How changes in the media are affecting advertisers

Continuous change in 21^st Century Media has meant that Advertisers have to keep up with “the whims of the market place” (Greengard, 2012). Traditional mass marketing platforms such as TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and billboards are still being used by advertisers, but a digital trend is now dominating the spotlight.

Advertisers have to be ever more vigilant in the way consumers are using media, and, as a result, they should identify the most effective market platform to focus on. Chan (2012) feels that trends in the media are derived from a “long term shift in consumer motivation and behaviour”, which is very influential in the future of media consumption. It is clear here that changes in the media are being driven by consumers and not advertisers. The digital market, unlike previous mass marketing methods, because of its flexibility and ability to quickly adapt to the moment, is much more consumer/user-specific, focusing on consumers as individuals, not mass segments.

Results from Ofcom’s 2012 reports indicate that the three top growth in digital services and devices since 2005 have been: digital television (98%), mobile phones (92%) and internet broadband (76%). All of these are media platforms used by Advertisers, and their growth should be therefore matched with a growth in advertising opportunity. The Internet has been a popular marketing platform for some time, and it continues to be one of the largest, with advertising expenditure of £4.8bn in 2011 (Ofcom 2012). Following this, both TV at £4.2bn and Printed advertising at £3.9bn expenditures are still holding ground.

The internet’s popularity amongst Advertisers could be explained by two factors: the availability of digital and behavioural data which can be collected from a consumer’s online activity.

Firstly, on-line consumption generates vast amounts of digital data, which, according to Guerra (2012), has provided the “biggest changes in the Advertising industry owed to the increased focus on data and analysis”. Instant market intelligence on consumer information and how their audience responds to adverts enables Advertisers to gain market intelligence on gauging how effective their advertising methods are, as well as the ways in which they can be improved (Bernstein, 2009). This makes advertising cost-effective as digital data response gives Advertisers immediate results on how effective their adverts are amongst its consumers. This indication supports the theory that the digital market is consumer/user oriented as it is focused on consumer response.

Secondly, the Internet is also able to generate vast amounts of behavioural data. This is done by tracking a consumer’s online behaviour; methods of this behavioural data collection include: IP addresses, third party cookies, web tools that track what the consumer has purchased or looked at purchasing, and consumer clicks through websites (Greengard, 2012). What this means for Advertisers is that they are able to analyse a consumers’ individual movements and, as a result, place adverts in accordance with their particular set of behaviours.

Another means of collecting data is through Social Media. For example, Facebook has benefited from behavioural data analysis through the ‘FBX exchange’. It allows Advertisers to use behavioural data combined with Facebook’s digital demographic data of its 500 million plus users, in determining where an Advert should be placed (Pearlstein, 2013). This is a technological strength for Advertisers as a better understanding of the consumer means that adverts are more interesting and eye catching, as they are more accurate and specific to the consumer, increasing recall and purchase intention (Beirnstein, 2009). Furthermore, social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook have also opened a direct line of communication between Advertisers and consumers at an interpersonal level. As such, Wasiak (2010) believes that social media “has morphed into the fifth P of the Marketing Mix, which relates to People…it has enabled people to play roles as receivers, creators, critics, advocates, transformers and transmitters of messages” encouraging engagement of and interaction with the media. The focus of the new advertising through social media is about enhancing the relationship between the Brand and the consumer, increasing loyalty.

On the other hand, Wolfsohn (2011) argues that Advertisers should not measure the consumers’ level of engagement in the likes, comments, shares and tweets alone. This is because when consumers do not respond to an Advert it does not mean that they are not engaged. If Advertisers are using social media as a promotional tool then the level of engagement should be taken into account. However, brands that are looking for a lasting relationship with consumers cannot measure their brand likeability by the amount of consumer engagement. Advertisers therefore have to make their content entertaining, informative and appealing, so that consumers remain interested.

A medium increasingly used to access Social Media and captured by Advertisers is Mobile Advertising. This is growing rapidly and is attractive due to its portable characteristics. Figures from Ofcom (2012) report show that £203m was spent on mobile advertising in 2011 in the UK, with the two top mobile destinations being: social (30%) and music, video and media (22.5%) (Opera, 2012). These figures demonstrate Mobile consumption is an interesting proposition and that such a platform should be considered in Advertising strategies. A rise in Mobile advertising and its quality means that Advertisers have to adapt to changes in consumer media consumption to follow the change in media technology. The Mobile Advertising’s effect on Advertisers is that it will push them to be more creative, taking advantage of the technology and high quality graphics in Smartphones, increasing consumer interaction.

