Exam focus: How the definition of advertising has changed over time

The big picture in one sentence

Advertising moved from a paid, one-way message placed in mass media by an identified sponsor to brand communication delivered through networked digital technologies that is interactive, data-driven and algorithmically mediated. In the words of Rodgers and Thorson (2026): earlier definitions emphasized what and where (the message and the medium); contemporary definitions foreground who, when and how (audience construction, behavioral segmentation and predictive delivery).

Stage 1: the classic definition (mass media era)

The traditional definition used in Belch and Belch (2021) is:

• Paid: the space or time for the message must be bought (exception: public service announcements, where the media donate the space).
• Nonpersonal: the message goes through mass media (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, outdoor). It is transmitted to large groups at the same time, and there is no immediate feedback from the receiver. The advertiser must think in advance about how the audience will interpret and respond to the message.
• Identified sponsor: it is clear who pays for and sends the message.

This definition fits a world of one-way mass communication: the advertiser decides what to say and where to place it, and the consumer receives it. The focus is on the message and the medium. Why advertising mattered in this view (Week 1 slides): it is persuasive, cost-effective for reaching large audiences, creates brand images and symbolic appeals, and attracts attention and helps generate sales.

Background from the advertising literature (not on the slides, useful for an essay): the American Marketing Association used an almost identical wording for decades ("any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor"). Richards and Curran (2002) added the purpose: advertising is "a paid, mediated form of communication from an identifiable source, designed to persuade the receiver to take some action, now or in the future".

Stage 2: early digital definitions (the medium)

When advertising moved online, the first definitions used labels like "web", "online" or "internet advertising" and focused on the delivery medium:

• a paid promotional message appearing on the web (Barnes, 2002);
• advertising across electronic platforms such as websites, email and search engines (Strauss & Frost, 2001).

These were still the classic definition with a new channel: the same paid message, now on a screen. They reflect the initial migration of traditional advertising into emerging digital spaces. The logic stayed "what and where".

Stage 3: platforms grow (interactivity, ubiquity, targeting)

As platforms flourished (search, social media, mobile), definitions expanded to emphasize three things:

• Interactivity: communication becomes two-way. Consumers click, comment, share and create content. This directly breaks the "no immediate feedback" part of the classic definition.
• Ubiquity: advertising is everywhere and always on, across devices and contexts.
• Targeting sophistication: instead of one message to a mass audience, messages are aimed at specific segments and individuals. This breaks the "nonpersonal" part.

In this period researchers also argued that the old elements no longer fit. Dahlen and Rosengren (2016), listed by Rodgers and Thorson under persuasive intent, define advertising very broadly as "brand-initiated communication intent on impacting people": it no longer has to be paid or carried by mass media, as long as the brand starts it and wants to influence people.

Background (not on the slides): Kerr and Richards (2021) proposed a definition that captures the new media types: advertising is "paid, owned, and earned mediated communication, activated by an identifiable brand and intent on persuading the consumer to make some cognitive, affective or behavioral change, now or in the future". Note how "paid" became "paid, owned and earned".

Stage 4: data and algorithms (computational advertising)

The newest step places advertising inside data-rich, computational infrastructures. Contemporary formulations emphasize:

• algorithmic mediation (McStay, 2017): algorithms, not people, decide which ad is shown to whom;
• precision targeting (Mills et al., 2019);
• the construction of audiences through predictive modeling and automated optimization (Huh & Malthouse, 2020).

In this view, digital advertising is not simply a message placed within media; it is an ongoing, systemically mediated process shaped by data flows, platform governance and computational decision-making. The shift is from static message placement to dynamic, algorithmically optimized interaction, which reflects broader changes in media infrastructures and market logics.

Stage 5: today's definition (Rodgers & Thorson, 2026)

It covers practices such as programmatic advertising, computational advertising, AI-driven advertising and immersive advertising in virtual or augmented settings (for example the metaverse).

Rodgers and Thorson (2026, p. 5) found five recurring conceptual dimensions in scholarly definitions from 2016 to 2025. Use them to structure your answer:

What changed, element by element

The strongest exam answers compare the classic definition with the current one element by element:

Model answer (short essay)

Common mistakes

• Only giving the current definition. The question asks about change over time: show at least three stages and say what changed and why.
• Confusing advertising with marketing (AMA) or with IMC (4A's, Schultz). Those are different definitions from the same week.
• Forgetting the drivers: technology (internet, mobile, platforms), data, and algorithms explain each step.
• Saying the classic definition is "wrong". It still describes traditional media advertising; it is just too narrow for digital advertising.