Select an advertisement (from any media) - Essay Example

Select an advertisement This paper seeks to review an advertisement presented by the New York Times. The advertisement is aimed at creating awarenessof one of the newspaper’s own products, advertisement service. The paper seeks to answer questions about the advertisement titled, ‘New York Times self-service Ad portal’. Communication of the products’ benefits The advertisement effectively communicates the benefits of the product. One of the benefits of the product, as presented by the advertisement is time effectiveness.

Being quick, the product benefits customers through saved time that can then be used in other activities. Similarly, the advertisement identifies the ease of application of the product that may imply success in its use. This is because a complicated process may not achieve the benefits of an advertisement due to mistakes in application. The advertisement also effectively communicates benefits of placing an advertisement with the New York Times in relation the target population that a user is most likely to reach.

This is achieved, in the advertisement, through illustration of the company’s regular users who are most likely to be reached by placing an advertisement with the New York Times. The advertisement identifies potential target population that implies the level of benefits from utilizing the product. This corresponds with the advertisements objective of communicating to a target population. The advertisement does not however differentiate its products from those of its competitors. It only communicates the general benefits of its product, an aspect that undermines its effectiveness (NYT, n.d.; Trehan and Trehan, n.d.).

Target market segment in the advertisement The advertisement targets the entire population of advertisers. It is not specific and calls for any party who wish to advertise to try its products. It is identified with an awareness campaign that invites parties to try the product. The advertisement is therefore directed towards appropriate market because it is universal. It includes all target groups that could consider it appropriate. The extent to which the advertisement is open means that it cannot be modified to have a universal appeal (NYT, n.d.; Koekemoer and Bird, 2004).

Aspects of the ad that might trigger negative emotions towards the product The universal approach of the advertisement presents aspects that may trigger negative attitudes towards the product. A good advertisement for instance, “associates brand with user type” (Koekemoer and Bird, p. 89). The advertisement is however too general and does not identify with a particular target group. It also fails to develop “brand attitude” because it does not approach a specific target group and it does not identify with specific preferences of any target group (Koekemoer and Bird, 2004, p. 89). As a result, it may create negative attitudes among target group who will feel unidentified (Koekemoer and Bird, 2004).

These effects can however be eliminated if the advertisement is modeled to “prompt direct action, to encourage recall of past satisfaction, to modify attitudes and to reinforce attitudes” (Missouri, 2000, p. 1). Recommendations for a new advertisement Based on the analysis, the paper recommends that an advertisement that is more target specific and induces emotional attachments be adopted. This may mean running a number of advertisements for each target group. Conclusion The selected advertisement, by New York Times, is an example of a universal advertisement.

Though such an advertisement targets a wider population, it stands the risk of negative attitude from the target groups. A more specific advertisement is therefore more effective. Reference Koekemoer, L. and Bird, S. (2004). Marketing Communications. Lansdowne, South Africa: Juta and Company Ltd Missouri. (2000). “Positioning strategies”. Retrieved from: http://web.missouri.edu/~frisbyc/J318/positioning_and_advertising_ob.html NYT. “New York Times self service Ad portal.” Retrieved from: http://www.

nytadvertising.com/was/ATWWeb/public/portalhome.jsp Trehan M. and Trehan, R. (n.d.). Advertising and Sales Management. New Delhi, India: FK Publications