Outdoorsigns

Large colourful outdoor signs can easily catch the attention of by-passers. But these ads must be short and simple because viewers see them only for a few seconds.

The main signs are posters, billboards and electronic displays. Billboards are owned by local companies that rent them to advertisers. Sometimes ads are painted on buildings. Electronic billboards have large displays where ads change very quickly. They are the most expensive kind of outdoor signs.

Television

Television combines sound and moving images. It is one of the most expensive forms of advertising, but on the other hand it reaches a very wide audience. Advertisers buy time from TV stations to broadcast their commercials. This time is cheaper at times when fewer people watch TV, as in the early morning hours and gets very expensive during prime time evening shows. Sometimes advertisers pay a lot of money to get their ads on TV during special programmes, like the Olympic Games or the Super Bowl.

Infomercials have become very popular in the last few years. They are normal TV shows that focus on the sales of certain products. Details on how to buy the product (telephone numbers, etc.) are repeated many times during the programme.

Some TV stations also sell advertisers product placements. For example a brand of pizza can a car can appear in a scene of a TV show.

Internet

Internet advertising is becoming more and more important. Especially young people spend less time watching TV and more time on the Internet. The Internet has the advantage of being available to people around the world at all times.

Ads range from banners to pop-ups. Companies that spend a lot of money on advertising often create their own Internet site for a certain product. Web users are often asked to fill out a form that asks them about their daily routines, where they live, how old they are, how much they earn, etc. Companies use this information to find out what kind of people visit their websites. Sometimes ads are sent via email. Because a lot of unwanted emails (spam) are sent throughout the world many people don’t like this.

Other forms

Transit signs are small posters placed on trains or buses.

Window displays are designed to draw a customer into a store. They highlight certain products and encourage the customer to come into the shop. Some stores have their own department in charge of shop windows.

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