15 Learning Aim A

Guide To Codes and Conventions:

 

Introduction: The aim of this assignment article is to explore the codes and conventions of advertising used by media agencies to target consumers, to help us understand their usage.

 

Classifying audiences:

Classifying audiences is used to help in targeting the product towards them through their classification.

There are many ways of grouping and classifying audiences, but this article focuses on a few; mass vs niche, SOC, geodemographics, and psychographics in relation to the audience.

MASS VS NICHE:

A product with a mass appeal has a wide range of audience following, making it more recognizable to people.

A product with niche appeal has a smaller, usually more sophisticated audience following, making it less recognizable, but harboring a stronger following and more appeal in relation to its audience.

Mass appealing products can be incorporated into the advertisement to ensure it reaching a wider range of people.

Niche appealing products can be incorporated into the advertisement to ensure its reach to a sophisticated and dedicated audience.

GEODEMOGRAPHICS:

This refers to the demographics and groups within the audiences’, and their identity in relation to it.

They are usually group in 5 categories which are: Class, Age, Gender, Sexuality, and Ethnicity.

Note that other groupings may be introduces or used for certain contexts.

These aspects can be taken into account while making the advertisement, which helps make it appeal to its specific target audience through conventions that would be relevant to them.

 

PSYCHOGRAPHICS:

This refers to a similar approach to targeting specific audience groups, but while geodemographics takes into account more external aspects, psychographics focuses on internal aspects of an audience.

It takes into account an audience’s personality, intrinsic values, morals, lifestyle, social characteristics, attitude, interests, activities, while also grouping them using social class.

Usage of these grouping in advertising can help influence an audience and appeal to them on a more intrinsic level.

 

 

SOC:

Standard Occupational Classifications is a system of audience grouping and classification in relation to a person’s occupation or “job skill level”, and is in a way a class-based system of audience classification.

The major groupings run through Level 1 – Level 4.

 

Level 1: Elementary trades, administration and service.

Level 2: Transport and machine operators, sales, customer service, secretarial, personal care.

Level 3: Middle-level managers, health and social care, protective service, media, public service, agriculture, skilled construction.

Level 4: Corporate managers/directors, STEM fields, health professionals, teaching.

 

 

 

DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION:

This section will focus on the ways of distributing to audiences, and the methods of audience consumption.

DISTRIBUTION:

The goal of advertising is to effectively reach a wide range of audiences, and to influence them into buying whatever is being advertised.

There are 3 main sectors in advertising: Radio, Broadcast, and Web-based; different sectors have the same goal of reaching an audience, but utilize different methods of doing so.

 

Broadcast:

The main mediums used for effective broadcast advertising are TV broadcasts, and Radio broadcasts.

 

Print:

The main mediums used for effective print advertising are   print magazines, and print posters.

 

Web-Based:

The main mediums used for effective web-based advertising are social media, and pop-up ads.

 

 

 

CONSUMPTION:

This is the ways in which the audience interacts with and reacts to the advertisements distributed to them through mediums.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Examples:

 

Print

 

The usage of the cigarettes as prison bars enforces the message of the dangers of smoking.

The ad uses a minimal amount of words, conveying importance and adding weight to them.

 

The ad uses pathos to appeal to the audience, as it conveys its message in a way that plays on audience fear behind losing their selves, forever.

 

This is a standalone ad/psa.

The style of the ad is dramatic, as it has heavy undertones and serious context.

 

Within Gunn’s 12 types of advertising, this would fall into the category of exaggerated graphic ads.

This is because of the heavyweightedness of the message, being about smoking and cancer, and using a dramatic serious form within the advert.

 

Broadcast:

 

Flex-tape ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xzN6FM5x_E

 

We see international treasure and charming man icon Phil Swift demonstrating the multiple usages of flex tape.

We also see the usage of multiple branding logos and associated content links on the screen.

 

The ad uses logos to appeal to the audience, as Mr. Dr. Phil Swift tries to convince you to buy flex tape by showing how good of a product it is, phil swiftly swaying you to buy it.

 

This ad is one of a series of Phil Swift Flex-Tape ads.

The style of the ad falls under the humorous category, as it uses handsome charming personas (Phil Swift) to appeal to the masses.

 

Within Gunn’s 12 types of advertising, this would fall into the category of demo ads.

This is a visual demonstration of a product’s capabilities, usually by a presenter or salesman persona, to try and sway the audience to buying the product after being wowed by its magic ass powers.

 

 

Web based

 

We see an advertising for Elton John’s (hopefully) final “Farewell Tour “The final tour (farewell)””.

We see his face, and information relevant to the tour (dates, ad partners, context).

 

This ad uses ethos to sway the audience, as it uses Elton’s popularity to help appeal to audiences and sell tickets (it’s his tour), and to show off the ad partners like Gillette and raise their sales.

 

This is from a standalone ad for his tour.

The style of this ad is humorous as it uses a charming personality’s likeness to sell the product.

 

Within Gunn’s 12 types of advertising, this would fall into the category of Unique personality property, since it uses the fact that it’s john’s last tour as the hook of the ad.

 

 

Evaluation:

 

In conclusion, I have found the most effective ads ti be the ones that use charm to appeal to audiences, since an audience being charmed can effectively help connect with audiences.

Relatability is also important and is effective, but charm works better as more people could connect with an ad for its charm than audiences who will connect with it as they found it relatable, since human experience differs much.

 

The least effective type of ad is long “tell it” type of ads, since they’re boring and feel forced, meaning the audience will connect less to it.

 

Resubmission: