Advertising: Seen it Before?
Advertising is everywhere. Even now, I can safely assume that you have passed over multitudes of advertisements just to reach this article. But that's the point: you went passed them. Maybe you thought about some of them, maybe some of them registered with your subconscious and will influence your future purchases. You will never know for sure just how much affect advertisement has had on you in the past few minutes, much less in your life time. However, we can say what methods seem to yield the greatest results by analyzing the methods used in campaigns of the past. Products that have increased sales when an advertisement is running illustrate its positive impact. Now, precisely quantifying this impact is a daunting task as you consider all the outlying factors that can potentially change sales of any given product. More practically, we can examine the methods used in this successful advertisement and implement them in future campaigns.
Alright, How?
Methods dictate the appearance of your advertisement. Association is arguably the most common method used. Advertisers discovered many years ago that selling their product will be far less difficult when it is associated with something the consumer sees as desirable. For example, a pair of shoes may look appealing, but the thought of yourself wearing those shoes as you drive your new sports car home to your beautiful wife can easily be seen as more appealing. Advertisers seek to associate their products with success but this can be broken down to other desires depending on the target audience, including: excitement and risk, individuality, romance, sex, fame, and of course wealth. Provided the advertisement can be convincing enough to prevent its audience from questioning the association, it is assured to be a success.
Many will also appeal to the emotion of their target consumers. In such adds, needs that are intrinsic in the culture are targeted. This could be the need to be accepted, either by those around you or yourself, the need for change and excitement or even adventure in your life, and so on. Once a need is addressed as your concern, the advertisement will then convince you that the product presented will best satisfy this need. Conversely, an advertisement can act on consumers' fears. This can be a powerful motivator for sales, though it can also work against a company should the ad be seen by the public as propagating the fear or making false claims about its alleviation via the product in question. It is also vital to consider that what is deemed as perfectly acceptable in one culture could be abhorrent in the next; know your audience.
Advertising is everywhere. Even now, I can safely assume that you have passed over multitudes of advertisements just to reach this article. But that's the point: you went passed them. Maybe you thought about some of them, maybe some of them registered with your subconscious and will influence your future purchases. You will never know for sure just how much affect advertisement has had on you in the past few minutes, much less in your life time. However, we can say what methods seem to yield the greatest results by analyzing the methods used in campaigns of the past. Products that have increased sales when an advertisement is running illustrate its positive impact. Now, precisely quantifying this impact is a daunting task as you consider all the outlying factors that can potentially change sales of any given product. More practically, we can examine the methods used in this successful advertisement and implement them in future campaigns.
Alright, How?
Methods dictate the appearance of your advertisement. Association is arguably the most common method used. Advertisers discovered many years ago that selling their product will be far less difficult when it is associated with something the consumer sees as desirable. For example, a pair of shoes may look appealing, but the thought of yourself wearing those shoes as you drive your new sports car home to your beautiful wife can easily be seen as more appealing. Advertisers seek to associate their products with success but this can be broken down to other desires depending on the target audience, including: excitement and risk, individuality, romance, sex, fame, and of course wealth. Provided the advertisement can be convincing enough to prevent its audience from questioning the association, it is assured to be a success.
Many will also appeal to the emotion of their target consumers. In such adds, needs that are intrinsic in the culture are targeted. This could be the need to be accepted, either by those around you or yourself, the need for change and excitement or even adventure in your life, and so on. Once a need is addressed as your concern, the advertisement will then convince you that the product presented will best satisfy this need. Conversely, an advertisement can act on consumers' fears. This can be a powerful motivator for sales, though it can also work against a company should the ad be seen by the public as propagating the fear or making false claims about its alleviation via the product in question. It is also vital to consider that what is deemed as perfectly acceptable in one culture could be abhorrent in the next; know your audience.