Week 10 EOC: What Channels are you going to do to get your product noticed?

One of the major components needed to be kept in mind when creating an advertisement is the target market that is trying to be reached. After deciding the target market that the advertisement is needed to be seen by, the advertiser needs to figure out how the advertisement is going to reach the targeted consumer. The medium in which the advertisement is released is a critical element in the success of the advertising campaign. In the ad campaign for the 2016 GMC Yukon Denali, the target market would be wealthy homeowners with a family. So the next step in deciding the appropriate mediums to reach this specific market is finding out what mediums these consumers encounter on a regular basis. In the Yukon Denali campaign, the mediums used to achieve the most effectiveness of the campaign are going to be Billboards, Magazine Ads and Online advertisements on specific commercial websites. The billboards will be seen by consumers in transit from their workplace. Most of the exposure will be during rush hour times when people are in their current cars. The magazine advertisements will be in business magazines in order to reach the target market of older males with high income. Online advertisements will be used heavily as well in order to connect with the consumers on a current, ever adapting medium. In order to reach the full target market, multiple mediums will be used.

Week 8 EOC: Slogan + Typography

Analysis of Project in the Real World

Being a millennial with a modest income, I have found that I and my peers do not fall into the target demographic of the product. Even though the product itself was found to be out of the price range of the majority of the people encountered, everyone felt as if the ad campaign made them feel positive towards the products. The consumers encounter expressed positive feelings toward the campaign and the brand itself. “By associating itself with good television entertainment, brands acquired the cachet of the programming. Product placement, in which brands are embedded into television or Web programs, banks on the same cachet, hoping the viewer associates the brand with the characters on the show.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 7 The most appealing aspect of the campaign was said to be the voice and emotion behind the ad. No matter your income or what type of car you get into every day, people believed they truly deserve this luxury product. This connected every consumer with the product, even though it is an unrealistic option. “Not only does the design serve to catch the viewer's attention with its atypical appearance, but its form and content are completely interdependent.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 18 The next critical component of people’s interpretation of the campaign is the aesthetic appeal of the ad. How you present an image affects the ultimate communication. An image that fills the page communicates differently than an image surrounded by a lot of blank space. An image seen from up close will affect the viewer differently than an image seen from afar.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 138 The copy is said to be crisp and modern, to match the quality of the product, located in the center of the ad. “Type should be readable. Determining the proper point sizes, spacing, line length, alignment, column depth, variation, and contrast will facilitate reading. Letter and word spacing can make or break communication. Through visual hierarchy, rhythm, and the use of other design principles, you can arrange a flow of information, guiding the reader from the most important information to the least.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 128 The campaign resonated with all consumers encountered and has proven to be effective. The theory proves that even the average consumer can be susceptible to luxury advertising if executed in the appropriate methods.   

Creative Content

("What You Deserve" Magazine Advertisement by Corey Underwood)

Promotion

In the commercial based society that we are enveloped in every single day, us as consumers are bombarded with thousands of advertisements within a matter of hours. “In the West (and, increasingly, globally) advertising is part of daily life and inseparable from popular culture. In many countries, advertising is the one common experience shared by a large, diverse populace. Advertising is a mass media leveler, the pop culture vehicle—from outdoor boards to Web banners to television commercials—with which we all come into contact.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 2 In order for an ad for a product to win over the consumer, the advertisements need to stand out to the consumer. In all of the noise present when trying to talk to the consumers it is imperative that the brand speaks directly to the emotions of the viewer. It is important to find and target a specific market and talk to them directly, with the appropriate medium. “A critical component is learning about the audience—the targeted, specified group of people at whom you are aiming your message, design, and solution. The audience is the main group who would purchase this product, utilize this information or service, or patronize this entity or brand.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 15 It is necessary that the brand speaks to the consumer through mediums that are relevant and are in the lives of the target market. In this specific ad campaign, there is a heavy focus on advertisements in business magazines. This is to specifically target a market of middle-aged business men with average incomes. These individuals have established themselves in such an environment (the business world) in which luxury possessions are something of high regard. On an average wage, these hard working gentlemen will jump on any opportunity to get a taste of luxury at a price that won’t break them. “That is why it is critical to understand how a strategy and idea can work across media and how to start a conversation with people. To simply place an ad conceived for print in mobile media is not enough. One must understand what each medium can do and do well and what people want on that platform or device.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 48 The advertisement campaign plays upon the psychology of the consumer to connect emotions to the ad itself. “According to Abraham Maslow, one of the founders of humanistic psychology, we have a hierarchy of needs that influence our behavior.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 68

