Advertising Critique - Report Example

Report: Advertising Critique Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………3 Print Advertising……………...………………………………………………………………….3 Measuring Advertisement Effectiveness……………………………………………………......4 Testing Methods….............................................................................................................4 Theories & Models……………………….………………………………………………5 Advertisement Critique………………………………………………………………………….6 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………..…..11 Reference List…………………………………………………………………………………...12 Introduction One of the most important areas of marketing is advertising. It is used to increase sales for a company. A good advertisement informs the required target market about the particular product or idea and calls for action. Advertising is done in various forms and with the passage of time; marketers are coming with newer ways of advertising. Print advertising, remains the oldest and one of the most effective forms of advertising to date. In this paper, we discuss the various print advertising techniques and apply them to two different pair of advertisements. A detailed comparison is carried out based on the relevant theories and concepts. Print Advertising: Advertising that is carried out through any sort of print medium i.e. newspapers, magazines, flyers, posters etc is known as print advertising. It is a one form of advertising through which a marketer can promote its brands and services very effectively. Printed matter never goes out of fashion; it’s a consistent form of advertising and can be easily passed from one person to another. It’s easier to go through a particular advertisement time and again and one can also save it for future reference. Moreover, sometimes print ads take advantage over other ads by presenting a single picture which can influence the mind of a consumer more than anything else. They say, a picture speaks 1000 words, and this phenomenon can be very effectively be applied only in a print advertisement. When a dominant picture is present in an ad, it completely alters the cognitive activity of the consumer who is viewing it. (Edell & Staelin, 1983). Measuring Advertisement Effectiveness: Various methods and models are used to measure how effective an advertisement is. They can be classified into: Testing Methods: Researches carried out by various companies. Measuring effectiveness by the number of inquiries received for an advertisement. The sales figures related to the particular product. Copy-testing which means to pre-test an assignment to identify its good and bad points before it is officially released. Copy-testing gives a few guidelines to analyze an advertisement. They are: 1. A specific benefit should be offered. 2. The message should be conveyed in a simple and easy manner. Things that are hard to believe shouldn’t be included. 3. The consumer should be able to identify with the message of the advertisement. 4. Try to bring in a fresh and new concept; this will attract the customers more. 5. Emphasize on the distinctive factor i.e. the unique selling proposition of your brand. Theories & Models: Other than these functional methods, various models and theories are also applied to measure how effective an advertisement is. They are: AIDA Model of Advertising Effect: This is the first formal advertising model and has been a dominant model in marketing literature (Vakratsas & Ambler, 1999). This model has four factors: 1. Attention: First thing you need to do is capture the consumers’ attention towards you. Various physical elements are vital for this purpose. 2. Interest: Once the attention is captured, the ad should have elements that would keep the viewer interested. This means that in attracting attention, one should not forget that the ad should have such an idea that would hold the viewers interest. 3. Desire: Moreover, the ad should have such an idea that an instant desire to purchase that product is created. 4. Action: Attention captured, Interest generated and desire stimulated. All these should be such that the consumer wants to act on them as soon as possible and make the purchase. Another idea states that, the benefit should be the core element of your advertisement. The consumer should see the benefit that is being offered to them. The benefit can be presented and made more attractive in the following ways: 1. The benefit should be stated in simple terms, so that the customer can easily understand the benefit. Using creative techniques to present the benefit in a way that confuses the consumers will not work. 2. Place more emphasis on the product. Cute advertisements may attract you but if the product is not properly shown, the viewer will soon lose interest. 3. It is more effective to use a large space to highlight the benefit. 4. It is important to convey those benefits of the product which cannot be seen or felt but have been built over a period of time. Brand loyalty comes into play here and should be transmitted in the advertisement. Advertisement Critique Let us now compare the two pair of ads on the basis of the concepts discussed: Pair I – Advertisement No. 1(A): Main Message: The main message of this advertisement is the introduction of Nasal strips for relieving cold to be used in place of medicine. Target Market: The target market for this product is children. Persuasion Tactics: The tactics used in this advertisement are providing simple comparison through two pictures to get the message across. Moreover, introducing the strips as a replacement for bitter medicines is a great way to attract kids and even parents who find it very difficult to give their children syrups for cold relief. Advertisement No. 2(B): Main Message: The main message is the same product but for a different target market. Target Market: The target market for this product is adults. Persuasion Tactics: The persuasive tactics used in this one are emphasizing the benefits of the strips and a picture of someone looking very good is used. This picture, however, is very wrongly used as it does nothing to influence the consumer to buy this product. Comparison: When we look at both the advertisements, we would find that maybe the second one attracts more than the first one b showing the face of a beautiful lady. However, that face does nothing for promoting the product offering. Had it been a beauty product being offered, a beautiful, glowing face would have made more sense. So you look at the advertisement, you stop for a second, read it and move on. You might remember or not remember this product while making a purchase for a cold remedy. On the other hand, the first one shows a very nice comparison of pictures with colorful backgrounds. It definitely attracts you. But that’s not where it ends. The benefit of a nasal strip is simple so it goes one step forward to emphasize the unique factor rather