Marketing styles correspond to communication styles.
Marketing is a form of communication between company and customer: the company communicates to the customer that they have a product and that the customer should purchase it. Companies have a number of different styles they use to market products to you as a customer, which correspond to different styles of communication.
Direct Mailing
The most direct form of marketing is direct mailing: businesses have a product they want to let a group of individuals know about, so they put an advertisement directly into the hands of each individual in that group. Traditionally these advertisements were sent through the postal service, but the expansion of the Internet has caused direct marketing to expand to email. This type of marketing can be classified as a "direct and clear" communication style. The business makes explicit that it is selling something and that they are specifically targeting you as a potential customer.
Billboards and Signs
A marketing style that could be classified -- in communication terms -- as "clear and indirect" are marketing campaigns that involve ads on billboards and smaller advertisements in public places, such as buses and subways. These advertisements are specific about the product they are advertising to potential customers; however, because they are placed generally in highly public locations, they are not targeting anyone in particular. While these advertisements do not zero in on specific demographics, they do maximize the exposure of the product to potential customers.
Guerilla Marketing Campaigns
When a company wants to build a lot of buzz about a product, they can use a guerilla marketing campaign. In this type of marketing, advertisements make it clear that there is a product, but they only allude to what it is. This is designed to create a sense of puzzlement over what the ads mean so when the actual product is revealed, more people are interested. This can be considered an "indirect and masked" communication style, since it is mostly obscuring what the marketing is promoting and it is not specifically directed at anyone in particular.
Product Placement
A semi-indirect method of marketing is the product placement. This is when a particular product is prominently used in a TV show or movie. For example, the actors might be drinking a soda whose brand the audience can see, or using a particular computer whose company logo is clearly visible. This kind of marketing through exposure can be considered a "clear and indirect" communication style. The product is clear, but you are being indirectly targeted as a member of a demographic that is receiving a group advertisement.
Tags: product they, communication style, about product, about product they, anyone particular, clear indirect