Advertising Media

There's an old adage that holds that at least 50 percent of all advertising is a waste of money. It's probably true — and if you can figure out which half of your ad budget is useless, you'll save a bundle. But until you achieve this wisdom (which has so far eluded most marketers), you'd be wise to continue advertising full tilt and not take a chance on eliminating something that just might work.

Here's approximately how the average U.S. ad dollar was spent in 2001-02:

Newspapers	20 percent
Television	26 percent
Direct Mail	10 percent
Radio	8 percent
Magazines	20 percent
Billboards/Outdoor	1.5 percent
Internet	3.5 percent
Other	11 percent-and it's these mini-media you need to know about!
Total	100 percent

Note that times have changed since these figures were reported, with the Internet becoming an increasingly large player at the expense of newspapers, broadcast television, and radio.

Here are the major types of advertising used by small businesses:

• low- and no-cost advertising
• telephone directories and 800 numbers
• local print ads
• signs and displays
• higher-cost advertising alternatives
• electronic marketing
• direct mail and catalogs
• special advertising opportunities