The objectives of today’s blog:
1. Who are the communicators?
2. What product or service is being advertised?
3. What are the demographic and psycho graphic characteristics of the audience at which the advertisement is aimed?
4. Which needs and gratifications are addressed in the advertisement?
1. Do the Non-verbal cues in the picture contribute to the non – verbal message?
Objective:
To apply the concepts and the theories of mass communications to a media example.
Media example:
Cartier:
Mass Communication
“The media exert a wide range of effects – immediate and long term positive and negative.” (Potter) The media are pervasive and always around us. It is difficult to predict its effects due to technological advances and the complexity of the information age. “All media differences are blurring. Some believe we are going towards a convergence of computing, telephony, broadcasting, motion pictures and publishing.” (Neuman) As a materialistic society we are more concerned with the kind of message than how we receive the message. The media literally engulfs us in its messages and influences us daily, without us even knowing it. We are being subconsciously taught how to act in society and what it’s value systems are. Moreover, the media has shifted from: “A product orientation to a marketing orientation.” (Potter) They no longer develop the product they first develop a need in the audience for the product. ‘Cartier’ began as a watchmaker, and as it attained a large wealthy clientele it slowly merged into the jewelry business. ‘Cartier’ is part of the European luxury goods market based in Switzerland. It has worked hard to become a symbol of rich and elegant European living.
Why do we as a mass audience believe the above statement? It is a long and successful approach at mass communication by large business with the focus on a mass audience and a niche group. “Mass communication is a process of delivering information, ideas and attitude to a sizable and diversified audience through a medium developed for that purpose.”† “Mass media is the technologies and social institutions that are involved in the production and distribution of messages to large audiences.”† In the case of Cartier the media channels used are selective for a specific target market for the upper socio-economic level of consumers. Particularly women with rich husbands. They use the most modern art departments who in turn hire the most modern talent to produce very expensive stills and commercial advertising. Nothing is spared on any level as the media channels represent a very high-level company.
When we as the recipients of mass communication by Cartier (which is global) encounter their message we have no way of showing our opinion. This veneer by the company protects it and fuels its exclusivity. The correlation theory as that our attitudes and opinions are influenced by the impressions we receive from the mass media. Cartier spends enormous amounts of money on promoting its image in very clever ways. They take extreme care with the press often sending invitations to dinners and functions. At the dinner the guests usually receive an expensive gift made by Cartier. Enormous amounts of money are spent on celebrities wearing the jewelry to openings – particularly Oscar evening, where the right diamonds on the right personality can be very newsworthy. Cartier also fits into the entertainment theory as a function of mass communication, because its advertisements and commercials are so expensively done. Even thought commercially based, “It does present images which provide escapism and relaxation.”†
Cartier as a mass communicator hires an art director and publicist, who both have the role of gatekeeper. “The Gate keeper is an individual in a group who has the power to select and reject messages, interpret and change them, influencing the information received by a recipient.”†
It is their strict job to make sure the image and exclusivity of Cartier remain in tact in the information received by the audience. They also make sure that the magazines they advertise in reach the audience they expect. The demographics and target audience are essential. Examples of magazines that Cartier advertises in are: Forbes, The Economist, New York Times, Condé Nast, Vogue, Harpers Bazaar… The target market of the advertising is woman between the ages of 40 – 60 with a disposable income, and wealthy male businessmen. Cartier endorses opinion leaders troughout the sports, business and fashion worlds. In return for their advertising money: “The magazine editors tend to select material which will please the advertisers – material which will appeal to the type of audience the advertisers are aiming at, in this case Cartier.”†
Furthermore, the Cartier publicists are very concerned with agenda setting – particularly getting the media to focus on a positive, healthy and wealthy lifestyle obtainable only by a view, to promote the product with any luxury goods event, and to focus on other editors and opinion leaders in fashion. This projects an image and a quality that will be talked about, and furthermore, entrenching itself in the opinion of the public. Cartier has spent the last 100 years in building its image to one of quality and as a symbol of wealth; without it, it is just rock and metal.
The effects of Cartier as a mass media consortium and their message on society also fits into the two step flow theory: “as they rely heavily on opinion leaders to retransmit the information with their own interpretation.”† The focus on the opinion leaders are like clients and take very good care of them in order to ensure that the transmitted message gets first to their target market, and most importantly that it is favorable.
By doing careful analysis, Cartier “is able to predict its influences on the audience, depending on what type of mass communication they use. They know exactly why certain media campaigns fails to alter audience attitudes and believes. “†
Cartier has identified two basic need categories of its audience:
- Affective needs – pursuit of pleasure and entertainment – satisfactions of emotions. – The pursuit of a life-style where you can afford to wear expensive diamonds.
- Escapist needs – needs relating to escaping tension, stress and the desire for diversion. Diversion is the fantasy of the love that comes with diamonds and the symbolism of happiness related to materialism.
Cartier spent millions reaching its audience, understanding where and who they are, and knowing what kind of advertising appeals to them.
The non-verbal cues in the picture contribute to the verbal message in numerous ways. The first impression is cleanliness, high energy and beauty. Putting brilliant diamonds on a white background does this. The macro photo shows the workmanship and the quality of the diamonds. The choice of graphics is to blend in with the coloring and to subtly state its name. The photograph is heavily computer manipulated in order to take away any mistakes. The only verbal information is the name and the website. When going to the website one can see that a lot of money has been spent in creating a digital extravaganza for its audience.
Conclusion.
The mechanisms and complexity of mass communication is the beginning of understanding the effects of the media (as a mass communicator) on us, as a mass audience. By analyzing and theorizing how mass communication works, institutions and big business can better understand the effects of the media on the audience. This is essential, as economically, they must understand the effects on their target audience. Cartier must do so simply because they are paying a lot of money for advertising that must be justified. As a mass audience we must understand what the mass media are trying to do, so that we can select what we are interested in, and know when we are subconsciously affected. These knowledge structures will protect us from being manipulated by big business, and being made to believe that rock and glass with make us happy.
