Rick Poynor - Essay Example

Article Review: ‘Kapitaal Renders the scape as a Waking Dream of Signs and Symbols’ by Rick Poynor Introduction RickPoynor is a British writer, critic, lecturer and curator, specializing in design, media, photography and visual culture. Poynor’s article is a review of a film ‘Studio Smack’ by Thom Snels, Ton Meijdam, and Béla Zsigmond, which is about the number of advertisements people, are exposed to every day. The story is all about a city as seen with advertisement signs and symbols only. The article was published on 5th November 2006 on Eye magazine in London. The main point in the article is that people are surrounded by so many advertisements that are almost everywhere. There are advertisements on the streets, on magazines, newspapers, debit or credit cards, televisions and radio stations, wall, buses, train stations, and all sorts of media forms. With this amount of advertisements, people are almost immune to their intended effect (Poynor, 2006). This paper aims to demonstrate that when people see the advertisements repeatedly, they get used to them, and become disinterested. Some of them may see the advertisements and assume they were intended for them to buy the product. Consumers get irritated and may no longer want to look at the adverts. Other consumers are now used to the advertisements, that they no longer consider them important. Take an example of an ATM card that a consumer uses for various purposes. The adverts printed on the card, like the brand names and logos, are expected to remind the customer, and entice others. These prints in the cards are no longer recognized, and consumers generalize such cards as either debit or credit cards, without much consideration of the brands, companies and difference in services (Poynor, 2006). The aim of advertisement has lost meaning. This paper will show this through a description of the effect of too many advertisements that people are exposed to, as described in Poynor’s article. In order to show how the purpose of advertisement is lost, it is important to know the purpose of an advertisement. There are various purposes of advertisements. The common aim, however, is to inform the consumer about a service or a product, so that the consumer can purchase the product. This contributes to increased sales. Advertisements do more than just informing the consumer. Advertisement can serve as a means of convincing the consumer to buy the product, a means of reminding the consumer that the product or service still exists, and a way of showing off what the company has got, and educating the consumers about the product or service. Parameswaran (2004) indicates that advertisements are used to inform and educate the public about various issues. Depending on what the company intends to achieve with the advertisement, it will have specific strategies to reach the consumers. Take an example of a real estate organization advertising its new houses. Considering its competitors, the current market price, consumer behavior, and other characteristics that affect the delivery of the message to the intended audience, the company may come up with advertising though bill boards, television and radio stations, and posters. These are the common media, through which companies reach their audience (Parameswaran, 2004). The most important issue considered here is the message in the advertisement. Every advertisement has a message to deliver. According to Poynor, the current trend of advertisements may not be achieving their aims considering the number of advertisements made to the public. In the article review, Poynor points out that people are exposed to too many advertisements; of about 2000 or 3000 advertising messages every day. This is explained through a movie review; the ‘Kapitaal’. In the Kapitaal a walk in the city provides enough evidence (Poynor, 2006). There has been a rapid pace of innovations and advancements in the world of today causing a lot of modifications in almost everything. People’s lifestyles, standards of living, marketing and business strategies, and behavioral patterns have changed over time. In marketing, advertisements were known to consumers, and they were somewhat similar. The most powerful means of advertising were magazines, TV, newspapers, and radio. The trend of using these as a means of advertisement, however, has changed with new advertisement modes developed. Companies are gradually moving away from these modes to new modes of advertisements such as internet, posters, phone, and computer advertisements. In the current society, telecommunications and internet are the most successful means of advertisements. Companies are forced to be innovative in order to adapt to the changing trends of the society (Ultra Directory, 2009). This is the case as seen in the film ‘Kapitaal’. Overexposure leads to adverts wearing-out. This leads to individual’s disinterests, boredom, and decreased attention and preservation of the message (Batra, Kazmi & Batra, 2009). Remember the advertisements are meant to inform the consumer about certain issues. With a disinterested and bored party, such a message is not passed. Shields (2002), also indicates, in a study conducted to find out the effect of images in advertisement on people, that