Advertising is simply form of communication publicly promoting some product or service. This is a form of product promotion that is very essential for any type of organization. Advertising is used to encourage, persuade or manipulate audience, readers, viewers or a specific group to act in favor of the target of the advertiser. First impressions do indeed matter; this is the solid reason for advertising. Advertising has many factors that are essential like the brand name and color embedded in the advertising psychology, logo and the general social conditions, social needs, tastes, satisfaction retention and cultural beliefs of the target group (Egan, 2007). This is why it is called an industry because it has many components embedded in it. The issue of marketing synergy plays an important role in the success of the product through advertising.
The advertising industry has basically three main parts: the client or the advertiser who pays for the advertising, the advertising agencies who are responsible for the form and contents and the media, which mainly deliver the work. This is known as the triangle of dependence (Pelsmacker, 2010). The Agencies come in all sizes ranging from the one-two person shops, small-medium sized agencies and the large independents such as the multinationals. Some types of advertising agencies are the full-service agencies who are involved in planning, creating, producing advertising, performing research and selecting media; the other is the creative agencies also known as creative boutique as their main interest lies in the creation of the advertisement or branding.
Specialized agencies are those that are involved in a particular activity of the whole process of communication in any given company. Others are the in-house who mainly market the product of the company they are involved in. others include interactive, social media and even healthcare agencies. Basically the Triangle of dependence links the client, the media and the agency in a way that shows they are dependent on each other (Trout, 2001). The client is the advertising agent’s customer and the media supplier is a sublet labor or a subcontractor. The importance of this concept is that it gives the outlay and clearly outlines the purposes of the sectors that make up the system like the client who finances and selects and briefs the agency, the agency which implements the campaign, observe and evaluate results among other functions and the media whose main work is to basically deliver the work to the viewers or the target group and test the legality of the advert.
B)
Advertising, as much as it is a blessing has its curses and negative impacts. This is why regulations are put in place to minimize the negative impacts of some of the contents in adverts. For instance, in televisions, the advertisements about tobacco have been banned in most countries due to the influence of the publicity of the product and its effects not clearly covered by the company in advertising it in pursuit of personal selfish interests. This has led to the media, advertisers and the advertising agencies to develop a code of advertising standards that they aim to uphold (BPP, 2010). However, the government has put across measures and developed detailed rules for adverts on alcoholic drinks and food and advertising to children.
This has even led to the outdoor forms of advertising like the billboards in the United Kingdom being regulated by the town and the County Planning System. In Kenya for instance, due to the increasing levels of hate speech because of high levels of tribalism, the country came up with measures that ban and a legal action being performed on the accused for such offence. There are measures in the social Medias and Internet, which include very dire consequences for an offence like pornography or nudity expressed in public. In the social media, due to the huge number of people and the difficulty to curb this, there is an internal control system enacted such that it can be reviewed and banned upon being complained to the right systems of authority in the sites. These are just but a few precautions to reduce the effects of some advertisements on the youth and the public at large.
My choice is the promotional campaign of Sensodyne toothpaste on the YouTube website. The advertiser, Dr. Senthil creatively moves the recipient through the communication process in a clear and brief way. The sentences are short and easily understood. The advertiser touches on the advantages of the toothpaste and even recommends it as a specialist in dentistry to the recipient. He moves the recipient by giving an example of his personal experience of patients he receives in the hospital where he recommends it as the problem solver of the situation easily without much trouble with, “an umbrella of benefits”. This shows that there was pre-market research conducted about the needs of the targeted group.
Firstly, the message is encoded through words as a symbol of communication. The main theme utilized in the advertisement is the rational theme whereby the advertiser convinces the recipient to think on the simplicity and the benefits of using the toothpaste in the view of killing two birds with one stone (Barden, 2013). This is when he mentions the advantage of having fresh breath and at the same time having healthy gums. The emotional content is however mentioned on a light note, this is when he starts by mentioning the needs of the patients he experiences and the recipient’s need for an efficient medication that solves the issue presented easily.
The brand name and color which is a mix of blue and white makes the product more interesting and have a plus in advertising. Blue signifies elegance, serenity and clarity. The white color is the depiction of the cleaning agent and purpose of the product. I believe the name comes from the senses of the tooth, as they are a very sensitive part therefore the brand name sensodyne. The sensodyne brand packagings is done with some writings included like repair and protect which gives more essence to the 3D- carton brand of sesodyne (Pierce, 2011). A form of synergy and efficient advertisement is clearly depicted as; they satisfied a need and actually get to mention it in order to ensure that the customers are aware of the fulfillment of the very efficient needs that they might have.
The type of media chosen can be spread over a wide area with multiple people sharing it and having knowledge about the product. The product itself is packaged nicely, easy to carry and can attract the recipient. The type of promotion used is advertising the product through a media which is efficient, then the question of the price; this product is seen to be efficient such that expenses of going to the dentist for some problem with the tooth, one buys and gets the advantage of healthy gums and fresh breath.
All these factors when consolidated together convince and persuade the recipient to purchase and use the product as it is medically approved and prescribed by the doctor who is wearing the white over coat to signify his profession.
