Juan Monroy — Persuasion Industries

Advertising
Newspapers
- Classified advertising in 18th Century
- Penny Press
  - mass marketed newspapers
  - linked newspaper circulation to advertising revenue
- national advertising
- mass media and mass production = popular commodities
Advertising Agency
- functioned as space brokers
- Volney B. Palmer (1842)
  - coined term “advertising agency”
- George P. Rowell (1865)
  - middle person between publishers and advertisers
  - matched clients to each other
- Albert Lasker
  - World War I propaganda
  - build public sentiment for the war effort
  - convinced public to buy war bonds
Radio
- radio station WEAF (1922)
  - AT&T-owned
  - introduced “toll broadcasting”
- national networks begat national radio advertising
  - NBC (1926)
  - CBS (1927)
- single sponsor for radio programs
Magazines
- featured pictures and descriptions
- showcased in mass circulation magazines
  - Time
  - Life
Television
- national networks formed in 1948
- added sight and sound to advertising messages
- adopted single sponsor model from radio
- moved to magazine sponsorship by the end of the 1950s
“Hard Sell” Message
- developed by John E. Kennedy (1905)
- salesmanship in print
  - persuasive techniques
  - explained “reason why" in copy
- ads were “lengthy arguments on behalf of the advertiser”
- use declined with radio and TV
“Soft Sell” Message
- pioneered by Stanley Resor and Helen Lansdowne, at J. Walter Thompson agency
- featured photographs and color illustrations
- used enticing and entertaining images of the product
- developed an emotional, instead of a rational, appeal
Persuasive Strategies
first-person testimonial
- an advertising strategy that associates a product with the endorsement of a well-known person.
plain folks pitch
- an advertising strategy that associates a product with simplicity and the common person.
snob-appeal approach
- an advertising strategy that attempts to convince consumers that using a product will enable them to maintain or elevate their social station.
bandwagon effect
- an advertising strategy that incorporates exaggerated claims that everyone is using a particular product, so you should, too.
hidden fear approach
- an advertising strategy that plays on a sense of insecurity, trying to persuade consumers that only a specific product can offer relief.
irritation advertising
- an advertising strategy that tries to create product-name recognition by being annoying or obnoxious.
- Crazy Eddie
Common Messages in Advertising
association
- associates a product with some cultural value or image that has a positive connotation but may have little connection to the actual product.
disassociation
- links a product with an idea separate from one held in consumer’s minds.
stories and myths
- mini-stories: characters, settings, and plots.
- conflicts: pitting one set of characters or social values against another.
- resolutions: conflicts are negotiated or resolved by the end of the ad, usually due to the product.
- Apple - Christmas
product placements
- strategically placing ads or buying space—in movies, TV shows, comic books, and most recently video games—so they appear as part of a story’s set environment
Commercialism
- puffery
  - ads featuring hyperbole and exaggeration
- deception
  - advertising that is likely to mislead reasonable consumers based on statements or omissions in the ad
Integrated Marketing Communications
- use of a wide array of media
- use multiple communication channels to advertise:
  - sales promotions
  - marketing
  - public relations
  - direct marketing
  - charitable campaigns
Web Banner Advertising
- started as banner ads atop webpages
- ads paid on click-through rates from users
- traffic tracking
  - record IP address
    - note the referring site
    - note the next site visited
  - install browser cookies on user’s computer
  - place web bugs on webpages to continue monitoring
Internet Advertising
- sponsored links
- dominated by Google
- links adjacent to search results
Search Engine Optimization
- gaming Google search methods
- move clients website to top of Google search results
- aggressively policed by Google
Facebook ads
- personalized
- display ads
- adjacent to personalized feed
Ad Servers
- DoubleClick, owned by Google
- targets individual users
- Google AdWords
  - places ads on blogs
  - displays relevant advertisements to readers
  - shares revenues with publishers
Viral Marketing
- developed before the Internet
- certainly aided by social media
- stimulate brand-related discussion
- hope that it will spread
- example of Blendtec’s demonstration videos
Social Networking
- Facebook
  - personalized pages
  - precision marketing
- Twitter
  - advertisers can broadcast messages to followers
  - Twitter sells promoted Tweets to targeted users
- YouTube
  - pre-roll ads
  - banner ads atop video player
  - shares revenue with creators
Database Marketing
- practice started with store discount cards
  - data mining
  - compiling pertinent data for later use
- permission marketing
  - register at website
