Answer the following Case Study and answer the question.

Marketing in India is undergoing a sea change. Internet advertising has increased its market share. Whenever we check our email or watch a You Tube video advertisements are bombarded in between. Due to proliferation of mobile phones & data consumption Internet advertising has come of age. Even OTT channels, TV Channels are viewed on mobile phones. Therefore companies have to change their marketing strategies. The use of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp & Linkedin has increased, but it is not free from limitations. There are many objections against advertising such as it add to cost, undermines social values, confuse buyers etc.

Which of the following is NOT a merit of advertising?

Inflexibility

The correct answer is Option (4) → Inflexibility.

Inflexibility is a demerit of advertising.

Advertising is perhaps the most commonly used tool of promotion. It is an impersonal form of communication, which is paid for by the marketers (sponsors) to promote some goods or service. Advertising, as a medium of communication, has the following merits

(i) Mass Reach: Advertising is a medium through which a large number of people can be reached over a vast geographical area. For example, an advertisement message placed in a national daily reaches lakhs of its subscribers.

(ii) Enhancing Customer Satisfaction and Confidence: Advertising creates confidence amongst prospective buyers as they feel more comfortable and assured about the product quality and hence feel more satisfied.

(iii) Expressiveness: With the developments in art, computer designs, and graphics, advertising has developed into one of the most forceful medium of communication. With the special effects that can be created, even simple products and messages can look very attractive.

(iv) Economy: Advertising is a very economical mode of communication if large number of people are to be reached. Because of its wide reach, the overall cost of advertising gets spread over numerous communication links established. As a result the per-unit cost of reach comes low.