Why Study Advertising?
Lecture 1 – Advertising (Jan. 9th, 2011) Why study advertising? * “Very considerable part of our total culture, not separable from any other activities of our world” (McLuhan) * All advertising advertises advertising What is sociology? How does it help us understand advertising? * Advertising shapes values/norms (fast food), role/status (family), group behaviour (beer), social control (bed bugs ad in bus stops) * Reflects values of societies but emphasizes to behave in certain ways Advertising and Sociology * Distribution of resources Micro level how we individually spend money, macro level (businesses, governments) * Impact on society * Agent of social control Role of Advertising * Advertising as privileged discourse * ‘discourse/idea through and about objects’ * Manipulates our conceptions of our wants/needs * How are experts used to influence purchasing decisions * According to Canadians were ambivalent to it, didn’t make them angry/excited * Greater influence from school (54%) than advertising (46%) * 60% think advertising is an insult to their intelligence What people think? Approx 50% of Canadians reported that (5 points) * Say ads don’t make products more expensive * Advertising doesn’t influence consumer choice * Believe they don`t spend money unnecessarily * 2 general viewpoints on advertising * Harsh criticism (deceptive, manipulative, subliminal) * Strong defences (quality of American ads) Types * In-home (TV commercials, radio, online, infomercials, stealth endorsers, print) * Out of home (billboard, mobile and aerial, in-store) * Product placements Ambient (coffee cups, outer space, projecting ads) * Human tattooing * Public spaces (John Labatt Centre, Ivey) * Guerrilla advertising (sticker bombing on poles) Lecture 2/3 Lecture 4 Social Networking and Advertising Questions from readings for next week (similar study questions for exams) 60m/c and t/f q’s Lecture material and readings up until “the appeals” week Social Networking Sites * Are they changing advertising? Changing ways which we purchase? * 2010 400M active user in states * 60% Americans and 70% Canadians in 2009 were using Facebook * More ads on side of facebook, company facebooks pages, ads co-inside with your needs, use info from pages to give indication of the market their in (research method) * Slower internet because of facebook (past years faster at uwo) * 18-34 most likely to be using (increasing for higher age brackets) * Younger women are primary group on fb * 35-54 grown by 56%, 55+ 113% Were listening * “We talk, you listen” VS. “You talk, we listen” * Consumer thoughts? * Crowd-sourcing Getting users to work towards collective goal (end result is positive) * Collaboration for finished product (super bowl ads, Youtube videos) * Better connection between advertisers and consumers * Celebrity Twitter * United Airlines * When people don’t like product, able to spout what they dislike on internet * Could be detrimental to company * Guitar music video made UA lose 10% in shares A New Consumer-Controlled Landscape? * Consumers are no longer passive * Baldwin and game on flight * Sears bed on twitter (discount) Critical about being wronged * Fighting back! Facebook and SN History * 4th most popular website in the world! * Created by consumers * Banned in china, own site in Spain * Launched in 2004 (now 750 million members) * 700 billion minutes per month of usage * More than half log on daily * Earned companies more than 635 million dollars (numbers into billions in 2010) * Roughly over a 1000 employees Learning to Sell Yourself * Able to be whoever we want on fb * Self-branding * Applications/quizzes * Updates and profile pictures SPOT, where people are and who they’re with * Sexy but not too sexy * Commodifying the self through commercial products (bunny) * Symbol as a signifier Brand Relationships * Hierarchy * Courtship engagement marriage * Wanting to build a brand relationship * Users can be friends with clothing to shoes to musicians Viral Advertising * Exponential results by getting info out, no paid advertising * 60% of woman and 44% of male college students gain product info from social networking sites * Unpaid, p2p communicationStudy Results for FB group and Advertising * Sample of 302 * Uni students * Online survey (15 min) * 18-24 yr olds * 36. 8% of men and 63. 2% of women Demographic Info * Does age or race matter among those who us FB? * Overall of the 302 respondents, 65. 9% were fb members and 34. 1% were not (do not need to know this) Why are FB groups important? * Trusted source for ppl to gain info on product/brand they want * Base point for viral marketing and brand relationship * Virtual communities with similar interests Can be a social aggregation that emerges when enough people carry on discussion with sufficient human feeling to form webs of communication Self-disclosure * Common practise with willing consumers wanting to engage * What people verbally reveal about themselves or others * Online interactions in groups * More likely to disclose personal data than those not in groups on fb * More favourable outlook on social media to begin with * Those who views advertising more positively more likely to self-disclose * Overall fb’s college aged users have a