  - activate a product warranty
- allows for targeted advertising based on
  - purchasing habits
  - reading preferences
  - subscription information
  - personal credit histories
Spam
- unsolicited commercial email
  - harvest email
  - CANSPAM Law
- efficient
  - free to send
  - albeit with a small response rate
  - large enough to make it to profitable
Mobile advertising
- ad server
  - Google’s AdMob
  - inserted in apps and web pages
- allows for location-based advertising
  - proximity alerts
  - check-in apps
    - locate friends
    - receive offers
- scanning Quick Response Codes
  - direct action
  - track response rates
Public Relations
Industrial Revolution
- nineteenth century
- mass consumer culture
- mass media
Practionners of Public Opinion
Emergence of Mass Media
- newspapers
- magazines
- radio
Corporate Public Relations
- Henry Frick
  - anti-labor industrialist
  - to combat hostility
  - curry public favor
- Battle for Electrical Currents
  - AC by Westinghouse
  - DC by General Electric
- American Association of Railroads
  - originators of public relations
  - published Year Book of Railway Literature
Ivy Ledbetter Lee
- business had to tell its story honestly, accurately, and openly
- photographed Rockefeller in the aftermath of the Ludlow Massacre (1913)
  - Rockefeller visited the camps
  - Rockefeller photographed giving children dimes
George Creel
- United States Committee for Public Information
- Developed “Uncle Sam”
- World War I recruitment effort
Edward L. Bernays
- coined the term “public relations”
- wrote Crystalizing Public Opinion (1923)
- Torches of Freedom
  - women walking on Fifth Avenue with lit cigarettes, 1929
  - made smoking respectable for women
  - benefitted American Tobacco Company
Public Relations Society of America
- formed 1948
- interests of public relations practitioners
- “bill of rights” for customers
- code of ethics
Forms of Public Relations
Propaganda
- strategically placed communication
  - appears like advertising
  - generates publicity
- intended gain public support for…
  - special issue
  - program
  - policy
Media Relations
- secure favorable media coverage for a client or organization
- promote client or control damage
Special Events & Pseudo-Events
- Coordinating with existing events to create a positive image for client
  - e.g. sponsorships
- Event held for the sole purpose of receiving media attention.
  - e.g. award shows
Community Relations
- Earning customer’s goodwill through support of community
  - Charitable Contributions
  - Public Service
Crisis Management
- Messages designed to help a corporation handle a public crisis or tragedy, especially if the public assumes the company is at fault.
- Wells Fargo: opened unauthorized bank accounts
- 2011 – 2016
Government Relations
- lobbying
- the process of attempting to influence the voting of lawmakers to support a client’s or an organization’s best interests.
- astroturf lobbying
- “Language of Health Reform” http://www.wnyc.org/story/132435-the-language-of-reform/
Public Relations Audiences: Businesses
- Investors
- Consumers
- Employees
- Suppliers
- Financial Institutions
- Legislators
- Community Activists
- Educational Institutions
- Mass Media
Public Relations Audiences: Not-for-Profits
- Donors
- Clients
- Volunteers
- Employees
- Members
- Suppliers
- Legislators
- Community Activists
- Mass Media
Public Relations Audiences: Government Agencies
- Taxpayers/Voters
- Legislators
- Lobbyists
- Government Agencies
- Employees
- Community Activists
Public Relations Messages
Public Service Announcements (PSA)
- reports or announcements carried free by newspapers, magazines, radio and/or TV stations
- designed to promote…
  - government programs
  - educational projects
  - voluntary agencies
  - social reform
Press Releases
- announcements written in the style of news reports
  - gives new information about an individual, a company, or an organization
  - pitches a story idea to the news media.
  - http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-airlines-announces-new-award-travel-options-policies-and-inflight-services-254356051.html
Video News Releases (VNR)
- the visual counterparts to press releases
- pitches story ideas to the TV news media by mimicking the style of a broadcast news report.
- http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr4 <http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr2>
James Gruning’s Models of Public Relations
- Press Agent
  - one-way
  - manipulate public opinion and behavior
- Public Information/Journalism
  - one-way
  - disseminate information to the public
- Two Way Asymmetric
  - two-way
  - persuade and find out how the public reacted
- Two Way Symmetric
  - two-way
  - gain mutual understanding and find common ground
Public Relations Firms
- In-House Firms
  - PR departments located within most major companies
- Stand-Alone Firms
  - independent agencies that provided PR services to different companies
Major PR Firms
- Omnicom
- WPP Group
- Interpublic Group
- Publicis
- Dentsu
- Aegis Group