Nivea is a German brand owned by a company known as Beiersdorf and it has a global audience and strong market presence. The company has always been on the ground, interviewing people on the usage of the products and making adjustments every now and then. Advertising for this company dates back to 1924 where ‘NIVEA Boys’ was introduced represented by the brand colors blue and white which are still in use up to date. The brand colors were chosen as the best as they have an impact on the target market depending on the type of product and the purpose (The times, 100 business case studies).
NIVEA for men is one of the sub-brands of Nivea products. Traditionally men kept short hair maintained by regular cuts. But with time they become more experimental with their hair hence growing long hair. This prompted new styles and special treatment of their hair. Men started having different hairstyles, which required high maintenance. Men started turning into styling products with the aim of achieving extreme looks. The advertisers of the nivea products conducted brand testing, positioning and advertising before they settled on the brand name and the design. This is a very good strategy that enhances the marketing synergy that might be needed during the advertisement of the product. The design is important as it should impact even to the customers who are looking at it from a distance and even from a close proximity (The times, 100 business case studies).
Nivea is strong brand whose products are for everyone ranging from babies, teenagers, male and female of all age. They have given their best in gaining grounds on the female audience than the male audience. The current ad features a black man with a slogan of “Re-Civilize Yourself”. This ad seems to be abusive to the black Americans and Black men in general pointing out that they are not civilized or they are civilized in a wrong way hence with Nivea they can ‘Re-civilize’ themselves. The black model used in the ad changed the audience and target of the product from all men to black men. This is an insensitive message to the world considering the history of civilization and how blacks especially black Americans have struggled to fit into the current society. They have faced many hurdles such as slavery, discrimination abuse among other issues.
I would like to change the current slogan of the Nivea for men brand from the current “Re-Civilize Yourself” to something that is not offensive to the targeted audience. The product slogan will be “THE BEST SOLUTION TO YOUR EVERY NEED” Some of the sections in the ad are not necessary such as carrying of the head after feeling disappointed.
My theme is universality. This is because of the fact that the product focuses on various people and nationalities. The company could start with marketing its name as below like this:
This basically acts as the emotion sensitizer whereby the main aim is to appeal universally to the people who will see the advertisement. The slogan would be the better you. This is simply because the re-civilize yourself slogan impacts more on the racist issues. It is shown as below; this is general and does not necessarily impact on the racism issue. It brings a more universality and friendly advert of the product. The blue theme is a good choice therefore it is better staying the way it is.
This theme is a representation of the classic nature and quality of the products of nivea therefore the theme colors of white and blue serve the product purpose and sales very well (Trout, 2001). The sampling, the testing and the positioning of the product are all established through the advertisements, the packaging and generally the terms that are used to attract the target market.
The little bit of suspense is created as the product is presented (Fill, 2006). The target group is curious to know the main aim of the advert, what the very attractive advert aims to present on the table. Here now the client gets to know that the target is the men of this world.
The aim is to emphasize on the generality and the regard for all kinds of hair, skin types and any person, it does not emphasize on the race or the skin color. This adverts emphasize on the mainly changes between the black and white. The emphasis should be on the change experienced by anyone who uses the product.
The product is now presented and the suspense is erased from the minds of the target audience. The product is presented clearly and in a manner that shows the change experienced and the difference as evidenced in the advert. This shows the different hair and the kind of composure that is a result of using the product.
The campaign would not cost much but would cover a large number of individuals. This is thanks to the use of social media (like Face book for example), which is commonly used among the young and the old, a larger percentage being the youth. The cost of the launching of the product is the main costly issue whereby lot of materials will be required for the success. The place to launch it would be the other factor considered in making the budget (BPP, 2010).
Some of the suggestions for measuring the success of the campaign would be through one-on-one interviews with the ones who would have attended the campaign. Here, the advertiser would mainly focus on the kind of feedback obtained from the individuals. The other method would be the analysis of the increase in the purchase of the product. This can be done through monitoring the number of products that would be bought maybe in the course or after the launching of the product (Trout, 2001).
My campaign focuses on the change in the views of the individuals to use the product. The change would be to make both the races, not considering skin color feel like they own the product and it was made for them. All the spices that make up even the best soups should be mixed well and be appealing generally to the one taking it. Advertising is like cooking, the better the mixture of the components and the balance, the more it will appeal to the target group. The above strategies and all the tactics that are used in order to ensure the success of a product through advertising are invaluable as they are what really constitute marketing strategy.
Reference
BP Barden, P 2013, Decoded: The science behind why we buy, John Wiley & Sons.
BPP 2010, Business essentials. Marketing and sales strategy: ISBN: 9780751790443 (Printed Text) 9780751791600 (eBook)
Egan, J 2007, Marketing communications. Cengage Learning
Fill, C 2006, Simply marketing communications, FT Prentice Hall
Fill, C 2013, Marketing communications: Brands, experiences and participation, 6th ed. UK, FT Prentice Hall.
Lisa McTigue Pierce: (3/8/2011): -- Packaging Digest Sensodyne's 3D carton adds depth to new product
Pelsmacker, P 2010, Marketing communications: A European perspective, UK, FT Prentice Hall.
Ries, A, Trout, J 2001, Positioning: The battle for your mind, 2nd ed, McGraw-Hill Professional, UK.
The times, 100 business case studies: How market research supports the new product development process: A Beiersdorf case study
