Dissertation preperation

Dissertation preparation-Amy Wood

I have chosen two questions for my dissertation; two questions that interest me greatly as they are subjects that I have learnt a great deal about in order to prepare for my dissertation.

They are: Has the advertising industry begun to ignore the older generation as a target audience?

And

Where does advertising end and propaganda begin?

 

In order to compile information for my essay, I have researched both subjects thoroughly, using both the massive amount of information on the internet at my disposal and speaking to people in order to gain a general opinion on the subjects. My essay will relay these findings in an unbiased manner; my feeling on each subject has swayed throughout the research process, as each question has brought much scope of opinion into my research. For example; a journalist writing an article on Politics and advertising will already have an allegiance in place due to the newspaper they write for. As politics is such a vast and serious issue in this country, it would seem that the opinions of the articles authors I read are laid out across the page, clearly and concisely for the reader to digest. With regards to the older generation question, it is a subject that has engaged many discussions on internet forums and has also prompted articles to be written in its matter. Again, it is an issue heavily ensconced in opinion; a divided opinion is what I most found when discussing this subject with people, and also within the articles I read regarding the issue. Such is the nature of being the subject of a debate, the older generation obviously feel that they are somewhat ignored.

 

My essay will explore my chosen question in depth, using the research and opinions/figures I have correlated. I believe that both subjects require opinion in order to properly assemble my dissertation, as they both equally concern the population of this country. They are subjects that the majority of people will, to some level, offer some their feelings and beliefs on the matter. There is so much scope in both questions that there is no “ceiling” to the research process; 60 million people in Britain could offer an answer to either question which could quite easily be taken into account.

My second choice question: Has the advertising industry begun to ignore the older generation as a target audience?

I was very curious when I chose to research this question. There were a great amount of questions I had in mind when compiling research. The older generation are mostly retired, do advertisers simply ignore that they have more free time? In some cases, more disposable income (The over 50’s have more than £200 billion of disposable income and account for approximately 80% of private wealth)? Are they aware that they are the fastest growing demographic using social networking sites and currently account for a third of the online community?

A report published in the economist magazine in 2002, wrote that companies still spend over 95% of their marketing and advertising budgets on the under 50′s age groups. Paul Treguer; founder of Senior Agency, an advertising company aimed at seniors believes that the reason for this is that companies focus on building brand loyalty; catching the younger generation in order to maintain their loyalty further on into their lives: “We are in a society where there is a strong preference for young people. Large worldwide corporations like Coca Cola, Walt Disney, Sony and Nike were born in the 20th century; they contributed to define the core target for advertising as 15 – 35 year olds. Today, executives in marketing, advertising and television still address the youngest consumer possible to build up brand loyalty.  Whilst continuing, following this formula , the marketing executives, agencies and television channels try and capture who they view as the easily manipulated target and ignore the rapidly aging population.” I think it obvious that companies would spend heavily on advertising for younger generations; they will of course bring brand loyalty, e.g. football players both amateur and professional will usually stick with the same brand of boots throughout the years that they play. However, as I have already illustrated, the older generation are ‘those with the money’ and surely are a cash source waiting to be tapped. M&S had their very public breakdown, many believing that this was due to their strict policy of catering for the older generation. Their resurgence into a powerful company is one of the great successes in British business; however, this correlates with them turning their attentions to the younger generation as the target audience. Although their television adverts feature iconic model Twiggy (currently in her 60’s) they have presented their adverts with a modern twist accompanying her with younger models, almost leaving her rendered an after-thought to satiate the older generation; have them believe they are ‘part of the process’. Surely, they will begin to alienate their loyal older generation that they fought so hard to capture in the first place, or do they believe that the younger generation is the target audience now as they too look to capture a new brand loyalty?

I found many reasoned (but heavily biased) arguments and opinions for both the necessary resurgence of advertising for the older generation, and the fact that companies need to change and adapt with the times as the world is constantly changing. The one question that remains on my mind is; despite the necessity to capture brand loyalty in order for a company to compete, do they not need to maintain the advertising to the 100% of their customers in order to survive?

 

My first choice question: Where does advertising end and propaganda begin?

I chose this question because it is an area I knew very little about; it benefited me as I have learnt much about the subject matter and gained valuable knowledge regarding an issue that I didn’t realise was so in depth. When I chose this subject, as with my previous question, it brought many questions to mind. What methods do advertisers use in such a specific advertising genre? How do some advertising methods work better than others? Can a political advertising campaign really affect and change British voters’ minds? Does politics dictate advertising, or does advertising dictate politics? Where does advertising end…and propaganda begin?

