Advertising

ADVERTISING

-THE ART OF PERSUASION-

1. Introduction

In 1927 the British novelist Aldous Huxley wrote a brief but remarkable essay entitled 'Advertisement'. In it Huxley wrote that he had 'discovered the most exciting, the most arduous literary form of all, the most difficult to master, the most pregnant in curious possibilities. I mean the advertisement. It is far easier to write ten passably effective sonnets, good enough to take in the not too inquiring critic, than one effective advertisement that will take in a few thousands of the uncritical buying public.. A good advertisement has this in common with drama and oratory, that it must be immediately comprehensible and directly moving. But at the same time it must possess all the succinctness of epigram.. No one should be allowed to talk about the mot juste or the polishing of style who has not tried his hand at writing an advertisement of something which the public does not want, but which it must be persuaded into buying.'

2. Advertising in today´s society

Advertising is a huge global business. No business can succeed without it, no name products appear on the market without being backed by advertising. Food, clothing, furniture, accessories, cosmetics, books, toys, everything displayed in the store is a result of intensive competition and expensive promotion on the part of each manufacturer to induce the stores to stock and stack his product. Each year billions of dollars are spent in attempts to influence our decisions and to persuade us to spend more.

On the high street, on public transport, in newspapers and magazines and on television we are bombarded with images and slogans (between four-hundred and three-thousand advertising messages per day!) designed to make us part with our cash. But for the most part we love it, secretly at least. We may resent the hideous sign that invades the beauty spot, loathe the commercial that interrupts a TV show, but we reach for our newspaper or favourite magazine not only for an update on the news but to scan the ads for bargains or to enjoy looking at them.

Because of the enormous amount of advertising there is around, the advertising industry is constantly trying to come up with new ways of getting our attention ('Sex sells!',.).

3. Advertising agencies and the making of an ad

In very general terms, the function of an agency - which usually consists of executive, creative, research, media, technical, and administrative departments - is to present to its client a new, catchy, and practical idea for a campaign, furnish an outline with mockups and estimates, and after final approval see the project in the end. In the area of graphics, the art director, working in close cooperation with the copywriter and client, decides on the kind of illustration or spot best suited to the selling theme, the product, and kind of image the advertiser wishes to project.

In the world of advertising, everyone´s thinking is focused on now or on the future, never on the past.

3.1. Keywords:

The 'brief'

Before copywriters and art directors start to create an advertisement, they normally look at a document called 'brief'. This tells them who the advertisement is for and what it is required from the advertisement. A brief has details about the target market and a description about the product. The brief is the liaison between the creative team, which is the copywriter and the art director, and the client, who is the company that produces the product.

Copywriters and art directors

Advertisements are created by specialised companies called advertising agencies. The people within an agency with particular responsibility for creating adverts are art directors and copywriters.

The copywriter is basically in charge of any kind of words which appear in an advert. His/Her task is to come up with the overall ideas for any kind of advert. Copywriters and art directors work in a team. Together, they form a think tank.

3.2. Very important for the advertiser: the 'AIDA formula'.

The four letters stand for:

Attention: How does the advertisement arouse our attention?

Interest: How does the advertisement stimulate our interest?

Desire: How does the advertisement create desire for the product in question?

Action: How does the advertisement move us to action?

4. Advertisement types

Advertising is a very important part of most companies´ strategies. If a company wants to introduce a new product into the market, it needs to let people know about it. If a company wants to change an image of a product or itself, it needs to inform people about it. If a company wants to keep up with the competition, it has to tell people that its products are as good, if not better, than the competition.

There are many ways that companies and individuals can choose to advertise. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, for example, in the cost to produce the advertisement or how well the audience will be reached. People in the advertising industry talk about different kinds of advertising, they normally divide the industry into 'above the line' and 'below the line' advertising.

4.1. Above the line

Press Advertising

A very large section of the advertising industry generates advertisements for use in newspapers and magazines. A daily newspaper will have many such ads in it. These are often full or half page spreads designed to grab the attention of the reader.

Newspapers do not exist to sell products: they are in the business of presenting stories, but take advertisements because they pay well. A full page advertisement in a newspaper can cost thousands of pounds - and in glossy magazines this can be far more.

TV and Radio Advertising

Commercial television and radio companies rely on advertising to fund everything that they do. Placing advertisements in the right shows for the appropriate target audience is almost a science in itself. Millions of dollars are spent surveying members of the public to find their tastes.

Online Advertising

Most websites rely on advertising for revenue to pay for their service costs.

Others:

Posters, fliers, small ads,..

4.2. Below the Line

e.g. things, which are delivered directly to houses like mailshots,.

5. Taking a commercial to pieces

In a TV commercial the advertiser is trying to persuade you to go out and buy something. He wants to make you feel that you really must have it. He can use different stragegies to do this:

The snob effect: This tells you that the product is most exclusive and of course rather expensive. Only the very best people use it.

The scientific effect: A serious-looking person, possibly a scientist or a doctor, tells you about the advantages of the product.

The words and music effect: The name of the product is repeated over and over again, put into a rhyme and sung several times, in the hope that you won´t forget it. The sung rhyme is called a 'jingle'.

The ha-ha effect: The advertiser tries to make you laugh by showing people or cartoon figures in funny situations.

The VIP (Very Important Person) effect: Well-known people, like actors or athletes, are shown using the product.

The super modern effect: The advertiser tries to persuade you that this product is a new, sensational breakthrough , a 'must'.

The go-go effect: This is suitable for the teenage market. It shows young people having a party, singing, laughing, having a wonderful time - and, of course, using the product X.

6. The Influence of Advertisements on the Customers´ Shopping Behaviour

All adverts need to use specific stimuli (for example: colourful pictures, erotic poses,.), so that the customer becomes aware of the advert and can store the given information over a longer period of time. For effective advertising, basic conditioning psychology has to be brought into effect, whereby the product is coupled with pleasant feelings and emotions (Coca-Cola in conjunction with fun and joy - 'Enjoy the taste.enjoy the fun .always Coca-Cola'

6.1. Psychological tricks:

Packaging: The design of the package decides whether the product will be accepted by the customer or not. An extravagant packaging and attractive colours are an important factors, which influence his decision.

Positioning and arrangement of the shelves: Luxury goods and goods the most profits are mainly to be found on the right hand shelves. This is due to an inborn tendency to look and reach to the right. In addition, these things are to be found at eye or arm level because at this height the products are easy to reach. Articles of everyday use are usually found at the back of the store, farthest away from the entrance. This is to force the customer to pass as many items as possible and to force him to make a purchase.

'Muzac', soft background music, is played, as it has a relaxing effect and produces a pleasant atmosphere.

In order to give the customer the feeling that time is no problem, there are no clocks to be found.

Sweets and toys are often to be found just before the cashdesk, in a bid to give children a 'reward' for waiting.

Fully filled shelves are always an inducement to buy, so shelves are repeatedly filled.

Stands are always well decorated because they bring an increase in sales.