Lastly, media buying is also affecting how advertisers work. As a result of the digital takeover, new platforms have emerged, facilitating negotiations between the brand and media owners with regards of purchasing media space. Previously, media buying was based on a three-way relationship between brands, Ad agencies and media owners (Barnett, 2011). A report by consultancy group MediaSense found that the removal of the agency middle man could be down to the brand wanting to take more control over their advertising budgets. This will have a major impact on advertising agencies as there will be a decrease in demand for their services. Moreover, the media is owned by giant corporations which control 90% of the overall media (Frugaldad, 2012); this will mean that prices will be set at a high rate, with no opportunity for price negotiations.  

In conclusion, rapid changes in technology have deeply influenced how consumers access and consume media, and this provides great challenges but also vast opportunities for Advertisers. Delivering effective, speedy and bespoke marketing communications in the future will require more from creative teams than ever before.

References

Barnett (2011) Are you changing the way you buy media? [online] Available from: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/are-you-changing-the-way-you-buy-media/3025848.article [Last accessed 20/04/13] 

Beirnstein, R. (2009) Has advertising changed or has the consumer [online] Available from:http://elektrik.com/blog/advertising/has-advertising-changed-or-has-the-consumer/ [Last accessed: 15^th January 2013]

Chan, J. (2012) Media trends and their implications for marketers [online] Issue: Mediacom Global Insight Available from: WARC Exclusive [Last accessed: 15^th January 2013]

Greengard, S (2012) Advertising gets personal [online] Available from:

http://delivery.acm.org.atlas.worc.ac.uk/10.1145/2250000/2240243/p18-greengard.pdf?ip=193.62.51.94&acc=OPEN&CFID=261302189&CFTOKEN=60985390&__acm__=1358856570_706d8ef381bee116638f6c24c7a9bd6e

[Last accessed: 15^th January 2013]

Frugal Dad (2012) Illusions of choice [online] Available from: http://introsociology.net/ians/files/2012/04/IllusionofChoice-1.jpg [Last accessed 20/04/13]

Guerra, C. (2012) How has the Advertising Industry Changed [online] Available from: http://www.psfk.com/2012/06/how-has-ad-industry-changed.html [Last accessed: 15^th January 2013]

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[Last accessed: 15^th January 2013]

Opera (2012) The state of Mobile Advertising Q3 2012 [online] Available from: http://www.opera.com/sma/2012/q3/ [Last accessed: 15^th January 2013]

Pearlstein, A. (2013) Facebook’s Fbx success proves social data worthless [online] Available from: http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/facebook-s-fbx-success-proves-social-data-worthless/239253/ [Last accessed: 15^th January 2013]

Thinkbox (2012) DTR [online] Available from: http://www.thinkbox.tv/server/show/nav.898 [Last accessed: 15^th January 2013]

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Wasiak, H. (2010) Social Media Advertising [online] Available from: http://mashable.com/2010/07/06/social-media-advertising/ [Last accessed: 15^th January 2013] 

Who is the consumer?

Battle of the Fruit Drinks

                               

            VS

Innocent Smoothie for Kids Advert

                 



Robinson's Fruit Shoot Advert 'The Chase'















 

Introduction

Within the Retail Product Category ‘Foodstuff and Consumables’ (Hemming Information Services, 2006), there are numerous brands and products to choose from regarding the soft drinks segment. When advertising a drink product, there is the need to communicate to consumers a unique message which would ultimately appeal to specific segment and differentiate one brand from another (Chen et al, 2012). Market segmentation which enables to “discern and define meaningful differences between groups of consumers to form a more focused marketing effort” (Brassington and Pettitt, 2006, p.193) plays an important role in turning the advertising effort more effective. For the purpose of this coursework, the ads of two distinct products, Innocent Smoothies for Kids (Advert shown above), and Robinson’s Fruit Shoot (Advert shown above) will be analysed and discussed.

Analysis

The selected products are both soft drinks aimed at children between the ages of 4-12. Firstly, the message in the ad for Innocent Smoothies for Kids is aimed mainly at parents who are concerned about the product’s health and environmental attributes. Innocent’s brand value and product proposition as well as having health benefits, also comprise of recyclable packaging and containers. The target market for Innocent smoothies is understood to be parents with children under the age of 10, characteristic of the ACORN demographic Classification B1, who are Upper Middle Class, health conscious, and favour a pro-environmental behaviour. Parents exhibiting pro-environmental behaviour consciously seek to minimize the negative impact of ‘one’s actions on the natural and built world’ (Kollmus, Agyeman 2002). Despite the end consumers of the smoothies being the children, the advertising needs to “pack plenty of appeal to parents, who ultimately make purchasing decisions” (Dannelke, 2009, p.59).  As such, Innocent is considered to be more of a premium brand as the product’s pricing will not appeal to a mass market audience. Secondly, Robinson’s Fruit Shoot ad is aimed at children who pursue an active lifestyle and seek to quench their thirst and get hydrated.  However, the message in the ads is aimed at two different types of buyers.

