Consumer Me as a Consumer

¶ … Consumer

Me as a Consumer

The final decision to purchase is influenced by an infinite line of characteristics, emerging from the product itself and its placement onto the market, the needs to satisfy or the customers' personality. An interesting feature that combines the strategies of product placement, product characteristics and customers' features is the advertisement. The ad has this particular role as it represents itself a stage in product placement, is based on presenting the benefits of the item and it is aimed at attracting the interest of the consumer by showing him how satisfactory the product will be.

Wal-Mart has often developed strong campaigns that are aimed to convince the customer to make purchases from their stores. A new ad however praises Wal-Mart as an employer and states the benefits of the Wal-Mart employee. I saw the ad right after finishing Greg Spotts' Wal-Mart - the High Cost of Low Price, in which he presented the downsides of working at Wal-Mart (limited promotion possibilities, discrimination against women and African-Americans, unpaid extra hours or the fact that the store officials directed their employees to seek governmental aids as they did not provide sufficient health care plans). The advertisement made a strong impression, contradicting what I had just read and heard before and I would never go work for a Wal-Mart store.

Another advertisement that made an impression, this time a positive one, was one from Nike. The company was showing a world renowned athlete jogging and accidentally going through a large piece of glass that shuttered to pieces and causes the athlete to fall. The commercial ends like this and invites the viewer to go online for the finale. What basically attracted me about this commercial was the fact that they involved the audience and managed to successfully implement the concepts of interactive marketing. I personally am a Nike consumer and I will continue to be as I believe in the high quality of their products, but also in their originality and the capability to constantly develop and improve their products, facts also revealed by their advertisements.

The topic of bottled vs. tap water in growing in importance and the debate is far from over. Evian is an international brand in the field of bottled water and in one of their commercials they emphasize on their water's capability to maintain the drinker healthy and young. They play Queen's Rock You in the background and it is sung by a small child, playbacked by individuals of all ages, implying as such the water's ability to maintain you young. The impression made was an extremely negative one as all water is beneficial for one's health and the overpriced Evian has no other benefits. I do not and will not, under normal circumstances, purchase the Evian bottled water.

The advertisements developed by fast food giant McDonald's have evolved significantly over time; few years back, they were focused on presenting happy children having a good time at their stores. Recently however, they have been prohibited from using children and their advertisements are now centered on products. I recently saw one of their ads for the chicken salad and was impressed that the company decided to take a healthier approach to food. I didn't use to go to their stores as I try to be conscious of what I eat, but now, I will most definitely try their diet recipes.

Detergents are a necessity for all of us and we will purchase them often without much consideration to brand or other characteristics beside the quality / price report. Detergent commercials have most often made me laugh not because they were funny, but because they were rather silly, to say the least. A latest commercial I saw of Ariel presented the owner or manager of a catering business who wanted to reduce costs and so switched to a cheaper washing product. But the cloths were not clean and had to be washed again; as such no economy was made and she decided to return to Ariel. I personally am an Ariel consumer and I will continue to be, and not because of the commercial, but because I like the product's quality. However, in the commercial, I see that the company has recognized the high price of their product relative to other detergents on the market, and they have also managed to once again establish themselves as a product for the upper class, which has superior expectations and is willing to pay a little more. Well done!

The first feature to attract me to a commercial is the visual effect, but in the end, if the ad fails to deliver a message, I will not like it. Advertisements that have a message, be it direct or implied, stand more chances to attract my attention and to be remembered in time. Also, if the commercial impresses me, I will be more likely to make a purchase of the product. But this purchase will also be influenced by my needs of the product. For instance, I once saw an interesting ad to a dehumidifier, but since I have no humidity and dampness problems, I did not purchase it.