Language in Marketing - Essay Example

Language in Marketing By Foundation MKT1130 [Department] 22 November Contents 0 Language in Marketing 2 1.1 Introduction 3 2.0 Language use in an advertisement 3 3.0 Sainsbury’s use of language in advertising Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate bar 4 3.1 Product labelling 4 3.2 Advertisement on You Tube 4 3.3 Information retrieved from Sainsbury’s website. 5 4.0 Customers’ reference to the product 5 5.0 Discussion 6 6.0 Analysis of Sainsbury’s approach to the advertisement of the Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate bar. 7 7.0 Style of language used to advertise the chocolate bar 8 8.0 Conclusion 8 Bibliography 8 1.0 Language in Marketing 1.1 Introduction Sainsbury’s is one of the largest supermarket chains in the UK. In the last one week, the firm’s Christmas advertisement has been at the helm of media highlights due the controversy it has caused among the general public. The firm is taking part in a charity campaign for The Royal British Legion and thus has included the Legion in its advertisement. The firm advertises one of its products referred to as ‘the Limited edition 100g Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate bar.’ The paper will discuss the use of language and the extent to which it determines the success of an advertising campaign. The discussion will conclude by analysing Sainsbury’s approach to advertising the product. 2.0 Language use in an advertisement The choice of any language used in marketing or advertisement communication largely depends on the roles that the language is expected to play. There are four main functions of a language: To inform- this is the use of informative language that describes the available product or service, and how to consume it safely and appropriately1. To persuade- this is the main function of most advertisement campaigns. Advertisements should encourage consumers to purchase the commodity being advertised. To entertain- an advertising campaign can serve the role of reminding consumers about products already being offered in the market by a company. This is a common strategy used to stop the consumer from switching off and consequently looking for alternatives2. To connect emotionally- this can be a risky cause where a company introduces a controversy in its advertisement so as to stir up the feelings of the consumers which eventually creates the required publicity. It is always imperative that the controversy does not stretch to unnecessarily extents. 3.0 Sainsbury’s use of language in advertising Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate bar The discussion will analyse some of the conspicuous language used in describing the chocolate bar that Sainsbury’s advertises. The information about language has been taken from the product package labelling, Sainsbury’s website and from the advertisement on You Tube. 3.1 Product labelling This is some of the information included on the packaging of Chocolate bar. Quality Belgian whole Milk Chocolate Finest quality 100g All profits from the sale of this chocolate bar will go to the Royal British Legion Taste the difference Manufactured in Ypres Belgium. 3.2 Advertisement on You Tube In their description of the advert on YouTube3, Sainsbury’s explains that the Christmas advertisement commemorates the extraordinary events that took place on the Christmas day of 1914. The inspiration of the title ‘Christmas is for sharing’ emanates from an occasion when, during the fight, armies from Britain and Germany both agreed on a ceasefire, albeit for that day, to allow sharing of gifts and activities. The advertisement, therefore, depicts two soldiers from opposing sides, coming together for an interaction. A scene is captured showing one British soldier giving a gift to a German soldier. The gift given is the Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate bar. In their explanation, Sainsbury’s note that the chocolate bar featured on the advertisement is on sale at their stores. The firm also notes that profits from each bar will go to their partners in support of their cause, which is to benefit the armed forces and their families. The chocolate bars are described as limited in stock and thus are available while the stock lasts. 3.3 Information retrieved from Sainsbury’s website. Sainsbury’s starts by describing their motive for its advertisement campaign, referring to its 20 year-long relationship with The Royal British Legion. The company claims that the campaign is meant to raise funds to support the legion. Sainsbury, therefore, offers to sell the Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate bar in support of this cause. The chocolate bar retails at one pound with all the sales profits being donated to the Legion. The company concludes by describing Christmas as time for sharing and of being kind4. 