Friday, 26 February 2016
Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Regulations and Audience Theories
Regulations and
audience theories
An example of the ASA taking action on a customer complaint shows how much power this self-regulated association can have. An individual had sent a complaint about the Coco Mademoiselle advert who said that it was “sexually Suggestive” for young viewers, been shown as ad during the Ice Age 2 film. The ASA took action saying that “the sexually suggestive material was unsuitable for young children.” ending in the advertisement being banned from children’s television. The advert was still being shown but at a later time during adult programming.
As most
people know advertisement plays a very important part in market economies,
stimulating its growth and innovation. It is an effective way of marketing
produce, making costumers aware of products innovations and keeping them aware
of what the products has to offer. With this in mind it is important that to
fulfil this task that advertising must appreciate to a high level of consumer
trust and confidence. These advertisements must be legal, decent, honest and
truthful if consumers are going to trust them. Deceived or mislead by these
advertisements as well as being offended by it will look bad for the company
selling the product. Bad advertising will lead to market economies suffering
due to a lack of consumer confidence. So in the concern of the advertising
industry all advertisements must be regulated properly to ensure this won’t
happen. There are different
organizations that deal with these regulations making sure they don’t break the
rules and abide to them properly. The bulk of these associations are
independent companies but some like OFCOM are government funded and make sure
that the advertisement industry can carry on going without a misuse of their
platforms.
The
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is a self-regulated association from the
United Kingdom’s independent advertising industry. Receiving no funding from
the British government they are completely reliant on the advertising industry.
Their job is to act on complaints from consumers and proactively check the
media to take action against their misleading, harmful or offensive
advertisements. Regulating the content on advertisements, sales and promotions
with in the UK; deciding whether such advertising complies with the codes of
the advertising conduct. Because the ASA
is a non-statutory organization, they cannot enforce or interpret legislations.
Their code of conduct imposes that; before distributing or submitting a
marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary
evidence to prove all claims, whether direct or implied, that are capable of
objective substantiation and that no marketing communications should be
mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration,
omission or otherwise.
An example of the ASA taking action on a customer complaint shows how much power this self-regulated association can have. An individual had sent a complaint about the Coco Mademoiselle advert who said that it was “sexually Suggestive” for young viewers, been shown as ad during the Ice Age 2 film. The ASA took action saying that “the sexually suggestive material was unsuitable for young children.” ending in the advertisement being banned from children’s television. The advert was still being shown but at a later time during adult programming.
The Committees
of Advertising Practice (CAP) write and maintain the UK Advertising Codes,
which are administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Mainly
being responsible for writing and marinating the UK advertising codes and
provide authoritative advice on the rules.
The CAP made these rules to ‘ensure advertising does not mislead, harm
or offend and is socially responsible’. The committee ensure good regulation
having set out six commitments to provide and maintain good practice amongst
businesses.
1.
We’ll
keep regulatory burdens to a minimum
2.
We’ll
engage with you
3.
We’ll
be targeted
4.
We’ll
share information
5.
We’ll
provide advice and training support
6.
We’ll
be transparent
The CAP’s
advertising codes are vast and lay down the rules for advertisers, agencies and
media owners to follow. Some of the general rule state that; advertising must be responsable, must not mislead, or offend and specific rules that cover advertising to children and ads for specific sectors like alcohol, gambling, motoring, health and financial products.
In
1960 a man called E. Jerome McCarthy created a business tool to help determine
product or brands offerings. The marketing mix is specific to a set of actions,
or tactics that a company can use to help promote a product in the market. This
diagram on the right shows the marketing mix diagram, made up of the 4Ps –Price,
Product, Promotion and place. Since this diagram has been created there has
been some development to it over the years, adding other Ps into the mix. Sometimes
referred to as the extended marketing mix or the Boom and Bitner’s 7Ps there
has been more Ps included into the marketing mix like Packaging, positioning,
people etc.
A – Awareness (awareness):
attract the attention of the consumer.
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The office
of Communications (OFCOM) is the British government approved regulatory and
competition authority of the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal
industries of the United Kingdom. Being a communications regulator their job is
to regulate TV, Radio and video on demand sectors, fixed line telecoms,
mobiles, postal services and the airwaves over which wireless devices operate. OFCOM
make sure that people get the best possible assistance from their communication
service provider and make sure that people are protected from possible scams while
assuring that contest can flourish.
Audience Theories
Audience Theories allow us to understand how people react to
advertising/products and how to appeal to the general target market.
“Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying,
anticipating and satisfying requirements profitably.” - The academic definition from The Chartered
Institute of Marketing (CIM)
In
1960 a man called E. Jerome McCarthy created a business tool to help determine
product or brands offerings. The marketing mix is specific to a set of actions,
or tactics that a company can use to help promote a product in the market. This
diagram on the right shows the marketing mix diagram, made up of the 4Ps –Price,
Product, Promotion and place. Since this diagram has been created there has
been some development to it over the years, adding other Ps into the mix. Sometimes
referred to as the extended marketing mix or the Boom and Bitner’s 7Ps there
has been more Ps included into the marketing mix like Packaging, positioning,
people etc.
Focusing on the main diagram, the 4Ps of marketing have
different jobs to help figure how to elevate your product in the market world.
First of all looking at price, this refers to the cost that
is displayed for a product. This depends on how much it would have cost for the
production of the product, how much the market can pay, the demand for the product
and how much can be supplied. Using different
pricing strategies can enhance the image of a product. Typically s product should always been seen as
representing a good value for your money. The main tenets of this concept being
that consumers are please to pay a little more for something that work really
well for them.
Second of all on the marketing mix diagram is product,
this referring to the item actually being sold. The product must perform
deliver a good level of performance or it will disrupt the other works of the
marketing mix elements. The product should do the tasks consumers want it to
do, being what the consumer expected to get.
The third concept is place, this referring to the point
of sales. Making sure your product captures the eye of consumers is key when
aiming to for good distribution or ‘place’ strategy. Making sure you have the
premium location for your products viewing is the way of a successful business.
Also making sure that the product is easily accessible for your target
consumers, selling your product in a easy to find shop like the high street or
online.
Finally promotion, referring to activities
set in motion to make your product is known to your consumers and by the trade.
This can include such things as advertising, press reports, commissions and
awards to trade and social media. These are all key communication tools for an
organisation trying to promote their product into the market. Making sure you
are putting across the right message to your audiences in the manner they would
most likely hear, whether it would be educational or attractive to them.
The importance of using this marketing mix can lead your product
to success. All of these concept/elements influence each other and if handled
right can lead to a favourable outcome.
Another audience
theory that I’ll be exploring is the AISA model. This acronym is mainly used in
marketing and advertising to descried the even that occur when a consumer come
into contact with a product or advertisement.
AISA is a phrase which stands for 4 different stages within consumer and
advertisement engagement.
A – Awareness (awareness):
attract the attention of the consumer.
I – Interest (attraction):
The consumers interest of the product.
D – Desire (craving): Convince
consumers that they want and desire the product.
A – Action (response):
lead consumers towards taking action and/or purchasing.
These proceedings identify the cognitive stage an individual
goes though when going though the purchasing process of a product. It identifies
to companies how and when to communicate during each and different stage as
consumers engage at different points, requiring different information throughout
the stages from various sources. These steps taken carefully and thoughtfully
when advertising your product can easily persuading consumers to buy your
product and benefit your business.
Unique Selling Point (USP) also know as unique selling proposition
is a concept that explains the patterns in successful advertising campaigns of
the early 1940s. The term was developed by a man called Rosser Reeves a
professor at Harvard Business School. The
term USP suggests that campagins making such unique selling propositions to
cunsumers can convince them to switch brands. This diffferentiating you from other competetors , such as a lower
cost, the highest quality or being the first product of it kind. Think of USP
as”what you have that your competitors don’t.”
Unique Selling Point (USP) also know as unique selling proposition
is a concept that explains the patterns in successful advertising campaigns of
the early 1940s. The term was developed by a man called Rosser Reeves a
professor at Harvard Business School. The
term USP suggests that campagins making such unique selling propositions to
cunsumers can convince them to switch brands. This diffferentiating you from other competetors , such as a lower
cost, the highest quality or being the first product of it kind. Think of USP
as”what you have that your competitors don’t.”
The key of making your brand
or product successful is by taking USP into consideration. Before you can sell
a product you have to make sure that your product will stand out from your
competitors. Unless you pinpoint on what make your business, product or brand
unique, you cannot target your sales efforts successfully. A successful use of
USP towards your product can offer your consumers something that the other
competitors cannot. This sort of tactic can be very beneficial for the company
or business, helping you gain new customers.
A few examples of USPs:
-
Avis’ “We’re only
number two. We try harder” Campaign.
-
Domino’s “30
minuets or it’s free” promise.
-
Fed Ex’x “When it
absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.”
-
Southwest’s claim
to be the lowest-priced airline.
