Press media is the backbone of the society. Press media is a very important vehicle for any organization to advertise their product and pass their message to the public.

Among the various advertising media that are available today, print media continues to be the most effective mode of advertising as it can influence large number of readers.

Press advertisements are featured in newspaper, magazines, classified brochures, billboards and trade journals. Press media has very broad spectrum of readership base that connects and communicates directly with people with the help of major newspapers or a famous magazines; or through local newspapers of local journals based on specific topics. One of the common forms of press advertising is the classifieds that displays the advertisement by purchasing a small part of the page. Apart from classifieds, big print advertisement could appear on the entire page or so of the newspaper or the magazine that promotes the advertisers product. Sometimes actual article could be an advertise in disguise.

Billboards are the large structures that are placed in the crowded areas or roads where larger number of people read it. These paid advertising boards are located at such a place that it catches the viewers’ attention and publicizes the product.

Press release is yet another form of press advertisement that advertises in the form of an article. As some readers usually skips the advertisements and focuses on reading the articles, a press release conveys the advertiser’s message to those readers who don’t read advertisements, in a very neat and smart fashion. Press release is very advantageous as it is likely to target the customers in an effective manner. Commercially, it helps in money-spinning, as the cost of the expensive classified space is reduced and greater number of customer base is targeted.

History of Press Advertising:

Printing was first developed and conceived in Korea and China. A printed Buddhist scripture was discovered in Korea, which is considered to be the oldest form of print document. In the 15th century, printing spread across European continent which helped in the evolution of many universities and printing of numerous books. As there was a rapid evolution of print media, newspapers and magazines had great impact on the readers of society, which eventually gave birth to print advertising.

In 1841, at Philadelphia, the first advertising agency was opened by Volney B. Palmer. By the end of 1861, twenty advertising agencies were opened up in New York, which used print media for advertising their clients even after the evolution of radio and television technology.