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So far, we have analysed content based key aspects of print advertising. We have looked at what goes into the ad, how it is put together, and what is represented by it.
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So far, we have analysed content based key aspects of print advertising. We have looked at what goes into the ad, how it is put together, and what is represented by it. Now we’re moving on to look at the first of our context based key aspects – audience. We’re no longer looking at how the ad was designed and put together, we’re looking at what influenced it being made in the first place! As always, there’s a lot of crossover with other key aspects, as all of the elements that go into creating an ad are closely linked.
A piece of media is nothing without an audience. The word ‘media’ is the plural of ‘medium’, meaning a conduit or method of getting something from one place to another. In the case of mass media, it’s all about getting the text (be it a film, an ad, a radio show, a website etc.) from the makers to its audience. In advertising, the audience is everything. The makers of the ad want your attention and, almost always, your money. They will work incredibly hard to make sure their ad gets seen by the right people - those who are most likely to buy the product - and to make sure that when they see it, it will have the desired effect - they will buy it!
Every media text created has a target audience. When the creators make the text, they have in mind who they would like to watch, read or listen to it. Sometimes target audiences are very wide (e.g. for the 10 o’clock news, for a popular newspaper, for a blockbuster superhero film…) and sometimes they are niche (small and select, such as Gaelic speakers, fans of an obscure sport, collectors of antique flowerpots…) When the text is being created, the makers will be considering every element of it extremely carefully to ensure it appeals to their target audience or audiences.
When a product is being marketed by a company, they will consider who they want to aim it at in order to sell the most units. They will use a system call demographics which divides people up into categories. The categories might be based on: age bands (e.g. 18-24, 25-40, 50+) social class (we’ll look at that on the next slide) gender (i.e. male or female), location/nationality (e.g. rural, urban, different nationalities) interest groups (e.g. sporty, arty, sci-fi fan, music fan) Or any other grouping that is useful to the advertiser.
There is a very specific way of looking at social class, which may be one of the more difficult demographics for us to get to grips with. In the UK, many advertisers will refer to the NRS (national readership survey) social grades when considering their target demographic. These grades are: A - upper middle class, high managers, professionals. B - middle class, middle managers, administrative jobs. C1 - lower middle class, customer service, junior managers or administrators. C2 - skilled working class (plumbers, joiners, electricians etc). D - working class - semi and unskilled manual workers , such as street sweepers, bin collectors etc. E - casual or low grade workers, pensioners, people on benefits.
When identifying their target audience, advertisers will have one or more demographic in mind. For example, a new shampoo may be aimed at urban females in the A-C1 brackets. A new feed for farm animals may be aimed at rural males in the C2-D brackets. A new expensive wine may be aimed at urban men and women in the A and B brackets Always consider who the advertisers think is most likely to pay most for the product – follow the money!
If an ad contained the following elements, who do you think the target audience would be? Think about age, gender, social class, interests, nationality etc… 1. Magazine ad. Full page. Pink background. Soft focus image of a famous actress. Bottle of perfume in bottom left corner. Slogan in purple calligraphy script – ‘For the Girl who has Everything’ 2. Newspaper ad. Half page. Setting is a football stadium. Two players are captured mid-tackle, with looks of determination on their faces, one in a blue strip, one in red. Image of a chocolate bar is superimposed along the top of the page. Slogan, in black block capitals – ‘Use Your Energy’
And a couple more – what is the target audience? Is there more than one? 3. Film poster – dark background. Close up of a handsome blonde man on one side with a wry half smile. Close up of a handsome dark haired man on the other side, looking fierce. In silhouette in the background we see these two characters fighting. Slogan along the bottom in metallic script– Brothers. Until the End. 4. Billboard ad – cartoon elephant holding fistfuls of cash. Wearing a fez at a jaunty angle, and a rainbow striped suit. Lots of happy cartoon people around, reaching out for money falling from the elephant’s hands. Slogan along the bottom in huge bubble writing- Crazy Money Loans – you’d be mad not to get one!
Now let’s think about how an advertiser might design a print ad to appeal to a certain audience. Imagine a new soap powder is being launched. What might the advertisers include to appeal to: A 30 year old mother of 2? A 65 year old retired teacher? A 19 year old male student, living away from home? Think about the images they might choose, the colours, the setting, the font, the layout of the elements on the page, the slogan and any other text (known as copy) and any other aspect.
Now imagine a new moisturiser is being launched, which can be used by men or women. What might the advertisers include to appeal to: A 15 year old male school pupil? A 73 year old grandmother of 6? A 25 year old female office worker? Think about the images they might choose, the colours, the setting, the font, the layout of the elements on the page, the slogan and any other text (known as copy) and any other aspect.