The Big Idea

            In such a commercial based society like we live in, it takes quite a bit of effort and knowledge in order to win the loyalty of consumers. Creative minds have become the front-runners in the successful advertising industry. “Creative thinking is the ability to stretch beyond the ordinary, to be original, innovative, and flexible. People who think creatively recognize commonalities, visualize metaphorically, modify and elaborate imaginatively, and envision the unlikely.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 32 In the campaign, “What You Deserve” the strategy is to separate the product from the others in its class and place it into the hearts and budgets of American consumers. The pricing and the appeal of the tagline places the consumer into the car in the minds, winning the loyalty of them with each second. “For creativity to be useful, it must be coupled with intellect, not to mention perseverance. In fact, if you study geniuses and their work—Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Alexander Fleming, Toni Morrison, Amadeus Mozart, Pablo Picasso, Twyla Tharp, or Frank Lloyd Wright—you will find this to be true." Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 33 The main concept of the campaign is to play on the natural sense of entitlement that lurks in the subconscious of the average American consumer. ’The key to coming up with a great ad is finding that one clear, concise, engaging idea.”  Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 121 This big idea turns a fantasy into a reality for the viewer creating an emotional attachment to the product and the brand. The main target market is middle-aged business men with average incomes. Giving these consumers an opportunity to taste a class of luxury that they merely dream of, the campaign wins the hearts and loyalty of the consumer over the now over-priced, out of touch brands. “An effective ad is driven by the underlying concept. An advertising idea— or concept—is the creative reasoning behind a solution. The concept determines the resulting message: what you say and how you design. Though your concept or idea may be broad, it is foundational. Essentially, the idea drives your design decisions—how you create, why you select imagery and typefaces or lettering, and the reasoning behind your color palette selection. The idea sets the framework for all your design decisions.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 66 The campaign will increase automobile sales to the average consumer and strengthening the bond between GMC and their consumers. 

Competitive Analysis

     In a luxury market, the competitors of the GMC Yukon Denali have price points far above the budget of the average American consumer. In order to capture the hearts and wallets of more consumers, the brand has to make the reality of owning this vehicle a more realistic reality. “If everyone in a room is wearing a blue denim shirt except for one person who is wearing a green satin shirt, who would stand out from the crowd? If 99 percent of TV ads are in color, then why not think of utilizing black-and-white or duotone palette? They're ponging, so you ping. Take the least traveled path.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 207 In the “What You Deserve” campaign, the tagline paired with jaw-dropping visuals of the product establishes a fantasy within the consumer’s mind and with the competitive pricing of the product, the consumer feels as if owning a GMC is more realistic than going to the competitors. “That core idea is communicated through the visual and verbal relationship in each individual ad unit in each medium, where a part of the brand story is told in each medium. This core idea must be flexible enough to sustain a campaign, where every point of contact becomes a compelling experience.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 66 The campaign’s success and dominance over the competition is based on the knowledge of the thinking of the consumer. With the Lincoln Navigator priced at roughly $70,000-$80,000 and the Cadillac Escalade priced at roughly $90,000, the Yukon Denali’s mere $60,000 price tag is much more realistic than the competition.  “We can think of a brand construct as a developed personality—a strategic concept incorporating a positioning platform based on the product or group with insights into the brand and the prospective audience.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 49 The brand has to get into the mind of the purchaser to win their hearts. “In the process of examining how we interact, function, and behave in various situations, you may find a way to sell a brand or promote awareness for a social cause. Being an ardent observer of human behavior, animal behavior, interpersonal dynamics, and other of life's everyday dramas can yield ideas." Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 193

GMC Yukon Denali: What You Deserve

Everybody likes a little bit of luxury in their lives. Whether it is that special brand of coffee that you have to have every morning or maybe it is those silk bed sheets that you slide into every night when you need it the most, everyone has their little piece of indulgence in their life. A critical component of human psychology in a capitalistic society is the mindset that you receive a fair reward for the work you put in. This is the foundation of thought that has twisted into the notorious American sense of self-entitlement. Consumers believe that they deserve the best, no matter what. The tagline for this campaign hits just this. “The tagline is the catchphrase that conveys the brand or group's benefit or spirit and expresses an umbrella theme or strategy for a campaign or a series of campaigns; it also is called a claim, end line, slogan, or strap line.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 101. The tagline "What You Deserve" stimulates the emotional instincts of the consumer and keeps the message simple and clean. “Copy has to sound fresh and not predictable. It also has to sound as though you are engaging in a natural conversation with the reader.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 100 The copy aligns with the consumer’s mindset of themselves as consumers. The font is presented is a modern and classy manner that matches the elegance of the product itself. These words used throughout the campaign are specifically written to talk to the selected market. “In whose voice is the copy written? Is it written from the brand's point of view? Does it seem to be the voice of an expert? Is it a testimonial? The voice of a character in the ad? Is it a disembodied voice? Is the copy in the ad telling you what to do or how to behave? Does the headline take on a maternal tone? Does it sound like a friend who is advising you? “In any ad, words take on a voice.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 104. To support the mindset and the copy shown in the ads, the text is shown with an image of the luxury vehicle that is the envy of the average consumer. “Visual-verbal synergy happens when the headline and the main image work together to communicate the meaning.” Advertising by Design, Robin Land Page 155. The reasonable pricing that GMC has established for the Yukon Denali needs to be highlighted to the public. The “What You Deserve” campaign will build a relationship with the consumers in order to place a sense of luxury and affordability within the consumer’s perception of the brand. 

