Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society?

Michael McGrady 00073821T ADV101 Understanding Advertising 02/04/2012 APM College of Business and Communication

Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society.

Executive Summary

Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society? This report will aid you in understanding this question, whilst helping you gain a generalised knowledge of advertisings beginnings, roles in society, methods of creating an effective advertisement and the structure of an advertising agency and its key players. Through my research, I have found that advertising both mirrors and shapes society depending on what aspect is considered. For example, advertising is able to shape society through changing peoples opinions on topics such as global warming. However mirrors society through using modern fashion or music in advertising campaigns.

Michael McGrady

Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society.

Table of Contents

1. Evolution of Advertising. 2. Advertisings Role in Business and Society. 3. Different Approaches Between Old and New Advertising. 4. What is Necessary to Create an Effective Advertising Campaign? 5. The Main Areas of an Advertising Agency and its External Key Players. 6. Conclusion

Michael McGrady

Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society.

1. The Evolution of Advertising To understand advertisings role in society you must first discover the journey advertising has made from its humble beginning's to the in depth science and art it has become today. Advertising can be dated back to 2000BC when The Ancient Egyptians carved public notices in steel plates and displayed them for the people to see (Fox 2011). Even though they were not selling a product, they were conveying a message to the public, which is the essence of advertising. With the Invention of Gutenbergs Moveable Printing Press in 1450 (Tolani 2010) this lengthened advertisings reach. This gave Government and Business alike the ability to mass produce posters and circulars and disburse them to the literate public. In 1622, the first newspaper in the English-speaking world resembling todays newspapers was released (www.blurtit.com/q550661.html). This was a Major event as now large literate groups of the public could access information within the comfort of their own home. This innovation gave birth to the first newspaper ad, an ad offering a reward for finding 12 stolen horses (Tolani 2010). This then created a trend of classifieds in Englands newsweeklies (Tolani 2010). In 1776 at the birth of the American Revolution, political ads started appearing encouraging young men to enlist (Fox 2011). This can also be called propaganda and can definitely be noted for shaping society as without this form of advertising enlistment, numbers may have declined and the war may have been lost therefore altering history, as we know it. The rise of the industrial revolution in the 1800s propelled many advances in advertising such as the birth of the automobile In 1835 this created a rise in billboard advertising in the U.S.A (Fox 2011) a form of advertising that is still commonly used today. With the invention of the light bulb advertisers realized, they could use this for further effect. In 1882, the first electric sign was introduced to New Yorks Time Square (Fox 2011), which is still a central hub to all forms of outdoor advertising and has become a cultural landmark and tourist destination in New York. With the birth of the television, this created a new medium for advertisers to use and offered the capability to reach an even vaster audience and in 1941, the first official T.V Advertisement aired. It was an advertisement for Bulova Watches and aired for 20 seconds before a baseball game (Fox 2011). Following in 1950, the first political T.V ad aired for Governor Dewey of New York (Fox 2011). T.V continued to gain more popularity with televisions sets entering almost every household. Advertisers took advantage of this momentum and started to develop much more creative advertisements to draw attention and still to the day, T.V is one of the most viewed mediums. In 1955, advertising firms began to enlist the aid of psychologists to form more effective ways of wooing the public through advertising (Fox 2011). This then developed new techniques still used in advertising today such as use of colours and sounds to emphasize emotion. When the Technological Age dawned and the launch of the Internet took place advertisers started to experiment in this medium with sites such as Hotwired.com introducing banner ads advertising such companies as AT&T and Volvo in 1994 (Fox 2011). In 2000, Google Launched

Michael McGrady

Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society. AdWords a pay per click service that now accounts for more than 95% of Googles annual revenue (Fox 2011). In 2001 Pop Up and Pop Under ads started appearing (Fox 2011) these ads were a very successful method in the beginning but people started to get irritated with them and software developers started creating products that blocked pop ups. In 2007, Facebook introduced behaviour-based advertising (Fox 2011) a form of advertising that targets consumers on their activitys and likes. In 2010 Viral Advertising overtook the more traditional methods of advertising viewed with the Old Spice Advertisement viewed 30 Million times on YouTube (Fox 2011). As you can see, Advertising follows societys trends of new technologies always looking to reach a vaster audience in a more effective way. However, advertising has also aided many of these technologies to stay in existence. Without Advertising Newspapers, T.V Stations, Radio Stations and Websites would receive no funding and would cease to improve and expand. With the vast reach, that advertising has it is the perfect method of influencing peoples actions opinions and beliefs. Be it in regards to matters such as Consumerism, Government and Politics, Environmental Causes, Fashion and Values. Therefore advertising in its evolution has assisted to shape society to what it is today.

