Innovative ways to reach customers
Introduction
As the country undergoes advances in technology, it is more critical for marketers to find innovative ways to reach their customers. As such, marketers have increased the number of print advertisements. By using pictures, the marketing teams have more appeal to potential and current customers. As such, this paper is a rhetorical analysis of a visual advertisement on a periodical. The advert is chosen randomly by considering its impact on culture, beliefs, norms, and behavior. The visible ad is widely present in several magazines, periodicals, and newspapers. It has successfully changed people’s perspectives about the product since looking at it appeals to certain emotions and reactions. The advert is a perfect example of the positive effects of target marketing using the visual advertisement.
Discussion
The visual art courtesy of Harley Davidson advertisement depicts a celebrity (Katy Perry) riding a motorbike in the background of green vegetation. The picture brings out particular social perspectives based on preconceived premonitions in the community. The angles are either based on bias reasons, culture, age, social group, or gender. Every visual representation has unique semiotic visuals that establish different perceptions of the intended audience. This particular image shows that women can perform the given advertised activity. It is a cultural ideal that believes that such motorbikes are related to men who most likely belong to a specific group. The image opposes this cultural perception. The image stereotypes social groups whose main activity is spending time riding motorbikes. It can be assumed that such groups will most likely buy the idea behind this image. People from cultural backgrounds can also perform the activity shown in the diagram. For this reason, the image affects the perception of ethnicity in that it will raise questions on the possibility of a different culture indulging in the image’s purported message.
Every culture perceives any information based on cognitive memories and experiences. The company has been long associated with men belonging to the Baby Boomers generation. However, using a celebrity belonging to a younger age appeals to my emotions about love for riding motorcycles. The advert gives me the urge to be in the same position since I live in a culture where the pop artist is celebrated as a trendsetter. A culture that has fond memories of victorious motorbike races will positively interpret the message. I see the motorbike as a symbol of victory, which I translate into women engaging in motorcycle races. Living in my cultural setting gives me the will to understand the message depicted in the art. The image will remind an individual of past experiences where there used to be riders crossing rural homes. Experience is paramount to how a culture views and interprets this image. Cultural perception is an important consideration when dealing with international or global cultures. The intended meaning of visual art or gesture can be understood or taken differently depending on the culture. In my case, the image gives me fond memories of seeing riders zoom past my homestead. The picture shows that women can also take part in the activity, although men currently dominate it.
Harley-Davidson Company has dominated the motorcycle industry for the last 115 years. Nonetheless, its adverts appeal to middle-aged men. The company, therefore, used this visual print advert to call to other people in society. The advert follows today’s changes in marketing, where companies use celebrities for advertising their products. As technology innovations are advancing, more people are shifting from one product to the other. Integrated communication campaigns between Katy Perry and Harley-Davidson Company, is a new method of advertising. Apart from the print media, Katy Perry is also influential on other social media platforms. It seems logical that if a celebrity with such popularity would ride a Harley-Davidson, then I should also have the urge to won and ride such a motorcycle.
Conclusion
The success of any business, organization, or idea is based on the concrete understanding existing between it and the society through which it exists. Society perception through emotions or logic can promote or destroy a message. Therefore, a bearer of any information must understand the cognitive memories and experiences of the target audience before selling the idea to this community. This will ensure that the data is understood in the correct way and without prejudice. Further different age groups possess a different understanding of information. The difference in age leads to a difference in cultural perception. Older members of the community are likely more preservative of their beliefs, while younger generations require more appealing. Young people will, therefore, conceive information with leniency due to their new set of ideas. A social group allows an individual to gauge information presented while relating to its acceptance and importance to the social group he/she associates with. The individual considers its applicability to the social group. If the message is perceived as contrary to the social group’s culture, the message is dismissed and assumed. In conclusion, the visual advertisement discussed appeals to both my emotions and logic; thus, I can comfortably buy the product being advertised.