Brand Identity is how a company wants to be perceived by the
public. All the components that are related to a product, service, company or
person is “brand identity.” Being responsible for creating a distinguished
product with unique characteristics is how a company seeks to identify itself.
A brand is unique due to its identity; this identity is how an organisation can
communicate itself to the consumers thought its branding and marketing
strategies. Some of the components of the brand are the tune, trademark colours,
trademark, logo, tagline and typeface. These components provide familiarity and
differentiation to consumers. The examples below show you some of the elements
of brand identity and how it works.
-
Tune: Britannia (“ting-ting-ta-ding”)
-
Trademark colours: Pepsi (The blue colour
associated with pepsi’s logo)
-
Logo: Nike (Nike’s tick logo)
-
Tag Line: Apple (“Think different”)
The essential aspect in branding is being clear about what
you are offering, whether it’s a product, service or person. Being consistent and maintain an image plays
a big role in as it will be describing the expected results of a product. This
is a proposal/promise from the organisation to consumers about what their
product is and what it stands for.
Audience
There’s a wide range of studies that have looked at the
audiences role in media communications. Some study’s like the NRS Social Grade
help us understand the difference between different groups of people,
broadening our understanding of large groups of people within media and help
marketers determine how to appeal to certain groups (target audience).
The NRS Social Grade is a demographic classification system
based on occupation used in the United Kingdom. Derived from the British
National Readership Survey (NRS) being used to classify readers; now being used
by many other organisations for wider applications becoming a standard for
market research.
The way this table works is by classifying members of a
household according to the occupation of the Chief Income Earner (CIE). To be
able to assign a social grade accurately to an individual they would ask
questions about not just what their CIE’s job is but rather their
qualifications and the number of people they are responsible for. This helps
establish the social grade of an individual, placing them into the table above.
The grades are often split into two groups ABC1 and C2DE.
These two groups equate the middle class and the working class of an individual.
Around 2% of the UKs population is identified as the Upper class but it’s not
included into the classification scheme. This sort of classification can help
the media give an idea of what their target audience is and what sort of disposable
income they have so they know who to pitch themselves to when trying to sell/advertise
a product.
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Following from the NRD Social Grade is target audience or audience
profiling. Similar to the NRS Social Grade audience profiling lets businesses determine
the audience demographic/consumers to find out their targeted selling point.
This is a great way for businesses to find their target audience before they
advertise and market their product. A target audience is a group of people most
appropriate and connected to a media product that the company is trying to sell
to. The way they determine an audience is by following a list of factors that they
must consider when trying to aim their product at a target audience.
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Friday, 12 February 2016
Different Structures & Techniques of Advertising
Different
Structures & Techniques of Advertising
TV is very important
medium of advertising. It covers a Massive geographical area and Market units.
Depending on the audience and product or service, the form of an advert will
vary. There are many types of Television advertisements on our screens compared
to a few years ago and are mostly categorised into form and style. These styles
and forms help promote the product or service to the right target audience.
This allows the audience to connect and or recognise the advert, promoting the
brands product or services.
Structure (Form)
-
Animation
Animation is the act of movement
created by displaying a series of pictures, or frames. There are a wide range of techniques used in
animation from 2D images all the way to Computer –Generated Imagery (CGI). It
is used for many reasons like grabbing the attention of audiences keeping them
engaged as we all being able to quickly and concisely communicate your message.
Animation is also used to help create the impossible which otherwise wouldn’t
be able to re-create in real life as well as creating a sense of surrealism. Some
disadvantages of using animation in TV advertisements is that if you use too much
it can become quite distracting and annoying for the views potentially putting
them off the product or service. Creating even the simplest animation can be
very time consuming and costly, needing the skills used in software and
animating techniques is a must to create a decent looking animation.
Examples:
The John Lewis Christmas Advert (2013)
The
‘Running with Cats’ Advert by MoneySuperMarket.com
-
Mini Fictions
In many scenarios TV
advertisements commonly favour the use of a mini fiction narrative. This type
of commercial advertising centres around the idea of a very short story,
typically not much longer than a minute long.
These narratives include a main individual/protagonist who is presented
with a situation within which they have to successfully operate to overcome
some sort of problem or issue. The characters main function in the
advertisement is to connect/identify with audiences helping establish some sort
of relatable feeling to the narrative occurring. Mini fictions are structured like a short
story or film, usually ending with the reveal of the product at the end of the
advert. The success of a mini fiction is
centralized around the use of aesthetic cinematography and mise-en-scène to
give it the feel of a TV show or film instead of an advertisement. This captures the viewer’s attention to the
product/brand compelling them to recognize and remember the advert. These
narratives can create a sense of suspense gripping viewers all the way though
until they announce the product or plot at the end. The problems with mini fictions is the cost,
time and effort to create them, due to the vast detail and authenticity when
being produce leads to exceeding costs.