In a competitive drinks market such as the UK, it is important to better understand the consumers’ motivations behind the demand of these products. The literature on consumer behaviour which deals with how and why consumers purchase (or don’t purchase) products and services (Neal et al, 2007) will be helpful here. Consumer behaviourist theories and models such as Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning and the Elaboration Likelihood Model might aid in the elucidating what is behind such motivations. Firstly, Classical Conditioning occurs through associating and the pairing of stimulus (Solomon, 2010). In the Innocent Smoothies for Kids example, a visual cue is paired with a stimulus such as brand name which, in turn, satisfies a need: to quench thirst. The ad in question helps consumers associate the thirst need to a specific drink product which also has high health and environmental credentials.

Secondly, Operant conditioning (also known as instrumental conditioning) from the works of B.F. Skinner, occurs as the “individual learns to perform behaviours that reproduce positive outcomes (rewards) and those that yield negative outcomes” (Solomon, 2010, p.249). When consuming a product, consumers will be rewarded thus increasing the chances to return for more. Thirdly, the Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty and Cacioppo, 1984) focuses on two routes: the central which provides straightforward information about a product through a rational approach, or the peripheral route which uses more emotive cues (Belch and Belch, 2009).

As seen from the Innocent Smoothies for Kids TV ad video clip, strong visual cues are used. A pile of fruit (the ingredients) turns into a smoothie which is consumed by a child. The stimulus relates to the parents’ problem recognition (provide the children with sufficient good nutrition) via the daily intake of fruit both conveniently and effectively. In this case, Classical Conditioning can explain the parents’ behaviour who whilst searching for healthier drink alternatives for their children when exposed to the Innocent advertisement will respond positively. The Innocent brand will stand out from all the alternatives. According to Sweldens (2010), pairing a brand is a popular technique to use in advertising resulting in positive effective stimuli. It creates favourable brand attitudes and brand recall. Behavioural response from the parent (purchaser) is expected to be high as the smoothie directly caters for their needs of providing easily consumable fruit portions. By applying the ELM Model to the Innocent Smoothies case, it is clear that the advert exploits the Central Route as it is highly informative as it provides a rational appeal about its ingredients and health benefits.

Research from Mintel shows parents wishing to meet the Government recommendation of five portions of fruit and vegetables a day have boosted the consumption of pure fruit drinks. These have benefitted from increased consumer awareness and purchase intent to (Mintel, 2011).

Operant Conditioning can be applied to Robinson’s Fruit shoot as the message appeal in the advert is that of an active, socially popular and adventurous child’s lifestyle. In the TV ad as shown in the video clip, this is evident by the involvement of the product being thrown around different persons in a skating park. The drink is consumed by a fellow skater who reinforces the base line message emphasising rehydration, having fun and a sporty lifestyle. Thus, by consuming the Robinson’s Fruit shoot, one will be rewarded by the taste, the quenching to thirst, being accepted by active and sportive peers. Operant Conditioning, along with the peripheral route in ELM, focus on emotional appeals, through heuristic processing (Petty and Cacioppo, 1984), which makes the product desirable amongst mainly the children but also parents.

The target market for Robinson’s fruit shoot is households profiled according to ACORN demographic classification as C1 lower-middle class, price sensitive. The parent (purchaser) and child (consumer) will both benefit by consuming the product as the parents seeks a product which hydrates and promotes an active lifestyle.

Conclusion

Effective understanding of market segmentation has enabled marketers to use two different types of appeals: cognitive and conative. Marketers are able to accurately advertise products which are in the same product category, however cater for two different types of consumers. Yet, the theories and models discussed above, cannot accurately determine whether the Innocent and Robinson’s adverts are likely to trigger an internal change in consumer behaviour. External influences such as information processing, group influences and personality traits (Neal et al, 2007)  were not explored here but would also impact on how Advertising is consumed.

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Brassington, F and Pettitt, S (2006) Principles of Marketing. 4^th Edition. London/GB: Prentice Hall.


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