To quote Jerry Della Femina: “Advertising
is the most fun you can have with your clothes on”. Advertisements are
something I am really interested in. We can find them nearly everywhere –
conscious or unconscious. I am particularly interested in how advertisements
can influence our shopping behaviour. In this first part of my post you will
read about some tricks and techniques that are used to make us buy.
So, what is important?
- Colour: Image sausages in green skin or vegetables in a pink packaging.
Would you buy them? It is really important that the colour matches with the
image of the product. Euro-Disney had to change its initial colour (violet)
because the visitors didn’t like it. They said that it looked rather
depressing. It is also crucial that the colour matches with the target group.
An insurance company should avoid using bright colours such as pink or purple
and use “serious” ones instead, for example grey, black or blue. Regarding the
target group it is also important that advertisements fit to the age group.
Young people like colourful advertisements whereas most elderly people want
serious ones.
- Brand names: International companies have to be very careful with their product
names. The perfume “Irish Mist” wouldn’t be very successful in the
German-spoken region and the coffee-company “Tchibo” would better not export to
Japan. “Tchibo” is the Japanese word for suicide. Would you like to sit in a
café and be reminded of death all the time?
- Price: You probably have never thought about what a TV commercial costs
but this is one of the most important factors for companies which would like to
advertise their products in the media. The prices for TV advertisements differ
according to the day and the month they are broadcasted. Here some data I found
online:
a.
Before series – May – Monday –
22:00 à € 360/second
b.
Before late-night-movie –
January – Monday – 23:25 à € 65/second
Pretty interesting, isn’t it? Out of interest I timed a
AUDI commercial (the one with Marcel Hirscher). I watched in the evening before
a series à it was 31 seconds long à 31*360=
€ 11,160.
More than € 11,000 for a short spot like this!
You think that’s expensive? It’s not – compared with
American Superbowl ads. A 30-second-spot is about $ 2,700,000. The American
brewing company “Anheuser Busch” spent about $ 300,000,000 over the last 20
years on Superbowl advertisements.
Manipulation in supermarkets
1.
Packaging: Colour and layout
are very important. Small amounts are often in a beautiful (and expensive) gift
package.
2.
Time: Have you ever noticed
that there is no clock in supermarkets? This is because you should not get
stressed.
3.
Stopper: In every supermarket
you will find shelves full of sweets for children. Their aim is to make the
waiting time sweeter.
4.
Placing: Most people are
right-handed and so they turn more likely to the right than to the left.
Advertising experts know that and put the more expensive products on this side.
5.
Height: Another important
factor is height because “eye-level is buy level”. The most expensive products
are always at eye level, so if you want to save money, look at the bottom or
top of the shelf. All products that are aimed for kids are usually at kid level
to catch their eye as well.
6.
Course: This can’t be find in
every supermarket but many structure their aisles anticlockwise to encourage
their customers to stay longer.
To be continued...