How about an advert for the television coverage of the Commonwealth Games. What might the advertisers include to appeal to: A 12 year old non-sporty girl? A wealthy 45 year old businessman? A 36 year old father of 2 children aged 6 and 8? Think about the images they might choose, the colours, the setting, the font, the layout of the elements on the page, the slogan and any other text (known as copy) and any other aspect.
Let’s look at a few of the ads we’ve encountered in the unit so far. • Look at each, and discuss and/or write down: • What is one target audience for the text? Give evidence from the text, explaining why each element would appeal to that audience. • What is another target audience for the text? Give evidence from the text, explaining why each element would appeal to that audience. • Who is not a target audience for the text? Give reasons why not, referring to the elements of the text that would not appeal to that audience. • We Wanna see a Full Moon – WWF • Phenomenal Footy – Irn Bru • It’s Time for Someone Serious – JDate
Audience Theory There have been several theories over the years about how an audience responds to a media text. One of the earliest theories was the hypodermic needle theory. This theory suggested that when an audience is exposed to a media text, they take it in passively at face value, as if it were being ‘injected’ straight into their minds. It suggests that who the audience member is (their background, age, gender etc.) doesn’t really matter – they will soak up the text like a sponge and accept it.
We can see today that this is a very simplistic view, and that what an audience brings to a text can influence how they receive it. Depending on who you are, where you are from, your cultural background, age, gender, sexuality and so on, you are likely to have a very individual reaction to any media text you encounter. The hypodermic needle theory is, however, sometimes used by those who want to claim that media has a negative influence on people (e.g. violent computer games cause young men to act violently, black metal music causes teenagers to worship the devil) but it’s generally accepted that the truth is much more complex.
A theory with a lot of acceptance today is reception theory. This theory looks at how meaning is encoded into a text by the people who create it, and how meaning is then decoded by the receivers of the text. A central idea of this theory is that, no matter how hard the creators try to encode a particular meaning, once it is sent out onto the world it can be decoded in countless ways by the receiver, depending on their own experience and opinions.
When an company hires an advertising agency to create an ad, they will provide a detailed brief outlining the message they want the ad to convey. They will have a clear idea of how they want their product to be portrayed, and how they want their audience to react. The will do their best to ensure that the text is encoded in such a way that their audience will experience their preferred reading of the text – they have in mind exactly how they would like the reader to react to the ad.
However, an ad maker cannot control how a person reacts to their ad. They can try to influence it by using codes and representations that will appeal to the audience they are aiming for, but they cannot control that person’s own history, prejudices, preferences etc. The audience might disagree with the message being sent, or ‘misread’ it, assuming that it means something the advertisers did not intend it to. A single ‘audience’ (teen males, older women, young parents, rock fans…) may have a lot in common, but there will also be many, many differences, so essentially, there are as many possible interpretations of a text as there are possible readers of it.
Let’s think a bit about the preferred reading of some print ads (what the advertisers want the readers to get from the ad) and which factors might affect this preferred reading. Here’s the ad for J-Date again. What do you think is the preferred reading? How is the audience supposed to react to it. What’s your evidence? Now imagine a woman looking at it who has just broken up with their partner in very nasty circumstances. How might this affect their reading of the text? What’s your evidence?
Now look at the ad for Chupa-chups lollies. What do you think is the preferred reading? How is the audience supposed to react to it. What’s your evidence? Now imagine a man with a phobia of insects is looking at it. How will his reading differ from the preferred reading? What about a mother who does not believe in using artificial ingredients and won’t buy sweets for their child? How will her reading differ from the preferred reading?
And how about the Get a Mac ad. What do you think is the preferred reading? How is the audience supposed to react to it. What’s your evidence? Now imagine a 20 year old computer expert who only uses PCs. How will they react to this ad? How does that differ from the preferred reading? What about A 65 year old retired gardener who has never owned a computer? What will their reading of the ad be? Does the advertiser really care? Why or why not?
Let’s look at how to analyse audience for a print ad. Your teacher will project/hand out exemplar answers on the ad for Chupa-chups, and for this ad for Justin Bieber’s perfume. Once you have read them through and discussed them, your teacher will project/hand out a suggested structure for an answer on the audience of a text. You will be shown an ad – following the structure on the sheet, try your own analysis. You can use the examples to help you. Suggested Ads: Husband for Nutribalance Dog Food The Simpsons for Lego Football for the Canal+ iPhone app Before it’s Too Late for WWF
