Advertisement as a marketing strategy in business

The major goal of any business entity is making earnings. Due to stiff market competition many businesses survival and existence is below threat. Consequently, to match market expectations and overcome the stiff competition many enterprise entities employ advertisement as a marketing strategy for their goods and services. Advertising can be seen as visual or audio form of conveying market records to enhance sale of goods and services. The character who employs advertising as a strategy to promote sale of merchandise and services pays for the advert and has complete control of the message contained in the advert. Advertising can be done via various forms of mass media including but not limited to newspapers, television, radio, magazines and internet sources.

Advertising persuades and convinces consumers to buy certain products or services by creating an image of that specific product in consumers’ mind. A persuasive advertising advert should possess the following features; should be able to attract buyers’ attention, should be simple, should be educative, should have high convincing power, should have high memory retention and should be suggestive.

This paper seeks to describe various articles and authors in relation to their advertising capability and views. The paper also seeks develops a particular advertising advert that complies with advertising features.

Jay Chiat in his article, ‘’Illusion are forever’’ describes most adverts as full of lies. Indeed, Chiat clearly states that most adverts show products that exaggerate their real features. According to the author the advertiser seems to portray more good traits regarding a particular product than the reality. In fact, Chiat implies that the genuineness of the advertisers is questionable. In this article Chiat represents advertisers as individuals who are not guided by their wisdom and moral values while designing their adverts. According to Chiat the main objective of advertisers is to sell their products and services regardless of whether they are genuine or not.

Contrary to his initial thoughts Chiat also points out that the facts and ideas presented in an advert to great extent are accurate. The accuracy of advert facts is based on close regulations governing the adverts. Nevertheless Chiat argues that the false information in adverts is portrayed in acts such as values, cultural norms situations and beliefs that for basis of selling information. According to Chiat advertising in mass media devices like televisions and radios presents to the consumers a new and different world full of images and ideas designed for selling purposes. In fact the author suggests that the images create in consumers mind a picture of real family life and ideal home, something that is not real. Moreover, Chiat points out that the messages contained in adverts are so powerful that they leave the viewers with no alternatives.

In Jung’s article, ‘’Idea of shadow’’ advertising is represented by an element of unconsciousness amongst consumers. According to Jung there is an aspect of unconsciousness within the personality which the conscious self does not recognize. In other words Jung compares the shadow to dark side. The article points out that the aspect of unconsciousness possesses both negative and positive effects. However, the author suggests that negative aspects rake most portion of unconscious element due to fact that most individuals remain unknowledgeable of their beneficial personal aspects. According to author all people carry with them a shadow. Jung states that the ability of shadow to have irrational characteristics makes it prone to psychological projections. Indeed, Jung urges that ones’ inferiority is perceived by another individual as moral weakness. Inferiority complex exposes an individual into exploitation and manipulation risks.

According to the article the shadow can take forms of both dreams and visions. Furthermore, according to the author most of unconscious aspects develop in an individual’s mind. Advertisers exploit the moral deficiencies created by unconscious aspect to persuade consumers to purchase their products. In fact, the advertisers present their adverts in a way that portrays certain dreams and visions in minds of consumers thus convincing them to purchase their goods and services.

Gilbert Clotaire Rapaille, a prominent marketing consultant and author has published several books covering marketing, psychology and sociology fields. In most of his works, Rapaille is depicted advising advertisers and politicians in regards to influencing unconscious aspect of personality in making decisions. While working as a psychologist for autistic children, Rapaille established a theory on brain. In his theory he discovered that when kids learn a particular word and the thought associated with it, they usually relate it with certain feelings and emotions. According to Rapaille the emotions associated with particular words determine attitude towards certain things. Rapaille basis his theory on triune brain theory that identifies three parts of brain namely; limbic, cortex and reptilian. He states that limbic part of brain is responsible for logic and reason.

Rapaille suggests that the decisions to purchase products are initiated by reptilian brain which in most cases is subconscious. In addition Rapaille argues that reptilian brain programs individuals for survival and production. Indeed, Rapaille states that product to most consumers mean survival. In conclusion, Rapaille wants advertisers to understand the unconscious aspect of reptilian brain and make advertisement judgments based on it. Since the reptilian brain programs individuals for survival then it makes it easy for advertisers to persuade the consumers to purchase their products.

Ann McClintock in her article, ‘’Propaganda Techniques in Today’s Advertising’’ reveals how propaganda is being used to persuade consumers to purchase particular good and services. According to McClintock, propaganda methods target all groups of individuals and are found all over the world. The author provides two techniques of propaganda namely; card stacking and bandwagon. She argues that card stacking technique distorts information by giving facts that are half-way true and also through use of illusion words. On the other hand, McClintock argues that bandwagon technique works on basis that it interferes with psychological thinking of individuals while at the same time exerting a lot of pressure on individuals who want to change. In fact, the author emphasizes on use of propaganda to capture the attention of buyers.

A sample of advertising advert

Attention! Attention! Please!

New modern and well-vanished houses on sale near your residential area. Guess what!!! The prices are unbelievable down. Rush! Rush and purchase yours, only few houses remaining. Remember your quick action is the one to determine your success.

How the advert relates to various article described above

According to article by Chiat, ‘’Illusions forever,” the advert is full of lies in that there are many houses out there for sale. In addition, the advert does not disclose the actual amount of purchasing the house; it only uses quantifier to portray the price. Nevertheless the advert displays the house as superior in terms of standards and quality which in real sense may not be true.

According to Rapaille the advert takes advantage of reptilian brain thought of comparing the house to survival. The advert states, ‘’your quick action is the one to determine your success.’’ Here the reader has no option other than rushing up and purchasing the house before the prices shoot. In addition the style in which the advert is designed psychologically affects the reader.

In relation to McClintock article, ‘’ Propaganda Techniques in Today’s Advertising,”’ the advert presents good image in the mind of the reader. The reader is left figuring about how modern and well-varnished the house is? Furthermore the advert employs the bandwagon technique in that it captures attention of readers who want to be different.

Finally in accordance to Jung idea of shadow the advert only reveals the beauty of physical appearance of the house. The advert does not show any shortcomings of the house, in fact it presents the houses as super perfect something that is not always true.

References

Chiat, J ‘’ Illusions Are Forever”

Johnson, Robert A., and Carl Gustav Jung. He: Understanding Masculine Psychology, Based on the Legend of Parsifal and His Search for the Grail, Using Jungian Psychological Concepts. HarperPerennial, 1974.

McClintock, Ann. “Propaganda Techniques in Today’s Advertising.” Yang, LM (ed.) (2000): 562-568.

Rapaille, Clotaire. “The culture code: An ingenious way to understand why people around the world buy and live the way they do.” (2006).

Rossiter, John R., and Larry Percy. Advertising and promotion management. McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1987.