AE#5 Media Synthesize

   I've never given much thought to media other than being aware that there was always a product to sale. It is so commonplace that it blends into the background. The bombardment is relentless and ubiquitous. It appears on everything, from billboards to individual cars on the road.  I have begun to pay closer attention to the message that is being conveyed. Sometimes it is hard to discover just what is being sold, like in the Trunk Monkey ad. Funny and memorable but the name of the product being sold is quickly forgotten. I have been a sales person in my life and, that has caused me to look at advertising with a critical, if not skeptical, eye. The advertising method that works best on me is the one that makes me laugh. It may influence my behavior by tickling my funny bone. The method I would use in my sales technique would be to appeal to the person's sense of self interest, they shouldn't be without the benefit of the product that I was offering. I would not sale a product that I didn't want myself. Being on both sides of sales gives me a perspective that some may not have. The surest way to lose me as a customer is to hard sale me. I've been almost bullied into buying portraits of my children at Owen Mills over a decade ago, I will never step into that studio again.
     I have noticed that people believe that they can buy prestige by buying a particular brand. Not that it is better made or superior in any way other than the brand marketing. I am not immune to the influence, I have an affinity to Coach handbags. I know that they do no better job of holding my belongings than one bought at Walmart. I do buy them, but at an outlet store. I comfort myself by saying that I like the looks of the handbags, not that I fell for the sales pitch, although we all know I did.
 I try to be careful in my purchases, I tend to buy at stores that have a component of social consciousness, like Chipotle. The food is delicious, and knowing that the company is serving "food with integrity" is a bonus. The advertising campaign is centered on the concept of social consciousness, I think that is a very successful strategy. I know that it appeals to me.
  I will be a bit more aware, and beware, of the way media tries to persuade me to buy a product or a lifestyle. I will be paying particular attention to how they will evoke emotions and logic in their effort to gain me as a customer.