There have been several types of ads, each with its purpose and target audience. Do you think your business or organization’s mission isn’t translating well into your ad campaigns? If this kind of scenario seems familiar to you, then you may want to invest your time and money in institutional advertising. This form of advertising can be incredibly beneficial to an organization’s mission that wants its mission to be heard and create a sense of trust and awareness.
What is Institutional Advertising?
Institutional advertising can be described as promotional activities that are used to improve a brand’s reputation, build a positive image of a brand, or encourage the support of a specific brand or organization. This form of advertising is different from other common advertising techniques because it is not used to sell a specific product or service, rather, it’s used to promote the brand or organization itself in order to create a sense of trust or respect. The goal of institutional advertising is to get viewers to think about the brand in a positive way and to incite high consumer preference.
Why is institutional advertising important?
When launching an institutional advertising campaign, it’s important to use the same methods that you would use for a product or service. The main idea you have behind advertising a specific product and your brand are virtually the same. The “execution” is all that will be different, but you should ensure your image and brand techniques remain the same. Institutional advertising to work well on a digital level, you’ll need to go huge and make video ads, banner ads, blog, editorial, and native ads for your campaigns.
Top Institutional Advertising Platforms
Institutional advertising aims to promote a company’s image, ideas, or mission rather than a specific product. The goal is to build brand equity and positive public perception. Here are the top platforms that brands can utilize for their institutional advertising efforts:
- Google AdWords
This platform allows brands to create text, image, and video ads to appear in Google Search and on Google’s partner websites. Google AdWords is beneficial for institutional advertising because it helps increase brand visibility and reach a large, diverse audience.
- Television
This is a very popular medium with a wide reach across the entire country. It includes both national and regional channels, catering to a variety of languages and demographics. Television advertising is a popular choice for brands due to its mass reach and co-viewing nature which helps brands reach the maximum audience.
- Facebook Ads
With its highly targeted advertising capabilities, Facebook Ads can help brands reach specific demographics or interest groups. Facebook’s wide user base and detailed targeting options make it an ideal platform for promoting a brand’s image or values.
LinkedIn ads are especially useful for B2B institutional advertising. It allows brands to reach a professional audience and promote thought leadership, corporate culture, or social responsibility initiatives.
- Newspapers
Newspapers, both national and regional, are widely read in India. They offer a variety of advertising options, including display ads, classifieds, and supplements. Newspapers as a traditional media have been used widely for brand awareness due to the trust factor and authenticity that is associated with the ad platform.
- Twitter Ads
Twitter’s advertising platform can help brands engage in real-time conversations, react to events quickly, and shape public perception. Sponsored tweets can increase brand visibility and allow a brand to share its story or values with a large audience.
- YouTube Ads
As the second largest search engine after Google, YouTube can help brands reach a vast audience with video ads. This platform is ideal for storytelling and sharing a brand’s mission or vision in an engaging way.
- Programmatic Advertising Platforms
Programmatic platforms, like The Trade Desk or MediaMath, allow brands to buy ad space across a variety of websites in real-time. They use sophisticated algorithms to target ads based on user behavior, making them a powerful tool for reaching a specific audience with a brand’s message.
- Out-of-Home (OOH) Advertising Platforms
Companies like JCDecaux or Clear Channel Outdoor offer digital billboards and other out-of-home advertising options. These platforms can be used for large-scale institutional campaigns that aim to reach a broad audience in specific geographical locations.
- Magazines
Magazines, both general and niche, can target specific interest groups effectively. They are ideal for premium brands seeking to reach a more affluent audience.
- Native Advertising Platforms
Outbrain and Taboola are examples of platforms that provide native advertising, which are ads designed to match the look and feel of the media format they appear in. This can help brands deliver their institutional messages in a less intrusive way, increasing audience engagement.
Difference between Product and Institutional Advertising
Advertising is one of the most crucial elements that decide the fate of a particular business in marketing and has different approaches based upon the nature of promotion that is required to be done. Some of the differences between the product and institutional advertising are given below.
| Product Advertising | Institutional Advertising |
| Promotion of specific products to boost sales. | Promotion of the brand as a whole. |
| More direct in its approach and typically involves a call to action. | Focuses on brand building and creating an overall impression of the company. |
| Generally targets consumers who are likely to purchase the product or service. | Can target a wide audience, including consumers, investors, employees, and the general public. Can target a wide audience, including consumers, investors, employees, and the general public. |
| Primarily measured by an increase in sales, leads, or other direct consumer actions. | Measured by changes in public perception, brand reputation, or other long-term indicators. |
| Concentrates on showcasing the characteristics of a particular product or service. | Highlights your brand or product collection. |
| Focuses on the features, benefits, or USPs of the product or service. | Often discusses the values, mission, or social initiatives of the organization. |
| An ad for a new smartphone highlighting its features. | An ad showcasing a company’s commitment to sustainable practices or community development. |
Advantages of Institutional Advertising
Institutional advertising has several positive aspects, however, if done right, it has a massive scope of establishing a better reputation and positive brand identity.
