What Is Advertising - Assignment Example

Advertising and graphic design (Name) (Institution) (Course) (Instructor’s Name) Date of submission What is the advertising? (definition) Although many people understand what advertising involves, defining the same has proved to be problematic in that there is no standard definition. Fletcher (2010) compares the difficulty of defining advertising to that of defining love, art or justice. While many people understand what these words refer to, it is hard to describe the same with words precisely. The author attributes this to the facts that there is little differentiation between advertisement as a process and advertisements as the adverts. The second thing that makes it problematic is that the public uses advertising as a general word for all forms of publicity but the well versed in the advertisement practice do not. He says that a simple definition for advertisements is that- “advertisement is a paid-for communication intended to inform and/or persuade one or more people” (p. 2). Saren et al (2007) also recognise the difficulty that lies in attempting to define the term advertising. However, the authors adapt a general definition that “advertising is a form of communication that is paid for, that is non-personal that has a general persuasive function and so on” (p. 120). These two definitions agree that advertising is a form of marketing communication that is paid for and intended to inform or persuade the market. The above definition introduces other key terms in marketing that are instrumental in bringing out the definition of advertising. First is the term paid-for. This term is critical as it separates advertisement from other forms of publicity. This is so because any other form of publicity or marketing communication whether persuasive or not but is free does not qualify as advertising technically. Nonetheless, some form of free marketing communication qualifies as advertisement in case the cost has been waived. This is common for charity events. Fletcher (2010) says that charity events might make free advertisement through various marketing communication channels but the cost is either waived or met by another entity. Communication is another key term in defining advertisement. Communication according to Fletcher (2010) is the process of passing information from the source/sender to the recipient. Communication may take place inform of images words or a combination of both. However, communication is only successful if it reaches its target. The third key term in defining advertisement is ‘intended.’ This indicates that any form of communication must have a message. Advertisement as a form of marketing communication must carry with it a message. However, how the target interpret the message the might be different form what the marketer had planned. As such, advertisers must use their targets reasoning in drafting the message in advertising in order to match the interpretation of the target with the intended message. Nonetheless, the success of the message does not validate its being advertisement but rather the intention by the marketer. The fourth important term is ‘inform and/or persuade.’ These terms have led to the development to two common types of advertisements; informative advertising and persuasive advertising. Informative advertising is favoured by critics as opposed to persuasive advertising. Informative advertisements is marketing communication that gives facts about the product being marketed and the consumer is given a chance to make an informed decision on whether to consumer or not on the other hand, persuasive advertisement dwells on convincing the consumer to consume a certain good or service not based on facts but on the marketers conviction of the benefits of consuming such. However, in practice, it is hard to differentiate the two except for where the law comes in Fletcher (2010). A good example is a number of laws on alcohol advertisement in a number of countries that ban persuasive advertisements. History of advertising The history of western advertising dates back to the 1630s, when Frenchman Théophraste Renaudot placed the first advertising notes in La Gazette de France (Mierau 2000). In Australia, advertising was first reported through the print media, the Sydney Gazette which started publication in 1803. New agencies were responsible for selling advertising space on magazines and newspaper. However, with time, agents came along who performed the role of news agencies. Gordon & Gotch was one of the agencies in operation in the 1850’s. In Britain, advertising was also reported at the same time though through a different route. Between 1630 and 1800, over five and half million people had migrated from Europe to America owing to the persuasion about the good life in amerce. Mierau (2000) says this was the first evidence of advertisements. Although there were no paid advertisements, the accomplishment of the communication was evident. She says that immigrants who had been in America used their personal accounts and experiences to attract other people. She highlights the case of the founder of the Pennsylvania colony, William Pen who used his associates Gabriel Thomas to advertise positions for labourers in the new colony back in England. One of Thomas’ pamphlets read; Poor people (both men and women) of all kinds can here get three times the wages for their labour get can in England or Wales….labouring men, women and children of England, wandering up and down looking for employment, here need not idle for a moment…here there are no beggars…jealousies among men here are rare…what I have delivered….is indisputably true, I was an eyewitness to it all (Mierau, p. 7). The Australian history of advertising prior to the 1950’s is very unclear. Literature on advertising in Australia basically dwells Australia developing its own culture and a sense of identity that could be utilised by marketers. Basically, advertising in Australia is largely studied on how it has shaped the Australian culture rather than how it has developed from ancient times (Crawford 2008). The author cites the Advertisement News which in 1980 sad that “Australia’s advertising past is a dim, dark secret” (Crawford p. 1). The industry has not acknowledged its past hence little literature on the early advertising trends. Anne Combs also studied the history of advertising in Australia and discovered that the industry was ambivalent to its past and that its history is potentially problematic pursuit. Combs argues that this is because advertising is far from reality and is just a way of creating idealised images in the market. Any form of history would thus be required to address the facts which might entail some negatives elements which are screened out by marketers (Crawford 2008). In this regard, the history of advertising in Australia is best recorded from 1900 onwards and in most cases takes the form of individual advertisers and firms rather than the entire industry. The Australian advertising industry is run by agencies that are slaves to their clients. Agents happen to be the creative geniuses that advice and marketers on ways of appealing to the market, but they have no control over the situation. Bryce