Various individuals, businesses and organizations rely heavily on advertising as a way of marketing their products and services. The mode of communication used by advertising firms determines whether the target customer finds such products or services appealing, or not.
Some of the commonly used media for advertising include online ads, newspapers ads, TV and radio ads, and billboards, among others. Increased competition in the business, changes in technology, and the sporadic changes in consumer demand and preferences has seen marketing executives resort to the use of ads that have been designed in such a manner as to appeal to consumers.
Companies and individuals marketing their products and services needs to convinced prospective consumers to purchase their products and//or services and not those of competitors. It is important therefore to ensure that the message used to advertise such products or services is appealing to the consumers. For example, companies selling fashion and technology-based products needs to advertise such products in an appealing way in order to ‘entice’ customers to buy your products, especially the youngsters.
Sophisticated appealing adverts are meant to appeal to the minds of consumers. Some of the forms of appeal currently used by companies include emotional appeal, sex appeal, brand appeal, feminine and masculine appeals, endorsement appeals, romance appeals, and rational appeal, among others (Ambekar 2009). The essay highlights several forms of ads from online sources as a way of examining the strategies used by advertising companies in order to attract consumers to purchase a particular brand.
One of the commonly used marketing platforms in modern day advertising is the social media which has now become a household name. For instance, marketers are now using Facebook and Twitter as a means of reaching out to their intended customers. This new mode of advertising has the power to attract people as they are able to view the adverts anywhere, anytime.
According to Admedia Solutions Ltd (2012) firms and business organizations are switching to online advertising as it is more appealing, trendier and accommodative compared with the conventional modes of advertising such as the use of magazines or newspapers.
Wicked Laser is a good example of online advertising using social media. The online advert reads,” World’s Most Powerful Handheld Laser. Win FREE S3 Arctic Laser!” (Honigman 2011). The advert appeared on an online platform posted on a Facebook wall. It contains components that enable customers to follow the ad and in the process, buy the product. First, the content used in the advert is unique. Secondly, a brand appeal is used to persuade customers to buy the product (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel 267).
Brand appeal usually associates a product with a particular product performance (Ambekar 2009). For instance, from the advert above, the text, “Most Powerful Handheld Laser”, shows that it is a product with a global repute that has been in use for a long time (Honigman 2011). Consequently, customers are attracted to this product to the extent of wanting to be associated with a world class product.
Other than brand appeal and the content used, the text “Win FREE S3 Arctic Laser” also acts as a form of promotion. This means that when the customer purchases a wicked laser, he/she is assured of also getting a S3 Arctic Laser. This is a form of enticement that makes the customer to want to spend his/her money on such a product in the hope of winning the extra gift associated with it.
The advert discussed above appeared on a Facebook wall page. Social media networks acts as a platform for consumers to freely discuss various products and services. It allows customers to share different views, opinions, perception, and attitudes regarding a product before they can purchase it. If a customer reads a positive feedback regarding a given product, he/she can easily buy the product regardless of the price.
Other than the textual content of the product, advertisers also use graphics to attract customers. People are attracted to a given product by the pictorial or graphical appeal as it normally captures their eyes. The image implanted in their minds has the capacity to trigger a psychological need in a consumer to poses the product, to become associated with the product, or to buy it. The concept that underlies the product is portrayed to the target customers through the use of graphics.
The image created by an advert forms a relationship between the product and the customer (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel 267-269). When textual content and graphical content are integrated, it becomes easier to drive the message home, as opposed to the use of words or graphics alone.
For example, an advert targeting the pharmaceutical industry with the following textual content “Finally, a packaging solution that makes sense”, a graphical representation and brief explanation (Ad Excellence 2008), is an example of an advert that combines both the text and graphics.
In this advert, the marketer uses texts and graphics to drive the message home. The graphics are designed in such a way as to appeal to the eyes of the consumer. The textual and the content appeal normally attract the customer as the text speaks for itself. On the other hand, the graphics is attractive to the eyes of the consumer, and it creates an impact in the mind of a consumer.
As a result, a consumer is better able to make the decision to buy the product. Subsequently, the adverts leave a positive image in the minds of consumers so that in future, they are more likely to purchase such products (Ambekar 2009). The portrayed messages and graphics generate the demand for the products.
The two examples provided above portray personal appeal in the sense that they are meant to simulate such emotional appeal as self esteem and comfort (Ambekar 2009). For instance, the laser adverts imparts self esteem to the consumer because it portrays the image of a world class products. On the other hand, the pharmaceutical advert assures the customer that his/her health is safeguarded and this may stimulate joy, self-esteem comfort, and safety.
In conclusion, we need to note that advertisements are designed in such a way as to leave a positive image in the minds of the consumers. As a result, the consumer may deem it necessary to associate him/herself with the product or service in question. Through brand appeal, marketers are able to associate a particular brand with a particular group in the society. This enhances the willingness of a customer to buy a particular product.
The combination of text and graphics has the power to bring out the intended message, appeal, and idea to the customer. Images appeal to the eyes of the customers and at the same time, implants a picture in their mind. This triggers them to buy or not to buy that particular product. Lastly, the use of social media in advertisement allows customers to interact with the product. It also allows them to exchange ideas and attitudes regarding a given product.
Works Cited
Ad Excellence. “Pharmaceutical Ad”. 2008. Web.
Ad Media Solutions Ltd. “Magazine Advertising”. 2012. Web.
Ambekar, Ashwini. Different Types of Advertising Appeals. 2009. Web.
Honigman, Brian. “What makes a successful Facebook Ads campaign?” 2011. Web.
Lamb, Charles W, Joseph F. Hair, and Carl D. McDaniel.Mktg5: Student Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.