I have recently been reading ‘The Brand Gap’ by Marty Neumeier. It’s an interesting book and what makes it even better is that it’s an easy read. Neumeier gets to the point quickly and backs his statements up with advert examples and diagrams.
There’s a section in the book where he discusses the ‘Earcon’ I’d never heard this term used before. An ‘earcon’ is the auditory counterpart of a company’s icon; this is when a company is recognised by its sound or song. When you see a company’s icon you will instantly know who they are, the ‘earcon’ works in the same way but when you hear a song you immediately think of the company it is connected with.
As soon as I hear the song“Here come the girls!” all I think of is ‘Boots’ for me that song has no other meaning it just belongs to ‘Boots’.
Here are some other songs that I found make people think of a brand straight away:
Justin Timberlake, ‘I’m Loving It’ = McDonalds
Elena Kats-Chernin, ‘Eliza’s Aria’ = Lloyds TSB
The New Seekers, ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing, In Perfect Harmony’ makes my parents think of Coca-Cola. But is it the fizzing sound you get when you open a can/bottle of Coke that’s Coke’s real ‘earcon’? I always find when I hear someone opening a can of Coke I want to buy one…
A brands trademark nowadays has to be multi dimensional. It’s no longer just about the logo but about their sound, service, the experience they create, the interior of their store… The company tries to interact with all the senses of the customer to form an emotional unforgettable bond that will result in brand loyalty.
With so many different opinions today about what’s right and wrong it’s no surprise that some people are offended by adverts they see on television.
Advertising regulations have changed dramatically over the years. Today the regulations for broadcasting adverts are a mixture of self regulation and statutory laws created by parliament. Self regulation comprises of three different areas.
1. The Committee of Advertising Practice draws up the British codes of advertising, sales promotions and direct marketing.
2. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) applies these codes and ensures adverts don’t breach them.
3. The ASA have staff that promote the self regulatory system and investigate complaints made.
Even although there is a regulation system in place there are still times when rules will be broken and adverts will have to be banned and pulled from broadcast. Some adverts may not have been created to offend but the advertisers got it wrong, others may be deliberately designed to shock, as they say “there’s no such thing as bad publicity.” A banned advert will usually generate more publicity than other ads and they will always be found on the internet attached to a news article about it long after the event. Therefore some companies see it as a good thing that their advert is noticed and talked about even if it’s for the wrong reasons.
This NHS advert was designed to be shocking however a lot of people thought the ad was disturbing and offensive. The advertisers perhaps misjudged public reaction and this ad was banned.
Ryan Air is a repeat offender getting adverts banned time and time again. Maybe this shows that they like to be a little controversial and feel that being remembered this way doesn’t hinder but helps their business.
In my opinion there seems to be a very thin line about what adverts are and are not acceptable even with rules in place. In our last lecture we were shown a series of adverts that were controversial and were asked to guess whether or not they’d been banned.
Here is an example we discussed and my opinion.
The Wonder bra 'Hello Boy’s' ad. Vs. Diesel 'Be Stupid' ad.
Both adverts were complained about but only the Diesel ad was banned. In the case of the Hello Boys ad people were offended by the nudity and the provocative slogan. It was justified as being humorous and not intended to cause harm therefore wasn’t banned. The Diesel ad which also shows a half naked woman was banned as it was said to be a bad influence condoning illegal behaviour. However I think both ads were intended to be funny and not taken seriously, it can be read in their tag lines. It’s a tricky situation to determine what’s right and wrong especially with advertising companies pushing the rules to their limit. Does this make the rules consistent? Is it fair that an advert isn’t always banned even if it offends people? Maybe stricter rules should be in place to rid the industry of this grey area to ensure the public won’t have to see images they don’t want to. But I’m sure that would take away the fun of it all. Sometimes we want the boundaries pushed a little if not would all ads not be the same, a little boring and perhaps not very memorable. The worst, most offensive ads are the most memorable after all.
Here are a couple of adverts I currently find offensive. (Dislike!)
Go Compare! That man. That song….irritating!! Why does it stay in my head all day!!
The Heinz soup ad. I just hate people blowing on their food it's disgusting. I find this worse than the most complained about ad. (KFC women singing with their mouth full)
Obviously this is just my opinion and they aren’t controversial like the other ads showing nudity and illegal behaviour. But I just don’t like them and would be quite happy if they were banned!
Below is the most complained about advert. People said that it should be banned as it encouraged bad manners to children. It wasn't banned. They argued that manners are generated over time this advert wouldn't affect how a child behaves. What’s your opinion of it?
AIDA is an acronym for a list of events companies aim to fulfil when marketing a product.
A-Attention
I-Interest
D- Desire
A- Action
Firstly they grab the customer’s attention through their advert.
By pushing the irrational benefits of the product and demonstrating these they gain customer interest.
They must then create a desire for the product make the customer think the product will fulfil their needs and improve their life.
Action is where a customer is led in someway to purchase the product. In the book ‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcolm Gladwell this was know as ‘the golden box theory’ when people participated with the advert sales would go up.
The company ‘Graze’ which sells healthy snack products is example of AIDA being used.
By advertising in magazines such as ‘Grazia’ and ‘Mens Health’ they targeted the market segment they wanted and grabbed their attention. I would describe the market segment to be both male and female between the ages of 25 and 40, with disposable income, health conscious and living a busy lifestyle.
