Advertising line

Advertising

Paid space in other people's media: TV, radio, outdoor, press, cinema and online display.

Advertising is paying for space or time in media you don't own so that your message reaches people who aren't yet looking for you. It is the oldest line on the map and still the fastest way to build reach at scale. Done well, it builds the memory structures that make people choose you later; done badly, it is the quickest way to spend a budget with nothing to show for it.

In the UK, almost all advertising is covered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which applies the CAP Code to non-broadcast ads (online, outdoor, press, direct mail) and the BCAP Code to TV and radio. The core rule is simple: ads must be legal, decent, honest and truthful, and you must be able to prove any objective claim you make.

TV and radio

Television is still the biggest reach medium in the country, but "TV" now means linear channels, broadcaster video-on-demand (ITVX and the Channel 4 and Channel 5 streaming services) and ad-supported streaming tiers. Buying is by audience — impacts or TVRs against a target audience — rather than by spot. Broadcaster VOD lets smaller advertisers buy addressable TV by region or audience segment with budgets that would never have reached a linear campaign.

TV and radio ads must be cleared before they air. Clearcast clears TV ads and Radiocentre clears most radio ads against the BCAP Code. Build clearance time into the schedule: a claim you can't substantiate will be sent back.

Radio and audio (commercial radio, DAB, podcasts and streaming audio) is cheap to produce and good for frequency. It works best with a single message, a distinctive sound and a clear call to action repeated more than once.

Outdoor (OOH)

Out-of-home covers roadside billboards, bus sides, rail and Underground, airports, shopping centres and street furniture. Digital screens (DOOH) can change copy by time of day, weather or location and are bought in slots rather than fortnightly cycles.

Outdoor is a broadcast medium you can't skip: it is ideal for brand building and local targeting. Keep copy short — six words or fewer is a good rule — and design for a glance at distance. Audience figures for UK outdoor are measured industry-wide by Route.

Press and magazines

National and regional newspapers and magazines sell print and digital advertising, often as a package. Press still offers trusted environments and well-defined readerships, particularly for trade, B2B and specialist consumer titles. Advertorials and sponsored content must be clearly labelled as advertising.

Cinema

Cinema gives a captive audience, a big screen and high attention, with a skew towards younger adults. It is bought by film, by audience profile or by site, which makes it useful for local businesses close to a multiplex.

Online display and video

Display covers banner, native and video ads on websites and apps, bought directly from publishers or programmatically through demand-side platforms. Programmatic buying is efficient but needs care over brand safety, viewability and fraud: use inclusion lists of quality sites, check where your ads actually ran and judge results on outcomes rather than clicks.

Search and social ads are covered in their own guides — see PPC and social media marketing.

Planning an advertising campaign

Start with the objective. Reach new buyers, launch a product, or drive response? Brand building and short-term activation need different channels and different measures.
Size the audience and work out the reach and frequency you need, then pick the channels that deliver it most cheaply.
Make it distinctive. Consistent brand assets — colours, logo, characters, sound — help people attribute the ad to you.
Measure properly. Use brand-lift studies, sales data, test-and-control regions or econometrics rather than last-click attribution alone.