Adver sing Through Time

The Egyptians carve Outdoor Public Notices in steel and put them on display

The First Print Ad is created in England. The handbill announces a prayer book for sale

The Birth of The Automobile Fuels the Rise of Billboard Advertising in the U.S

With the invention of the light bulb the First Neon Sign is introduced in New Yorks Time Square.

The First Ofcial T.V Commercial runs for Bulova Watches the company paid $9 for a 20 second spot.

Hotwired Site launches on the internet with The First Online Ads in the form of Banners for AT&T, Sprint, MCI & Volvo

2000BC

1450

1472

1661

1835

1873

1882

1920

1941

1955

1994

2000 & Beyond

Gutenbergs Invention of the printing press means that posters and circulars can be mass produced.

The First Product Branding is Developed for Dentifrice Tooth Gel

The First Product Placement occurs with Shipping & Transport Companies mentioned in Jules Vern's Around The World in 80 Days.

In the outskirts of Pittsburgh Frank Conrad Founds KDKA the Worlds First Commercial Radio Station.

Psychologists start working in advertising to formulate more effective ways of wooing the American Public .

With Sites Such as Google Releasing AdWords, Facebook offering Behavior Based Adver sing and the influx of Viral Adver sing on such Sites as YouTube What is next?.

Adver sing has existed in many forms over me and each new technology aids its evolu on what New Opportuni es can the Cyber Age bring?
Diagram 1.1 Shows Advertings Evolution through Time Information Courtesy of http://mashable.com/2011/12/26/history-advertising/

Michael McGrady

Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society.

2. Advertisings Role in Business and Society Although you may not notice, advertising plays a major role within business and society. From assisting businesses to create brand presence and awareness of their products to aiding the stable growth of the economy or shaping the opinions and behaviours of society as a whole and in essence moulding popular culture. Advertising consists of four major roles that contribute to the growth and development of Business and Society. The Marketing Role Marketing focuses on satisfying consumers needs and wants through developing and offering particular goods and services that are tailored towards them. Advertising assists the marketing role by creating an awareness of the goods or services the business has on offer and aiding in the development of brand awareness. The Communication Role Is used to convey a message the business wants to pass to the consumer. Advertising aids this process by using different mediums to alert the targeted consumer of products or services that could benefit them or that they may want to buy. This role is also very important for cementing the brand image that was created by the marketing role into the consumers mind. The Economic Role This assists the business to create a feeling of value for the product or service within the consumers mind i.e. I cannot function without my morning cup of Moccona. If this message can be grasped by the consumer it will keep them loyal to the brand and prevent them switching to the competitor. By creating this value driven loyalty this will aid the business to consistently sell the product or service and the business will continue to grow which is the basis of any capitalist economy. The Societal Role This is a very broad role and plays a large part in modern culture. This role helps influence consumers opinions, behaviours and beliefs. Advertising can shape society through promoting positive behaviours such as eating healthy and keeping fit and can aim to reduce negative behaviours such as racism or drug use. It can influence peoples opinions such as political advertising influences your choice of vote. It can bring awareness to such things as global warming and change peoples attitudes on the subject and last but not least can introduce new fashions, fads or technologies into society with minimal resistance, for example would smart phones be as popular as they are today if advertising didnt introduce the product? In regards to mirroring or shaping society each of the above roles, approach it in a different way. The Marketing role tends to mirror society, as the focus of this is to become a part of the consumers needs and wants. The Communication role shapes society as it is constantly trying to introduce new brands into popular culture which sometimes can become iconic for example Coca Cola is no longer a brand it is a part of history. However, the Communication role also Michael McGrady

Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society.

mirrors society in its efforts to constantly use new mediums to communicate and always keeping up with current trends and fads to keep its edge. The Economic role shapes society by aiding capitalism and assisting businesses to grow and maximise profits which in turn leads to a stronger national economy and helps develop the country. The societal role shapes society by helping to shape opinions, beliefs and attitudes whilst also assisting to introduce new fashions, fads and technologies.

