The Context Machine

It appears that most gurus if you want to call them that represent themselves as experts. In several statements that I’ve read, they refer to other marketers as making mistakes. Yet, when they make the same mistakes, they call it testing.

I read a quote one time about a child learning to walk. When the child is serious about learning to walk, falling is simply a form of learning. However, it’s not looked upon as a failure or mistake.

Another word that I’ve heard plenty of times this year is the word “secret”. Actually, that word has been overused and over abused. As anyone knows, if it’s a secret on the internet, most everyone knows about it. Secret is also known as a power word.

You can compare secrets to fishing. I know of a web site selling secrets of catching crappie at night. The secret has been around since 1947 and very few fishermen know about it. Well, if you know anything about fishing, then you can guess where I’m going with this one. More than likely it’s the difference between a fairy tale and a story from a cowboy.

Now, that you know that you haven’t been given the right secrets to success and everything you do is wrong, you may as well face the fact that someone out there is undoubtedly going to tell you more goof ball lies.

It may be time to wake up and realize that marketers that sell “marketing information” will never tell you exactly what to do in order to make money. If they did, you wouldn’t be a customer any more. Also, it amazes me that they’d want the competition.

“Saturation” is a word you should learn. There will be a point on the internet where the most unpopular word around will be considered a keyword at a price most people starting out cannot afford. I’m talking about pay per click advertisements.

At some point, you may even figure that the people selling books on google adsense and google adwords are creating an irreversible mountain of competition for themselves. It’s my opinion that the ones writing these books are slowing down on the profits and needed another avenue.

It’s been said over and over again that you need your own product, but I think you’d still be right where you are today if you did not do everything you’ve done so far. The one thing you must not do. Do not quit. This is the only sure way of failure.

You’ve learned a great deal and you may have even got burned out. You may have been scammed and ripped off. You may even be one of those unfortunate people that had their identities stolen. Just learn from it and go on. Don’t follow those footsteps.

Do not join chain letters, matrixes, money making machines, or anything where a product is not a reasonable price. Last, if it cost you money to get into a business selling for someone else, “run”.
Now, only you know why you haven’t made any money. Write down everything you’ve done and figure out what you could have done different. Most of the time it comes down to not doing enough. If you still believe you can work 2 hours per day at this business starting out, then think again. Marketing is a full time job.

PS. I have no secret that you haven’t been told before. I don’t figure you’re doing anything wrong, you just haven’t figured out what you want.

Randall Stafford has been marketing on the internet seriously for the last 2 years with some success. He’s been on the internet since 1994 and dabbled with it. If you want to succeed, you don’t quit.

Lets examine the use of Giorgio Armani Company’s advertisements for a persuasive campaign. My reasoning is because the company is separated into several different divisions, while each tries to sell their product, the advertisements must maintain an overall company image. I have chosen Giorgio Armani Parfum (cologne), Armani Exchange (A|X), Emporio Armani(Dreamers), and Giorgio Armani Occhiali (glasses) to be the focus for the general image campaign of the Giorgio Armani Company.

Armani uses dark colors with rich lighting and contrasting themes to promote their products. Regardless of the product, Armani seeks to be known as an elite brand with the highest quality and best products for a demanding consumer. The symbols, language, colors and imagery used reinforces this concept of the products by cementing into the consumers mind, the image and brand recognition which the company is hoping will sell its products.

Cultural barriers need to be addressed considering that this company is Italian and most of the advertising, which is used, features “European” looking people and scenes. This works: American’s, when it comes to fashion, look toward Europe for emerging trends and fashion. One important fact to note is that when the advertisement is directed towards men, like the parfum, and occhiali advertisement, the people featured are more masculine and rougher looking than the smoothened and more feminine models featured for general company advertisements (A|X and Dreamers).

For the advertisement “Dreamers” I would add a few different words of text to the advertisement in the lighter areas of the advertisement. The words “Envisage” and “Discovery” should be added to give the connotation or “private and emotional conception” (Langer ch.5), which can be experienced by the feelings that the words invoke. These two words in addition to the ad will give a little more power to the message which ask the reader to imagine the possibilities, discover the unknown, and dream for what you’ve always wanted. This is all tied together with the imagery of three models posing, each staring in separate directions using the strategy of ambiguity in the semantic dimension (p.128). “They [Armani] want each potential persuadee to fill in his or her own private meanings or connotations for the particular word or symbol. (p. 128)”

Armani Exchange is a younger brand, and therefore uses stronger sexuality than other advertisements. In addition colorful clothing is featured more prominently in this advertisement to give a younger, freer and brighter feeling. I would ad the phrase “be bold” in the top right corner of the advertisement. First, since Americans read left to right, the reader would see the images first, then the phrase and would link the language with the color and imagery of the advertisement. Sensory language can be used to influence a person using something they are familiar with and associate it with something that they are not. I would also add the phrase “be strong” to invoke the sense of strength, rather the feeling, which compliments the phrase “be bold”. These two phrases can tie the advertisement together with the images used and give the reader a reason to take a second look at the product and image being advertised.

