The big problem when doing summary chapters about fields of study is what do you leave out - what do you keep, and the same was true for me trying to decide on the highlights for a 20 minute video/podcast. For me that meant focusing on key concepts that are crucial in advertising and promotion. The first of these is problem recognition and motivation. Problem recognition is where the consumer decision making process starts - and if as advertisers we don't understand the start we have little hope of satisfying a consumer in the end.
Next, I talk about Motivation and drag out Maslow's hierarchy of needs - one of my favorite things. I really think it is a simple way to understand the needs behind consumer purchases that we can use in creating advertising and promotional media. We take a look at some flyers/ads created to encourage vaccinations. The CDC's Vaccination campaign for 2012 has some great source material for you. The Media Relations PDF download on the linked page has great examples of media deliverables for a campaign. The Social Media Toolkit pdf can be found on the Web and E-tools page. It also has some great information and examples. Both are these are examples of how to educate multiple people across many offices about how to interact with the media and public using advertising and promotional tools. We'll be revisiting both of these pdfs in the future as we cover different topics.
When we look at ads for the class - it is a good idea to start asking yourself four things:
- Who is the Target Market?
- What positioning strategy is being used?
- What is the Motivation that is being appealed to in the ad for the consumer?
- Is the ad effective in communicating with their target market? (in other words - critique it!)
Information search is a key part of the decision making process for consumers. In today's technology driven society, information is at our fingertips. With the increase use of smartphones, consumers can easily look up reviews on the internet to find out more information about a product. Also, with the use if QRC codes (those codes you can scan) a brand can tell a consumer more about its product. If anything, consumers are overloaded with information and learning when to say 'Stop, I can make a decision' can be difficult.
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| The Sony "blogger" camera we first bought |
You can ask my husband about my information overload while trying to decide on a video camera for us. We purchased a cheap one at TigerDirect on a whim for our then upcoming trip to Ireland. TigerDirect has a brick-and-mortar outlet on the way to his parents' house in Elberton, GA. We frequently stop there to stretch our legs and get our tech geek on. After we got back on the road, I was about to open our impulse video camera purchase when I thought - wait - I know nothing about this except the marketing information that was at the store. Out comes my iPhone and I start doing google, Amazon and BestBuy searches for consumer and independent news reviews. Ends up, the camera we bought had several flaws (can't add memory being the biggest). I then search the internet and TigerDirect's website for different options. On the way back home, we stopped at TigerDirect to return our first purchase and get a different video camera. We ended up spending more (sadface!), but I was much happier and satisfied with our purchase. It worked great on our trip and it not only takes video but pretty decent digital photos too!
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| The Toshiba 1080P we kept |
Millenium Media releases reports quarterly about the use of smartphones and tablet devices. Smartphones have deeply penetrated the mobile market as have tablets. Ladies - good news for us - we make up about 45% (and climbing) of the tablet market now. This means more apps/ads/etc.. targeted to women on tablets coming soon. Social media is one of the big things we can access on our smartphones with ease and several studies have shown that consumers consult social media before making purchases. With smartphones, the ability to do that is at our fingertips in the store. If I'd been smart, I would've posted on Facebook or Twitter about looking for video camera suggestions. I found a cool graphic illustrating social media using Maslow's hierarchy - I just had to share it.
At the top of Maslow's pyramid is self-actualization. This is when you start to be motivated by making the world a better place - and understanding your place in and effect on the world. Values.com is one of my favorite sites and advertising campaigns. They focus on communicating to their target market that good exists in the world and you can make a difference. They also work at breaking stereotypes. Two of my favorite ads are about a purse 'snatcher' and a prom queen. Take a look at their site to see behind the scenes footage and more great ads.
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