3. Different Approaches Between Old and New Advertising. As discussed in section one, advertising is constantly evolving to newer and greater mediums to gain maximum exposure to the public. Advertising uses, a number of mediums and many approaches to ensure it reachs the target audience whilst being absorbed and understood. The four major forms of advertising are Print, Radio, T.V and Internet. The first and most traditional form of advertising is print. Print advertising is used in such mediums as Newspapers, Magazines, Direct Mail and Flyers. This type of advertising has its limitations though as if the advertisement does not immediately interest the consumer they can easily ignore it. However, when it does catch the consumers attention it can be a very effective form of advertising. Print advertising works because readers see the product and can read your promotional message. All of the information readers need to place an order or to get more information, such as phone, fax, email address and point of contact, is included within the body of the ad (APA Online). The approach used in print advertising is use of colour interesting/relatable pictures and emotive wording. The second form of advertising is Radio. Radio advertising can be effective Because it is forced on the listener. If you're listening to a radio program, you MUST sit through the ads to continue, or else switch the station, which is no guarantee you'll find a station not currently on a commercial break. (Wikianswers) Radio advertising tends to use jingles catch lines and modern music to maximize the involvement and the retention of the message. Radio also uses show sponsorship such as a teen radio show being sponsored by Clearasil. Another popular approach of radio advertising is giveaways where companies donate products, money or holidays by phone in competitions where people need to phone at a particular time, which keeps them tuned to listen to the advertisements. The third form and up until recent times the most viewed medium that advertising occurs in is Television. Television allows consumers to see and hear a product in operation. It has greater sensory appeal than any other media (The Benton Group). T.V advertising also has its disadvantages with people being able to avoid advertising by changing channels and new technologies such as TiVo being released that allow people to record television and skip all advertising. A new approach that has been taken on by advertisers to combat this issue is Sponsorship and Product Placement. Sponsorship takes place mostly in reality television and involves a company sponsoring a show. For example Coles sponsoring Master Chef, this allows Coles to place their logo in the background of the set so consumers subliminally relate Coles to cooking and they then continue to push T.V ads during breaks and place Master Chef logos in stores all of these together will create interest in the Coles brand. Product placement is used

Michael McGrady

Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society.

when products are shown being used by the characters in the T.V show this then makes consumers who idolize the characters want to use the same products and therefore is a very effective approach of advertising. The most modern and rapidly growing method of advertising is Internet advertising. The methods used are pop ups, banners, direct email and the most recent and popular viral advertising. With people spending more personal and work time on the Internet this has become a medium that enormous amounts of consumers can be targeted at a more personal level and at a cheaper cost. With the rapid development of Internet advertising, this is forcing advertising agencies to become more innovative and start becoming more creative with their methods. Creating false reality shows that endorse a product or bogus news stories which are all viewable on YouTube. Advertising approaches have always mirrored society. When society grasps and adapts to a new technology it very quickly gains momentum and popularity. Advertising needs to adapt to this quickly in order to keep reaching its target market or it could cease to be effective.