Examples:
The ‘Make
Love. Not War.’ Lynx Piece Deodorant | Lynx UK
‘Left
Twix or Right Twix?’ Twix TV Advert
-
Documentaries
The documentary style
of advertising is commonly used by charities and by government organisations
for infomercials. These types of
advertisements are relatively low-budget due to the fact that they don’t take
much creativity to make, having a simplistic style. The features of this type
of advertisement are the use of a narrator addressing the viewers acknowledging
their presence and therefore giving it the feel of a documentary. Being most
popular with charities they typically use facts and information to inform
viewers of the charity, telling a sad non-fictional story without exaggerating
anything. This can grab the attention of viewers often getting people to donate
to their foundation. One of the
disadvantages of this style of advertising is that there are so many that
people can be put off from donating all together as well as not having enough
money to donate to more than one cause at
a time.
‘Monday’s
Dog’ Dogs Trust TV Advert
‘Homeless’
The Salvation Army | Christmas Advert
-
Talking Heads
Talking heads is a
form of advertising when a customer who has supposedly used a product before
talks directly to the views explaining how good the product is and how it has
impacted their lives. Using Real people to feed back on the product they are
trying to sell helps the audience relate to the people in the adverts and hence
the products. This is because they are normal everyday people who are usually
in the same situation as the viewers, establishing that connection. These remarks/recommendations can be exclaimed
by a popular celebrity or a professional expert on the product being
advertised. This form of advertisement
is most commonly used on house hold products like toothpaste, makeup or hair
removal etc but can be applied to most products. These types of adverts use
little creativity and mainly focus on persuading the audience to purchase their
product. Sometimes they will use a comparison with rival products using an
expert (like a dentist for toothpaste) and highlight how their product is
better than the other.
‘Yasmin’
Oral-B Toothpaste Advert
Cillit Bang Advert with Barry Scott
-
Stand Alone
One of the most common
forms of TV advertising is stand alone adverts. Stand alone ads are
advertisements which present a product or service which is not like any
existing advertisements for that brand, product or service. They are rarely longer than a minute and
don’t usually offer any complicated narratives or extremely creative elements. The
main aim of this advertisement is to just simply attract/persuade the audiences
to buy their product. There isn’t really
a significant element that defines or creates a standalone advertisement because
they are mostly all different. Usually being more unique it stands out from
others but can quite easily loose brand identity for the product or company
within the advert.
‘Yell 118 247 Directory Heaven’ By Weebl TV Advert
-
Series
Advertisements
Series advertisements
are similar to mini fiction however the message that they are putting across is
usually know before the end of the advert. Compared to the ‘stand alone’ this
form of advertisement promotes the same brand/product. The series has a
continuing narrative from advert to advert; this allows the audiences to
identify with the product being shown without even seeing it. Normally these
adverts use the same characters throughout the different commercials or having the
same scenario making them very recognizable. Commonly having some sort of
humorous twist as well as incorporating lots of creativity and lots of cinematography.
Sometimes these adverts stretch on for many years becoming more recognizable
but can get very boring and annoying very quickly for the viewers.
‘Cats with Thumbs’ By Cravendale
‘Gold Blend’ Nescafe – Antony Head
Style
Now that I have
explored the different existing forms of advertisement, I’ll now be looking at
style. This being fairly similar to form but instead of looking at how the
avert is presented it is looking closely at the route that the advertising body
wants the commercial to go down. Meaning
that they can convey how their advertisement is viewed by the audience,
communicating the message they think would be the most effective. This style of
an advertisement mainly aims to target certain people focusing on small
micro-elements of the advert. This can
be conveyed though a range of techniques like shock, humour and emotions
etc.
-
Humorous
Humour is a common style of advertising being broad and appealing to
most people. When creating these adverts the main focus is on how they are
going to aim the humour at the audiences. This is because the sense of humour
will be aimed at audiences that the product is made for. Usually the humour can
be tongue in cheek being quite silly and can easily stick in our minds. The
problem with this style of advertisement is that it can be quite hard to
achieve. If the joke is unfunny or taken offensively it can turn into a massive
market disaster.
‘Mr T’ Snickers Advert
‘Tea’ Aldi Advert
-
Surreal
Surrealism is
combining unrelated and irrelevant elements to create weird and bizarre scenes.
