Businesses depend on advertising to stay afloat. It has the potential to help a company raise millions if done correctly, which is why companies all over the world set aside a significant portion of their budget for ads. Institutional advertisement is one of the many types of advertising available. Hence, this post will help you through understanding the concept of institutional advertising beginning with its definitions, types, examples, and so on. But like always, let’s start with the definition of institutional advertising which will give you a foundation.
Definition of Institutional Advertising
Institutional advertising, also known as corporate advertising, is any form of advertising that promotes a business, agency, institution, or other similar units. The company promotes itself rather than its commodity in institutional advertisements. However, it’s important to note that institutional advertising isn’t intended to specifically sell something.
Rather, it seeks to project a positive picture for the company, increase goodwill, and educate customers about the company’s philosophy. It primarily informs the general public about the organization’s work in the fields of health, education, the environment, and other related fields, as well as attempting to establish a reputation for the organization. Television, radio, digital, and print media are the most popular mediums for this form of advertisement.
With the definition of institutional advertising out of the way, let’s move to the objectives.
Institutional Advertising’s Objectives
- Institutional advertising’s major goal is to promote a company’s overall reputation rather than a particular product or service.
- The company also makes an effort to promote its mission, vision, and philosophies, and principles.
- Institutional advertising is also a good way to build and retain a positive image of the company in the marketplace.
- Organizations often use this form of advertisement to advertise characteristics that set them apart from their rivals. These may include dependability, low pricing, or excellent customer service.
Some good Institutional Advertising Examples
A perfect example of institutional advertisement was a campaign launched by Adidas to donate 10% of their sales proceeds to Africa’s needy orphans. This was an example of institutional advertising in play. This act of philanthropy basically projects a perception about the company itself, away from the products or the services they offer.
To promote their classmate stationary, ITC, a multi-business conglomerate, partnered with CRY. Every piece of stationery had an environmental message on it, and ITC even donated one rupee for every piece sold. Despite the fact that cigarettes were one of ITC’s major commodities, the organization was able to gain a positive public image as a result of the aforementioned initiative.
IDEA Cellular, an Indian mobile network provider, is another example of effective institutional advertising. Their ad campaign, “What an Idea Sirjee,” which addressed India’s corruption problem, struck a chord with the general public right away. The idea was to establish IDEA as a brand that cared about making India a corruption-free environment.
Coca-Cola has long been involved in institutional advertising. It has been at the forefront of promoting environmental issues, thanks to its flagship product, Coke. Its ads promoting recycling and Greenpeace have been well received by its target audience, allowing it to establish itself as a brand that promotes environmental sustainability.
Institutional Advertising Types
Print and electronic media are the first types of institutional advertisement. This includes ads in newspapers, magazines, emails, text messages, and other forms of media.
The second type of institutional advertisement is infomercials and advertisements made specifically for television and radio.
Institutional Advertising’s Benefits
Some of the advantages of this kind of advertising include the following;
Raise the organization’s profile
Brand recognition is increased when the organization’s reputation is improved by institutional advertisements. For example, if a company selling high-end household products wishes to attract high-income buyers, it would create an advertisement with many symbols of luxury, such as fine wine or fancy houses, to entice its target customers to spend more on their high-end goods.
Creating a distinct brand identity
In scenarios where institutional advertising is focuses on a single theme, a unified brand identity is springs forth. A brand targeting its demographic audience – the working class – is an example of this. If it includes symbols of men or children in its ads, it sends a mixed message to the demographic consumer, reducing the impact of the advertising.
Dealing with Negative Attitudes
One of the most powerful ways to combat negative market perception is through institutional advertising. This type of advertisement is used by the vast majority of businesses to counteract a negative image. One of the best examples is ITC. It used institutional advertising in the example above to address consumer perceptions of its tobacco products.
Create a subliminal sales pitch
Institutional marketing also aids in the creation and development of a subtle sales pitch. The target customers who are exposed to this type of advertisement are unaware that they are being implicitly drawn to the company’s goods.
Institutional advertising’s drawbacks
Drawbacks are not things you can escape from or ignore when it comes to the types of advertising in business; institutional advertising inclusive. So here are some disadvantages you should take note of.
- Since institutional advertising only seeks to boost the company’s image as a whole rather than a particular product, some analysts believe it merely adds to the organization’s advertising costs without providing a significant return on investment in the short term.
