An Analysis of Images in Marketing - Essay Example

Marketing By Advertisements Advertisements are a strong marketing tool that promotes the reputation of a brand (Yanez, 2012). The persuasive nature of advertisements makes it appealing to many consumers in a competitive market structure (Connolly, 2010). The classification of advertisements depends on the criteria of purpose, target audience, geographical positioning and medium (Upadhyaya, 2012). The target audience of an advertisement determine the group of persons that the advertisement intends to appeal (Espejo, 2010). The tastes and preferences of consumers vary from each market setting, and pleasing each one of these people is a task that advertisement performs (Yanez, 2012). An advertisement that attempts to persuade the various characters into buying a product is complex, vague and unsuccessful (MacRury, 2009). The Coca-Cola advertisement divides the markets into segments that represent the desires of the various consumer tastes (Espejo, 2010). Coca-Cola brands itself as a social drink, refreshment, a thirst quencher, a lifestyle and a remedy. This linguistic description of the Coca-Cola brand acts to neutralize the age and gender (Berger, 2011). The Coca- Cola advertisement of two women taking the Coca-Cola drink sets to appeal more women into believing that the drink is feminine (Senker & Foy, 2012). The advertisements that involve the women drinking Coca-Cola are conspicuous in the shopping arena that the picture visualizes the women (Powell, 2011). This is because shopping is a preserve for many women and this shopping setting in the picture sets to incorporate the role of homemakers in the social domain as the household managers (Woods, 2009). This targets the women’s hospitality as well. Such advertisements target the purchase of the brand (MacRury, 2009). The age of consumers in adverts explains the difference of tastes that come with the age difference of consumers (Burrell & Beard, 2010). The advert of a boy drinking Coca-Cola sets to distinguish the drink as child friendly refreshment. An informal linguistic technique imitates the personal attachment of the boy to the drink (Burrell & Beard, 2010). The mature people in the society also have advertisements that target their interests. The endorsement of Coca-Cola as a “happy pause for the youth of all ages” promotes the brand amongst the middle age society in the market (Burrell & Beard, 2010). This advert is in a setting that depicts the young, jovial and fun filled lifestyle of the younger generation (Wrede, 2010). COCA-COLA TV ADVERT TARGETING THE YOUTH The role of advertisement in capturing the attention of the target group goes a long way into persuading the groups to choose the brand over the other competing brands (Woods, 2009). The social role that Coca-Cola uses to target the audience influences the purchasing decision as well (MacRury, 2009). Other target groups that advertisers use include lifestyle, education, occupation and income. The Diet Coke is a sugar free brand of Coca-Cola that targets the diabetic women, as the Coke Zero is a similar brand that targets their diabetic male counterparts (Cortes, 2012). The advertisements of these two similar but diversified products are an indication that the major target group criterion that the Coca-Cola brand uses apart from the gender is the lifestyle (Cowan & Little, 2013). COCA-COLA ADVERT ON LIFESTYLE The Coca-Cola Company is a multinational brand that operates in a majority if not all of the countries in the world (Cortes, 2012). This network pushes the brand to set up an advertisement technique that focuses on the local, regional, national and international markets (Woods, 2009). The local advertisement technique of Coca-Cola begins at the retail level where the boards bearing the Coca-Cola name link particular retailers to the brand (Harper, 2013). Coca-Cola also releases coolants to retailers who stock their shops with Coca-Cola products as an incentive to them to fill the coolants with the drink (Tanne, 2013). COCA-COLA’S CONNECTION TO SPORTS (London 2012 Olympics) In America, the Coca-Cola brand associates itself with baseball, a game that is most popular in the country (Cowan & Little, 2013). In South Africa, it links with rugby and soccer in equal measures. This makes the consumers have the feeling of contribution in the activities of the nation by consuming Coca-Cola (Yanez, 2012). The brand connects with the people by sponsoring celebrities, sport events and special occasions that are popular within a country’s calendar (Maurer, 2011). COCA-COLA’S CELEBRITY ADVERTISEMENT (Beyoncé) Media plays a huge role in geographical advertisements (Ehling, 2013). These modernized techniques enable Coca-Cola to identify the popular media stations that is conversant to a people around a specific area. In international advertisement, the media plays a role in feeding people with news around the world as the trend of public involvement in world happenings is on the rise (Maurer, 2011). Coca-Cola takes advantage of the curious nature of people to influence the lifestyles of consumers. It promotes the product and the lifestyle culture of the origin of the brand (Uhler, Meta & Wong, 2013). The medium of advertisement is a criterion that explains the means involved in the process of advertising a product (Berger, 2011). This medium is important in reaching out to a variety of consumers. The mediums most frequently used include the