Advertisements may seem very unimportant to some, but the impact they leave on every individual viewing them is magnificent. Their specialty lies in the fact that they are the reason for the transformation of thoughts, and additionally the single most influential aspect of each person’s life. But we encounter advertisements and commercials day and night unknowingly, or giving much thought to them, and fail to realize how they make us humans alter our preferences regarding various products, commodities, and services. This is mostly done by the process of visual and verbal communication that goes on between man and materials.
The execution of advertisements or commercials is done to promote certain products in the market, to create awareness about the changes that are taking place in certain brand names, and the latest developments that are being employed in the provision of services. Advertising is a marketing technique, to promote and increase or expand business dealings, intending to attain more profits upon sale of goods and supplies. However, not all advertising techniques that are employed prove to be effective for the viewer, and may at times put the viewer off with what is being aired, either in the verbal or the visual context.
The way an advertisement is portrayed has an immense effect on the way people begin to look at things. Various techniques can be employed for attaining the attention of viewers, and which are widely used for the production of outstanding commercials (McNamara, 2008). Advertisements aim to attract the attention of the viewer’s eyes, with the physical appeal, design ideas, concept, verbal attraction, commitments, promises, and features of the product. The goal of the advertisers is to gain maximum attention towards their product, for a resultant gain in sales. Whatever the product, the advertisement should be effective to the millions watching it. Emotions need to be touched and triggered, the full attention of the viewers needs to be captured and maintained till the end, and they need to be attracted with such magnetic force, that their fingers do not press the buttons of the remote control till the ad has ended. This is what a forceful ad would be like, passionate, yet worthy of the time expended in viewing it. An advertisement should be full of enchantment to gain such attention of the viewer that may impress him to the extent of switching to other channels for viewing that specific ad again and again – that may be called real attraction. Another indication of a commercial’s success would underlie its further advertising, through word of mouth. At times, certain commercials click well, and people tend to talk about it, and encourage others to view it if they haven’t already, by praising its attributes.
The media that has been employed for the advertisements of my choice is the newspaper photo ad. I have taken two advertisements for analysis, and I intend to compare the two, in terms of their advertising strategies, and further state which seems to be more triumphant in the face of commercialism.
The world-famous fizzy drinks, “Coca-cola” and “Sprite” have been chosen for their advertising campaigns. These carbonated drinks, despite being harmful to health, reign the world of carbonated drinks and are both strong competitors. The coca-cola advertisement in my view seems to hold a larger audience as compared to its counterpart, merely because of its eye-catching commercials. The visual appeal of the ad is such that every youngster is driven to tune into the tube to view it while they are scanning through channels. The ad, if only heard, would not produce as effective a result as when visually seen, mainly due to its striking layout. Thus the virtual images have a significant role in advertising the beverage. The sprite ad also has virtual appeal, but if an analysis is carried out, we may see that the two multinational companies may be competitors, but undoubtedly, coca-cola has an edge over sprite in advertising. This is because of the techniques used in advertising, which result in greater viewership. The coca-cola ad has been designed and created keeping people of every age in mind, with the family set up in it, that shows all ages drinking the said product. Sprite, on the other hand, has shown more fiction than reality, which makes the viewer think twice about what such visual images such as a billboard dropping down and becoming water, depict. After much thought, it may be realized upon hearing the slogan, that they are trying to tell us that sprite is refreshing, and the water depicts refreshment of the spirit.
Coca-cola, also known as “Coke” for short, is less complicated, and less thought-provoking. The technique they have used for advertising is a simple, yet the eye-catching approach to gain viewers. The jingle that is provided in the commercial may need to be tuned in to portray the easily be remembered and hummed. This is a positive aspect for the youth of today and people generally like to and tend to follow and sing to the tunes of various ads of their preference. It can agreeably be stated that if our youth is asked to name one of their favorite ads, coca-cola would surely be one of them. Sprite is more related to fantasy, everyone knows that nothing can automatically convert to water, and whatever they have shown is unconditional. For people to be attracted, it is essential to be realistic in imagery, or at least close to reality. Showing something that is cent percent impossible would be like fooling the viewers, and turning them away from these advertisements. Hence, instead of gaining viewers, one would decrease the amount of tuned in addressees.
One of the functions of advertising is to be eye-catching and retain the viewers’ attention through and through till the end of the commercial. Some commercials are so unrealistic that they put off the spectators, and make them switch to another channel for viewing something else, or are keenly waiting for the unrealistic ad to end. Advertisements are meant to focus on customer attraction, not repulsion. Hefty expenditures on creating advertisements that do not make sense to the common man are a waste of both human and material resources. At the end of the day, nothing is achieved, except for taunts, and dishonor. These ads bring humiliation to the company name and brand and attain nothing of the aims that were set before setting out for the campaign.