- Institutional advertising and commodity advertising have the same tendency to deceive customers. As a result, customers could feel duped by the company.
- Institutional ads can often lead to market monopoly. When a single industry’s company begins to actively pursue institutional advertisements, it may find itself in a position where it begins to rule over its rivals, resulting in a monopoly. This might put the market in jeopardy.
- Institutional advertising, like any other type of advertising, has both positive and negative aspects. However, if done correctly, it has tremendous potential for assisting the company in establishing a positive brand identity. With the ever-increasing rivalry, it basically serves as a competitive advantage for businesses.
- There have been known instances where a successful institutional marketing campaign has assisted brands in being entrenched in consumers’ minds making them the first and favorite choice. Institutional marketing is here to stay, so start using it to create a brand identity with your target audience.
Product Advertisements vs Institutional Advertisements: What’s the Difference?
Ecommerce marketers invest a lot of time and resources into developing and implementing strategies that will help them sell more. To get our content in front of our target audience, we use stories, fast facts, and marketing techniques in the hopes that it will resonate with them in some way.
While the distinctions between these two groups can be fuzzy, it’s critical to know if your campaigns are primarily based on product or institutional advertising. Your campaigns can get muddled if you aren’t certain, and you won’t get the results you expect.
Product advertising is concerned with promoting particular goods, while institutional advertising is concerned with promoting the whole brand.
This will sound as though there are some overlaps, which is true to some degree, but the underlying goal of each is distinct, which is critical. Product advertising aims to market unique goods as soon as possible. Conversely, on the other hand, it’s all about brand awareness and credibility in institutional advertising. The latter is a longer-term strategy for generating sales or leads, but it is just as significant.
Which one should I go with?
Majority of companies need a mix of both product and institutional advertising.
Basically, they complement each other: product advertisements will strengthen brand awareness, while institutional advertisements lay the groundwork for confidence, which will help the product advertisements be more successful. In other words, Both are needed.
Tons of individuals use Facebook Ads to advertise their institutional ads, which helps new consumers learn about the brand and get a sense of what it’s all about. Then they use retargeting through Facebook Ads or search ads through AdWords to pique users’ interest in the product and boost sales.
Advertisements for Products and Institutions: Best Practices
If you’re ready to start creating high-converting ads, you’ll notice right away that product and institutional advertisements have different best practices. This is due to the fact that they pursue different objectives.
You should do the following to get the best results with product advertisements:
- Instead of focusing on overall brand benefits, concentrate on specific product features and benefits, as well as niche customer pain points. You wouldn’t say “all of our products are organic,” for example; instead, you’d emphasize that this particular product was organic and that it could help the customer’s family live a healthier and happier lifestyle.
- In the copy, mention the product’s name. It’s also possible to use it as a text overlay on an image or video.
- Retargeting or niche interest targeting will help you expose the most important campaigns to the right users, resulting in more relevant clicks.
The following best practices apply to institutional ads to get the best results:
- Using storytelling to help new users who are exploring you for the first time form an emotional bond with you.
- Consider how to make a countdown timer video, which is a natural tool for telling stories and can help you pique the interest of new users. It also aids in the efficient communication of emotions in a limited period of time.
- Even if they appear in the ad’s visual, you should generally avoid naming specific items. Instead of defining a particular table or sofa, say, “all furniture is made with a quality hardwood or fine-grain leather.” This is the place to note that you have cheaper rates, are a luxury brand, or are open to specific groups—any of those broad advantages that relate to your mission and all of your goods should be mentioned here.
- In the copy, mention your company’s name.
- Participate in charity work or community activities if you can find a natural way to promote it. That can have a significant impact on a company’s profile.
Last Thoughts
You risk derailing your campaigns if you don’t understand the difference between a product ad and an institutional ad as you won’t be able to truly optimize for each. There will be some overlap in how you advertise your goods and business, which is fine because it demonstrates continuity.
As a result, you’ll want to make sure that your campaigns are laser-focused, with precise targets and objectives in mind. Your campaigns will be perfect if you customize the copy and targeting to fit those goals. Either way, if you are in confusion, carefully go through the institutional advertising definition, examples, types, drawbacks, and comparison over again. Or better still reach out on the comment section.
