Advertising is the communication of information about goods, services, or ideas through various media, usually paid for by identified sponsors, to groups of people, usually to persuade a segment of the population to buy goods, use services, accept ideas, or otherwise change their behavior.

Advertising can influence public policy on topics like alternative fuels. Growing public concern about the environment and U.S. dependence on foreign oil has accelerated the development of new domestic sources of power for vehicles. Advocates for alternative fuels say that importing less oil and using more domestically produced fuels will reduce air pollution and help increase U.S. energy security.

This unit explores how advertising communicates issues related to the alternative fuels that are covered elsewhere in Energy Education.

Advertising can be classified by:

Target audience	e.g., consumers, business decision makers, males 18-34 years old
Geographic area	e.g., Amarillo, Texas, the Southwest, the United States or a specific neighborhood
Medium	e.g., newspaper, radio, television, billboard, direct mail
Purpose	e.g., generate sales, encourage action, increase awareness of a product

 

Figure 1 Advertising involves... *"Non-personal" refers to communication through a method other than one-on-one contact (such as a personal appearance) or event (such as a speech or publicity stunt).