Week 7 EOC: The Pitch

The GMC Yukon Denali has been a staple of luxury for years. GMC spares no cost in giving the driver more than what they ask upon purchasing the vehicle. Whether it’s the stylish curves and sleek design or its gigantic presence driving down the road, the Yukon has stolen hearts of drivers all over the country. The large cabin space is suitable for carrying large loads, if need be or it can be used to carry more passengers. GMC truly accommodates the storing needs over every driver. The interior of the GMC Yukon Denali is nothing short of divine and makes the driver feel better than the genuine leather they are sitting on. The entertainment features equipped in the Yukon are sure to supplement all of your various wants and desires. Every Yukon Denali is equipped with a state of the art navigation system that could help a blind man find his way. With the standard touch-screen mounted within arm’s reach, the driver has all of the amenities of the Yukon at the tip of their fingers. Also equipped with hands-free options on the steering wheel, the Yukon accommodates the driver that doesn’t want to move a muscle. The driver is immersed within a truly luxurious experience before even entering the vehicle. As the chrome accents catch your gaze, your eyes shift to the stylish and commanding lines down the body to the rear of the vehicle where you can find the Yukon’s hands-free power rear lift gate. Just in case your hands are full and you can’t find your keys in your bag in time, the GMC Yukon Denali is equipped with an intuitive keyless entry system in every car. It is clear that GMC spared no expense for the style and comfort every driver wants and deserves. The GMC Yukon Denali, “You Deserve It.”

Week 6 EOC: Lady Gaga and The Grammys

The highlight of the 2016 Grammys Music Awards was the tribute performance by Lady Gaga for the recently deceased, David Bowie. Upon hearing the devastating news of Bowie’s untimely death, technology company, Intel, decided to team up with the Grammys Music Awards and Lady Gaga’s company Haus of Gaga to pay tribute to the widely loved David Bowie. Having only a few weeks until the live performance, the crew was faced with quite the task. Intel, as the front runner of the performance, used the show to highlight products used and seen on stage. The product of the teams’ hard work was nothing short of jaw-dropping. The set begins with a close-up Lady Gaga’s face, her makeup, digitally projected in order to create animations that would make any makeup artist stand in amazement. Within the first few seconds, the viewer is captivated. The set goes on to showcase many other technological feats such as a robotic keyboard, movement tacking jewelry and stunning projections that were being manipulated real-time by Gaga’s motions. The performance as a whole was breath taking, nobody can argue that. Some controversy, though, has arisen from the performance. Many viewers, presumably David Bowie fans, are outraged by the tribute. Claims accusing Intel of exploiting the death of David Bowie to advertise their company are prevalent. What some saw as an entertaining musical performance, others saw as a disgrace to a loved musician. Whether or not you feel either way, it is simple to see who truly benefited from the tribute performance. Of course, Lady Gaga gets to showcase her musical talent and gets to be seen by millions and the Grammys get the promotion and viewers they are so desperate for but the one that is getting people angry is the benefit of Intel. The whole performance, at the end of the day, was an advertisement for the company’s products. Nothing less.

Week 4 EOC: Role of Women in Contemporary Advertisements

In this ad, it is clear where the creators wanted the viewers focus to be. If you notice, there are no other body parts in view that would normally be included, such as arms. Then the advertisers go to the extent to connect the breast shown to parts of a car, referring to the common slang “headlamps” in reference to a woman’s bosom. Not only do they objectify the woman shown but they even go the extent to objectifying her breast by correlating them with car parts. This is a textbook example of how advertisers use woman as sexual objects to gain appeal.

In the ad shown above, the brand uses the negative objectification of women for what is thought to be a good cause. The ad targets consumers that find themselves attracted to the female body and uses that sexual attraction to then demean the viewer and force a feeling of conviction towards the cause of donation. While organ donation is good cause, the brand is still using the female form as a sexual object to achieve an agenda. 

The ad presented above shows a male with two females around him, touching all over his body and by the look on his face, he seems pretty happy about it. The ad is clearly targeting young heterosexual males by depicting a stimulating sexual situation that the average young straight male finds himself wanting. The copy shown then manipulates the viewer by correlating the use of the product to the sexual situation shown. I personally find this ad not only offensive to women by the objectification but to young straight males such as myself.