Introduction
Industrial advertising, also known as business-to-business advertising, is the appearance of advertising for other businesses. This can include advertising for parts or raw materials used in production, as well as equipment utilized in their mechanized processes.
In a very broad sense, industrial advertising must convey a more purposeful message within one or more relatively narrow sales channels. Its goals may comprise the creation of favorable company and brand awareness and the production of sales leads through inquiry funnelling (sales alteration) steps. Tightening the definition of advertising, industrial marketers expand company- or product-centric ads that are communicated in the course of space in industry print publications or websites.
Other industrial marketing communications options include public relations, direct marketing brochures and company websites, trade shows, and social media.
Advertising typically consumes the majority of an industrial marketing budget because it is a “shotgun” move toward message targeting. The cost of individual advertising reflects a definite percentage of exhausted circulation and advertising distribution—even within specific markets. This is much more so in print media advertising than in search engine advertising, which displays advertisements only to those with a single interest in an advertiser’s keywords.
The approach to endorsement may vary from company to company. The advertisements are used to increase awareness among the target customers about the products. Companies distribute the same information through various channels to enhance their reach.
For example, if there is a small enterprise that bottles mineral water, it will subcontract its packaging, bottles, caps, etc., to other companies. Therefore, it is vital for these companies to have information on those who are providing the packaging services.
Function of Industrial Advertising
Every product, whether a customer product or an industrial one, satisfies a need, solves a problem, or offers a benefit. Thus, industrial advertising must offer the buyers the information that satisfies the need or communicates the indescribable benefits.
Therefore, every industrial promoter must start by identifying the customer’s need gap or the benefit they expect to convey in their message. The choice of headlines, copy, and other elements can significantly affect the impact of advertising. The headlines have to be attractive, and the copy must enclose the information required.
Fundamentals such as advertising size, colors, and pictures are significant in industrial advertising,, too. A minor rearrangement of mechanical basics within the advertising can achieve better attention-getting power. Unlike consumer advertising, fancy language and touching appeals are to be constrained, and the message must be reserved for the specifics. Product details, product pictures, or application pictures tend to attract attention.
Advertising messages can be grouped as shown below in industrial advertising:
1. Testimonials: This feature is highly convincing and agreeable, as it is an expert source endorsing the product. This testimonial could come from a celebrity or a well-known personality in the industry, discussing the product’s benefits based on their experience. In industrial marketing, well-known existing customers provide testimonials.
2. User Experiences: Case histories of users and the benefits they got by purchasing from the supplier are also used to depict the inferences. When a user shares their experiences, the reliability factor increases.
3. Straight Description: A straight description is a straightforward advertisement that highlights the product’s quality and the benefits the user can expect. Industrial advertising most frequently uses this advertisement, which is rich in facts and figures.
4. Short Stories: Though hardly ever used, it can be successful when the company wants to build a case and engage the customer so as to obtain the benefits of using the product.
5. Negative Ads: Emotional appeals are unusual in industrial advertising, but some negative advertising highlights the negative effects of failing to use the company’s products or services.
6. Comparative ads: Some influential advertising has moved into the category of comparative advertising, which seeks to create superiority of one brand through specific comparison of one or more attributes with one or more brands in the product class. For example, JK Tyre claims to be the No. 1 tire manufacturing firm and gives a comparison of the market share details with others in the industry like MRF, Ceat, Apollo, and others. ABP claims to be the NO. 1 news channel (Aapko rakhe Agge) and compares itself with Aaj Tak, Zee News, and others.
7. Social responsibility advertising: Some advertisers use this technique as a standard to bring into focus the activities that they carry out for the well-being of the society and environment. The goal is to bring about a good company image in the minds of the consumer and the general public. These are called social responsibility advertisements. An example of this is Hindalco Aluminum, which has adopted villages and provided them with water, hygiene, schools, and other amenities.
8. Quality initiative: In industrial companies, quality standards like TQM, the ISO 9000 series, and SEI CMM of the software industry play a significant role, and such advertisements shape a major portion of the visibility of the company.
About the Author
