers.
Display Ads (Banner Ads, Video Ads, Rich Media):
These are visual ads like banner ads, video ads, and interactive media that appear on websites, apps, and social media platforms to attract user attention.
● When it’s effective: Display ads are great for brand awareness and retargeting customers who’ve already interacted with your business (e.g., website visitors).
Video ads, in particular, can grab attention and drive engagement if done creatively.
● When it’s not as effective: Display ads can become intrusive and may be ignored by users if they are not relevant or engaging.
They also often don’t directly drive conversions unless paired with a specific call to action.
Social Media Advertising :
Ads on social platforms allow businesses to reach highly targeted audiences based on their interests, behaviors, and demographics.
● When it’s effective: Social media is perfect for building brand loyalty, engaging with your audience, and targeting specific consumer segments.
It’s especially effective for businesses targeting younger, more socially active demographics.
● When it’s not as effective: For some industries (e.g., high-end B2B services), social media ads may lack the level of professionalism needed to gain trust.
Additionally, due to ad saturation, your content may get lost in users’ feeds if it’s not engaging enough.
Native Advertising
Native ads blend seamlessly with editorial content. This makes them less intrusive and more likely to engage audiences.
Native ads are designed to look like regular content on a website or social media platform, making them less disruptive and more appealing to the audience.
● When it’s effective: Native advertising is highly effective when you want your brand to feel like a natural part of the user experience.
This works well in contexts like sponsored articles or posts on websites and social media where the content is related to the brand’s message.
● When it’s not as effective: Native ads can sometimes be ignored if they don’t stand out or are perceived as too subtle.
They can also lead to a lack of brand recognition if the messaging gets lost within the content.
Influencer Advertising
Influencer advertising leverages the popularity, reach and credibility of social media influencers who create content to promote products to their large and engaged audiences.
● When it’s effective: Influencer advertising is fantastic for targeting niche audiences and building trust through authenticity.
It’s particularly powerful in the lifestyle, beauty, and fashion industries where customers value recommendations from trusted figures.
● When it’s not as effective: Influencer ads can be costly, especially when working with well-known influencers.
Additionally, if the influencer doesn’t align perfectly with your brand values, their endorsement may feel inauthentic and hurt your brand’s credibility.
Programmatic Advertising
Programmatic advertising leverages AI to automate the buying and selling of online ads, allowing for real-time and data-driven ad placements.
● When it’s effective: Programmatic ads are highly effective for scalable, personalized ad campaigns. They use real-time data to ensure the right message reaches the right audience at the right time.
This is ideal for businesses with large budgets that want to target audiences across multiple channels with automation.
● When it’s not as effective: Smaller businesses with limited budgets might find programmatic advertising too complex or expensive.
It also requires expertise in data analytics to fully optimize your campaigns, which might not be feasible for every business.
Popular Advertising Campaigns and Strategies in 2025
The key to successful advertising today is not simply selecting the appropriate advertising medium, but also understanding how to craft an ad that resonates with the target audience and leaves an impression that lasts.
Here are a few strategies that have proven successful in modern advertising.
Viral Marketing
Who doesn’t love a good viral campaign?
Viral marketing is all about creating content that’s so engaging or entertaining that people can’t help but share it.
Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign went viral thanks to its humorous, bold, and memorable approach.
The ad didn’t just sell deodorant; it sparked a cultural moment, and people shared it because they loved the humor and creativity.
This made it one of the most successful viral campaigns in recent memory because ultimately it spoke to a real experience its customers could easily relate to.
Remarketing
Remarketing ads target people who’ve already interacted with your website or app but didn’t make a purchase.
It’s about giving them a gentle nudge to come back and complete the action they started.
Remarketing is powerful for businesses that sell products that customers typically take time to decide on like electronics or higher-ticket items.
Influencer and Content Marketing Integration
Pairing influencer marketing with content marketing creates more authentic, relatable ads.
Influencers can integrate your products into their content, making it feel less like an ad and more like a personal recommendation.
This personal touch allows you to leverage influencers’ trust and credibility with their audience to develop a connection with your brand and ultimately convert their audience into your customers.
Beauty brands do this successfully by collaborating with makeup artists and influencers to create tutorial videos using their products.
These ads seamlessly blend content with product promotion, engaging viewers while subtly showcasing the product’s value in a context they can relate to.
Seasonal Advertising
Seasonal ads are a great way to tap into the consumer mindset during specific holidays or seasons.
Whether it’s Black Friday or Christmas, holidays are a prime time for businesses to push sales through targeted campaigns.
