Advertising is one of the most important parts of Business, and without it, the world would be a different place. Everywhere one looks, advertising can be seen in one of its many forms. Through my research, I have found various interesting techniques of advertising. The most interesting and one of the most effective are taxi top LCD screens. I saw an example of this in New York where colour LCD screens are mounted upon the top of the famous yellow taxis. These show up to date sports scores along with product advertisement. While the taxis remain in traffic or pass pedestrians, ones eye is drawn to it as it is such a different idea.
I found that the most ineffective way of advertising is community partnership. This is where companies may sponsor certain schemes in the local community in return for logo placement, in and around the community. An example can be found in Winchester where McDonalds sponsor the local community-recycling scheme. McDonalds’ logo appears on many bins in the centre of Winchester. However, this is only a small logo and can only be seen with the intent of looking for it. Therefore it is not effective advertising as it does not draw ones attention. I believe that the most effective type of advertising that targets teenagers is the Internet. This is due to the huge number of teens that use it. Millions of them across the world use Microsoft’s Hotmail, a free e-mail client that provides free email addresses to people. Along with this, is the use of MSN Messenger, another free service which allows people with a hotmail account, or an MSN passport, to chat to their friends across the world.
With so many teens using these services, a company would be clever to buy website banners to appear on Hotmail, or they have pop-up adverts which appear when one signs on to MSN. These techniques would reach millions of the target audience. The Internet has the advantage of rich content, where image, moving image, sound, and text can all be utilised while giving interactivity to the consumer Another advantage of the Internet is that it can be updated considerably quicker and cheaper than the other mediums of advertising. Companies can quickly change details of their products and submit the changes immediately. There are no printing costs or waiting for television companies. Whereas in a printed advert, space in a magazine can be very costly, while many magazines are released on a weekly or even monthly basis.
My advert introduces KONFLIKT, a brand new soft drink. The main hook for the target audience of teenagers is the anarchic appeal. Many young adults feel obliged to strike out against control, and this soft drink lets them do that. This message is mainly conveyed through the copy, but there are other techniques utilised. The principle of thirds, splitting the advert into nine sections, leaves the slogan lying on two hotspots, therefore drawing the consumer’s eye. The placing of the product in the centre of the advert produces a strong denotation that it is the most important part of the advert. This is true as it is the first glimpse of the actual product. The general colour scheme of black, red and white conveys a mysterious feel, which endures to make the consumer want to buy it due to their interest.
The copy uses various phrases to interest the consumer: “Be different.” Immediately, teenagers relate to the drink, with their consistent individuality being strained by school life. The next phrase continues this theme, while conveying a new sense of anarchy: “Konflikt breaks the rules and doesn’t look back.” ‘Breaking the rules’ pushes the drink’s interest into full. Now the consumer is not only dealing with a brand new and completely different soft drink, it’s anarchic and rebellious too. Finally, the copy lures the consumer into temptation with the slight usage of imperative language:
“Bring out the devil in yourself” This not only says that the consumer should buy the drink; it provides a reason to as well. Te use of the imagery of ‘devil’ could be said to add evil to this advert, along with other controversial language. However, this is part of the appeal of the advert. It stands out above the rest because it has dared to push the boundaries.
