Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Mapping a Fractured Society Discussion sections

Discussion Questions for 4/17/2013

Thoughts before discussion:

This was a very long and well thought out chapter discussing a variety of examples on how advertisements and marketing vary between different groups of people.  

  1. What were the two claims that the media executives built their appeals to advertisers around according to the chapter?  Describe by telling how these might play out in real life terms.
Claim of efficient separation - Deliver a desired group to advertisers without making them pay for a special audience they did not want.  Ex: Fox News viewers might be more likely to respond positively to an ad for guns

Claim of special relationship - The audience felt such an extraordinary tie to the media's outlet (cable channel, magazine, ect) and paid attention to everything about the outlet.  Ex: People who watch a fishing channel may take to heart an ad that states that it is the best fishing rod in the world. 

     2.  According to lecture as well as the chapter, the major way that advertising agencies separate groups of people is primarily through demographics such as income, gender, race, and ethnicity.  The chapter goes into how these have changed, but what are your thoughts on how these demographics have changed? Have they changed at all?  Have we added some? Placed less emphasis on others?

I believed it hasn't changed too much since demographics were placed in society.  I believe we have added a new category of demographics with that of sexual orientation.  This has major impacts in the marketing world and how one wants to see his brand viewed.

    3. In the chapter, the author states that it is not the goal of mass marketers to target everyone, this is obviously very true.  Who are they specifically trying to target? Follow up: Who in that specific group are they trying to target?  Follow up part 2:  Are they trying to target opinion leaders in that group?

I believe they are trying to target people that match the demographics of the product.  For example a fishing advertisement needs to appeal to an older male in areas near or around a body of water.  I believe they are not only to trying to target that group as a whole, rather they are targeting opinion leaders in that group in order to spread the word around their community about a certain product.

    4.  The term upscale is thrown out a lot in society, what is your definition of it?  Give examples on what an "upscale" person might look like.  Why is this important to advertisers and how do they use it to their advantage?

In my opinion, an upscale person is classy, elegant, and refined.  He or she drives a nice car, has a nice house, and wears nice clothes.  I think this is important to advertisers because people want to be considered upscale, so it is in the best interest of the brand to come off as upscale in the ads it puts out.

    5. What is your opinion on the "new man" that is referenced in this chapter?  What does he look like?  What are some characteristics of a man that will never change?

The new man is less of a manly man and more of an intelligent individual who takes more pride on what he looks like and is portrayed as.  Gone are the days of the good ole boys sitting around in $10 wrangler jeans smoking Marlboro Reds in their truck.  The new man dresses nicely and modern and takes pride in being well groomed and refined.  Some characteristics that will never change in a man will be the appeal to sex.

    6. Do you think that teenagers are some of the most important groups of people that advertisers should target?  Why or why not?  What characters or attitudes of teenagers help or hinder their marketability?  Give some real life examples.

I believe teenagers are one of the most important groups that advertisers need to appeal to.  Theoretically speaking teenagers have no living expenses and therefore their income is almost all disposable.  They are also very easily shaped by their peers on what to buy.  For example, every kid wants to be able to have the Under Armor sign on their chest when they play a sport, not the basic Wal-Mart brand knock off, even though it is pretty much the same material. 

    7. Do you feel that minorities are discriminated or left out in advertisements in our society?  Why or why not?  What complexity is evident when you try to appeal to a minority group  Do you feel this is fair?  How would your opinions change if you were a marketer compared to a minority in society?

I feel that when one brings up race it is always a hard subject to talk about.  I feel minorities are represented in some shape or form (just look at any commercial).  The obvious complexity of advertising to a minority group is making sure it does appeal to the group without being racist.  If it is a terrible ad, it most likely will be perceived as racist and therefore the brand suffers.  With that said if I were a minority I would like to see my race or group being appealed to in different ads, but as a marketer I do not want to take a chance of running an ad that might be considered racist by the same group I am trying to appeal to. 

No comments:

Post a Comment