Consumer behavior refers to the buying patterns of people. This assignment is to record the buying pattern of consumers in relation to the advertisements directed at them.
In relation to the above explanation I have recently kept my eyes and ears open for the advertisement of Mc Donald’s. I have seen it appear on TV channels in the middle of programs. To name some of the channels, movies on HBO, Star World, Cartoon Network. I have also seen adverts of it in the daily newspapers, and magazines like Women’s World, She, etc especially when something new has been introduced.
I will now focus on the time I watched the movie “Dead Poets Society” on Star Movies and report on the advertisement of Mc Donald’s during the movie. Before the movie began, and the sponsors were being introduced, the advert of Mc Donald’s appeared only once. The other sponsors i.e Dove shampoo, Comfort fabric softener and Ponds age miracle cream. In the first break of the movie, the advert of Comfort fabric was played first followed by the advert of Dove shampoo, Mc Donald’s and then Ponds. The adverts of Ponds and Mc Donald’s appeared twice and the others once. In the second break, the advert of Dove was played first followed by Ponds, Comfort and Mc Donald’s. The advert of Comfort appeared twice and the others once. The third and the last break had the same order of the advertisements as the first break. Each advert appeared twice. The length of all the advertisements was between 2-3 minutes.
The target audience of the advertisement of each advert is as follows:
- Dove shampoo: Ladies who want conditioned, silky, and easy to manage hair
- Ponds age miracle cream: Again ladies heading towards thirties when skin starts to age
- Comfort fabric softener: Ladies who do their laundry themselves and want to give the clothes a soft and fresh feeling
- Mc Donald’s: The entire family, Everyone
During the advertisement of Dove shampoo, the brand name as well as the brand logo was used twice. For Pond’s age miracle cream, the brand logo was constantly displayed and the brand name was spoken twice. In the advert of Comfort, the brand logo appeared once but the brand name was spoken thrice and for Mc Donald’s the brand logo again was displayed constantly and the brand name was spoken twice. For Ponds the web address was given at the end once whereas for the rest of the adverts neither phone number nor web address was given. The network and station and network logo appeared constantly, even during the break when adverts were being aired. Other programs, i.e movies were also advertised during each break. Around three movies in each break.
There are basically two main types of adverts; Persuasive and Informative. The Ponds and Mc Donald’s are informative whereas the Dove and Comfort are persuasive adverts. The following pie chart not only shows the two types but also where each of the above mentioned adverts stand:
As far as I think, the medium that I am using i.e TV is promoting not only the product but also the programs to appear on that channel as well. This is important for a TV channel as well as a radio channel. It has to promote its sponsors’ products as well as keep the viewers up to date with the upcoming programs. If I talk about Mc Donald’s , the brand that I have chosen, and its adverts as appearing on Star movies, the channel that I have chosen, then obviously the movie is given more time than the advertisements. For a n advert to remain in the memory of its viewers it has to be eye-catching. In my opinion the advertisement of Mc Donald’s is one that catches attention when viewed for the first time or maybe also the second time. However after that it becomes just another ad. However, some points in it do remain in the mind like emphasis on the freshness of ingredients.
If I was to market this product on TV, I would not only and solely concentrate on the freshness and quality of the ingredients, but I would also promote the Happy meals that are available for children at Mc Donald’s. I have hardly seen any adverts highlighting them. The series of toys offered with the Happy Meal change every month and are related to a certain cartoon, movie or book that the children are crazy about at that time. Why not cash on that? I would try to change my advert every month promoting the series offered during that month, although that would be expensive. If however, that is not possible, I would at least make an attention catching advert for children so that they can also be a part of our target market. The best place to air these adverts would be on kid’s channels like Cartoon Network, Nick and Pogo etc. However, it can also be aired during entertaining shows like American Idol and all as kids do nowadays watch these type of programs too.
Works Cited
Borrington, Karen “ Types of advertisements”. Business studies. Hodder Murray.
Decosta, Peter. “Calculating target audience” Consumer Behaviour. 2001.