broadcast media, which includes the radio and television (Wrede, 2010). The print media of magazines and newspapers capture the interests of readers and still picture lovers (Tanne, 2013). The use of outdoor media such as posters and billboards is common in settings where some people do not have access or the time to view the most common media of advertisement. The internet is the modern and rapidly growing medium of advertisement today (Ehling, 2013). COCA-COLA BILLBOARD ADVERTISING The choice of the advertisement media comes with a package of advantages and properties that make it critical for the advertiser. The costs of advertising differ depending on the media chosen (Powell, 2011). The television, for instance is a great advertisement medium that sows the practicality of a product. However, it is costly and the viewers have no authority to determine the pace of the advert, neither are they aware of the time at which the advertisement is broadcasted (Upadhyaya, 2012). Print advertisement is credited for the ability of the reader to set the pace at which he/she reads the advert (Cowan & Little, 2013). The TV and print media work together in perfection. Prominent advertisers use the TV to highlight a product before incorporating the print media to explain the technical side of the product (Kangmao, 2014). Coca-Cola uses this technique to instil a picture of the product in the minds of consumers. The corporation of catchy melodies in the trademark Coca-Cola TV advertisements cannot be captured in the print media (Senker & Foy, 2012). Print media is important for the Coca-Cola advertisement as the flyers that the company makes it affordable to blend with the TV advertisements (Upadhyaya, 2012). Print media is portable and enables the reader to get the information from any physical point (Kangmao, 2014). It enables the reader to have a permanent copy of the product, and read it at his/her pace and time. Coca-Cola uses the modern day creativity to fulfil the role of print media across the target groups of the beverage (Connolly, 2010). COCA-COLA ONLINE MARKETING The purpose of advertisement depicts the objectives of the advertiser (Yeung & Mok, 2006). The purposes of Coca-Cola advertisements range from products, commercial and awareness. The product advertisement aims at promoting the product (Kangmao, 2014). These adverts persuade target groups to purchase the product courtesy of the benefits of the products. The non-product advertising sells the ideas that form the conception of a product (Senker & Foy, 2012). The Coca-Cola Company’s “Refresh the World” and ‘Inspire moments of happiness” campaigns sells the brand not as a profit venture but as a promoter of togetherness, unity and friendship. This idea sets out to unite the diverse people round the world by fostering friendship (Powell, 2011).The advert below illustrates how Coca-Cola inspires friendship around the world. COCA-COLA’S “OPEN HAPPINESS” ADVERT nu Ideas are shared further in the picture of Martin Luther King playing around with his daughter in a Coca-Cola advertisement accompanied by the words “Let’s do it for our children. Let’s show them what a great world this can be when we join hands and live his dream of love and harmony” (Yeung & Mok, 2006). The use of the American icon to reflect the desired ideas of the society helps to target the oppressed in the society by uniting them with the people who share the ideas of the great American historical figure (Harper, 2013). The Coca-Cola Company uses advertisement to unite the entire world by operating in the various continents (Tanne, 2013). Being a major sponsor of the 2014 World Cup held in Brazil, Coca-Cola included people from the different races in the globe in an advert that visualized the idea that all humans are equal despite their racial background (Espejo, 2010). Advertisement remains to be a sensitive component to the success of a company that strives to achieve the goals associated with social, economic, religious and political success (Connolly, 2010). Coca-Cola Company uses advertisement to remain relevant in the ever-changing international market (Wrede, 2010). COCA-COLA AGAINST RACISM References Berger, A. (2011). Ads, fads, and consumer culture. 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London: Routledge. Maurer, J. (2011). Relationships between foreign subsidiaries. Wiesbaden: Gabler Verlag. Powell, L. (2011). Trends in the Nutritional Content of Television Food Advertisements Seen by Children in the United States. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 165(12), p.1078. Senker, C. and Foy, D. (2012). Coca Cola. London: Wayland. Tanne, J. (2013). Coca-Cola launches antiobesity advertisements. BMJ, 346(jan23 2), pp.f494-f494. Uhler, D., Mehta, K. and Wong, J. (2013). Mobile computing, applications, and services. Berlin: Springer. Upadhyaya, M. (2012). Media planning - the impact of tv advertisements on children. Saarbrücken: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. Woods, M. (2009). The new woman in print and pictures. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. Wrede, M. (2010). Multinational capital structure and tax competition. Munich: CESifo. Yanez, M. (2012). Types of Advertising. Delhi: White Word Publications. Yeung, G. and Mok, V. (2006). Regional Monopoly and Interregional and Intraregional Competition: The Parallel Trade in Coca-Cola Between Shanghai and Hangzhou in China. Economic Geography, 82(1), pp.89-109. Read More