than just the benefit. It shows how it can be used instead of medicines to provide relief. Children and kids both would be tempted alike. The first one has a very catchy tag-line too which would get your interest. While the other one gives you a headline which doesn’t connect with the picture. Moreover, it states stuff that makes no sense. What’s the point of stating that the medicine should be looked for in the cough and cold section?? Everyone especially adults have the common sense to know where they should look for medicines. Based on these factors, we see that the first advertisement gives a very effective message for a simple medicine while the second one spoils the simple message by putting no-sense stuff in the advertisement. Pair II – Advertisement No. 1(E): Main Message: The main message of the ad is the introduction of a new kind of Ziploc bag which can now stand by themselves so that things can be easily filled inside. Target Market: The target market of this ad is anyone who has the need of these kinds of bags. It does not specify that these bags are only for the use in the kitchen or for food-filling. It is a general item for a varied section of the market. Persuasion Tactics: The persuasion tactic used here is a big, cute photograph that covers the whole page of the ad. Although the Ziploc bag is standing upright, what’s filled inside the bag doesn’t show much about what’s new or more useful about the bag as compared to how it was before. The benefits are written in small text under the picture. By the picture, the customer may be attracted, and by the benefits stated, he may be interested, but the benefits are not emphasized in such a way that the customer would be tempted to purchase the product. Advertisement No.2 (F): Main Message: The main message of this ad is almost similar to the previous one. It also introduces a new Ziploc bag which would make filling easier as compared to the past versions. Target Market: The target market of this ad is a little specified because they show the filling of flour in the picture. This could be a little specific that it is an item for kitchen purposes to be purchased by women or men for grocery purposes only. However, other than the picture no such implication is given and it can be purchased by anyone who has the need for it. Persuasion Tactics: The persuasion tactic used here is a very effective one. They have emphasized the benefit of the bag with a nice, clear picture which would not only attract and interest the customer but create a desire to purchase it (action). They show the common problem that arises with filling stuff in Ziploc bags that is easily spilled. They then show the new bag which solves the problem. What one can explain in a lot of words is simply shown with the comparison of two pictures. They also emphasize the additional benefits below like the availability of a new size etc. Comparison: The look of the advertisement, the value it offers for its brand, and how informative and truthful the advertisement can be perceived are some important factors that influence buying behavior (Mehta, 2000). When we take a look at both of these print advertisements, we see that both have managed to achieve an attractive look which will hold the attention of the consumer. Both have offered the various benefits that their product has to offer and useful information is given. Both have covered their target market well, because the product is such that it has varied need and varied section of the market may need it. However, it is more used for kitchen purposes and it poses problems with products that can are spilled easily. If you have to fill it up with carrots for example, it won’t make much of a difference if it doesn’t stay upright. So, by showing the example of flour and by showing the comparison of what happens and how the problem is solved, it covers its target market well that women are going to buy it while doing grocery. Advertisement No. 2 is better than the first one. This is because both have used dominant pictures to present their product. But while one has used the cute and catchy approach, the other has used the picture in a very useful way to emphasize the benefit that the product is offering. The first one simply confuses the customer, while the second one presents its message in the simplest of manner. The second one shows that it identifies with the consumer by understanding and addressing their problem, while the second one poses that it has used an image just for the sake of using an image. One more point to notice is the headline of the advertisement. That’s the first thing the reader will see (McPheat, 2008). The second one shows a simple headline, yet one which will interest the reader. It shows the difference between what was Hard and made Easy. The benefit is strongly underlined here. While, in the first one, Headstand, does make you wonder what the advertisement is all about but does nothing to help the message of the advertisement. Considering all these factors the second print advertisement definitely impresses more and achieves its desired target of reaching all the four principles as described in the AIDA Model. Conclusion & Recommendations: Hence, we conclude that that out of the two pair of advertisements we compared, The first one (A) was better than the second one (B). The second one (F) was better than the first one (E). A and F were more successful in putting its message across to the customer, stating its benefits clearly and stimulate buying behavior. On the basis of this result, I would like to list a few recommendations: It’s nice to use creative and cute advertisements but not by compromising the main message and benefit of the product offering. Simple always works best, especially when you are offering a general product, whose message and benefit is simple and clear. Complicating that message will just create confusion. Reference List Kaiser, U. & Song, M (2009) Do media consumers really dislike advertising? An empirical assessment of the role of advertising in print media markets, International Journal of Industrial Organization, Vol 27, Issue 2, March, Pages 292-301. McPheat, S. (2008) 7 Proven Print Advertising Techniques [Internet] Available at: http://www.seanmcpheat.com/marketing/print-advertising/7-proven-print-advertising-techniques Sorce, P & Dewitz, A. (2007) The Case for Print Media Advertising in the Internet Age [Internet] Available at: https://ritdml.rit.edu/handle/1850/5075 Mehta, A. (2000) Advertising Attitudes and Advertising Effectiveness, Journal of Advertising Research, May-June. Vakratsas, D. & Ambler, T. (1999) How Advertising Works: What Do We Really Know? Journal of Marketing, Vol. 63, No.1, January, pp. 26-43. Edell, J.A. & Staelin, R. (1983) The Information Processing of Pictures in Print Advertisements, Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 10, June. Read More