consumers
...hat constitute the target market to which they must direct the message and what must be communicated in order to persuade the prospects to take the action that is desired. With this strategy as a guide, copywriters and art directors begin to create the advertisements. At this second stage they try to come up with an idea that involves the prospect, pertains to his life or problems, and is memorable. The idea can take the form of an unexpected set of words or a graphic symbol. It also can be a combination of words and graphics, and even music. An advertising idea works best when it is a totally unexpected yet thoroughly relevant fulfilment of the strategy. The third stage is the execution of the idea. This means turning the idea into some form of communication that a prospect can see or hear. For print advertising, execution involves writing text, taking photographs or commissioning drawings, arranging elements on the page (layout), setting type, making photo engravings, and so on. For broadcast advertising, it may mean writing dialogue and composing music, hiring actors and recording voices, filming in a studio or on location. Throughout all three of these stages, research plays an active role. Market research provides the information on which the strategy is based. Copy research may test the relative strength of several ideas on small groups of consumers or larger national samples. Focus groups may uncover communications problems in various headlines, photographs, actors, or musical compositions along the way. Research remains active after the advertisement has been executed. Often a finished print ad or broadcast commercial is tested before it appears in print or on the air, and it is not unusual to track the effect of advertising in the marketplace during the course of a campaign. The objective of any advertisement is to convince people that it is in their best interests to take an action the advertiser is recommending. The action may be to purchase a product, go to a showroom to try the product, use a service, vote for a political candidate, make a contribution, or even to join the Army. Like any personal salesperson, the advertisement tries to persuade. Advertising companies are keeping the pulse on contemporary culture, surging with new innovative marketing techniques that are imputed through promotion. Currently, consumers “expectations need to be exceeded for commercial success so that customers are delighted with the outcome.” (Jobber 1998: 13) Companies take pride in developing advertising that breaks through the media clutter and creates lasting impressions on potential buyers minds. It is essential to be seen on TV, magazines, and other media in order to show potential buyers that your product is worth investing in. Today, media is so integrated into the society that it dominates the culture. Therefore, media presence is crucial in influencing consumers. The worlds’ cultures are growing increasingly visual. People spend less time reading and more time watching. Advertisers want to engage the viewer using highly simplified concepts that are a fusion of visuals and words. They want their ideas to communicate linguistically in seconds, yet stay imprinted on the mind of the buyer. “Companies need to avoid the mistake of setting customer expectations too high through exaggerated promotional claim since this can lead to dissatisfaction if performance falls short of expectations”. (Jobber 1998: 12) For instance, Marshall Field's, a department store in Chicago, has long used the motto: Give the lady what she wants. Finding out what the customer wants is one of the problems marketing research tries to solve. Marketing research has been defined as trying to analyze marketing problems scientifically. It studies people as buyers and sellers, examining their habits, attitudes, preferences, dislikes, and purchasing power. It often studies specific segments of a population, such as teenagers, high-income groups, or senior citizens. Marketing research also investigates distribution systems, pricing, promotion, product design, packaging, brand names, and almost every aspect of the seller-buyer relationship. Marketing research is divided into a number of sub areas. Advertising research attempts to find out the effectiveness of advertising. It also seeks to learn the best media for advertising specific products: television, newspapers, radio, magazines, billboards, and others. Market analysis tries to identify and measure markets for specific products and to estimate sales potential. Markets may be differentiated by population groups or by geography. Some types of clothing are more likely to sell in Florida and California than in the northern Midwest. Some cosmetics will appeal more to black customers than to white customers. Marketing research is an expensive undertaking, and its costs are built into the prices of products. Almost every company in the United States that manufactures a product, that provides a service, or that sells products or services through retail outlets uses advertising. Those that use it most are companies that must create a demand for several products or services among many people residing in a large area. While advertising brings the economies of mass selling to the manufacturer, it produces benefits for the consumer as well. Some of those economies are passed along to the purchaser so that the cost of a product sold primarily through advertising is usually far less than one sold through personal salespeople. Advertising brings people immediate news about products that have just come on the market. Finally, advertising pays for the programs on commercial television and radio and for about two thirds of the cost of publishing magazines and newspapers. Consumer goods are those that are sold to final users, the customers. These goods include food, clothing, automobiles, television sets, appliances, and all those things people go to stores to purchase. To sell a product or good successfully you must appeal to the consumer. Companies use advertisement to entice them to go into stores and purchase products. For instance, coffee is a very popular and fast selling consumer good, which will always be in demand. A popular commercial and slogan was used by Maxwell Coffee to differiante them from other coffee companies. “A Cup of Instant Culture” was the slogan the company used earlier this decade. With coffee drinking on the wane, coffee makers can no longer simply offer satisfied faces grinning over cups of steaming java. Coffee, like lifestyles, must be exotic and sophisticated. P&G's Folger's and Kraft General Food's Maxwell House have spent bundles not only to keep th...