Advertising and Promotion

"Publicity refers to the generation of news about a person, product, or service that appears in broadcast or print media" (Belch 584).  Many say that any publicity is good publicity.  However, what about publicity that truly is not all that "good" in nature?  This comes into play specifically when it comes to people. Exhibit A: Jeff Skilling One example of bad publicity is in the case of the energy company Enron and its former president Jeff Skilling.  Enron’s bankruptcy in 2001, after allegations of substantial accounting fraud, wiped out $78 billion in stock market value.   This also led to the collapse of Arthur Andersen and the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.   A class action settlement of $7.185 billion was the largest in history.   Former President/CEO Jeff Skilling is serving a 24-year sentence as a result. (Forbes) Jeff Skilling’s responsibility for Enron’s accounting fraud got huge publicity in the early to mid 2000s. ...

As new means of entertainment are being created to bypass and/or limit the consumption of TV advertisements, the strength of using TV advertising is becoming more and more debatable. However, TV advertising still has its advantages and limitations for both major national advertisers and local companies.  The advantages to TV advertising are:  Creativity and Impact:  The interaction of sight and sound offers tremendous creative flexibility and makes possible dramatic, lifelike representations of products and services. TV commercials can be used to convey a mood or image for a brand as well as to develop emotional or entertaining appeals that help make a dull product appear interesting. (Belch 365)  Coverage and Cost Effectiveness:  Nearly everyone, regardless of age, sex, income, or educational level, watches at least some TV. "According to Nielson Media Research estimates, nearly 280 million people age 2 or older live in the nation's 114.9 million...

During times of economical downturns, many companies compromise their advertising and promotion. However, this is not always the best strategy to pursue. A great deal of managers fail to realize the value of advertising and promotion. When dealing with a recession the best defense is a good offense. "Most firms tend to cut back on advertising during a recession, reducing noise and increasing the effectiveness of advertising of the firm that advertises" (Belch 233). Companies expect sales to inevitably decrease during a recession so they do not put forth much effort to increase or even maintain advertising an advertising budget. Since this is the most common mind set for companies during a recession, going against this would give a daring company the chance to stand out. Advertising during a recession will assure a lack of competition and/or distractions (several other advertisements).  "Not cutting back on advertising during a recession could increase sales during ...

The topic of the week is the 2014 Super Bowl, which aired on Sunday, January 2nd. The Seattle Seahawks went up against the Denver Broncos in a terribly consistent game with an outcome that could have easily been predicted by the end of the first quarter, the Seahawks won 43-8.  But everyone knows the Super Bowl isn't solely about football, it's also about companies'  risky and expensive attempts to catch the attention of the millions of viewers. In this I will discuss the best, worst, and most humorous advertisements. Then I will go on to discuss the most ethically questionable advertisement.  The best advertisement was Coca-Cola's "It's Beautiful".  It featured an all inclusive, multicultural rendition of "America the Beautiful" sung in several different languages including Spanish and Arabic. It showed aspects of typical "American" life including families, pool parties, road trips, etc. with many people of different nationalities,...

A current commercial displayed in the early months of 2014 is one for BeatsPills by Dre featuring Pharrell Williams. This commercial has Pharrell, among other actors, dancing through urban areas alongside animated BeatsPill characters while Pharrell's song "Happy" is playing. (This song was featured in the popular kid's movie "Despicable Me 2"). In this blog, I plan on analyzing the use of Pharrell as a spokesperson for BeatsPills using McCracken's meaning transfer model. According to McCracken's meaning transfer model, a celebrity's effectiveness as an endorser depends on the culturally acquired meanings he or she brings to the endorsement process, including status, class, gender, age, personality, and lifestyle. As McCracken would explain it: "Celebrities draw these powerful meanings from the roles they assume in their television, movie, military, athletic, and other careers. Each new dramatic role brings the celebrity into contact wit...