when there is over-exposure, the people distance themselves from the advertisements because they have become immunized. Some say that the advertisements do not influence them or change their life at all. This means that even if one sees the advertisements; they will not play a role in influencing his decisions to purchase a product or service. Some note that they already know what is in the advertisements, and so will not bother to have a look (Shields, 2002). Some advertising strategies encourage repetitive advertising. Such is the linear regression model which indicates that the more a company advertises, the more sales the company will make. Jank (2011) indicates that business sense should recognize that there is a point after which after which more advertisements will not be good. Such is the situation as described by the article. The point after which consumers have reached a saturation point, and more advertisements, add no value (Jank, 2011). In the film, with McDonald’s commercials replicating like viruses, overexposure is truly killing advertising and its effectiveness. An example of this advertisement can illustrate the current state of the effect of all advertisements. A company paying for its logos to be displayed in sporting events knows very well that exposure to these logos will be repeated as players, athletes, and cars go around the track. This exposure will build familiarity to a certain point, after which the consumer will experience wear out. This example perfectly represents all advertisements as seen on televisions, billboards, on buses, walls, buildings, magazines, and so on. There is a common routine of advertisements that consumers are used to, and have become disinterested in. It is perfectly outlined by the ‘Kapitaal’ film. The depiction of the adverts in white and every other non-graphic in black represents what the consumers see. They know where advertisements are placed. They have made a symbol out of the city’s advertisements. It means that even if an old advertisement were to be replaced by a new one, nobody to very few people would notice. They have been familiarized to a point where the symbols form part of their subconscious, and so they do not realize the amount of advertisement messages they encounter in one day. This has made it difficult to stand out and make the consumer recognize the adverts, and influence them. Poynor notes that, “we are harassed by every day” (Poynor, 2006). The consumers can no longer be persuaded. This realization means that there is need to change. In one advertisement or company advertisements, wear out can be dealt with by creating different variations on the same offering, or executions of the same message. Considering that people have passed the saturation point for different types and forms of advertisements, variations should be made on the number of advertisements that people are exposed to (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2008). Overexposure has its advantages and disadvantages. Overexposure may create boredom and disinterest to consumers when they have reached their saturation point, but repeated exposure still helps companies establish brand familiarity, company credibility, and be the first thought when the need for a product or service of a similar type arises. It, therefore, is still effective in increasing sales and passing the intended information. When people need trusted services or products, they will always look for the already known products hence its credibility. Repetitive adverts help enhance that. Overexposure also familiarizes people with the brand, considering its uniqueness from other brands, its services and qualities (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2008). Through the information they pass to the public, advertisements influence consumer behavior and decision making to purchase products. Since products are developed out of improved technology, creativity and innovation, the advertisements make people change alongside changes in the environment. Overexposure will make some consumers familiarize with the new technologies, considering them normal to their environment, hence easy acceptance of such new technology in the society (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2008). An example is the acceptance of Apple products. Through innovation, advertisement boundaries are extended to accommodate new medium. An example is the use of social media to advertise products like Coca cola did. Due to changes in the business environment, companies are forced to adapt to ensure their products are recognized and sold. Coca cola recognized the need for a new advertisement strategy in Australia. The Australian soft drink market was becoming competitive and Coca cola needed its brand extensions, and new products recognized. Since consumers were so much into social networking, Coca cola formulated a strategy that integrated social media. The strategy wanted people to reconnect with Australia. Since summer is always a major sales period for the company, the main aim of the strategy was to increase sales. A minor objective was to remind people about Coke again. To encourage a connection with the brand and to recognize Coke, the company made use of a common Australian