One of the negative aspects of the sprite advertisement is that it has shown only the young generation in the ad, which indicates that it is only the youth who are encouraged to drink and the elders have been left out while making the ad. On the other hand, the coca-cola advertisement includes a family that is indicative of the drink being suitable for people of all ages, and the elders have rightly been included in enjoying this potion, which in our childhood, was considered an item of luxury. The actions and movements of the family members in the coca-cola advertisement are simple and can be commonly followed. This is a striking point for the youth of today, as they may feel content in being able to imitate the people in the commercial. This may ensure an increased audience, as more individuals are drawn towards the commercial, fulfilling the objectives of creating enhanced business. The coca-cola regime in the beverage network shows harmony, peace, enthusiasm, and how such a basic thing as a coca-cola drink during mealtime can alter the lives of people, by bringing about an abrupt change in their moods. It signifies an up-lift of the mood, and the change in the disposition of each of the family members upon sipping the drink illustrates how coca-cola can bring about a change in life. The Coca-cola Company has also always come up with attractive slogans for the promotion of their beverage, at times linking it to Santa Clause, to gain customer attention, and sometimes just simply by changing the creativity pattern of the entire ad. These new creative aspects attract people towards the advertisements and convince them to purchase certain products. If the ad is good, half the sale is guaranteed. The rest of the half is done when the viewer of the ad is convinced to make the purchase. Therefore, the advertisement plays a vital role in buying and purchasing commodities. It is all a visual and verbal brainwash that takes place between manufacturers and clients.
Despite some of the aspects of ads being unauthentic and are more of a lie than the truth, there still lays some expectation of standard maintenance of commodities. The images that Coca-cola has put forth by its members in ads and its scenes are very catchy and close to reality and in sync with what we experience in real life. Sprite has a big name, but unfortunately, it has not gained that oomph for itself the way Coke has.
Coca-cola’s ad has passed a message of love and harmony, and since its first ad in 1950, has always shown dominance in all of its ads, which is a form of confidence for the new generation. A picture of prevailing desirability can be seen, and the ice cubes with the black drink being poured over them portray a tempting and enticing effect to the viewer. The sprite ad may seem dull compared to its competitor, because of its green color also, as the red of coca-cola is surely brighter in comparison, and more attractive. The sprite ad depicts speed, activity, and stimulation, whereas the coca-cola ad has given value to family life, traditions, and relations, which is closer to reality, and what the majority of the people would prefer.
Market analysis is to be done to know the consumer habits of the country. It is important to define specific consumer groups and the number of targeted consumers in each group. The survey of their specific interests reveals that Cereal Bar would be more popular among the elderly and children. Clearly defining the target potential buyers will enhance its marketing project. Total distribution potential should grow with the increased number of sales.
Conventional wisdom is that a product could achieve a sales level of about 10 percent of those in a given market. Several visual ads that work in one country may not work in the other one.
Then there is aA cross-culturalthe number and categories of the Marketing managers for their special recognition. The customers to which Marketing managers want to reach, therefore, adding more features to the publication to attract those customers for full-year sales. Their expenditures and investment into the products spending on ads intended at the field in which the product will be publishing.
Identification of other markets serving this field exclusively should be recognized and also those which cover the field in part. The publication should keep a record of the name of the company owners, their plans, their frequency of distribution, and sales rates. Studying in detail other marketplaces will give major incentives to work according to discrete lines. Detailed analysis of other product’s profitability and their revenues versus expenditures will give an important guide for financial data. This includes the multiplication of their claimed distribution figure by the sales rate.
Finally, estimating their expenses based on knowledge of what things cost. This procedure should lead to a fairly good idea of competitor’s profitability.
Visual texts and design must appeal to the consumers. To globalize any business, the first thing to consider is to study the cultural aspects and the customer needs of the country in which the entrepreneur is willing to market his product. Many entrepreneurs turn their face to the global market to increase their sales and expand their business to the international market.
However, there are many business mistakes that entrepreneurs do and do not realize, that incur losses in their business and overall market share falls. Every country and area is affected by its people, lifestyle, culture, ethnicity, and societal values. Hence, the trend in the market is different for every country and place. To expand one’s business in the global market it is mandatory to study and research the market trends for that country. Failure to do so is the main cause of the failure of businesses in international markets.
For managing cultural differences, companies need to do extensive research and study the market for which they are willing to sell their products. For example, a food company should consider eating habits, demographics, age groups, and their consumption. Even consumption of sweet and salty items must be studied.
Every nation and country has their customs which has to be followed while you’re in their country. It is important to get familiarize with the local custom, people, and their culture. Businesses have to be culture-oriented for success in any particular country (Wade, 2004). They must be aware of their regular customs, lifestyles, does, and don’ts with regards to their customers. Every business should be a customer focus. Entrepreneurs are selling to customers, so it is a basic fact that products should be made according to customer’s needs. Hence, for developing business relations with any country, entrepreneurs must study, research, and travel to that area to know more about people, their customs, their likes, and dislikes. The more the entrepreneur will be familiar with the culture and the people, is more likely it is that their business will blossom in that country.
Works Cited
McNamara, S. (2008). Creative and Effective Advertising Techniques. Web.
Cross-cultural analysis of consumer measures for Americans. (Anthology). Industry & Business News. Atlantic Economic Journal. Web.
Wade, J. (2004). The Pitfalls of Cross-Cultural Business. Risk Management. NY.