4.0 Customers’ reference to the product There is little that has been recorded so far about the consumer feedback on the chocolate bar used in the advertisement. However, the advertisement has received outrageous mixed reactions from the public. For some, the advert is cynical, disrespectful, exploitative and insensitive. Others think that it is wonderful and creative. However, Sainsbury’s is currently selling about 5000 bars per hour of the Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate bar. According to the Daily Mail, the advert has raised more than 240 complaints with the ASA, since it was released on 12 November 20145. Majority of the complains comprise of objections about the use of World War 1 images to advertise Sainsbury’s (the Limited edition 100g Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate bar). Some of the complaints include Neil Kelley’s objection on the advert using the First World War as an avenue to promote Sainsbury’s and its products. Other people are concerned that the advert may aggrieve the veterans and the senior people in the society, especially those who directly relate to the war. Some of the critics have questioned the advert’s sensitivity to the feelings of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the war. Conversely, one supporter of the advert, Lydia Hamilton, opines that Sainsbury’s advertisement is the best among all Christmas advertisement created this year. She terms it as amazing and outstanding. 5.0 Discussion The paper has so far summarised almost all circumstances surrounding the release and advertisement of the Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate bar. The discussion will now proceed to analyse the uses of various languages and terms in the advertisement. In advertisement and marketing industries, language use and style are some of the most important parts of any successful campaign6. 6.0 Analysis of Sainsbury’s approach to the advertisement of the Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate bar. The Christmas advertisement on the Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate bar by Sainsbury’s serves all the functions of a language in an advertisement. i. Inform- in the advertisement, people who knew little about the First World War can learn of some of the events that marked the war. Sainsbury’s also informs its consumers of its partnership with The Royal British Legion7 and how they take part in the Legion’s cause of helping the families of the recent and the past fallen soldiers. Sainsbury’s inform the consumer that the chocolate bar consists of chocolate and whole milk. The company also states that the chocolate has been manufactured in Belgium. ii. The advert features some of the world most memorable and historical moments of the World War 1 in a time when the country is commemorating a century since the war first took place. With the advertisement referring to the event in such a timely manner, its ability to persuade consumers cannot be underrated. The same communication is also clearly captured on the packaging of the product. Also, the use of terms such as ‘Christmas is for sharing’ and ‘hurry up while stocks last’ is also influential in persuading consumers to buy the product. iii. One of the greatest achievement of Sainsbury’s Christmas advertisement is its ability to cause a public roar. This is largely due to its controversial inclusion of the World War 1 in a manner, most critics opine, as degrading and disrespectful to the British warriors of the time. However, the advertisement perfectly stirs up the public feelings despite this appearing as largely oriented in the negative publicity. iv. The advertisement also entertains through its use of creative features and images from the First World War. 7.0 Style of language used to advertise the chocolate bar Sainsbury’s has a very indirect approach to advertising Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate bar. This can be seen in its subtle inclusion of the chocolate bar in the advertisement. The chocolate bar, being the primary source of the advertisement idea appears in a proportionally very limited time in the entire clip. The effort to advertise the chocolate is not emphasised and instead, the World War 1 dominates the advertisement. Same can be said about the writing on the product package which tends to place the information about The Royal British Legion at the centre stage of information. Sainsbury’s has employed the use of simplified and straightforward language in its advertisement. The language is also quite formal and polite. 8.0 Conclusion The verdict of the analysis of the discussion above is that language and circumstances involved in an advertisement are an important factor in the success of the advertisement8. The use of simple language and inclusion of controversy can be an important factor in making a marketing campaign a success. Bibliography Brierley, Sean. The Advertising Handbook. London [u.a.]: Routledge, 1996. 172 Chandler, Daniel, and Roderick J. C. Munday. A dictionary of media and communication, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2011. 62 Ferdman, Bernardo M., Rose-Marie Weber, and Arnulfo G. Ramirez. Literacy Across Languages and Cultures, State University of New York Press Albany, 1994. 83 Mail Online, Complaints flood in over Sainsbury’s Christmas in the trenches advert: Viewers’ anger over use of WW1 to promote supermarket, The Daily Mail, 2014, retrieved 22 November 2014 . Sainsbury,s, Christmas is For Sharing, Sainsbury’s, 2014, retrieved 22 November 2014 Sainsbury’s, Our Christmas Advert 2014, Sainsbury’s, 2014, retrieved 22 November 2014 Sharma, Sangeeta, and Raghuvir Singh. Advertising: Planning and Implementation, PHI Learning Private Limited, New Delhi, 2009. 286 The Royal British Legion, Sainsbury’s and the Legion parter to bring WW1 Christmas truce to life, The Royal British Legion, 2014, retrieved 22 November 2014, Read More