Claire Beale, of the Independent writes: “The advertising agencies involved in these campaigns will admit that their role is to provide material, images, sound to generate debate, and not to come up with a killer ad that changes the cause of election, this election has not been an election of iconic advertising, but an election of stunts, online parodies and fast turn-around, knee jerk ads that have made the most of speed and flexibility of digital posters and the internet.”

Political advertising was a necessary tool during the first and second World Wars. Iconic posters displaying bloody soldiers that told the viewer to “Fight for their country” were commonplace as the dissemination of political material was obviously more difficult at that time, and the government required support during that time as the country went to war on their say so. This was known as propaganda, and this caught my interest as I wondered whether today’s political ‘advertising’ could actually be ‘cloaked’ propaganda, which in turn will have an influence on British voters’ minds.

Propaganda is defined as: Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. The dissemination of such information as a political strategy

Advertising is defined as:  The activity or profession of producing advertisements for commercial products or services.

In recent years, there have been many stand out examples of ‘Political Advertising’. “Dave the Chameleon”, “Labour isn’t working” and “Don’t let him take Britain back to the 80’s”. All of which are witty, well presented and also feature one common feature; a humorous and clever attack on the opposition.  In certain areas of the country, political allegiances are sworn in from birth-Labour or Conservative being the dominant pair. However, do the adverts produced by renowned advertising companies such as Saatchi and Saatchi cause those non-voters and those ‘on the fence’ to change their vote? One obvious method is to play on recent events surrounding the country, such as the recession and unemployment figures. Each advert will blame the opposition for occurrences within the Political climate; Labour infamously attacked the Conservatives for their actions surrounding the closure of mines up and down the country. Arthur Scargill took to the televisions attacking Maggie Thatcher; this became a renowned and often used part of historical advertising; the Conservatives maintaining they were doing it for the countries benefit; Labour believing they forgot about the working classes as they carry a heavy middle/upper class label.

As mankind has furthered its ability to exchange information, generated social networking sites and television can offer over nine hundred channels, Politics has moved with the times. Politicians often use Twitter to offer their views on matters. With these changes has come a change in advertising tactics. Billboard advertising is still commonplace; no more so than in London. David Jones, global chief executive of Euro RSCG insists that “the transparency, authenticity and speed of new media has transformed this election, it has cascaded word of mouth”. One advertisement that causes controversy is bound to have an effect. The media will of course discuss it, which causes the public to discuss it offering their opinions and beliefs on the matter, whether that be word of mouth or use of Twitter and Facebook.

I visited a website emandp.com and found an article; the article iterates that when it comes to political advertising, the higher the cost of the advertisement  and the more knowledge voters have, the more negative the advertising according to a recent study co-authored by Mitchell J Lovett; Assistant Professor of Marketing. The Co-authors studied more than 600 political campaigns and found that the more media coverage and advertisement spending on a campaign the more negativity in advertising responses. “When you account for knowledge about the candidates and campaign spending, the relationship goes away” says Mitchell J Lovett.

The main opinion I found during my research into the subject, was the overwhelming negativity surrounding ALL political advertising. It is of course completely based on bias and opinion, one person’s idea of controversial and negative is different if the advert was spawned from the ideas of their party! In the 1070’s and 1980’s, where poster and newspaper campaigning was an absolute necessity to political parties, it was possible to change a voters mind. The use of strong language and emotive imagery would resonate with the recipient, on the basis that political allegiances were being tested. However, politics has become less important in today’s culture; the people whose opinions I have collated have led me to believe that the public see our politicians as “all the same” and “no better than the others”. Could there be an advertisement campaign in the future that would sway their opinion? I am going to detail my case studies in my dissertation, they show clearly that the public are feeling disenfranchised with politics and political advertising. I will however, present these findings in an unbiased fashion, as they are a discussion of bias in their subject matter.

In conclusion, I opted for my first choice question as I felt there was more room to explore the issue, it resonates with the public on a firmer basis, and causes debate whenever it is approached. There is plenty of scope for a dissertation in my second choice question; however, I feel that the Political question will present a more interesting essay as the country is currently experiencing political shifts on an almost daily basis. Such is the nature of Politics, as is the same in the world of advertising, it is always changing and it is a clash as to whether the public or the politicians have to change.