Marketing Communications Campaign (Advertisement) for a Masters Degree - Essay Example

A Critical Evaluation of an Artefact of Marketing Communications Campaign (Advertisement) for a Master’s Degree This advert is for a Masters of Arts (History) program at Oxford Brookes University. This marketing tool is made simply and bears the information of the program, the contacts that one can use to get more information about the program, the University offering the program, further information on how one can get to know about the program and an eye catching statement (Unlock the past with a master’s degree). All these aspects make the advert a powerful tool of communicating to potential students. Several aspects outstand about this advert, which makes it attract the eye of the person that sees it. Firstly, the poster is very clear; the details that are given are straightforward. No exaggerations are made, the information is very categorical and features exactly what potential learner may want to know. Its clarity also arouses interest since the interested person would like to call and know more; otherwise, uninterested parties are kept away easily. Another characteristic of the advert is that it takes a very simplistic approach; the design is simple while the information provided takes a narrow scope but it provides the platform in which an interested person may go to seek for more information. However, the simplistic approach has made them leave some of the vital information that could be more attractive or giving more directions to the user, for example, the University website. If this detail is added the advert can most likely capture a better attention and the ease of getting further information enhanced. Adverts are prone to zipping and zapping by the consumers. Research has indicated that zipping and zapping have the ability to interfere with the processing of information presented in an advert this is because of it is strongly linked to the information processing of the human brain. Recommendations made towards the elimination of this advertising impediment are to reduce the airing period or otherwise increase the speed of the presentation when airing through the television (Stout and Burda 1989). In this advert, the brevity of information provided gives it the perfect presentation that will already feed the consumer before the thought of zipping or zapping gets into their mind. Well, despite the effects of these two aspects the viewer will already have the information with them. This makes it very easy to retrieve the information without much strain. The ease is brought about by the fact that the viewer is likely to capture the name of the institution as well as the program hence they can seek the information from the internet when they are in need of the program information. The intention of every advertiser is to have an effective advertisement. The question that arises is the effectiveness of the Oxford Brooks advert. The concern is that, by posting the advert how many people will view it, and actually be compelled to enroll for the program. Shankar (1999), established two main relationships that are very important in advertising imbroglio which are the relationship between the consumer and advertising, as well as that between the advertising agency and the client. Therefore, the beliefs held by the consumers, the advertising agency as well as the client helps shape the effectiveness of a given advert. In our case, the advert can be more effective if it targets a given section of the population. The students that are finishing their undergraduate programs acts as the most fertile market that can be targeted. Alternatively, customer targeting can be done through professional networks as well as professional bodies. Online advertising attracts international students since the availability of the advert in the internet may create an impression that Oxford Brookes University is the best place to ‘unlock the past’. However, the dynamics of advertising are not straightforward; there needs to be a capitalization on the opportunities available as well as building of relationships. In addition, the reputation of the institution makes it more acceptable and advertisement will act as a reminder that the university offers the program. The dynamics of advertising have changed hence targeting the customers is not any easy. To cope with these challenge marketers have intensified mechanisms of dealing with these challenges. Zipping and zapping have been challenges in television adverts. To prevent these happenings and many others that reduce the impact of advertising, new strategies are being implemented. Social media and internet marketing have been some of the strategies (Soberman 2005). The use of pop-up messages in the internet has created an opportunity whereby an interested party can easily click on the link and be able to get the information about the advert. For instance, the Oxford Brookes University advert can be very effective as a pop-up because it provides very concise information that can easily be trusted at the first sight. In addition, use of messages that are able to move down as you scroll down a page in the internet can arouse curiosity to have a second and a better look. If the person is interested, they will easily click and follow the link hence they will be able to make a decision based on the information they find in the link. This means that the information provided in the sites that are linked with an advert should be rich with information. In our case, the advert can be more rich and able to attract the attention of a number of people online if it has a link. The price is a very important aspect according to the customer. Quoting the price can be tricky in an advert unless the advert features an offer in price. The Oxford Brookes advert lacks any information that is related to the cost of the Masters in arts (history) program. Monroe (n.d) draws a thick line between the price aware customers as well as the price conscious ones. He points out that the price conscious customers are guided by price or price differentials in order to make purchases. On the other hand, the price aware buyers do not use the price as the sole reason for making the purchase. Therefore, there is need to take into consideration the needs of all these buyers. In order to do this effectively, the advert Oxford Brookes University advert under evaluation left out any aspect that is suggestive of their price hence it is able capture the attention of the wide scope of customers. The simplicity of the advert and the directions given therein allows a prospective student to engage in seeking further information in order to get the fees paid and probably any exemptions thereof. If the institution offered scholarships, it would be adequate to post it in this advert because it will attract more people some who may end up paying for enrolling for the program despite their initial motivation of getting a scholarship. Several dynamics accompany price that may affect the