Courtenay likens the advertising industry to commercial sex. He says Advertising men are whores- always have been, always will be. We are sycophants, we are servants to people who know less than us, we are obliged to do as we are told, and we invariably back down in a fight- all in the name of keeping the account. The client holds the ultimate…’if you don’t do as I say, I will fire you’… you can be a highly creative whore, but basically that’s the business you’re in and you have to accept that (Crawford, p. 3) Technology has forced marketers to change their marketing tactics. The invention of the internet revolutionalised communication and advertising too. As newspapers sales continue to dwindle, and the number of internet users continue to grow, marketers have matched the shift in numbers and taken up online advertising more seriously. Australia has not been left behind. What is advertising strategy? Same way as establishing a business venture, advertising has to be planed beforehand. This is usually what results in an advertising strategy. White and Woods (1997) define advertising strategy as the component of one’s creative approach that provides the focus for the advertising process by defining the market, the product, the promise, the support and the tone it will communicate. To develop a working advertising strategy requires immense creativity for the business. This brings in the contribution of the marketing department in organizations in terms of market research. They have to combine all the consumer tastes preferences, legal requirements, demographics, competition trends etc in developing an effective adverting strategy. The presentation of an advertising campaign or an advertisement has to be combined well to attain its desired purpose. In modern times, most organisations and individuals combine both images and words to conjure the desired effect in the image. This need brings up a working relationship between graphic design and advertising. By definition, graphic design is the application of art and communication skills to the needs of a business or industry. As aforementioned, the needs of an industry are guided by market needs. This revolves back right to the need of a business understanding its market needs, culture and social lives which is captured through the art and the message in the advertisement. Modern technology has gravitated design from paper, canvas and stone to include computer screens, so has advertising strategies. The discovery and development of the internet has popularised online advertising as more and more people use computers, mobile phones and other hand held gadgets that can access the internet. Graphic designers have also become involved in developing graphic designs of websites in collaboration with website developers. Such changes in the market and technology impact heavily on the advertising strategy used by marketers. The history of graphic design Graphic design is often said to be as old as man himself. There is evidence of aboriginal art in Kakadu National Park. Other forms of graphics design and art have been found in archaeological sites around the world. The main use of such designs was decoration and communication. In ancient manuscripts, graphic art was used for illustration purposes. In the last few decades, the use of graphic design has moved beyond the illustration and ornamental purposes. Currently, graphic design is used in designing of various objects and items ranging from artwork to items and gadgets. In the advertising field, graphic design is used in designing products, packaging and even developing product and company logos. The interaction between graphic design and advertising runs deep. The most visible link between these two fields is the development of working advertisements in terms of pamphlets, billboards, posters and banners. However, graphic designers also incorporate other elements that are helpful to markets. Given that graphic designers are more oriented to arts than marketers, they thus help marketers in capturing the social and cultural aspects of their target market though designs. Contributors in graphic design Stephen Banham is one of Australia’s iconic graphic designers. He is accredited with developing a number of typographies in collaboration with other top graphic designers such as Wendy Ellerton. He is also the founder of the firm Letterbox, a typographic studio based in Melbourne. Although many plaudits say that the graphic design field in Australia is not well documented or little literature exists about it, Banham is one of the men who pioneered literature on graphic design through his Qwerty series of papers between 1991 and 1995. He also produced another series of works, Ampersand which dwelled on the significance of the social context in the design process. Later on, he produced other numerous works most notable being the publication of the Obliques such as the Orbit Oblique (2008) and Utopia Oblique (2009). His contribution in typography and graphic has immensely benefited the advertising world as the concept of capturing of the attention of the public gains prominence in the marketing world. Penny Bowring is another iconic figure in the graphic design field in Australia. He has been involved in a number of advertising projects in and out of Australia. Through the company, Fix Communications which he founded, he has managed to render his services to companies such as Google and meme which have curried successful advertising campaigns. Niels Oeltjen, through originally from German and often described as a multidisciplinary visual artist is another great contributor to graphic design in Australia. He is one of the featured graphic designers in the Thames & Hudson’s and Melbourne Street Studio book project. This project displays some of Melbourne’s best graffiti. Some of his most celebrated designs are the Poketo project where he was involved in designing wallets and handbags for designer names in Australia. He is also involved in publishing, exhibitions, apparel, and murals. References Crawford, R. (2008). But Wait, There's More!: A History of Australian Advertising, 1900-2000 Melbourne: Melbourne University Publishing, Fletcher, W. (2010). Advertising: A Very Short Introduction. London: Oxford University Press Mierau, C. (2000). Accept no substitutes!: the history of American advertising. New York: Twenty-First Century Books Niels Oeltjen, Retrieved online from, http://www.nails.net.au/ Poynor, R. (2001). Look inward: graphic design in Australia. Is Australia’s global cultural impact reflected in its graphic design? Retrieved online from, http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature.php?id=77&fid=440 Poynor, R. (2001). “Interview with Melbourne designer Stephen Banham” Eye Magazine. Retrieved online from, http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature.php?id=77&fid=442 Saren, M. et al (2007). Critical marketing: defining the field. Sydney: Elsevier Stephen Banham. Retrieved online from, http://stephen-banham.co.tv/ White, S. and Woods, J. (1997). Do-It-Yourself Advertising: Create Great Ads, Promotions, Direct Mail, and Marketing Strategies That Will Send Your Sales Soaring. London: Adams Media Read More

