Informative advertising is

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

that is carried out in a factual manner. This form of advertising relies solely on the goods or service's strengths and features, rather than trying to convince customers to buy a product using emotion. The use of emotion in

is classified as persuasive advertising. Information advertising is mainly used for two purposes; to augment market power, and to inform customers of goods and services, prices, and sales conditions.

Features

There are three main features of informative advertising.

Accurate information

Accurate information and data must be used when advertising informatively. Before ads are presented to customers, all facts and figures of the advertisement should be verified and authenticated. Accurate information helps to gain user trust and build a large customer base.

Updates and innovations

Industries with constant upgrades and improving products, such as the

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

sector and the

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

industry, can engage audiences and inform of updates or expansions through the use of informative advertising.

Use of local data

Informative advertising will differ between companies, depending on their size. A global company selling a homogenous good or service will have the same data and figures throughout their advertising, even if the form or look of the advertisement differs depending on geographic location. In comparison, a global company offering a slightly heterogeneous product depending on geographic location will be able to present ads with differing facts.

Reasons

Alongside promotional reasons, there are other reasons why informative advertising is used. Under certain circumstances, a business may be required to run informative advertising due to legal requirements. Some industries have much stricter advertising laws than others, the tobacco industry is one of the more notable examples. For example, in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, tobacco is not allowed to be advertised in a manner which persuades users to buy, smoke or use it. They are also required to include health warnings. Pharmaceutical companies are also required to give extensive and accurate information on products. This information includes ingredients, side effects and contraindications. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, pharmaceutical companies are allowed to advertise to prescription medicines to consumers, which resulted in a 36% increase of consumers asking health professionals about certain medication between 1987 and 1992. In

, the promotion of prescription drugs to the public is not permitted. Governments often use informative advertisements for a range of purposes such as health updates, alcohol and drug use statistics, election data, and tourism.

References