Ways We’re Exposed: Television Radio Newspapers Magazines Websites Billboards Telemarketing Store Displays “Snail” Mail Blogs Facebook You Tube Twitter Peddlers Bus Benches Taxi Cabs Buses Subway Trains Trade Shows Sandwich Boards Movie Theaters Freebies- pens, magnets Airplanes  Figures vary widely as to how many advertisements Americans are exposed to daily.  Researcher claims range from more than 200 to more than 3,000  Some research contends 245 is the most accurate number Place Ad Here!

Television 108 Radio 34 Print 112  Even the 245 is "potential" and perhaps only half are real exposures.  The higher estimates probably include all marketing exposure including being in the vicinity of product labels or actual products with trademarks visible, such as your car, computer, fax, phone, shirt, pencil, paper towel in the bathroom, etc.  Just think, if we were really exposed to 3000 advertising messages per day, at an average of just 10 seconds apiece (accounting for radio 60s and brief exposure to billboards), these exposures would consume 8.33 hours out of our 16 waking hours per day.” Source: The Advertising Media Inter Center Website

 Which ever figure you believe-- we are exposed to a LOT of advertising  Link to research, criticism and commentary on this issueLink to research, criticism and commentary on this issue  And who can argue that advertising today is overly sexual?  “Sex sells” is a flippant response. But some say there are serious consequences. VideoVideo  Cutting through the clutter is an advertisers key challenge today  Does advertising use psychological tricks? Some say it just good old-fashioned salesmanship. VideoVideo

 Advertising writers and designers understand Maslow’s Theory of Needs.  From a marketing communication standpoint, these Needs can be summed up as follows: › Comfort- avoid pain and discomfort, convenience › Security- physical and financial › Stimulation- aesthetic, physical › Affiliation- esteem, respect › Fulfillment- self-satisfaction, status  To hook customers, advertisers also understand and practice a process known as AIDA– attention, interest, desire and action

 Attention: How do you get someone who is bombarded with hundreds if not thousands of messages a day to look at your ad or commercial? If you’re a writer one way is to use powerful words, or if you’re an art director, you need a picture that will catch a person’s eye  Interest: Once you capture a person’s attention, he or she will give you a little more time to make your point, but you must stay focused on the reader or viewer’s wants and needs. This means helping them to quickly sort out the messages that are relevant. In some cases, you might use bullets and subheadings to make your points stand out

 Desire: You’ve got them interested, now reinforce that by helping them understand how what you’re offering can help them in a real way. Do this by appealing to their personal needs and wants.  Action: OK, the reader or viewer is hooked. Now what do you want them to do? Visit a website? Take a test drive? Call for information? Plunk down some cash? Advertisers should be very clear about what action you want interested people to take.