- It aids in the development of the company’s brand image and reputation. It creates trust and goodwill among potential consumers and stakeholders by concentrating on the company’s values, mission, and larger social benefits.
- It has the potential to build client loyalty. Customers are more inclined to continue with a firm if they identify with the ideals and imagery offered in the commercials, even if competitors offer cheaper costs or alternative features.
- It can also aid in the recruitment and retention of personnel. People like to work for a firm that is well-known and shares their values, which may be successfully expressed through institutional advertising.
- It contributes to the company’s brand image and reputation. By emphasizing the company’s principles, mission, and larger social contributions, it creates trust and goodwill among potential consumers and stakeholders.
- It may result in improved client loyalty. Customers who connect with the ideals and imagery provided in the advertisements are more inclined to stay with the firm, even if competitors offer cheaper pricing or alternative benefits.
- It can also aid in attracting and maintaining staff. People like to work for a firm that is well-respected and shares their values, which may be effectively expressed through institutional advertising.
Institutional Advertising Examples
- Nike’s “Just Do It” Campaign (Television and Print): This 1988 campaign is one of the most successful institutional advertising initiatives of all time. It has contributed to Nike’s brand image as a corporation that motivates people to be active and achieve their objectives.
- Google’s “Year in Search” Campaign (Digital Media): Every year, Google releases a video that highlights the most popular search terms from the past year. This isn’t advertising a specific product or service, but rather Google as a whole – showing their reach and impact on society.
- The Dove “Real Beauty Sketches” campaign (Digital Media): This campaign, which debuted in 2004, questioned the traditional beauty standards that are frequently depicted in advertising. It included artists sketching ladies who were simply given verbal descriptions of their looks. The findings revealed that women were frequently far more critical of their personal appearance than artists. This campaign sought to raise awareness about body image issues and to encourage self-acceptance.
- The Coca-Cola “Share a Coke” campaign (Television, Radio, Print, and Digital): This ad, which debuted in 2013, featured personalized Coca-Cola bottles with consumers’ names printed on them. People shared their bottles with friends and family as a result of the campaign’s success. It contributed to Coca-Cola’s brand image as a firm that connects people.
- Apple’s “Think Different” Campaign (Television, Print, and Outdoor): This campaign focused on the innovators and trailblazers of history, aligning the Apple brand with forward-thinking and rebellion against the status quo. It was a promotion of Apple’s philosophy, not their specific products
- The Allstate “Mayhem” campaign (Digital, Radio, and Television): This 2009 campaign depicts a figure named Mayhem who portrays the turmoil that might occur when you are not insured. The ad is amusing and memorable, and it has contributed to a greater understanding of the significance of insurance.
- The GEICO “Unlimited Insurance” campaign (Television, Print, and Digital): This 2006 campaign contains a range of amusing advertisements emphasizing the benefits of GEICO’s insurance coverage. The ad was a huge success, and it helped GEICO become one of the most recognizable names in the insurance sector.
Institutional Advertising Agency
The Media Ant is one of the top Institutional advertising companies since it provides a variety of services to assist businesses in reaching their target market. Strategic planning and media planning are all available. The Media Ant also has a large network of publishers, advertisers, and media sources, which allows businesses to reach a large audience.
Furthermore, the firm has an experienced team of specialists that can give customized solutions to each business’s demands.
If you are wondering whether Institutional Advertising platforms are right for your business, then contact us and we’ll let you know!
FAQs Related to Institutional Advertising
What is institutional advertising, and what are its types?
Institutional advertising refers to companies and entire industries advertising to improve their images. There are various institutional advertising types, including radio, television, print/electronic, digital, and infomercial/commercial advertisements.
What are institutional advertising and its objectives?
Institutional Advertising focuses on promoting the company’s image to improve its reputation in its customer base. The Primary objective of institutional advertising is to generate goodwill for the company instead of promoting sales.
Is Institutional a type of advertising?
Institutional advertising is aimed at improving or repairing of business as opposed to selling a product. It involves focusing the advertisement on the benefits, good qualities, and philosophy of the business or institution to promote its reputation, either after it has incurred damage or when it needs to be improved to be competitive.
What is an example of Institutional marketing?
An example of institutional advertising would be an Event sponsorship. Companies do this because people can remember the brand’s name when it’s tied to a significant event.
What are 3 examples of Institutional advertising?
The most common type of institutional advertising is radio, television, print, and digital media, in which companies can convey their message through dialogue. It also includes non-traditional media in public places (scoreboard in a sports stadium, ads in a cinema, signage on buses, trains, subway, etc.)
