Advertising & Marketing
Media Studies: Eduqas GCSE, topic 2.3.1
Advertising and Marketing
Although advertising and marketing are connected, it is important to define the differences between the two business practices.
Marketing
- Marketing refers to the range of methods used by corporations or organisations to understand consumers and keep them interested in the product or service on offer.
- This includes market research, planning, merchandising and advertising.
Advertising
- Advertising is the selling of goods or services through a variety of different mediums and using a variety of different techniques.
Examples of advertising mediums
- Examples of mediums include:
- Print: newspapers, posters, billboards
- TV adverts
- Radio advertising
- Online advertising: social media, email, blogs
Examples of advertising techniques
- Examples of techniques include:
- Humour
- Use of celebrities or model
- Comparison with other brands
- Use of facts and statistics
- Shock
- Use of music
- Use of images
Media Industries
Many companies use 360 degree advertising techniques which combine using traditional and viral marketing methods across all platforms to maximise exposure.
Purpose
- Advertisements tend to be created for either commercial or non-commercial purposes.
- Commercial adverts are focused on trying to sell you a product or brand.
- Non-commercial advertisements may include things such as charity adverts and health and safety related campaigns.
- Advertisers often try and create a Unique Selling Point (USP) in relation to their product or service.
Genre
- Aside from the actual form the advert takes (TV, print, online) advertisements can be grouped into genres in a number of different ways including:
- By product type - e.g junk food adverts, charity adverts, perfume adverts, pet food adverts.
- By technique - e.g funny adverts, shocking adverts, sexy adverts.
- By visual style - e.g. surreal adverts, cinematic adverts, animated adverts.
- By season or time period - e.g Christmas adverts.
Narrative
- Binary oppositions (Levi-Strauss) are often present in adverts for specific impact and to generate specific connotations.
- E.g. old vs new.
- You may be able to identify some of Propp’s characters such as the princess, hero or helper in adverts.
- Some adverts may establish enigma codes (Barthes) about the product or the characters featured in the advert.