Talk:Advertising mail/Archives/2017

Terminology

Direct mail is a form of promotion. It is not, however, a type of advertising.

By definition, advertising is a paid form of persuasive communication by an identified sponsor. Some definitions also include that advertising is communicated via mass media.

Paid refers to the act of a message sponsor paying a third party (a media channel) to carry the message. Thus advertising is a mediated form of communication - which involves the sender, the channel and the receiver.

Direct mail is not mediated by any third party. The communication occurs directly between the sender and the receiver. The sender does not pay any third party to carry the message. (Certainly there are costs involved e.g. postage and stationery, but this is not the same as saying it is a paid form of communication)

This article needs to be cleaned up and re-titled so that it conforms with standard definitions of advertising and promotion. BronHiggs (talk) 04:38, 13 January 2017 (UTC)