An alternative to biscuits, having a healthy lifestyle, snacking but not in a harmful way, naturally active ingredients, more consistent energy, getting your five a day, are all benefits that are pushed to create customer interest.
The desire is then generated through these benefits. By buying this product I can snack throughout the day but not feel guilty and become a healthier more alert person. The product is also delivered direct to my door so will fit in with my hectic lifestyle.
‘Graze’ then encourage these people to buy the product by giving them a promotional code to get their first box free the second half price. Most people love a freebie so would sign up for this. Whilst doing so they need to enter payment details this is because after they have received their free box ‘Graze’ will continue to send the box but charge the customer for it if they have not cancelled their account. This has a number of advantages for the company. Once a customer has tried the free box they may find out how much they like it and continue to buy from them. If a customer forgets or can’t be bothered to cancel their account the company will still gain by selling more boxes.
Another technique used by advertisers to grab a customer’s attention is to create adverts with a ludic quality. This can be an ad that’s slightly puzzling, that has a hidden message or a pun, or an ad that’s funny or ridiculous. These ads will make people feel good about themselves; if you work out the puzzle you’ll feel proud. If they feel good about themselves they’ll feel good about the product.
If an ad is funny or completely ridiculous the idea is to get people talking about it. Having the ad and the product talked about and constantly on people’s minds will result in people eventually buying the product. Sneaky, sneaky!
A couple of ads I thought of that had this ludic quality are; the ‘Gu’ ad and the ‘Evian’ babies ad. Maybe it was just me that found the ‘Gu’ ad particularly puzzling... have a look!
Successful businesses are those that advertise the benefits of their products. Instead of just stating what the product does they sell it to you on an emotional level by creating situations you can relate to. They do this by defining the rational and irrational decisions people will make before they buy specific products. They then combine the rational and irrational in their advert.
In this GHD advert the rational decision would be I need to use this product to straighten my hair. The irrational is that every one will be looking at me, I’ll look different, be envied by others. Therefore if you buy these GHDs you will be able to straighten your hair and be more beautiful.
Taking every day objects I will point out the rational and irrational decisions that could be made by the customer.
Flip Flops
What?
Grey rubber flip flops. Shoes to wear during summer.
Rational:
Protect feet.
Keep feet cool.
Quick to put on.
Comfortable.
Irrational:
Memories of summer.
Reminder of holidays and the beach.
Lazy days.
Fashionable.
Co-ordinates with certain outfits e.g. shorts.
Pen
What?
Black plastic pen.
Rational:
Used to write with.
Black professional colour for form filling.
Irrational:
Can use to write letters to loved ones.
Doodling.
Jotting down quick notes.
Drawing Pin.
What?
Yellow drawing pin.
Rational:
Used to pin items down or to a wall.
Hang things from.
Irrational:
Can display photos of holidays or special occasions.
Pin up art work or posters in bedroom.
Mark on a map places to visit.
Combining the rational and the rational decisions in an advert makes people want to buy.
When marketing a product a business should take into account customer behaviour. What customers use and why.
The ‘what’ is simple it’s just what product has been purchased, what it looks like, what it does. The ‘why’ is split into two sections ‘Rational decisions’ and ‘Irrational decisions.’ Rational decisions are about what function the product serves and what we need to use it for. Irrational decisions look at social pressures, emotional and psychological connections with a product. As mentioned in a TED Talks video that I watched recently it’s not about what we buy it’s about WHY we buy it. Businesses need to sell you their product by showing you its benefits not its functions, they need to tap into your emotions. This is why ‘Apple’ products are so popular their adverts show you how their product will benefit you and make your life easier.
Today in our group we looked back at ‘Pillow Talk’ the upcoming product by Little Riot. Discussing customer behaviour and using what we have learnt in the lectures our aim was to create a press advert for the product.
Firstly we asked, ‘what is the market segment we are focusing on’?
We decided this was young couples with disposable income. We also felt this product would appeal to women more so than men.
What is the product?
It’s a small speaker and light which is placed inside your pillow case and your partners. It has a ring to connect the two devices through a wifi signal. Once connected the light will glow and you will hear your partners heart beat.
Why would the customer buy this product?
Rational: To keep connected with their loved one. It’s an alternative to a phone, easy to use and allows people to contact each other with out having to talk.
Irrational: To feel loved, safe and comforted. For company and peace of mind. To know your loved one is thinking of you and to feel their presence. It will create memories of past experiences and times you’ve spent with one another.
We had enough information now to start on our advert… or so we thought. We all decided an upmarket young women’s magazine would be best for the ad. One that featured both gossip and fashion as this would be the type of magazine a potential customer would be reading. Thinking up adverts was tricky so we did a brainstorm on the word ‘Couples’ hoping this would generate some fresh ideas and it did!
After sketching a few ideas we all agreed on a two page ad. that connects to make one whole advert. One page showing a woman sleeping with her ‘Pillow Talk’ in Paris, the other shows a man waking up with his ‘Pillow Talk’ in New York. Half the tag line is on page one which will make the customer interested and the other half is on the second page revealing what the product does. Connecting the pages will be a row of love hearts.
