Advertising and Branding

Advertising and Branding Introduction Advertising refers to the art of creating awareness about existence of a product to the target populace in a persuasive manner that will generate the desire for the consumption of the product.1 This can be done in a number of ways. The advertiser must first determine the desired message that should reach that should reach the customer, and the meanings that will possibly be encoded.2Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Advertising and Branding specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The advertiser must also know the product positioning desired of the brand in the market. The product can be positioned as health conscious, affordable, efficient, classy, and long lasting or a combination of two or more of such factors.3 Having determined the desired product positioning, the advertiser should then identify the preferred channels of communication to pass this message. The channel will be determined by the target market, the target populace should be easily accessible through the selected targets. Chandler suggests that the encoding of the message should be done in a manner that avoids ambiguity or meaning distortion as much as possible.4 Role of Advertising â€Å"Advertising’s central function is to create desires that previously did not exist.† This statement gives the primary role of advertising. The main aim of the advertiser is to convince those who have not been using the product to try it. It means trying to achieve the maximum market share that the product can realize. Other than the need to inform customers about existence of a new product in the market or just the desire to remind them of market availability of such products, the main aim is to increase sales.5 The advertiser objective is to convince, not just to inform, the customers to try the products.6 When Pepsi positions its Mountain Dew drink as affordable and full of flavor, the intention was to bring more individual s to consume the drink. Coca cola’s advert dubbed ‘stop drinking, enjoy’ brings this view closer home. It clearly urges customers â€Å"not to take one bottle of coke, but two†. The intentions are very clear; buy more coke. These adverts are always structured in a manner that leaves the customers yearning for the experience brought about by consumption of such products. Such desires are the driving factors that would lead to demand creation of the product.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The statement that â€Å"our desires are aroused and shaped by the demands of the system of production, not by the needs of society or the individuals† has two fronts. An individual’s desire is shaped by the current demands of the society. The society has a strong influence on individual’s demand. Fashion is a factor that individual buyers li ke to take into consideration while purchasing a product.7 They do not want to appear outdated. This therefore means that the society has a great influence on customers’ desires. This is so especially among the youths. Their dress code or hairdo will always be in line with what the society currently consider classy. Having determined that the society dictates the desire of the individuals, the next step will be to determine the drivers of the society’s demands. It is a common phenomenon to see individuals having one deign of dress, but after a short while, they assume another, which they accept once again overwhelmingly. Who shapes the societal desires then? The designer, the production units, and the demands of the system of production shape the desires of the society. It therefore means that our desires are aroused and shaped by the demands of the system of production. The advertiser’s task will now be to persuade rather than to inform the society. The adverti ser must understand the fact that individual buyers that make up the entire market depend on the society’s demand to generate their desire. This society relies on the system of production to guide its desires. For this reason, an advertiser for ‘blue jeans’ must persuade the society that the garment is the most classical in the market. The bottom line is that the society must be convinced that this is the best product in the market. For an advertiser to achieve this, s/he must be in a position to persuade, not just to inform the society. The society may already be informed about the products’ presence, but the most important thing will be to convince them that the product best serves their needs. The society will in turn influence the individuals. A negatively perceived product by the society will receive the same perception by the individuals. Coca-Cola Summer Commercial 2011, Open Happiness The advertisement, found at Youtube is very artistic. It starts with a young couple lying on a beach. This couple is joined by other youths the same age. This is meant to attract youths the same age.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Advertising and Branding specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The rock music on the background is another attraction to the consumers of this age. The message is constructed in such a way that it brings out the idea that a bottle of this drinks bring out real happiness to those who are bored. The advertiser intent was to reach to the youths, convince them that coca cola is full of happiness and that it brings out the love in your partner in the best way possible. The consumers’ interpretation of this is the same as what the advertiser intended for it. The consumers’ see the happy individuals, each with a bottle of coca cola and s/he is convinced that happiness is in this drink.8 The youths, in the beach, at summer time having fun and cheerin g each other is a sign that this drink is suitable for parties and that it brings out the best in a person. However, complete avoidance of the middle aged and the aging group is a little discriminatory. It makes this group of individuals feel that this product is not meant for them. This can reduce sales among this target market. The group below 16 years of age may not also identify with this ad, and this lowers the sale in this group. This not withstanding, this advert coherently brings into focus, the idea that the brand coca-cola is sensitive to consumers’ demands. It is able to convince customers that this brand has all the happiness that one may need.9 I consider this advert to be a success. It is not only entertaining but also highly persuasive. The music, the background, the happy healthy youths, the cool blue waters the wonderful colors and the atmosphere created by all this leaves the viewer yearning to be party to it. Even the target segment that would have felt cle arly ignored by this ad would admire it and this can make them be pool members. The brand image is perfectly brought out in this advert. However, the overemphasis on the youths gives the idea that it is specifically for individuals that age. This may work against the brand in the other segment that is left out. The brand positioning therefore, should try to be as all-inclusive as it may be possible.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More If given chance, I would have made a little change to the advert. This drink finds a big market in form of families. The advert does not bring out the idea that the product is suitable for a family set up. I would therefore try to bring this idea. This would bring into focus, the children who were left out by the original advert, the middle-aged and the aging. This broadens the scope of the brand. Bibliography Andrzej, A A Buchaman, Organizational behavior, Prentice Hall international, London, 2007. Bainbridge, J, Sector insight: Bottled water-Health drowns out green concerns Marketing, 2007, pp. 99. Balmond, S, Bottled water sales are booming in the UK market, Design Week Journal, vol. 20, no. 30, 2005, pp. 11. Chandler, D, Semiotics: The basics, Routledge, New York, 2004. Del, I, J Best K Coney, Consumer behavior, Tata McGraw Hill, New York, 2005. Kimmel, R, Fill with care promotes lifestyle, well being, Evians Caswell Brand Week, vol. 48, no. 30, 2007, pp. 42 Wayne, D M Hoyer, Consumer behavior, Cangage Learning, South Western, 2008. Footnotes 1 D Wayne, M Hoyer, Consumer behavior, Cangage Learning, South Western, 2008, p.32. 2 I Del, J Best K Coney, Consumer behavior, Tata McGraw Hill, New York, 2005. pp. 42 3 J Bainbridge, Sector Insight: Bottled water Health drowns out green concerns Marketing, 2007, pp. 99. 4 D Chandler, Semiotics: The basics. New York, Routledge, 2004. pp. 8. 5 S Balmond, Bottled water sales are booming in the UK market, Design Week Journal, vol. 20, no. 30, 2005, pp. 11. 6 A Andrzej A Buchaman, Organizational behavior, Prentice Hall international, London, 2007, pp. 31 7 R Kimmel, Fill with care promotes lifestyle, well being, Evians Caswell Brand Week Journal , vol. 48, no. 30, 2007, pp. 42 8 A Andrzej A Buchaman, Organizational behavior, Prentice Hall international, London, 2007. pp. 56 9 R Kimmel, Fill with care promotes lifestyle, well being, Evians Caswell Brand Week Journal, vol. 48, no. 30, 2007, pp. 42