A star is born as an advertising strategy
A talk by the heads of the Adler, Chomsky and Warshavsky advertising agency
introduced new students at the Sammy Ofer School of Communications to the
trends and strategies of the world of advertising, as well as of the US presidential
candidates
By Keren Kofler
First-year student at the Sammy Ofer School of Communications
During this year's Orientation Week,
first-year
communications
students
enjoyed a number of lectures with
leading members of the media itself.
Amir Guy, joint
Warshavsky
CEO
of
Adler,
Chomsky &
Undoubtedly one of the most arresting
lectures was given by Amir Guy and
Amnon Golan, from Adler, Chomsky &
Warshavsky advertising agency.
The name is familiar to many of us,
because Adler Chomsky is one of the
largest advertising agencies in Israel,
and is considered to be a pioneer in the
field. The company is identified with
many
campaigns,
from
political
campaigns to the prime-time campaigns
we are all familiar with: Bezeq, Newpan,
the Mifal Hapayis lottery, Tami 4 and
many others (they are the people who
introduced us to Bituach Yashir’s ‘David
Hachitov’). Among other things, they are
also the advertising agency of IDC
Herzliya.
What is happening in the real world?
Amir Gai, joint CEO of the Adler,
Chomsky & Warshavsky advertising
agency, asked the students why they
wanted to work in an advertising
agency. He underlined the difficulty of
coming up with a new concept, and the
considerable amount of work that has to
be invested in it. In response to a
question regarding the importance of a
bachelor's degree in communications as
compared with the range of different
courses on offer in the market, Amir said
that in his view, anyone studying for a
degree in communications would, during
their studies, be exposed to a whole
range of options and means, and would
therefore have an advantage over
someone specializing in a specific field.
He laid out for the students the range of
positions on offer in the advertising
market, and said that there is
considerable demand for new, young,
fresh and superior personnel.
Innovative advertising? Not so fast…
Amnon Golan, strategic marketing
manager at Adler Chomsky, introduced
his words by relating to the "innovative
advertising” that is common today. He
expressed his view that the place of
advertising in Israel still lies in the
existing media and familiar means newspapers, television and so on, even
though others in the field may feel that
their time has passed and that all that is
left to us today is to follow in the wake of
technological progress and go over to
the new forms of communication.
Golan also claimed that, with smart and
advanced advertising strategy, it is
possible to put across a strong and clear
message - far beyond the use of
gimmicks, blogs and other means that
do not reach the maximum target
audience.
Adapting the strategy to the times
Golan said that advertising strategy, like
everything else in the modern world, is
also changing to suit human culture and
the socio-economic / cultural / family /
political situation of the times.
He pointed to the 1980s and 1990s as
the years when personal and immediate
gratification moved to center stage,
when everything became more widescale and the family unit was expanded
to include friends and family. As an
example of this change, one need only
look at television series of the time, such
as
"Friends",
and
"Seinfeld".
Accordingly, advertising also had to
change and the regular participants in
the advertisements were replaced by a
younger group and by less normative
family units.
At the end of the 1990s and the
beginning of the new millennium, the
most important thing became the
impression. Who dines at the best
restaurants, drives the most expensive
car, and lives in the biggest house.
During this period, advertising strategy
was directed mainly to embellishing the
product, making it sparkling and
glamorous, something desirable.
After
9.11,
the
western
world
experienced a psychological crisis with
its exposure to terror on a scale not
previously known. As a result, all kinds
of meaning of life books began to be
published: "Who Moved My Cheese",
"The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari", and
so on. People began to feel a need to
volunteer and contribute to the
community. Initiatives such as Live 8,
and environmental campaigns such as
Al Gore's green agenda swept millions
along with them.
In addition, there is a sense that
everyone wants to be part of the action.
Series such as "American Idol" go on air
and become popular with viewers who
feel that they are full participants, able to
cast the deciding vote.
Golan emphasized that when the
consumer wants to be a partner, the
advertiser has to take this into account
and change his strategy accordingly. For
example, after the movie "Super Size
Me" was screened, everyone expected
McDonald's to suffer financially. Instead,
by changing its marketing strategy,
McDonald's began to change its visual
and internal image to become
"healthier". This shows the direct
influence of the consumer on the chain.
It did not mean that income from the
sale of hamburgers and fries was
affected, or that people stopped supersizing their meals - the consumer did not
change, he just wanted to think that he
had. The consumer wants to think that
he is part of the action, that he is the
one leading the change, whether or not
this is, in fact, the case.
The American Presidential Elections
Amnon Golan said that in his opinion,
Barack Obama had the best advertising
strategy. He started out with the least
chance of making it through to the final
stages of the American Presidential
Elections campaign, but by using the
right advertising strategy, he succeeded
in putting himself in an ideal position. He
made his voters active participants,
allowed them to register and contribute,
and enabled them to ask for change and
to use every possible medium.
Golan emphasized that one of the most
important thing is accurate preparation
and in-depth analysis of the target
audience to whom the advertising is
directed. "As soon as you know whom
you are appealing to, you will also know
what message it is most worth while to
put across, and how." Obama, for
example, marketed himself in a
relatively new medium, making use of
video clips and movie stars, to appeal to
a young target group aged 18 to 29.
This is a group that did not previously
tend to use its right to vote, and was
therefore open and ready to absorb new
ideas, and to be enthusiastic about
being part of the change.
It is also important to adapt the nature of
the advertising to the product you are
promoting - as one who chose to exalt
his voters, Obama used the slogans
"Yes we can" and "Change" as a way of
turning his voters into full participants in
making the United States a better place,
by presenting the voter as a person who
is capable of anything, of changing the
world.