Attention and Interpretation

Of all the 5,000 marketing messages we receive on a daily basis, we remember only about 12. Why do we disregard the majority of information but retain the rest? This is quite simply down to the advertisers' ability to get our attention, and once they have our attention, it is up to us how we interpret the campaign.

As previously discussed, the way somebody perceives something is totally individual. An advertisement that gets my attention immediately may not be noticed by the person walking next to me. This most often occurs when the advert is targeting a particular audience, for example a group of women dressed in lingerie will attract the attention of men and a poster for a new Sex and the City movie will get many women excited. I am of course stereotyping but from a marketer's point of view, stereotyping works when finding your target audience.

Alternatively, when advertisers want to get the attention of a broader range of people, other methods are utilised, methods that are not targeted at a certain group of consumers but every person who sees the advert(s). There are a number of ways to do this, but the best way is to shock your audience. Show a disturbing photograph or picture or ask a question that would make them start to think about the message you're trying to get out there.

Remind them about road safety...

To increase awareness of a disease that's easily caught...

And a television advertisement about speeding using a dead child, how could anyone not pay attention?

Kill Your Speed or Learn to Live With It

All of these examples are great at grabbing attention, and because they are so shocking the consumer can't help but think about it. This technique is often used by charities or companies with little money for advertising as people will complain about the images and the media will report on them. This is essentially free advertising.

Another method poses a question, or makes a statement that makes the consumer think. Like the police campaign asking people if they could handle certain situations, showing images of domestic violence or youths taking drugs. In this expample, a young boy is sitting playing a computer game but the wording is suggesting this lack of physical activity causes an early death.

Many parents will see this advert and it will probably upset them because this image is something they will be able to relate to. Hopefully it will make them think about the health of their children and will make a change in their parenting. Simply telling people about the risks of chlildren who overuse computer games wouldn't have an effect, but linking someone's child to early death will.

Of course there are more simple and less controversial ways to attract attention. Using contrast, movement, repetition, juxtapositions and size are easy ways to grab attention.

Large posters or billboards in plain view ensure that many people will see the advertisement.

By repeating an image people are more likely to pay attention, seeing three Mars bars is more effective than looking at one...

It is not an easy task to grab the attention of thousands of very different people and make them continue to consider what you have shown them after they have moved on. These methods are all effective but finding the right combination of methods is what makes a successful advertising campaign.

Advertising and the Five Senses

Advertising uses all of the five human senses to appeal to a target market. The problem with this is that it must be achieved using only two of the senses, sight and sound. Taste, touch and smell must be sold without actually utilising any of the senses.

The following adverts are examples of how all five have been used in advertising...

Smell

As unappealing as it may be, this advert for Glade air freshener discusses a smell that everybody is familiar with. The unsavoury scent of a bathroom. It then states that this product can fix this particular problem without being overpowering. It isn't selling the actual scent itself, for example 'Summer Breeze' or 'Mountain Air', it is selling the products ability to disguise a smell that is generally considered unpleasant.

Sight

Sony created an advert for a new television, focussing on its high quality colour picture. Not only has colour itself been used in the advert, but it has been used in a completely unusual way. This attracts the audience's attention; paint fireworks explode all over an estate of flats, there is no sound apart from the explosions, there is no sign of the brand or the technology they are promoting. With no explanation provided, this bizarre scene and use of colour creates curiosity amongst the audience and so they watch it until the end. Job done.

Touch

The classic Andrex puppy advertisment. Andrex toilet paper is known to be very soft, cute little puppies are known to be the best kind of soft. Simple concept but it works so well.

Taste

From the beginning of this advert for Sainsbury's Taste the Difference range, Jamie Oliver talks about taste and taste testing. Hearing about how something tastes automatically makes the audience imagine the experience. When the advert is about to finish, we see Jamie take a bite of a sausage, a staple of british cooking and something most people in the UK can relate to, and really enjoy it. Next time you crave sausage and mash for dinner, this advert may well come to mind.

Sound

There isn't a great deal of visual stimulation in this advert, but the sound is relaxing and slow paced and this makes people stop and look at the television because we are so used to hectic, busy sounds. Obviously, watching this advert for Bose speakers, you don't get the effect of the speakers; but you can see by the use of instrumentalists what the sound could be like and so how it would be through Bose speakers. However without the music in this production, the advertisment is uninteresting and meaningless.

Without doubt, all senses, apart from maybe smell, are targeted by advertisers; it is the careful selection of which one to focus on to sell a particular product or service that makes a campaign successful.

Perception

Perception is something we are constantly doing, yet something we are often unaware of. It occurs when we interpret what we see, smell, touch and hear. Many people may see the same situation or product in many different ways but this does not mean that any one individual is incorrect, perception can never be wrong or right- it simply is a person's mental reaction to something around them.

Perception can be defined as follows:

• The act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding. (Dictionary.com 2010)
• 'Perception...is a process that involves the recognition and interpretation of stimuli which register on our senses.' (Rookes and Wilson, 2000)

This image would be interpreted differently by most people, despite it being only one, unchanging image. Personally, I see a kind of rocket shooting off, but you most likely see something different. This is because of individual perception.

To find out more these pages are quite interesting:

Encyclopedia Britannica - Extract
Yahoo! Forum - Define Reality?

First impressions...

First few weeks at Bucks New and I can't complain yet!

Responsible answer first I suppose, in case my mum reads this. The university has been up to standards so far... lecturers and facilities alike! Everyone seems very enthusiastic about the subjects they teach and the technology is readily available... I'm looking forward to starting the 'real' work, although Ruth you will probably read this and say "This IS real work you just don't know it yet!"
My course tutor is Vic, who I saw only a couple of times during the first week. He's probably out wandering the halls somewhere, and that's why we like him. :)
Living at home means I haven't been able to socialise anywhere near as much as I would like to, but I have of course been given the opportunity for my taste buds to relish the taste of Jaeger Bombs (despite my hatred of Jaegermeister itself) ... and I am a lot better at downing drinks than I was before. We come to university to learn and improve ourselves after all, don't we?

This is my first ever blog, so hopefully we'll see an improvement... soon. In the meantime, have a look at my university's website...



Bucks New Uni

And a Freshers' Flirt night at Venue... because I have neglected my camera and this is the only picture I have! :)