Theory to Practice Analysis in the Advertising Industry - Report Example

Running head: THEORY TO PRACTICE REPORT Theory to Practice Report [Writer’s name] [Institution’s name] Theory to Practice Report Introduction Advertisers have learnt how to use persuasion to sell their products, they now have storehouse of knowledge regarding such methods. This knowledge helps them in maintaining their market. This paper consists of interviews of two practitioners in advertising industry. One is from the Public sector and the other from private sector. Both shall answer the respective questions asked by the interviewer regarding persuasion and consumer attitudes. The analysis section of the paper shall highlight issues discussed in the given interview (appendix) Analysis The analysis of the interview highlights the following points: Problem Areas Which Were Common In Both Interviews both Jennifer and Rebecca’s indentified the same problem areas and they are as under: The advertising programs used by some physicians offering cosmetic surgery procedures have been criticized because of overly optimistic and highly persuasive copy. Headlines such as "There is always a distance between ideal . . . and reality. Don't dream it . . . be it!" imply fantastic results but fail to provide information about potential health hazards. Testimony of cosmetic surgery "victims" adds anecdotal support to the criticisms. Yet, in a National Research Corporation study, nearly 40% of the women surveyed reported that advertising was their key source of information when they were seeking special services (Jensen 1987). Though consumers feel generally positive about advertising by professionals, information, not persuasion, is the desired message content from such advertising (Hite and Bellizzi 1986). As per Rebecca said in the interview: “To catch the audience, after the surgery is over, there must be that last catching phrase that “Before I wasn’t comfortable with my breasts, but now, they look gorgeous”. This phrase in itself will make another spend enough cash to have their breasts enhanced for sexiness.” Where as Jennifer said something similar: “Some of these shows have contributed a lot what we see going on today. The fashion that are coming up plastic surgeries gone bad, the want for women to have certain body sizes, the crave to have that lighter skin tone and a smoother one for that matter and many other changes coming with the generation today” The lack of peer review was the second key problem noted in the congressional hearings. Office settings commonly are used for cosmetic surgery procedures. A major problem with office-based operations is that the surgeon does not undergo peer evaluation as do doctors operating in hospital settings. At the heart of this issue is the consumer's safety and the quality of the cosmetic surgery services. Though quality is such an elusive construct that its definition and meaning are in the eyes of the beholders, the emerging view in both the services and tangible products areas is that quality can and ultimately will be evaluated by the consumer (cf. Bopp 1990; Brown and Swartz 1989; Gallagher 1989; Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1985; Swartz and Brown 1989; Woodside, Frey, and Daly 1989). As today's health care consumer is increasingly becoming a "value shopper," providers of services must go beyond their own preconceived definitions of quality and understand consumers' perceptions of quality (Green 1988). Consumers' Quality Perceptions In the interviews of both professionals both agreed on the issue that consumers tend to perceive quality according to the way it is marketed. It may be said that several categories of product and service attributes that consumers use to form quality perceptions (cf. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1985; Zeirhaml 1981). The most difficult to assess are "credence" properties (e.g., competence and security). Physician services have certain attributes that the average consumer may not be able to evaluate, even after the service experience. Another category is "experience" properties (e.g., courtesy, access, responsiveness, and communication). Services marketing theory suggests that most services have few "search" properties (e.g., tangible aspects such as physical facilities, appearance of personnel, tools, and equipment, and credibility in terms of name reputation and the degree of hard sell involved in interactions with the customer) that can be evaluated in advance. However, services (particularly professional services such as cosmetic surgery) are generally high in credence and experience properties. As Rebecca said in the interview: “Such adverts do not show the political implications that led to the situation being the way it is. They do not analyze the problem from the beginning to make us understand how it came to be. We are left to our imagination of what may have happened. For instance, those who go for extreme makeover because of faces damaged at birth do not analyze to us whether the problem is persistent in the community or not.” Where as Jennifer said something similar: “However, both sectors private and public make use of persuasion, and that is through advertisements. Advertisements may be through the radio and television and print media”. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) proposed that consumers rely heavily on experience properties of services because of the difficulty involved in assessing credence properties and the fact that only a few search properties are available. Consumers' Information Sources Both Rebecca and Jennifer agreed that consumers use a variety of personal and nonpersonal information sources. The literature indicates that marketing and mass media information are generally useful at the early stages of purchase decision processes. Personal information sources (i.e., word-of-mouth from family, friends, and others) exert influence at the latter stages of the decision process (Arndt 1968). In the case of purchasing expensive, complex, and especially high risk products or services, personal information sources may be much more critical in the decision process (Kotler 1984; Kuehl and Ford 1977; Mangold et al. 1987; Marketing News 1987; Zeithaml 1981). However, because personal information sources are uncontrollable (Kuehl and Ford 1977), nonpersonal communications such as mass media are vitally important for the service provider. As Jennifer said” to give the advertisement more authority, doctors would be invited to such shows to explain how the procedure takes place. This would give more convincing power to consumers who would see the security in cosmetic surgery. Drugs used for the same effect would also be advertised by doctors who recommended the substances to viewers and listeners”. Where as Rebecca said : First and foremost, the content must be well researched, and one must make sure that they have all their alternatives well exploited and with them at hand. Public communication requires confidence even at that time when things may seem like they may never work, you must be out to convince that they must work. In a health care topic area as important and dynamic as cosmetic surgery in the 1990s, an important step for service providers, service receivers, and the medical community as a whole is to increase our understanding of the consumers' information sources. In addition, consumers' evaluation of the quality of services received must be understood. Andreasen (1984) accentuated this need for patient/consumer information and feedback by going so far as to call for the removal of professional status for physicians (in general) who do not actively Solicit feedback from each and every patient in their care. Both even agreed that in an area of medical practice that has had a proliferation of certification boards, a rush to "sexy" advertising campaigns, and serious consumer concerns about the long-run impact of materials permanently placed in the patient's body, such a need is much more acute. That is the environment in which breast implant surgery is performed today. This study is an important first step in collecting information source and quality perception data from both the reconstructive and the cosmetic surgery segments of that medical specialty. Especially Jennifer agreed that , the physician was the patients' leading source of information. The relatively heavy reliance on magazines, particularly for the cosmetic group, makes the content of magazine advertisements particularly important. Service providers who push the balance too heavily in the direction of pure persuasion may be performing a great disservice for consumers, and are increasing the probability of closer regulation of magazine ads. We emphasize that, though cosmetic patients rated magazines as their second most often used source of information, they rated only radio lower in reliability. While both agreed that all media sources appear to be more important for the cosmetic group, whereas the physician plays a more significant role for the reconstructive group. Because the reconstructive patients were usually already under treatment by a specialist, the role of the physician would logically be more important for the selection of a cosmetic surgeon. Both also agreed that in cosmetic surgery, marketing researchers have a clear opportunity to provide meaningful guidance to service providers and public policy makers. Given the dynamic and often chaotic nature of that industry, the key parties involved need basic direction in understanding the nature of the cosmetic surgery purchase and evaluation process. Our findings help to establish a foundation for such guidance. Conclusion To conclude it may be noted that in both interviews a common prevailing trend was present. Both interviews explicitly agreed that persuasion played an important role in changing the consumers attitudes towards cosmetic surgery. Infact not only cosmetic surgery but towards every product. The interviews gave the same facts that if consumers are presided enough that they will turn into beauty queens then they start thinking that it is true. Thus, it may be said that persuasion is the key to successful public communication and advertising. References Andreasen, Alan R. (1984), "Consumer Satisfaction in Loose Monopolies: The Case of Medical Care," Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 2, 122-35. Arndt, Johan (1968), "Selective Processes in Word of Mouth,” Journal of Advertising Research, 8 (3), 19-22. Bopp, Kenneth D. (1990), "How Patients Evaluate the Quality of Ambulatory Medical Encounters: A Marketing Perspective," Journal of Health Care Marketing, 10 (March), 6-15. Brown, Stephen W. and Teresa A. Swartz (1989), "A Gap Analysis of Professional Service Quality," Journal of Marketing, 53 (Spring), 92-8. for Future Research," Journal of Marketing, 49 (Fall), 41-50. Gallagher, Jack (1989), "Invalid Patient Surveys: Not a Bargain at Any Price," Journal of Health Care Marketing, 9 (March), 69-71. Green, Suzanne S. (1988), "The Key Trends in Health Care," Journal of Advertising Research, 28 (August-September), RC2-4. Hite, Robert E. and Joseph A. Bellizzi (1986), "Consumers' Attitudes Toward Accountants, Lawyers, and Physicians With Respect to Advertising Professional Services," Journal of Advertising Research, 26 (June-July), 45-54. Jensen, Joyce (1987), "Advertising Plays a Key Role in Making Women Aware of Special Services," Modern Healthcare, 16 (August), 66, 70. Kotler, Philip (1984), Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Kuehl, Philip G. and Gary T. Ford (1977), "The Promotion of Medical and Legal Services: An Experimental Study," in Contemporary Marketing Thought: 1977 Educators' Proceedings, Barnett A. Greenberg and Danny N. Bellenger, eds. Chicago: American Marketing Association, 39-44. Mangold, W. Glynn, Robert L. Berl, Louis Pol, and C. L. Abercrombie (1987), "An Analysis of Consumer Reliance on Personal and Nonpersonal Sources of Professional Service Information," Journal of Professional Services Marketing, 2 (Spring), 9-29. Marketing News (1987), "Referrals Top Ads as Influence o Patients' Doctor Selections" (January 30), 22. Parasuraman, A., Valarie A. Zeithaml, and Leonard L. Berry (1985), Swartz, Teresa A. and Stephen W. Brown (1989), "Consumer and Provider Expectations and Experiences in Evaluating Professional Service Quality," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 17 (Spring), 189-95 Woodside, Arch G., Lisa L. Frey, and Robert T. Daly (1989), "Linking Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intention," Journal of Health Care Marketing, 9 (December), 5-17. Zeithaml, Valarie A. (1981), "How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ Between Goods and Services," in Marketing of Services, J. Donnelly and W. George, eds. Chicago: American Marketing Association, 18690. Appendix Interviews Interview of Practitioners in Advertising Industry from Private Sector Jennifer Sheahan Facebook Advertising & Marketing Professional Melbourne Area, Australia Interviewer: Hello, Jennifer it’s a pleasure to have you here. Seeing your expertise in the field of adverting we called you here to shed some light on an extremely important topic regarding your field. Jennifer Sheahan.: It is my pleasure to be here. I would certainly be happy to help in any possible way I can. Interviewer: In the art of persuasion, you play around with the psychology of its customers so that they end up buying that product. In the context of your field of advertising i.e. cosmetic surgery, I want to ask you how true is this when it comes to cosmetic surgery? Jennifer Sheahan: yes this is true, but mostly in the public sector Professional marketers take this advantage to make their products public, may they be good or bad. However, both sectors private and public make use of persuasion, and that is through advertisements. Advertisements may be through the radio and television and print media. Interviewer: How did the public come to know of it and find it interesting? Jennifer Sheahan: To bring cosmetic surgery to the limelight completely, advertisers and other companies used the famous shows, e.g. “The Oprah Show” to show how ladies have benefitted from the whole thing. This would attract a large audience (mostly ladies), who would wish to have such desired bodies or faces. To give the advertisement more authority, doctors would be invited to such shows to explain how the procedure takes place. This would give more convincing power to consumers who would see the security in cosmetic surgery. Drugs used for the same effect would also be advertised by doctors who recommended the substances to viewers and listeners. Infact when it comes to health care mostly doctors are used for the task of persuading customers that the product is safe. Interviewer: how do you select a target market in which you can use tour persuasion methods easily? Jennifer Sheahan: In our case here, selection of the audience is conducted by the marketer so that the communicator does not feed the wrong information to the right people. Men will not bother so much on how their faces and looks can be changed, but on the other hand women know that looks are everything. This is the target audience. The communicator must be a person of character who the audience can believe in and concentrate on what he says. Thus, even the communicator has to be carefully selected. Interviewer: what is the intention behind such a method? Jennifer Sheahan: The intention of this is to create a basis of discussion and debate amongst friends and any other audience of the program. The credibility of the communicator is paramount and in these programs, cosmetologists and other professional beauty therapists are invited to carry out the process. This makes the debate hotter to the extent that other TV shows spring up to discuss topics on the same, this time round, they invite a finalist of a successful operation that changes his/her looks. Interviewer : Do these shows contribute to anything which is happening around us? Jennifer Sheahan: Some of these shows have contributed a lot what we see going on today. The fashion that are coming up plastic surgeries gone bad, the want for women to have certain body sizes, the crave to have that lighter skin tone and a smoother one for that matter and many other changes coming with the generation today. Like we noted earlier, in persuasion, how the message I conveyed is of extreme importance. Interviewer: What is the impact of such shows to their audience? Jennifer Sheahan: For instance in the world, every girl wants to have the body and looks of Tyra Banks. But whatever they do in the end, in order to maintain such bodies is sometimes very risky. Peter Christenson and Maria Ivancin (2006) note that some commentators show a lot of concern about the impact of such shows. Some assert that, the fight to being attractive and sexy has led to eating disorders among adolescent girls. Interviewer: Is there any wrong out come for the consumers? Jennifer Sheahan: There is always one thing worth noting, that in all these adverts, and all these shows, the benefits always out-way the risks and therefore there is no any wrong outcome. The reason behind this is that, the advert must bring out the emotion in you so that you feel for the patient in question. At that time, you always wish that the surgery goes as planned to save the patient. For sure the patient is saved. Occasionally, one patient may die though on rare occasions, but the successful ones must always out-way the failures. Interviewer: Thank You, Jennifer Sheahan taking out your time and sharing your thoughts with us regarding persuasion and advertising in cosmetic surgery. Jennifer Sheahan: the pleasure is all mine, I am happy I could be of some help in clarifying the concept of persuasion and advertising in cosmetic surgery. Interview of Practitioners In Advertising Industry From Public Sector Rebecca Wilson Managing Director & Principal Consultant of Stretch Marketing, Professional Services Marketing Specialists and Trainers Brisbane Area, Australia Interviewer: Hello Rebecca , it’s a pleasure to have you here. Seeing your expertise in the field of adverting we called you here to shed some light on an extremely important topic regarding your field. Rebecca : It is my pleasure to be here. I would certainly be happy to help in any possible way I can. Interviewer: When it comes to persuasion what does public communication require? Rebecca : Public communication requires someone or an organization with the zeal to convince people. Persuasion can be likened to the act of being a good public speaker or an orator. First and foremost, the content must be well researched, and one must make sure that they have all their alternatives well exploited and with them at hand. Public communication requires confidence even at that time when things may seem like they may never work, you must be out to convince that they must work. Interviewer: Sometimes this persuasion may even have a dark side, is this true? Rebecca : Yes this is true, Persuasion withstanding; this art can sometimes have a dark side. This is because it may create false consciousness to the audience. Financial implications of cosmetic surgery are not shown or brought out. Such adverts do not show the political implications that led to the situation being the way it is. They do not analyze the problem from the beginning to make us understand how it came to be. We are left to our imagination of what may have happened. For instance, those who go for extreme makeover because of faces damaged at birth do not analyze to us whether the problem is persistent in the community or not. Financial implications to the families are not clear to us, whether the whole cost was cleared by the program or what. Interviewer: Can we say that communication plays an important role persuading consumers to under cosmetic surgery? Rebecca : Public communication has brought cosmetic surgery to the limelight and day to day debate. From the billboards those parents with teenage girls hate to look at, to the television shows that always come before the children have even fallen asleep. The society today is driven by not what they know is right, but what has been persuaded of them through the media. From we learn from cosmetic surgery, it is true that communication has a lot of power in the quest to convince and persuade the public on what is right or wrong, or even bring some misleading information about what is right. This may be immoral but it is apart of persuasion. Interviewer: In cases like cosmetic surgery don’t you thing health communication plays an important role? Rebecca : Health communication in most cases utilizes fear to get the attention of its audience. They scare their audience in order to change their attitude. In other advertisements, they use art of showing a nice time so that the potential audience can be enticed into buying the product. For instance, after the extreme makeover has been accomplished on a person, the successful patients are shown having a nice time while recuperating. Interviewer: Peter Christenson and Maria Ivancin (2006) in their journal note that in this show, many of the participants suffer from conditions that need serious attention but not all have these severe problems. Yes, we may say these conditions are treated on the show but in actual terms does the doctor deal majorly with these conditions? Rebecca : The answer is no. As noted from Peter and Maria’s article, the doctor majorly deals with modification of people’s looks. Peter and Maria note that models who have all it takes to own the title super model, visit the show just have maybe, their breasts enhanced. Even words and phrases play an important role in persuasion. To catch the audience, after the surgery is over, there must be that last catching phrase that “Before I wasn’t comfortable with my breasts, but now, they look gorgeous”. This phrase in itself will make another spend enough cash to have their breasts enhanced for sexiness. Interviewer: Thank You, Rebecca for taking out your time and sharing your thoughts with us regarding persuasion and advertising in cosmetic surgery. Rebecca: The pleasure is all mine, I am happy I could be of some help in clarifying the concept of persuasion and advertising in cosmetic surgery. Read More