This style of advertisement can be over the top and can quickly grab the
attention of the consumer. Normally these advertisements have nothing to do
with the product or anything related to it whatsoever. Typically surreal advertisements use the
strange nature of surrealism to gain media attention and get people talking
about the advert. Sometime they are used for a certain brand rather than a
product as it is better to gain popularity though your brand rather than
product, getting it more widely known.
They can easily fall into the trap of having an unfunny surreal
advertisement that many not be weird or gross enough for people to take
interest. This can have a bad effect on your company and your firm.
‘David Lynch’ Playstation 2 Advert
‘Belly’s Gunna Get Ya’ Reebok Advert
-
Shocking/Dramatic
This style of
advertising can be a risky option to take but can be very effective if pulled off
properly. The use of shocking and dramatic scenes can very easily grab the attention
of audiences compared to other styles.
Shocking the audience is key here as it would imprint the message of the
advert into their minds. This is typically done in an unpleasant manor making
the audience feel sad/bad as well as distressing and horrifying them. This
style is most commonly used for health and safety messages or government warnings
such as crossing roads and anti-smoking campaigns. The shocking imagery they
would show would make the audience feel negative and unpleasant, then associating
that feeling when for example you come across smoking, unsafe environments or
bad behaviour. Some of the problems with this sort of advertisement is that
they can be very off putting to audiences getting in danger with certain
regulations like the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) or the Advertising
Standards Agency (ASA).
‘DOE Road Safety’ Irish Road Safety Advert
‘If London Were Syria’ Save The Children 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSIpARmq2WI
Sex
Sex, an effective
method of advertisement with a simple message: if you buy our product, women
with have sex with you. A style of advertisement is effective in the way which
it grabs your attention just like a shocking/dramatic advertisement, instead it
grabs your attention in a sexualised way though presenting attractive females
or males on screen. Such commercials can also be seen though personal identity,
giving you the impression that if you use the product that women will be
attracted to you, vice versa making
women feel sexy. It is very challenging to ignore these sexualised
messages due to our normal human behaviour of desiring to be attractive and to propagate.
These styles of advertising are commonly
associated with health and beauty products but can range from alcohol, cars,
gaming and fitness. Some of the problems
with this type of advisement are the controversy behind the sexual implications
shown; being offended by any viewers can lead to the advertisement being taken
down.
‘Secret Obsession’ Eva Mendes –
Calvin Klein
‘Fallen Angels’ Excite Deodorant –
Lynx
Celebrity endorsements are a good way
of advertising your product and getting it recognized by audiences. This style of advertisement involves a well
know person using their fame and notoriety to help promote/sell a product or
service. This helps audiences connect with the celebrities on screen this increases
consumer's remembrance of the advert, consumers are more apt to remember an ad
that is linked with a celebrity endorsement. It can also make a person feel
like they have reached a level of super stardom just from purchasing the
product been shown on TV. This style of advertisement is commonly used by
manufactures of perfumes and clothing but can be applied to almost anything.
Some of the problems with this type of advertisement is that it can be very expensive
(depending on the person) to hire the celebrity to feature in your
advertisement.
Xbox One Advertisement: Aaron
Paul
H&M Bodywear: David Beckham
- Parodic/Intertexual
Parodic/intertextual adverts make
reference to other existing products and texts, making fun of the original
subject matter. If the advert intertextually/parodically references a film, the
meaning and/or humor of the advert may only be understood/appreciated by the audiences
if they are familiar with the film. The meaning of the text may be dependent on
the viewer’s knowledge of the reference making it unfunny and confusing. This
style of advertisement can be funny, comedic and recognizable which makes it enjoyable
for audiences who are familiar with the reference and or joke. Usually this
style of advertisement can be applied to almost anything as long as it is appropriate.
The down side of this being that people not understanding the jokes or references
leading to confusion.
‘Dallas’ Cadbury Fingers Pomo
‘The A-Team’ 118 118
-
Nostalgic
Nostalgic adverts play on the fondness
of the past therefore making the audiences remember the ancestral days of a
product or brand. Commonly referring to past events or advertisements of a
product or showcasing the growth of the brand gives the sense of nostalgia. These
advertisements give the audience the feeling of a long lasting relationship and
long lasting quality with the product. This sense of a long lasting
relationship grips the viewers thus making audiences connect with the product. These
sorts of advertisements can get boring over time being shown on TV as well as
making it feel dated.
‘122 years’ Hovis Advert
‘Child of the 90s’ Internet
Explorer
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