Media & Advertising

Media & AdvertisingMost people believe advertising doesnt influence their choices yet advertising is a multi-million dollar business.Businesses spend money on advertising because IT WORKS!Advertising influences us to buy products even when we dont realize were being influenced.All advertising works on the basic principle of making us WANT something, even if we dont NEED it.

1

Advertising TechniquesAdvertisers use many different techniques to convince people to buy their products. For example: SEX.

The suggestion is clear: buy the suit; get the sexy girl.Watch the video that follows and try to see if you can guess what product is being sold before the ad ends. How is sex used to sell the product?

Sex in Advertising can be Controversial

American Apparel has been criticized for using semi-nude models who appear to be underage girls

although the company claims all the models are actually over 18.

Advertisers may use weasel words

like virtually, helps control, or up to. These words allow advertisings to make BIG claims for their product, then undercut the claims if theyre not quite true.

Take a closer look at this ad

Can you read the fine print at the bottom? It says: Removes up to 100% of visible dandruff flakes. Claim based on the visibility of flakes at two-foot distance when used regularly.

Advertisers may also use Vague claims: Saying a product is better or offers more without telling us better than what? more than what?Water is wet claims: Saying something about a product thats true for every product of that type for example, saying a cereal is made with the goodness of grain. What else would a cereal be made with?So what claims: Claims that are true, but dont actually make the product any better than any other. Has more than twice the iron of other supplements! OK, but is twice the iron actually better for you?

HumourSometimes, advertisers know that consumers are aware of vague claims and similar tricks. Ads may make fun of these claims to make us laugh, as with this ad for New Shreddies.

Amazingly, this ad actually WORKED to increase sales of Shreddies and won a major advertising award.

Humour in advertising can have the effect of making a product more memorable and giving consumers positive associations with the product as with another ad that revitalized interest in an older, classic product and became a viral YouTube sensation:

Advertisers Use AssociationAdvertisers try to get you to feel positive about their product by associating it with something you already feel positive about.Are you proud to be a Canadian? Do you love your country?Watch how the following ads link Canada with the products being sold:

Its Not Just Sex, Humour and PatriotismAdvertisers will use images of people having fun at parties, beautiful landscapes, babies, puppies even if these things have NO connection to the product theyre selling.Positive images become connected in our minds with the produce thats being sold.

Advertisers Try to Address our Concerns (even if they dont really care)For instance, as more people become concerned about the environment, products are advertised as environmentally friendly.

This can backfire. Many companies are accused of GreenwashingGreenwashing is when a product is advertised as being good for the environment without any actual evidence that it is.Sometimes, the product may even be harmful!The video that follows gives some more information about greenwashing and how to spot it.

Claiming a product is good for you (because everyone knows parents are concerned about their kids health)can also backfire

as the makers of Nutella just found out.They got sued for claiming their product was a healthy breakfast food, when in fact it has about the same nutritional content as CHOCOLATE ICING. True story.

Advertising Depends on Community StandardsWhats acceptable in an ad in one place may be unacceptable in another.For example, in France its common to see ads featuring topless female models during prime-time TV viewing. This would not be acceptable in North America.Certain products may not be consider acceptable to advertise. For example, in the U.S. its common to see ads for medications on television. In Canada, these kind of ads are much more strictly controlled.

Cigarette ads, for example Cigarette ads have been banned on US television since 1970, but are still allowed in some magazines. All tobacco ads have been banned in Canada since 1988.Anti-smoking activists like to remind us that at least two of the former Marlboro Man models died of lung cancer

which led to ads like this:

Some ads are developed not by businesses to sell a product, but by organizations to promote an attitude or idea.

Im guessing McDonalds did NOT approve this use of their logo:

Advertising Changes Over TimeMarketing has been big business for most of the 20th century.But it used to be simpler than it is now.Once upon a time, most people in North America were listening to the same radio shows, reading the same magazines, and watching the same TV shows on a handful of TV channels.Advertisers just had to figure out who would be watching that show or reading that magazine (kids, senior citizens, housewives, etc.), design their ad for that market, and pay for an advertising spot.

You could create an ad and be sure millions of people would see it because people had fewer media choices.

In 1984, the Wendys commercial you just sawwas recognized all over North America

It was as well-known in its time as the Old Spice commercial is today, if not more so (and the Wheres the Beef? lady was as famous as the Old Spice guy.But in the 80s, Wendys knew everyone would see the ad because everyone was watching the same handful of network television stations.Todays advertisers need to be much more creative in getting consumers to look for their ads and promote the ads themselves as we do when we share a video on Facebook or recommend it on YouTube.

Today, we live in a different worldConsumers have endless choices hundreds of TV channels, the entire internet to choose from.Advertisers have more ways to reach us, but since were using so many different media outlets, they have to work harder to get our attention.Rather than relying just on traditional ads, businesses use more:Product placementInteractive advertisingTargeted marketingCreating brand loyalty through lifestyle marketing

What is Product Placement?The following video explains a little of how product placement and branded content are used to sell advertising through entertainment, such as TV shows and movies.

