question 3 - adverts

Question 3

0 3 Consider the value of using online marketing to target a youth audience.

 You should refer to other media products to support your answer. (12) .

From wiki: Internet marketing ties together the creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including design, development, advertising and sales.^[2] Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along many different stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific websites, email marketing, mobile advertising, and Web 2.0 strategies.

The use of online marketing is a way to promote a product , in the first advert the product were sport shoes made by Adidas . Their website is aimed at a younger mass market of youths who take interest in looking ‘sporty and in style’ . The advert will be placed in more than one platform in order to generate revenue and income for the institution as well . In some ways this is clever as it captures the psychology of spending money on shoes – ie young people enjoy shopping for new clothes and shoes , therefore the use of online marketing promotes the in fashion styles which young people will want to follow . The use of celebrities is a good way to attract attention , as most young people look up to celebrities as their ‘idols’ . Media critics, such as Robert McChesney, have noted that the current trend within the entertainment industry has been toward the increased concentration of media ownership into the hands of a smaller number of transmedia and transnational conglomerates.^[1] Media is seen to amass in centre where wealthy individuals have the ability to purchase such ventures (e.g. Rupert Murdoch). The company owns Reebock – another type of sporting label , this is an example of how Adidas company have used horizontal integration to their advantage .

 Adidas Originals was designed to focus on fashion and life-style, the advert clearly promotes both fashion and lifestyle : the images of the fireworks going up into the clear night sky to promote ‘a good life for all’ , as well as the use of art in the advert to promote the importance of youth culture , especially the graffiti which is often misrepresented in the tabloid press as something that thugs do in order to create trouble ; however this is negative and someone else could state that the graffiti represents their identity within the society or their group name . A recent episode of waterloo road can be used to highlight the scene where one group damaged property by using graffiti to ‘tag’ their name. This was seen to create ‘war’ between two rival groups of teenagers , some belonging to the school while others are part of gang culture , aimed at causing trouble . http://www.adidas.co.uk/- this website’s front page features a well known athlete on a backdrop of graffiti art – this clearly links in well with the advert where the use of graffiti was placed onto walls by artists throughout the advert itself, maybe this promotes the artistic side to the addidas label – clearly aimed towards the typical teen who wants to look their best . The website clearly targets a youth audience as it allows them to create their own customizable shoes tailored towards their taste – colour , name etc . However the pricing is expensive :£150 .. therefore not all teenagers will be able to create their own , could perhaps be targeted towards an older audience who have a high disposable income . Web 2.0 theory is applied here as we go to the website in order to gain the information we need , as well as the use of social networking (facebook page for adidas ) in order to keep up with the latest trends .