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Entrepreneurship

A Bit About Advertising

Along with public relations and marketing, advertising is one aspect of the PRAM concentration in the Strategic Communications Studies major. According to the American Marketing Association, advertising is a "business practice where a company pays to place its messaging or branding in a particular location. Businesses leverage advertising to promote their products and services for sale as well as establish corporate culture and branding. When employed properly and and strategically, advertising can drive customer acquisition and boost sales."

Benefits:

  • Educate customers on the nature of products or services
  • Convince customers that products or services are superior
  • Improve customer perception of brand or culture
  • Generate customer need or want for products or services
  • Exhibit new applications for products or services
  • Publicize new products or services to potential customers
  • Attract new customers to purchase products or services
  • Retain the existing customer base

REMEMBER: Advertising is a part of marketing! A successful marketing strategy typically includes advertising at multiple levels in various type of media. 

from the American Marketing Association

CSB+SJU Databases

Types of Advertising (To Name a Few)

TV & Radio Advertising

Traditional advertising includes ad placement in traditional print and broadcast media. Ex. TV and radio commercials; podcast and streaming placements. To research a company's previous television or radio ad, try searching their social media accounts (YouTube, specifically). Certain sites also post and rate commercials, such as iSpot.TV and the USA Today AD Meter after the Super Bowl.

Social media is not only a place where you can grow your brand image, post about new products or offerings, and interact with your company's followers and customers, but you can also pay for advertisements - or, "sponsored content" - on the different platforms. Keep in mind: your primary targeted audience(s) will likely drive what platform you spend money on!

Geometry Instagram Sponsored Post

Check out "Social Media Advertising: Cost, Benefits, and Tips for 2025" from Hootsuite for all you need to know about social media advertising in 2025 + a few examples of quality ads.

Print Advertising

Traditional advertising includes ad placement in traditional print and broadcast media. Ex. Newspaper and magazine ads

Pepsi - Scary Halloween Print Ad

Kurichencko, V. (2020, October 27). How Pepsi spooked Coca-Cola with this hilarious Halloween ad. Medium. https://medium.com/better-marketing/how-pepsi-spooked-coca-cola-with-this-hilarious-halloween-ad-ac471c9450bc

Search Tip: Looking for Print Ad Rates?
Search for [Name of Publication] + [Media Kit] OR [Name of Publication] + [Advertising Rates]

Due to the way content, the news, etc. is consumed in 2025, online - or digital display advertising - is commonplace. Publications, such as newspapers and magazines, will usually offer both print and digital options available for purchase. These can be in the form of e-newsletters, banner ads, native adds, app ads, mobile push notifications, and more. For example, see The Minnesota Star Tribune's 2025 Digital Rate Card here. And, of course, there are certain websites or apps that are digital only that also offer advertising opportunities, such as Amazon and Instacart.

You've likely engaged in pay-per-click advertising (PPC advertising), even if you didn't necessarily realize it at the time. According to Forbes, "pay-per-click marketing is a form of digital advertising where businesses display ads on sites like Google (paid search) and Facebook (paid social) and only pay when someone clicks on the said ad. PPC ads are considered to be a low-cost and effective form of advertising, making them a popular choice for businesses of all sizes." Some of the most popular PPC platforms are:

And, why should you use PPC advertising?

  • Budget flexibility: advertisers can allocate a budget for PPC campaigns. Depending on the results, you can easily scale ad spend up or down or pause the ad(s) and spending.
  • Measurable and trackable: PPC ad results can be tracked and measured in Google Ads and Google Analytics. These tools provide an overview of real-time clicks, conversions, and impressions.
  • Targeting options: Users can target specific audiences based on their search behavior, browsing history, demographic data, and more. By testing and experimenting with various targeting options, advertisers can maximize impressions and reach specific audiences.
  • Access to marketing data: Data collected from PPC campaigns can inform your SEO and content marketing strategy.

Main, K. (2024, July 25). PPC advertising: The ultimate guide. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/ppc-marketing-guide/

OOH advertising - or, Out-of-Home advertising - refers to any advertisement that reaches a consumer outside of their home. Examples include billboards, bus stop signage, posters, and more. Here on campus, it would mean paying to have an advertisement at the bus stop or a flyer on the bulletin board in the Reef.

Two examples of companies that sell OOH advertising space for companies here in the Twin Cities are:

  • Outfront, a media company that sells billboards, skyway, and transit - both static and digital - space to advertisers
    • View their Media Kit here
  • Social Indoor, a digital franchising company that owns digital indoor monitors in 200+ locations throughout the Twin Cities

And while the tactic may seem old-school in today's world that is personally digital, Reuters and the Out of Home Advertising Association of America recently reported that out-of-home advertising revenue hit a record $1.98 billion in Q1 2025. For an example of this type of advertising in action, check out this article from Twin Cities Business on local Real Estate agent Kris Lindahl's OOH strategy in action.

Kris Lindahl Billboard

Keller, A. (2019, October 28). Wrapping our arms around Kris Lindahl's divisive ad strategy. Twin Cities Business. https://tcbmag.com/wrapping-our-arms-around-kris-lindahls-divisive-ad-strategy/

Additional Resources