Amazon’s Black Friday ads draw customers in by offering time-limited deals.
These ads capitalize on the urgency of the holiday shopping season and encourage customers to act fast, often boosting sales during peak retail times.
The Advertising Process: From Concept to Execution
Advertising isn’t just about creating a pretty ad; it’s about following a clear process to ensure your ads hit the mark and drive results.
Here’s how to go from concept to execution.
Step 1: Defining Advertising Goals
Before you start creating ads, it’s essential to know what you want to achieve.
Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or improve customer loyalty?
Setting clear and measurable goals will guide your strategy.
A tech company for instance, might focus on driving subscriptions for its software, while a fashion brand might aim to increase visibility during a new product launch.
Step 2: Target Audience Analysis
The success of any advertising campaign relies on knowing your audience.
Use analytics tools and social media insights to identify where your audience spends time and what content they engage with most.
Step 3: Creative Development
Now comes the fun part: creating your ads.
Your visuals and copy should be compelling, clear, and aligned with your brand identity. The success of an advertisement hinges on its creativity. An impactful advertisement is memorable, unique, and relatable.
Apple’s minimalist, visually stunning ads show how simplicity can have a massive impact. Their creative approach focuses on showcasing their products in an elegant, easy-to-understand way.
Step 4: Choosing Advertising Channels
Choosing the right platform is crucial.
Do you want to reach a wide audience with TV ads, or target specific consumers with social media ads?
The platform you choose should be aligned with your audience and goals.
The effectiveness of your advertising budget in converting your audience into customers also depends on your choice of platform.
Choosing the wrong platform can result in expensive consequences for your business.
60% of marketers say social media ads are the most effective form of digital advertising, thanks to their targeting capabilities.
Step 5: Budget Allocation
Once you’ve defined your strategy, it’s time to allocate your budget.
Focus more on channels and tactics that offer the best ROI for your goals.
A small business might allocate a larger portion of the budget to social media ads while cutting back on expensive TV commercials, which target a broad audience, many of whom may never be interested in your product.
Common Advertising Mistakes to Avoid
To help you avoid pitfalls, here are a few common advertising mistakes:
Overcomplicating the Message
Keep your messaging clear and simple.
The best ads get straight to the point, making it easy for the audience to understand what you’re offering.
In the era of cancel culture, you also want to minimise the chances of being misunderstood when aiming for abstract or humorous ads that may land on the wrong side of your audience.
Simplifying ad copy to highlight a product’s benefits leads to better engagement and comprehension.
Ignoring Mobile Optimization
With mobile traffic now representing over 70% of digital ad spend, it’s essential that your ads are optimized for mobile devices.
If your ads aren’t mobile-friendly, you’re likely losing out on a significant portion of potential customers.
Targeting Too Broadly
While it’s tempting to cast a wide net, ads work best when they’re tailored to specific segments of your audience.
A broad ad campaign might miss the mark entirely and undermine your advertising ROI.
Make sure you narrow your targeting to the most relevant consumers likely to purchase from you.
Unclear KPIs or Campaign Goals
It’s easy to get caught up in creating an ad and forgetting to define your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), the metrics that determine the success of your campaign.
Whether your goal is brand awareness, lead generation, or sales conversions, knowing what outcome you’re trying to achieve ensures you can track the effectiveness of your ad and adjust your strategy as needed.
If you’re running an ad campaign to increase sign-ups but only focus on click-through rates (CTR) without tracking actual sign-ups, you may miss the mark.
Aligning your KPIs with your business goals is crucial for understanding whether your campaign is truly delivering the results you need.
Neglecting A/B Testing
Testing different versions of your ads helps you determine which messages, visuals, and strategies work best.
It’s an essential step in optimizing your campaigns and improving performance over time.
Running multiple ad versions on one social media platform to test different messaging strategies can significantly improve your ad’s effectiveness.
How to Improve Your Advertising Skills: Learn from the Best
If you’re serious about improving your advertising skills, check out AMA’s Advertising Courses for an in-depth look at the strategies and techniques you need to optimize your advertising efforts.
Whether you’re looking to refine your current strategy or start from scratch, AMA provides expert-led insights and tools you can implement today to help you grow.
Conclusion
Mastering advertising is key to making your business stand out, connecting with your audience, and driving long-term growth. By understanding types of advertising, developing strong campaigns, and using smart strategies, you’ll be able to create impactful ads that boost your brand in 2025.
For further learning, explore AMA’s Marketing Training to keep up with the latest trends and take your advertising skills to the next level.