Contextual Study – Advertising

Three - When stuff sucks #makeitright (puppet advert).

This advertisement is a Mini Fiction, this is a small fictional narrative that involves a main character that is there for the audience to identify with. The main character will go through something that the audience is intended to identify with. This creates a comnection with the audience and the advertisement as they see themselves as this main character. This main character overcomes their problem, which in this adverts case is their lack of anything going 'right'. This ad is also a part of a series, this is different from the usual stand alone ad. Standalone adverts are a lot more common. However a series can help to build a strong narrative and get the audience invested in where it's going to go and where it might end. For this particular series they have done four videos.

They have used a slogan in this advert as a persuasive technique, they use the hashtag statement "#makeitright". This is repeated and used throughout to suggest that without their product you can't be right which targets the audience and will make them remember it as it is a bold, clear statement.
The brand keeps an upbeat, fun and frienly identity. The use of the main characer being a puppet from the muppets appeals to those that would have watched the muppets and even children which could help show that they are a family friendly company. Linking to this I think that they have tried to target this at people aged 20-35. This is because it applies to those looing for a committed brand and also those looking for a brand that will be able to keep up with whatever they might need.
The advertisement very obviously sticks to the regulations, this is clear by the fact that it is such a family friendly video. They play this before movies at the cinema and during daytime TV hours, which implies that it sticks to all the regulations. The video is very harmless and fun.

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2015 - #ManOnTheMoon

This advert has also been done in the style of a Mini Fiction. It invloves a narrative that really connects with the audience. We are given this advert from the point of view of the young girl in it as she watches the 'man on the moon' we experience the same feelings as this young girl which creates an empathy link between the audience and the product, because we are feeling as sad as this young girl we then get to revel in the relief and beauty that is the fact of her sending the man a gift so he is no longer alone. This really plays on our emotions and heartstrings. They have used pathos as their persuasive technique, the advert invokes a strong emotional response in those that watch it.
John Lewis is a very upper class brand that provides very family orientated products. This advert highlights the importance of family and being together which fits in with their genre of brand that they have marketed themselves for.
Their target audience is those between the ages of 25-40. This is clear by the very obvious family feel that they have created with it. The use of the little girl will appeal to those with younger children prompting them to identify with their parental instincts and family expectations.
This advert complies with the regulations and codes that need to be followed before being put on TV. I don't think it's been documented because there is nothing that is untoward in it. The advert is one that invokes sadness and longing, I think that everyone connects with this advert in some way and becuase of that they don't see it as something that needs to be reported as everyone is happy with it.

Issues of regulation surrounding the advertising industry.

CAP stands for- Committees of Advertising Practice. They write and maintain the UK Advertising Codes. They also have words with the inmdustry and give specialist advice and ensure that any ads made comply with the guidlines.
ASA stands for- Advertising Standards Authority. They have the largest amount of influence over all the advertising in the UK. They work to enforce the advertising codes. They work with the oublic, such as when someone complains about an advertisement they then look and check whether the ad has stuck to the guidlines that CAP writes.
BCAP is the UK Code of Broadast Advertising. The BCAP code is mandatory for everyone wanting to post an advert in the UK, on all platforms. All advertisers are expected to work with the code.
OFCOM is the communications regulator for the UK. "OFCOM operates under a number of Acts of Parliament, including in particular the Communications Act 2003. Ofcom must act within the powers and duties set for it by Parliament in legislation." They mainly work to ensure people that watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material and that people are protected from being treated badly in either TV shows or radio programmes and that their privacy is safe.
We use regulation for a range of reasons such as, ensuring a fair technical standard, to encourage competition and to protect the public. Regulation provides public safety and equality in TV, radio and other advertising.
"Misleading adverts produced by Gatwick Airport about the noise from a new Heathrow runway have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)."

RESEARCH METHODS AND TECHNIQUES.

Research Techniques are ways to obtain information from various sources for whatever your need is. There are four main techniques that are used which are key when creating something for the media industry. Market research is done by collecting and analysing information about the market that the product will be a part of as the product will be competing for audience and revenue, this means that in order to know how best to advertise you must have an awareness of the audience target, statistical data about your audience, knowledge on any product competitors. Another, just as important aspect of research is product research. This is related to the production of the product itself; it provides content for the product and allows you to research commercial viability. Audience research is important as knowledge on the target audience is key to creating a successful advertising campaign. You can look at items that are similar to the one you will be advertising and collect and analyse how successful it was with the target audience, audience ratings and product sales.

There are two main types of research, quantitative and qualitative.

If you want to get inside your customers’ minds you need to do qualitative research, this gives valuable insight into your target audience, your product and the market you will be releasing this product into. Qualitative research is about finding out not just what people think but why they think it, doing qualitative research also helps you to discover your customers feelings and thought processes, such as why they buy a particular product. Face-to-face interviews and group discussions are the best way to get good in-depth feedback which is needed when you are developing a new product or coming up with a new advertising campaign, it will help you gather reactions and can help you refine your ideas.

Quantitative research involves things like a questionnaire or a survey, these can help when creating adverts as it enables informed decisions with hard statistics. By using quantitative research you are able to gather opinions in a structured way which then allows for the use of hard facts and statistics to be used without doubt. With this research it is important that you do the surveys on a large representative or your target market as this ensuring reliable statistical results as there is a larger population validity.

Another key part of research is Primary research which is information that you have gone and gathered yourself, such as surveys, focus groups, interviews and questionnaires. Primary evidence is used so often because as you are carrying out these studies yourself you know the reliability of the research that you have done and are able to update information if it's needed. A good example of Primary research is a focus group, you will get a lot of different opinions from everyone in the group. Another good example of a primary research method is Questionnaires, this is very useful because you will a lot of different data in the questionnaire.

Secondary research is the most common method for collecting data. Secondary research involves collecting data from pre-existing primary research that someone else has done/ You are looking for information that has already been gathered. You may find your secondary research anywhere, for example you could find it; online, in a book, magazine article or a marketing report.
Secondary research is often done first as it enable you to find information out about your chosen subject and gain experience in it. You can use secondary research to establish a connection between the information you need and what you already know and what you then need to find out. Researchers are often attracted to secondary data because getting this information is much less expensive than if the researchers had to carry out the research themselves.

Audience research is a systematic and accurate way of finding out information on those that will be your intended customers. Audience research is key as you find information about the sort of times these people, for example, watch TV- so that you know when to air your advert. By doing audience research you are gaining information about how to catch your target audiences attention and what it would take for them to want to purchase it.
Market research is done to look at already existing products and how well those are selling and why they are. This could help you to become aware of possible conflicting companies that may be selling similar products, you are then able to locate the weaknesses of their advertising campaign and ensure that you don't make the same mistakes.
Production research helps you to become aware of what fees you are looking at, any possible problems  that could arise, and how we would effectively combat them. This research also benefits overall sales as you can find out how to be most cost-effective when looking at your profit and during the purchasing of the materials that will be used to create the item.