Advertising And Affects
Essay by 24 • November 8, 2010 • 2,206 Words (9 Pages) • 1,714 Views
In today's society, one must consider - Is there any advantage of advertising? In many cases, it is only disadvantage - an annoying hindrance in our daily lives. It gets on our nerves, distorts the truth, and adds to the cost of the product. Advertising is designed for one purpose - to sell. To achieve this goal, advertises are willing to stretch and distort the truth, just to convincing people to buy their product. For example, an advertiser may convince buyers to purchase their product by stating that has been tested and found superior. In reality, the product is not likely to be better than any other - the tests themselves doubtlessly conducted by the promoting company - conducted to ensure at least something is superior about the product, even if it is only the color. These advertisements are worded carefully so that they are telling the "literal truth" - the truth is exactly what the words say, although people misinterpret the message by using conversational logic as something different - something better. By using ingenious tactics like these, the populace is deceived into buying a product that may not do what is required, or a product that a buyer may have never really needed. This is why advertising is a bad thing, for our society.
Advertising is used to promote goods, services, images, and anything else that advertisers want to publicize. It is becoming a major part of mass media. At times, we may view it positively, at other times we may just skip or ignore it. In order to attract audience, advertisers use various techniques on their advertisement to make people aware of the firm's products, services, or brands. Although the methods used by advertisers are infinitely, they have a common goal to persuade those who may become their customers to buy their products. An excellent advertisement will create a deep impression on its potential customers through particular techniques.
Radio and Television Advertising
We are constantly surrounded by advertising. From bus stop benches to television commercials. Everywhere we look something is being advertised. Two of the best ways to advertise are radio and television. These two mediums effect virtually everyone. Most of us listen to the radio or watch television at some point each day. Because of this, many of us are able to remember products by the jingles or slogans that are used. An example of this is the slogan for Charmin tissue. Anytime you see Mr. Whipple you think of Charmin, and the slogan "Don't squeeze the Charmin." This type of advertising keeps the products in the mind of the consumer. Therefore, when the consumer goes to the market, he will reach for the Charmin.
If you were a person trying to advertise for a product or a store, before deciding which medium you should advertise in, there are some questions you should ask yourself. The potential advertiser should know who they are, what they are selling and to whom they are selling it. When you advertise you should have a realistic profile of your customers. By defining your target audience, you will be able to aim your advertisements at them. Therefore, a business should take the time to do some research and plan their advertising strategies.
For the small advertiser, radio is the most effective medium. It can reach a target audience and people are likely to hear the advertisement more than once. Most people spend a great deal of time listening to the radio. They listen while they are commuting to work, are at the office, and while commuting home. Radios greatest advantage is mobility. It can and does go everywhere. Its weakness, which can also be viewed as a strength is that it is limited to two things, sound, and silence. Radio also works on the power of suggestion and the imagination of the listener. Radio advertising rates are determined by the size of the listening audience. The size of the audience is determined by polls, census data, and surveys. Because radio has a lost of competition for its audience, the audience you are paying for is anticipated and potential, it is not guaranteed. Advertising in radio is bought in "spots." These spots can run form 10 seconds to 60 seconds. You have the option to choose when you would like the spot to run and how many times you would like it to run. If you choose prime rate, the spot will cost you more, however it is guaranteed to run at a certain time.
Television is the strongest medium to advertise in and also the most expensive. Like radio, the cost of advertising on television in. The television day is broken down as follows, morning, midday, early fringe, primetime, and 11 PM to sign off. Morning and midday are usually filled with local shows, game show, soaps, and perhaps even a midday movie. This time period is aimed at the housewife or homebody. Early fringe runs from 4pm to 7:30pm, during this time-varied programs are shown, including news, children's shows or rerun comedies. Primetime is the most expensive time to advertise. This is when most people are in front of their televisions and the network shows are run. Primetime is from 8:00 to 11:00 PM. From 11:00pm to sign off, the audience dwindles. Most people retire for the evening. During this time the news is shown, movies and other reruns. There are seasons in television programming. The most expensive season to advertise in is fall. This is when new network programming begins. During this time an abundance of back to school ads are shown. Then before you know it the holidays are here and there are even more reasons to advertise. Then again, at the end of summer things pick up and the cycle begins again. Both radio and television advertising are good ways to make your product or service known. However, the key to any successful advertising is to know your market. By doing this you will know the best way to promote your product.
The Impact of Advertising in Our Society
The impact of advertising on our society is a fiercely debated topic, and has been ever since the conception of advertising in its most basic form. There are negative and positive social and economic impacts upon society from advertising in its various forms. For instance, advertising promoting public welfare has a positive social impact upon society, whereas advertising portraying women as sex objects has negative social impacts. There are also positive economic impacts on society such as providing funding for the media and stimulating an active, competitive economy.
There are a number of proven ways to persuade the consumer that he or she needs the product being advertised. These methods of persuasion, instead of concentrating on the actual product, usually concentrate on the benefits that will be brought to the consumer. These benefits may include the hope of
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