practice; calling each other by the first name. It made use of emotional branding as a strategy and printed 150 common on Coca cola bottles, encouraging the people to share a coke. This was meant to remind them of the people around the, some of whom they may have lost touch with, and the people currently in their lives. It gave the people a reason to connect. The Australians liked the idea and more sales were made. Coca cola gave them a reason to connect. It is important to recognize the new trend in the consumer market of connecting with each other. They connect through social media networks such as Facebook, Linkeldin, Google+, yahoo, and so on. Coca cola made use of the idea of connecting to reach the people, and even made use of Facebook to actually connect with its customers. Notice the use of a new medium and using a new idea to reach the consumers (Marketing Magazine, 2014). As described above, overexposure leads to saturation of information making consumers oppressed, agitated, or bored with advertisements. It becomes a waste of money to advertise repetitively if consumers react this way. Overexposure makes it hard for companies to stand out and reach the consumers. If consumers are already used to the idea of seeing advertisements on televisions during commercial breaks, they may not pay much attention to any different advert that comes at that specific time. This makes it difficult to convince the consumer to have a look at the advertisement at that specific time. Since media forms, advertisement designs, and strategies are common, it forces companies to be extra creative and innovative to stand out (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2008). An example is as follows. If two cars from different brands use the same art direction in their advertisements, consumers may be confused. This is as seen on the Peugeot 308 (Peugeot 308 Advertisement) and Renault SCENIC XMOD / GMD advertisements (Renault SCENIC XMOD / GMD Advertisement). The current situation as described in the article is that there are too many advertisements for the consumer to absorb. The advertisements bear influential information depending on what the advertisers want the consumers to believe. Too much exposure to the advertisements changes the society’s intrinsic qualities. The advertisements introduce homogenized features, which can lead to the uniqueness of a place. These advertisements are like viruses that taint recreational, scenic, archaeological, natural, cultural, and historical spaces. This transforms the unique sense of the place and time, placing people into a virtual space far from their own identity (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2008). Conclusion The article has shown how the consumers are used in the advertisements from various media forms. They just walk passed the adverts like they do not exist. The article describes how the city is marked by advertisements, making to possible for people recognize streets even without the buildings, and other markers of the city. The advertisements have become part of the city architecture. Advertisements are meant to attract attention and pass on a message. When people are exposed to the advertisement repeatedly, and the advertisements being in certain positions, they get used to such views and messages, hence take no interest in such advertisements. This is because they have reached their saturation point and are disinterested, disgusted, or tired. They will pass the advertisement just like they pass some city buildings on their way to work, school, and homes. The message in the adverts will not have been read, therefore, the message will not have been passed. Through this, overexposure has made advertisements less effective. It, however, has its advantages, for example, improved innovation, memorable impressions on consumers, and credibility of companies. References Batra, S. K, Kazmi, S. H. H., and Batra, S. K., 2009, Consumer behaviour-2nd, New Delhi: Excel Books India. Hoyer, W. D. and MacInnis, D. J., 2008, Consumer behavior, 5th Ed., Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Jank, W., 2011., Business analytics for managers, New York: Springer. Marketing Magazine. 22 June 2012. Share a Coke’ campaign post-analysis. Retrieved from: http://www.marketingmag.com.au/case-studies/share-a-coke-campaign-post-analysis-15944/#.Uu5k5z2Sz3V Peugeot 308 sensations 2013 [HQ] Advertisement. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB_7lniUkPo Parameswaran, Fcb-ulka : brand building advertising: concepts and cases, New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Poynor, R., 5 November 2006, Kapitaal renders the cityscape as a waking dream of signs and symbols, Eye Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.eyemagazine.com/opinion/article/drifters-web-only%20 Renault SCENIC XMOD / GMD Advertisement. Retrievedfrom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovO4G_psNxA Shields, V. R., 2002, Measuring up: how advertising affects self-image, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press. UltraDirectory, 21 October 2009, The changing trends in advertisements. Retrieved from: http://www.ultradirectory.net/articles/article-11.html Read More

 

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