Communication according to Fletcher (2010) is the process of passing information from the source/sender to the recipient. Communication may take place inform of images words or a combination of both. However, communication is only successful if it reaches its target. The third key term in defining advertisement is ‘intended.’ This indicates that any form of communication must have a message. Advertisement as a form of marketing communication must carry with it a message. However, how the target interpret the message the might be different form what the marketer had planned.

As such, advertisers must use their targets reasoning in drafting the message in advertising in order to match the interpretation of the target with the intended message. Nonetheless, the success of the message does not validate its being advertisement but rather the intention by the marketer. The fourth important term is ‘inform and/or persuade.’ These terms have led to the development to two common types of advertisements; informative advertising and persuasive advertising. Informative advertising is favoured by critics as opposed to persuasive advertising.

Informative advertisements is marketing communication that gives facts about the product being marketed and the consumer is given a chance to make an informed decision on whether to consumer or not on the other hand, persuasive advertisement dwells on convincing the consumer to consume a certain good or service not based on facts but on the marketers conviction of the benefits of consuming such. However, in practice, it is hard to differentiate the two except for where the law comes in Fletcher (2010).

A good example is a number of laws on alcohol advertisement in a number of countries that ban persuasive advertisements. History of advertising The history of western advertising dates back to the 1630s, when Frenchman Théophraste Renaudot placed the first advertising notes in La Gazette de France (Mierau 2000). In Australia, advertising was first reported through the print media, the Sydney Gazette which started publication in 1803. New agencies were responsible for selling advertising space on magazines and newspaper.

However, with time, agents came along who performed the role of news agencies. Gordon & Gotch was one of the agencies in operation in the 1850’s. In Britain, advertising was also reported at the same time though through a different route. Between 1630 and 1800, over five and half million people had migrated from Europe to America owing to the persuasion about the good life in amerce. Mierau (2000) says this was the first evidence of advertisements. Although there were no paid advertisements, the accomplishment of the communication was evident.

She says that immigrants who had been in America used their personal accounts and experiences to attract other people. She highlights the case of the founder of the Pennsylvania colony, William Pen who used his associates Gabriel Thomas to advertise positions for labourers in the new colony back in England. One of Thomas’ pamphlets read; Poor people (both men and women) of all kinds can here get three times the wages for their labour get can in England or Wales….labouring men, women and children of England, wandering up and down looking for employment, here need not idle for a moment…here there are no beggars…jealousies among men here are rare…what I have delivered….

is indisputably true, I was an eyewitness to it all (Mierau, p. 7). The Australian history of advertising prior to the 1950’s is very unclear. Literature on advertising in Australia basically dwells Australia developing its own culture and a sense of identity that could be utilised by marketers. Basically, advertising in Australia is largely studied on how it has shaped the Australian culture rather than how it has developed from ancient times (Crawford 2008). The author cites the Advertisement News which in 1980 sad that “Australia’s advertising past is a dim, dark secret” (Crawford p. 1).

Read More