Interactive AdvertisingMarketers are just beginning to explore the possibilities of advertising in an interactive online world. Consumers are now being offered chances to participate in marketing campaigns, not just view them.Remember the Old Spice guy? For a limited time, he accepted requests on Twitter to make custom videos, which kept interest in the Old Spice campaign active. The video that follows is an example of one of these:

Remember the recent Lays chips campaign that invited people to vote on the most popular new flavour?

Expect to see a LOT more interactive marketing campaigns in future as advertisers harness the power of Facebook, Twitter and other social media to get consumers involved in promoting products.

Targeted MarketingTodays technology allows companies to track what websites youve visited and what products youve bought in the past.Based on that information, they can target online ads specifically to you, for products they think youll be interested in.Ads may also be targeted to you based on demographics your age, where you live, whether youre male or female.

For example, when Im on Facebook, I see ads for:a cookbook for kid-friendly meals. Facebook knows Im a mom with school-aged kids. (Theyre right)the flat-belly diet, because Facebook assumes all women in their 40s hate their bodies and want to be skinnier. (Theyre wrong)

When my teenaged son is on Facebook, he sees ads forthe band Hedley(because hes young and likes music)AXE(because teenage boys are smelly?)

Are Marketers Targeting YOU?Of course they are!Your computer is tracking who you are, what you like, where you shop and what you buy.Marketers use that information to try to sell you stuff.Next time youre online, notice what ads Facebook, Google or other sites are showing you.What assumptions are they making about you?

Branding, Sponsorship and Lifestyle MarketingConsumers in the 21st century expect to be more than passive consumers watching TV commercials during the breaks in their favourite shows. Marketers have to create loyalty to their brands and get consumers to become actively involved in promoting the product themselves.With an effective Integrated Lifestyle Marketing campaign, the brand becomes much more than something being advertised, and the promotion and the brand itself become part of the consumers lives. (from www.snipermarketing.net, a manual for advertisers and marketers)

The goal for marketers today is to get us to think, Im the kind of person who buys XYZ product. It fits with who I am as a person. Were willing to help promote the product ourselves.Think of how clothing manufacturers get us to participate in advertising by wearing their logos on our clothing.

This was unheard-of fifty years ago, but today we take it for granted.

We may laugh at the people who sell ad space on their foreheads or chests

but were all living in a world where were more and more willing to be branded by logos we wear on our clothes or personal items.

When it comes to branding

How much is too much?

Branding also includes sponsorshipWhen companies sponsor events, their name becomes associated with that event and the people who participate in it.This creates positive associations between the product and the event.People who participate in or watch the event are more likely to view the product as being part of their lifestyle.

Think about Red BullWhat is it?A highly-caffeinated energy drink that has been linked to possible increased risk of heart problems, especially when combined with alcohol (which, lets face it, it often is)But it has a massive marketing campaign which includes sponsorship of

car racing, motocross, extreme winter sports, air races, mountain biking the list goes on and on

By sponsoring sports events, Red Bull associates its drink and the people who drink it with an outdoor, athletic, high-energy, fun-loving, risk-taking lifestyle. Even if you never do any of these sports, theyre part of your image -- because you drink Red Bull.

Sponsorship can be sneakyCompanies can use event sponsorship to get around advertising rules. Remember how cigarette ads were banned in Canada?

Until 2003, tobacco companies were still allowed to sponsor sports and cultural events. This allowed them to promote their product without print or TV ads.

Businesses also sponsor charitable organizations in the community. What does this do for them?Lets look at McDonalds Ronald McDonald House Charity.Does it provide a needed service for sick kids and their families?Definitely, yes!What ELSE does it do?It associates the name McDonalds and the McDonalds restaurant chain with something good that people are happy to support.A business we often associate with unhealthy food, now has a positive association that tells us McDonalds cares about kids health and wants to help the community.Do they really care? Maybe. But remember, their number 1 motive is always: SELL MORE BURGERS.

Just to sum it up:The parody video illustrates many of the strategies advertisers use and how little they actually mean.As you watch it, think about how many times youve seen words and images like these used in real ads designed to sell you something.

You cant avoid advertising!So, what can you do?

BE AWARE! Notice when youre being advertised to, even if its not obvious.

BE SUSPICIOUS! No matter what good things a company claims to be doing, remember their first priority is always to SELL YOU STUFF.

BE INDEPENDENT! When you start to identify yourself with a brand, its easy for companies to see you a lot of stuff you dont need. (Im an Apple kind of guy, so I have to buy the new iPhone as soon as it comes out!!)

BE A SMART CONSUMER! When you decide to buy a product, do your research. Buy it because its what you want and need, not because of the attractive images in the ad or the exciting events the company sponsors.