Advertising
Advertising in ancient China, the earliest type of advertising was spoken, as mentioned in the Classic of Poetry (11th–7th centuries BC), which described bamboo flutes used to promote sweets. Later, advertisements often appeared as calligraphic signs or written sheets. A copper printing plate from the Song dynasty, used to produce posters, is thought to be the oldest known printed advertisement. The plate featured a rabbit logo with the words: “Jinan Liu’s Fine Needle Shop” and the phrase, “We purchase quality steel rods and craft excellent needles, ready for use at home without delay.”
In Europe, as medieval towns and cities expanded and literacy was limited, symbols were used in place of text-based signs. Instead of written words like “shoemaker,” “miller,” “tailor,” or “blacksmith,” images such as a boot, a garment, a hat, a clock, a jewel, a horseshoe, a candle, or a flour sack represented the trade. Food sellers offered fruits and vegetables in town squares from carts and wagons, while town criers loudly announced their presence. The first known collection of such public advertisements appears in Les Crieries de Paris, a 13th-century poem by Guillaume de la Villeneuve.
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Advertising agency
Research indicates that thriving advertising agencies often share a clear purpose with their clients through close collaboration. This involves aligning on common goals, where agencies take partial ownership of the strategic direction. Effective campaigns begin with clients establishing strong relationships with their agencies and jointly defining objectives. Clients must place confidence in the agencies to carry out their responsibilities effectively and within the resources provided.
Relationship failures are more likely when agencies feel undervalued, overruled, or denied equal standing. Although agencies have traditionally been positioned to lead projects, outcomes tend to improve when the relationship is more cooperative.Deeper collaboration typically arises when there is genuine personal rapport between both sides.
Digital advertising
Banner advertisements can utilize rich media by including videos, sound, animations, buttons, forms, or other interactive features through Java applets, HTML5, Adobe Flash, and similar technologies. Frame advertisements were the earliest type of web banners. In everyday use, the term “banner ads” usually refers to traditional frame ads.
Website owners display frame ads by reserving a specific section of their webpage. The Ad Unit Guidelines from the Interactive Advertising Bureau recommend standardized pixel sizes for ad placements.
Amazon advertising
Amazon Advertising works on a pay-per-click (PPC) model, which is different from some other marketplaces. For example, eBay’s Promoted Listings operates on a pay-per-sale (PPS) model.There’s a clear link between paid ads and organic visibility on Amazon. The platform’s main objective is to drive sales by displaying products that are both relevant to the shopper’s search and have a strong chance of converting.
This means Amazon tends to highlight products that already demonstrate strong performance—those with solid sales history and positive customer feedback.As a result, when your product gains more sales and reviews, its position in organic search improves. For a deeper dive, check out the full Amazon Advertising Guide.
Social media advertising
It is important to note the difference between social network advertising and social media targeting. Social media targeting enhances ads by making use of profile data to show advertisements directly to individual users. Social network advertising, on the other hand, involves grouping users into categories that match the advertiser’s chosen audience. More broadly, social media advertising covers not only paid advertisements but also creating content, engaging with followers, and running ad campaigns across social platforms.
Users of social networking sites reveal a wide range of personal data, such as their age, gender, interests, and location. This stored information enables marketers to build targeted groups and personalize their promotions. For advertisers, this means their campaigns can reach specific audiences with higher interest in their products or services. For users, the benefit is that the ads they see are more relevant to their preferences. Beyond demographics, targeting also takes into account user behavior—such as the type of content they interact with and the amount of time spent engaging with it.
Facebook advertising
Advertising on Facebook is an excellent way to introduce a new brand or business to the market. Whether your goal is to increase visibility, raise awareness about an idea, or promote a cause, Facebook’s advertising tools can help you achieve a variety of business objectives. Some key benefits of launching campaigns on Facebook include:Do you want to reach a particular group of people with your ads? Facebook Ads allows you to focus on specific age ranges, geographic locations, or even genders.
Using Facebook to run your marketing campaign gives you full control over audience targeting. Whether you want to reach users interested in automotive topics or those engaged with political causes or brands similar to your own, Facebook lets you precisely define and reach the audience most relevant to your goals.
Online advertising
The process involves multiple parties interacting automatically in real time. When a user’s browser requests a web page, the publisher’s content server delivers the page content. The page initially does not include ads but contains links that trigger the browser to contact the publisher’s ad server to fill the available ad slots. Information about the user, such as cookies and the page being viewed, is sent to the publisher’s ad server.
The publisher’s ad server then communicates with a supply-side platform (SSP) server. Since the publisher is offering ad space, they act as the supplier. The SSP also receives the user’s identifying information and forwards it to a data management platform (DMP). At the DMP, the information is matched with demographic data, past purchases, and other details relevant to advertisers. This entire process is sometimes referred to as a “waterfall.”
False advertising
Some products contain fillers to increase their legal weight without adding real value. Food products like meat, TV dinners, or peanut butter may be diluted with inexpensive substances, making them appear more substantial than they are. Large containers can also give the illusion of more product than is actually present.
Some advertisements falsely represent the quality or origin of a product. A product may be shown as high quality even if it has defects, or it may be claimed to be made in one country when it was actually produced elsewhere.
Programmatic advertising
Programmatic allows advertisers more control over where their ads appear and how viewable they are, but issues around brand safety and transparency remain crucial. Solutions from Amazon Ads and third-party providers help mitigate these risks, supporting advertisers in maintaining consumer trust.
Programmatic advertising comes with a learning curve that can initially seem daunting. Collaborating with partners, agencies, or working directly with Amazon Ads can make entering the programmatic space easier for advertisers.
PPC advertising
PPC, along with cost per thousand impressions (CPM) and cost per acquisition (CPA or cost per order), is a method to evaluate the efficiency and profitability of digital marketing campaigns. The aim is to minimize advertising expenses while still achieving desired goals. Under CPM, advertisers pay for every 1,000 ad views, whereas PPC gives deeper insights into ad performance by showing how many users actively engaged with the ad.
Clicks serve as an indicator of interest and attention. When the objective of a campaign is to drive traffic to a specific webpage or landing page, PPC is often the preferred model. Ultimately, the cost of PPC campaigns depends on both the quality of the ads and their placement, which directly affect click-through rates and overall costs.



