Advertising and Marketing - Research

When advertising a product or service, the key is to present your product in an ideal and desirable way. You create an image the audience can aspire too – in effect, it’s not the product they want, but the benefits it brings. This idea is known as a USP (Unique Selling Point.) For example, the David Beckham ‘Climacool’ advert exploits the idea that the shoe creates a ‘cool’ image and keeps your cool whilst running – this is its USP, as it is different from other running shoes in the market.

TV advertising accounts for 25% of the total funds spent on advertising each year. More (65%) is spent on advertising in the press. These two forms of advertising are most popular, as they can be specific with their target audiences. For example, a TV advert for sport is more likely to be shown on a sports channel or during a sport related TV show.

AD Formats

·      Product Information Format

The product is the centre of the focus and its virtues are pointed out and explained.

Example – Washing Powder adverts explain how the product is successful and how it works.

·      Product Image Format

The product is associated with images you may not readily associate with it.

Example – Car adverts, as with the Peugeot advert that associates the product with a lost cat.

·      Personalised Format

The product takes on human qualities – these are usually long running and very successful.

Example - PG Tips.

·      Lifestyle Format

The product is associated with a particular lifestyle.

Example – Mobile Phone and Network companies that use the idea of relationships and relate that to an upgrade.

Advertising Techniques

·      Flattering words – ‘improves’ ‘new’ ‘better’ etc.

·      Celebrity endorsement – If they are satisfied with the product why shouldn’t we be?

·      Expert endorsement or statistical proof – an ‘expert’ can enhance the products effectiveness, while statistics give a better picture of this.

·      The new ingredient – it is now better than it was before, new and improved.

·      Nostalgia – reminds us of how much better things used to be.

·      Lifestyle fantasy – how the product could improve your life.

·      Family Values – how the product can improve the family.

·      Happy Kids – if the product is purchased it will make the child happier. Adverts aimed at children are used to teach the child this.

·      Selective advertising – how editing is used to make a product look good.

·      Music and sound effects – The right soundtrack will establish the image (positive or negative.)

Certain techniques and formats are going to be more appropriate for the sports brand Steve and I are advertising. I feel our TV adverts will follow more of a lifestyle format, as a lot of the adverts we have analysed seem to exploit the idea of a better lifestyle and improved sporting ability if you own the sports product. This therefore leads to the use of the lifestyle fantasy technique. As for other techniques, we could consider the use of flattering words to enhance our product, selective advertising to create a variety of effective shots, and music and sound effects to relate to what is happening at each point in the advert. Our advert for just running shoes, however, could also include expert endorsement or statistical proof to enhance their success. Product image format could also be considered, as the brand name and product could be associated with tigers and wild animals, for example.

Katie Hunt