Gender persuasion is used in the Occhiali advertisement where an unshaven, stylish and powerful picture of a man is used to induce us to try to look him in the eye. When you do this, you will see his sunglasses, which is the product being advertised. The words added to this advertisement must be simple and not too “flowery”. “Men shy away from all such usages because they passionately fear being labeled sissified (Bruell, p. 143).” The choice of phrase for the advertisement is “an enigmatic impression.” These two main words; enigmatic, meaning mysterious, and unknown; along with impression would allow the reader to immerse themselves in the image being shown. This type of language is very discursive, according to Langer, Ch.5, because it is sequential and has meaning, which is created through combinations. Packard’s “Eight Compelling Needs” (Larson, 154) easily relate to this advertisement.

The need for Ego Gratification comes out in the advertisement - where it is directed at consumers whom have the need to go beyond a high self-worth and into the highest form of egocentrism. Additionally, the need for a Sense of Power comes through in the imagery used and the rough looking style of the product. The sense of mysteriousness can be associated with power. These two Compelling Needs are often used in advertising and are used in this, the Occhiali advertisement.

The last advertisement for parfum, I would leave alone. I think it already is persuasive enough through imagery and does not need additional words or images. The wide-open and glaring eyes of the model do what is intended. I believe that this advertisement focuses on our needs of love and belonging, the 3rd and 4th need in Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs (Larson, 160). The need for love is used very often in advertising because it is a well-understood feeling that all people can relate to. The need of belonging [to the “cool” crowd] is often used when the advertiser believes that the product will promote a higher self-esteem or increased likeability.

Giorgio Armani uses the cognitive consistency approach to its advertising. The idea that things should be simple and consistent is the reasoning behind this theory. Fritz Heider’s P-O-X (p.90) theory can be implemented to this advertisement campaign as a whole. First, a Person is oriented toward another, which is apparent in the “Armani Exchange” advertisement. Two separate couples; one in the middle, which are clearly oriented, balance the advertisement and the second separated to each side of the page create tension. The idea of an object being the focus and the positive or negative attitude felt about that object can have an effect on the source and receiver. Advertising is dependant on this concept and Armani understands this idea though use of the imagery in its advertisements.

Overall the image of luxury of the brand is maintained and becomes more persuasive by using language, which promotes feelings and emotions of masculinity and mysteriousness. The colors of the advertisements already do an excellent job of keeping mystery in the minds of the readers by using black/white photos and rich, and bold colors. Reasoning from comparison is used throughout these advertisements. The message is: if you use our products or wear our clothing, you will be popular, beautiful, successful, etc.

Sources:

Larson, Charles U. Persuasion: Perception and Responsibility (10th Ed).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth 2004

Scott fish is the Owner of http://www.TopSatelliteRadio.com

Top Satellite Radio is a resource for consumers seeking the history and facts about satellite radio. We also sell electronics related to Satellite Radio. Quick Access: http://www.TopSatRadio.com

Pay per click or search engine optimization, which one should you use? Many view PPC marketing as a colossal waste of money while others disdain search engine optimization. In reality, the two marketing strategies form a perfect marriage.

Pay-Per-Click - PPC

PPC marketing is a love it or hate platform. For the “love it” crowd, PPC marketing is a way to get instant exposure and feedback on site designs. In a matter of minutes, you can start receiving traffic and adjusting your site to convert the traffic at the best rate possible. For those in the “hate it” crowd, bids are to high and one never knows how may of the clicks are fake and worthless.

Search Engine Optimization - SEO

As with PPC, seo marketing has its proponents and detractors. Those who love it look at the free traffic and glorious profitability of a site that converts the traffic at a decent rate. Detractors view seo as an unnecessary waste of time since it can take a year or more to get high rankings, particularly on Google. Detractors also argue that high listings are subject to changes in the search engine ranking process, which means you can lose your rankings.

So, who is right? In truth, both sides make accurate arguments. PPC is expensive and click fraud is a monstrous problem. Seo produces free traffic, but it takes along time to get to the top and rankings are subject to the whims of search engine ranking changes. The truth, of course, is both marketing platforms should be used whenever possible.

Marketing Marriage

Every site is unique, but most should combine PPC and seo marketing as part of an overall internet marketing strategy. When starting out, the PPC campaign is critical for getting immediate traffic and tweaking the site to maximize conversions. At the same time, a seo campaign should be undertaken. As the site rises in search results, the PPC campaign should be fazed out for the relevant high listings.

PPC and seo marketing are not mutually exclusive. When married together as part of an overall marketing strategy, both platforms will deliver the goods.

Halstatt Pires is with the Internet marketing firm - www.marketingtitan.com - a San Diego Internet marketing and advertising company.