4. What is Necessary to Create an Effective Advertising Campaign? Effectiveness is the most important principal of advertising. If an Advertisement is developed and released and the product or brand does not experience an increase in sales or awareness then advertising has failed its purpose. In todays marketplace where supply exceeds demand the main influence of advertising is to convince a consumer to leave their current favoured brand and try something new. In order for an advertisement to do this it must create an impression in a consumers mind, influence the consumer to respond and most importantly differentiate the product from all others similar in the marketplace. To make advertising effective it must entertain or involve the consumer, relate to them personally or offer an incentive to try the product. The Ad must hold attention long enough to persuade customers to change their attitude.(Wells et. al. 2011, p19) Four Key Components of creating an effective advertising campaign are Advertising Strategy, Creative Idea, Creative Execution and Creative Media Use. The next section explains in more detail how each component works. Advertising Strategy The advertising strategy helps decide the message that will be conveyed and what medium will deliver it as well as creating the groundwork for the ad such as logic direction and focus. Creative Idea The creative idea is the central idea of the advertisement, it should always demand attention from the consumer and cement itself in their mind, or at a minimum be recalled through memory when prompted. Qualitative Research (a form of research that provides insight to how consumers behave and why) should be implemented to this process to make sure the advertisement is understood and relevant to the target market.

Michael McGrady

Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society. Creative Execution This relates to the creation of the final advertisement this must be executed exactly as it will determine the brand or products position within the marketplace. The best way of reinforcing the desired position is using photos, images, printed wording, acting, slogans and music. The budget allocated to the execution of the advertisement also relates significantly to the brand/products desired position within the marketplace. If they want to portray an elegant luxurious brand/product then the budget can be extensive. However, if they want to portray an image of a thrifty affordable brand/product then the budget set will be lesser. Creative Media Use This is a very important component as it relates to placing the advertising within the publics view. If the advertisement isnt placed in the correct medium or in the wrong target market of the medium used the entire ad campaign can fail or go unnoticed for example advertising fishing equipment in gardeners weekly. This final stage is to ensure the advertisement is effective before final release and that all aspects of media used are correct. Good advertisers know how you say something and where you say it is just as important as what you are saying (Wells et. al. 2011, p21) An effective advertising campaign must mirror society and its trends, fashions and values as when advertising a product you want the consumer to involve it as a part of their day-by-day life. Therefore, if you tried making a campaign that was the opposite of societies values your product would fail, people dont want to introduce something against the norm into their life this would make them feel uncomfortable by going against their values and traditions.

5. The Main Areas of an Advertising Agency and its External Key Players. An advertising agency has multiple departments and outside sources that work together in order to create an effective advertising campaign. Two different types of advertising agencies exist, the external agency and the in house agency. An advertisers marketing department will hire an external agency in order to create an advertising campaign. The advertiser will normally approach multiple agencies and view different pitches in order to decide which agency will set the communication strategy and portray the message they want, price is also a big player in the decision of which agency an advertiser will use. The in house agency only ever exists in large corporations who want greater control over the communication strategy and want to maintain the brand image that they have created. Although sometimes, large corporations will use an external agency in order to gain a fresh perspective or if the communication strategy set by the in house agency isnt working. The major departments within an advertising agency are the account-handling department, the creative department, the media department and the production department some agencies have more and some agencies have less but these are the four major departments that exist within a successful agency.

Michael McGrady

Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society.

1. Account-Handling Department The account-handling department is responsible for sourcing new business and maintaining existing business. The department represents the interests of the advertiser and the agency and balances them to keep the advertiser satisfied and the agency profitable whilst maintaining a positive relationship between both. Roles within this department are the account director, the account planner and the account managers. Account Director The account director is a board level director who generally holds expertise in a particular product market. The account director constantly monitors the account and makes regular contact with the advertiser at a director level. Account Planner The account planners role is sometimes integrated into the account directors role depending on the size of the agency, the account planner can also be known as a brand manager. The account planner is responsible for developing long-term advertising strategies and managing the creative and media strategies. Account Manager The account manager is responsible for maintaining the account on a day-by-day basis. Account managers make regular contact with the advertisers marketing department and coordinate the creative media and production departments. An account manager reports directly to the account director and can work on multiple accounts at any given time. 2. Creative Department The creative department consists of roles such as the creative director and the copywriter, the creative department produce the initial advertising concept after viewing the creative brief and can work on multiple accounts at any given time. Creative Director The creative director is a board level director and is responsible for ensuring marketing schemes and designing concepts for the advertisement are suitable for use. Copywriter The copywriter is responsible for writing the advertising campaign in regards to verbal or textual content such as slogans, headlines, jingles and inputting website data. The copywriter performs research identifying the demographic and potential competitors and assesses how to differentiate from competitors and how to relate to the demographic. The copywriter presents the drafts to the advertiser and makes changes until the advertisement is deemed suitable. Copywriters report to the creative director and can work on multiple accounts at any given time.

Michael McGrady

Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society.

3. Media Department Generally, only large agencies have a media department where as smaller agencies outsource to external media consultancies. The media department has three main roles, Media Researching discovering which medium would be most effective for reaching the target market, Media Planning- planning the use of the chosen medium to achieve the clients objectives and Media Buying- responsible for negotiating price within the chosen medium to suit the advertisers budget. 4. Production Department The production department is responsible for ensuring the finished advertisement is delivered by the deadline. The production department also sources specialist consultancies such as public relations firms and direct marketing agencies. Some production departments can also have a sub department known as the Traffic Department who are responsible for ensuring other departments have completed their work by the agreed deadline. There are many outside sources that aid an agency to produce a cost effective and successful advertisement. The two major outside sources excluding the client and the target audience are the media and advertising suppliers 1. The Media The media consist of the mediums that will be used to convey the message from the client to the target audience. The media consists of such mediums as Internet, T.V, Radio, Newspapers and Magazines. 2. Advertising Suppliers Advertising suppliers consist of photographers, producers, directors, printers, graphic designers, artists, songwriters, market research firms, production houses, telemarketers and public relations consultants. Sometimes it can be cheaper for an agency to outsource to one of these particular groups, It can be helpful using someone with a specialty in one of these fields or at times it can even benefit the agency to use one of these groups to gain an outside perspective. In regards to the question, does an advertising agency mirror or shape society? The advertising agencies purpose is to create an advertisement to change beliefs, opinions or make someone try a new product therefore an advertising agencies actions shape society. However each department in the process of developing the advertisement needs to mirror society in someway, for example the creative department will need to research what music to use in an advertisement, what language to use and what images will be relevant to the target market therefore they need to mirror the current societal trends to make the advertisement effective.

Michael McGrady

Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society.

5. Conclusion In summary advertising both mirrors and shapes society in different ways. Advertising mirrors society through using current fashions, modern music and slang/modernized language in the advertisements developed to gain a personal and relatable connection with the consumer. Advertising has always followed new advancements of technology introduced into society such as moving from Print to Radio then to T.V and finally to the Internet. However advertising has also shaped society in many ways such as using propaganda in wartime to shape the publics opinion, or using advertising politically to change the publics preference on vote, or even influencing peoples opinions on global issues such as global warming. Advertising plays a very important role in todays society, as without it capitalism may never of established itself as the pillar of democracy that we hold today. Without advertising people wouldnt know what options are available to them or what choices they have in life. In conclusion, without advertising society would sit stagnant.

Michael McGrady

Does Advertising Mirror or Shape Society.

References 1. BLURTIT.COM, When was the Newspaper Invented, Available on www.blurtit.com/q550661.html (Accessed 27 March 2012) 2. The Benton Group, June 7 2011, Why is TV Advertising so Effective, Available on http://www.savemyadbudget.com/why-is-tv-advertising-so-effective/ (Accessed on 29 March 2012) 3. FOX Zoe, The Evolution of Advertising: From Stone Carving to the Old Spice Guy, Mashable Business December 2011 Available on http://mashable.com/2011/12/26/history-advertising/ (Accessed 26 March 2012) 4. NORTHBAY BIZ, Print Advertising Works, Courtesy of APA Online, Available on http://www.northbaybiz.com/General_Articles/General_Articles/Print_Advertising_ Works.php (Accessed 29 March 2012) 5. TOLANI Roshan, The Origin and Evolution of Advertising, Available www.advertisingcrossing.com (Accessed 26 March 2012) 6. Wells, Spence-Stone, Crawford, Moriarty, Mitchell, 2011. Principles and Practice Advertising, Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest NSW 7. Why the radio advertising is more effective than print advertising, Wiki article February 5 2008, Available on http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_the_radio_advertising_is_more_effective_than_pri nt_advertising (Accessed 29 March 2012)

Michael McGrady