last updated 10/17/2012

Placing Advertising and Persuasive Messages in Media

1. Market/audience segmentation is the key to all modern advertising

In product ads and
In political ads

2. Traditional TV advertising is undermined by VCRs/DVRs

Product "placement" is an alternative
Bluring ads and content is the new form

2. Use of incentives to view ads is growing

   email with ads
   pop-ups
   search engine ads (with optimization consultants)
   sponsored links

3. Behavioral Targeting is hot (and very controversial)

BT is based on consumer actions - what you do on the internet
         (e.g.    facebook, searches, "click throughs, etc.)
what you do in real life (TV in the grocery store, at the airport, etc.)
where you shop - product tie-ins (e.g. movie characters at Mickey D's)
what you watch - on DVDs you buy/rent
 

Types of Advertisements

Traditional Ads

• Traditional Product Ads (in traditional media)

• the Product as an Ad

• Service Ads

• Good Will Ads

• Advocacy Ads

• Infomercials (direct response)

• Public Service Announcements

• Political Ads

• Issue Advocacy

Non-traditional Ads

• In-store ads

• Digital billboards

• Search Ads and sponsored links

• Spam

• RFIDs

Advertising and Values

• Ads define "preferred" lifestyles (e.g. hygene, home care, food & cooking types)

• Ads can promote (and use) causes (e.g. green products)

• Ads assume a consummption based lifestyle - materialism =happiness

• Ads encourage instant gratification

• Ads define what brings about acceptance ("nothing says loving like ...")

• Ads are relentlessly conservative (non-ideologically)

Discussion Questions for Thursday

1. What Ads do you like?  Why?  (Bring a favorite ad to classor the web location (say on YouTube)

2. What Ads irritate you?  Why?

3. Beyond purchases or other intended actions, how do ads influence people you know?  You yourself?

4. Do ads influence our personal identities? Our social expectations and interactions?