| >Advertising is the method most people use to discover new products/services. Do you have a source for that? >How would you know there's a star wars movie coming out? By being interested in science fiction movies, being part of a community of people with like interests, theater showtimes, etc. Why do i need to know 6 months beforehand that a star wars movie will eventually come out? Why would i need to know any sooner than a week before the release date? >How would you know about new products and services you might be interested in buying. By having an interest in buying them, and then doing research regarding which product will best fit my needs. >which tell me about companies who provide things I might be interested in Or do the advertisements give you an itch and a tool to scratch it? >which has many adverts related to bee-keeping. That's valuable In what way? Are you incapable of finding a new bee-keeping related product without first seeing an advertisement? Can you not google the item you need and then compare the options amongst each other? Can you not simply search on amazon or some bee-keeping friendly retailer? Are you not part of a community of bee-keepers who you can ask for recommendations about products? If you've ever heard of: Costco Krispy Kreme Kiehls Spanx Lululemon Rolls Royce Zara Jiffy muffin mix NO-AD sunscreen Then you've disproven you're entire argument, as those are all brands that have $0 advertising budget, and do no advertising. |
One form of advertising which is commonly utilized is a yearly trade show where manufacturers rent showroom space to show off their products to prospective buyers. This model makes sense because it gets 60,000 people with purchasing power into the same building to see what products are new and what the latest design ideas are. There is no hidden agenda here and everyone knows what is going on.
This is the same basic concept as a magazine or website advertisement where you try to get a bunch of likeminded people in one industry with purchasing power to subscribe and read the magazine or website. The advertisements (paper showrooms space) are used to show cool pictures of new products companies are selling and now one is fooled by that.
In this industry, manufacturers have brand recognition and a reputation so seeing an ad for a new office chair by X company is an effective way to announce to people who already know of and like your brand that you have a new product.
Hacker News leverages its niche audience to 'advertise' job listings for Y Combinator funded companies. I could probably find out about those jobs elsewhere if I were currently looking for a job, but I'm willing to trade seeing them for using this site. I expect many other people don't mind advertising when it is tastefully done and on-topic with the website or magazine they read or are subscribed to.