advert. Research has indicated that buyers may not be aware about the price, it is also likely that they may not obtain something because it is cheap while the purchase of less at high price is not always the case (Monroe n.d). This means that what is required of Oxford Brookes University is to create awareness about the Master’s program and then the price issue will come later when people are already aware of the product. The content of an advert should be capable of achieving certain requirements. Firstly, the purpose should be very clear, just as provided in the Oxford Brookes University advert, the purposes is well set out. The intention is to attract prospective students to the program, apart from this objective there is no other message that the advert is sending. Secondly, the advert depicts a lot of relevance and significance. All the words used in the advert are carefully considered to align with the main message that is being sent, this has helped the advert have just one message that it is sending. Thirdly, the organization of the content is spectacular, on the top most part is a message that captures the attention of the reader, and then the other information follows suit in a very precise and articulate manner. Finally, the content is very essential since it helps the potential students with information about the program as well as further directions. However, the content lacks one significant thing, the link that can direct the consumer to get more information from the internet. The design and the layout are key components of an advert that should be keenly considered. First, the advert should have a good alignment. This advert is well aligned, on one side, there is a picture, and on the other side, it is the information about the program. The alignment of the content outstands; boldly spelt and taking the largest portion of the advert than any other content is the statement “Unlock the past with a master’s degree.” This statement seeks the attention of the viewer while informing them what the advert is all about. On its side is the name of the university and below it the name of the program. Further details on how to contact the institution are given on the bottom most part of the advert including an upcoming ‘postgraduate fair’ that can shed more light on the program. Secondly, the advert has consistent information that complements each other. It has tried as much as possible to answer potential questions while maintaining brevity and conciseness. Thirdly, the colors are very important in an advert (Gronhaug, Kvitastein and Gronmo 1991) . For this, there appears to be a mix-up of unrelated colors; the green and blue colors do not rhyme hence an improvement on the color schemes could have made the advert better in the eyes of the viewer. The graphics applied in an advert can be descriptive and still create an appealing effect on the eyes of the consumer. The graphics can communicate a message from a distance even before reading the words in an advert. The choice of photographs is one major aspect that makes the advert look impressive and be able to deliver a message. In the case scenario of the Oxford Brookes advert, there is much inconsistency in the choice of the applied images. The images of flowers is not descriptive of the essence of the advert, the advertiser could have considered something like a gown, a book, a pen or something else related to academics. Therefore, this choice does not deliver the message on the Master’s program. If it were for example master’s program in floriculture, then it would have been more sensible. Another image that is applied is the padlock; this has some meaning but it is misplaced. It could have been otherwise placed below the statement that mentions ‘unlocking the past.’ The choice of green color, white as well as the red one is impressive. However, the blue color makes the advert to look as if it has separate sections. The design that is adopted on the bottom art of the green section adds value to the advert. The font use is adequate; the alignment of the fonts has been well done while the advert as a simplistic approaches that presents the information without diverting the attention. The spatial arrangement of the information is concise and adequate spacing has been done. All these aspects present the first impression on the eyes of the viewer hence determining the ability to give it a second glance. The choice of media is an important parameter that should be considered before developing an advert. Depending on the target population as well as the amount available to be spent on advertising, it is important to consider the media platform to use in order to have higher efficiency. In some cases, simultaneous use of various media platforms can be beneficial (Pilotta et al. n.d). The various means of advertising available today include television, online advertising, and use of billboards, radio, newspapers, and magazines. The Oxford Brookes University advert analyzed here has a specific target; this is the reason why they are giving the date of the trade fair despite the lack of the location. Therefore, the most appropriate strategy would be the use of billboards or a local television channel or both. This would increase the effectiveness of the advert by getting to reach precisely to the target population. In conclusion, an advert should be able to create the first impression to the consumers while delivering the message it was intended. In addition, it should also direct the consumer to a platform where they can seek further information. It is also important that the consumers should enjoy seeing the advert but it should be brief, concise, and descriptive in order to prevent zipping and zapping by the consumers. For efficiency the advertiser can consider use of diverse channels in order to increase the chances of reaching the target group. References Gronhaug, K., Kvitastein, O. and Gronmo, S 1991, Factors moderating advertising effectiveness and reflected in 333 tested advertisements, Journal of Advertising Research. Monroe, K. B n.d, Recall versus recognition as a measure of price awareness. Out of Home International 2013, Oxford Brookes Returns to Out of Home International. Retrieved from http://www.oohinternational.co.uk/out-of-home-international-advertising/out-of-home-advertising-updates/news-press-releases/oxford-brookes-returns-to-out-of-home-international-20130320/2967 Pilotta, J. J., et al n.d, Simultaneous media usage: A critical consumer orientation to media planning, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Vol 3, 3:285-292. Shankar, A 1999, Advertising’s imbroglio, Journal of Marketing Communications, 5; 1-15. Soberman, D 2005, The complexity of media planning today. Brand Management, Vol 12, No.6; 420-429. Stern, B.B 1996, Textual analysis in advertising research: Construction and deconstruction of meanings, Journal of Advertising, Vol 25, Issue 3. Stout, P. A and Burda, B. L 1989, Zipped commercials: Are they effective? Journal of Advertising, Vol 18, No.4; 23-32. Read More