I found the pitch to be helpful in deciding the general topics I wish to cover, but the actual Initial Research Plan aided in narrowing my focus significantly. My pitch involved sub questions of my research thesis, however I felt that in my pitch my thesis was not as clear and concise as it could have been.
With that said, the pitch was useful and should be used in other writing assignments. It forces you to tailor your ideas to a targeted audience – the people who will theoretically be hearing your pitch, instead of your professor – which is good for accessing whether or not your topic is relevant, engaging and interesting. I also liked the pitch assignment because it forces you to do research beforehand, instead of a week before the assignment is due. I saw problems in my research thesis and was able to fix it weeks before the podcast was due. That wouldn't have been an option without these little assignments along the way.
My refined show idea is as follows:
Do companies use popular music in their commercials to reach large audiences in the hopes of securing a target demographic?
If anyone is interested in reading my pitch, here it is:
How many of you have a jingle
from a television commercial stuck in your head, running around wildly? Well
considering that millions of advertisements are released annually and that the
Journal of Advertising Research reports that in 2008 alone 94% of the 3456 ads
aired during prime-time television contain some form of music, it makes sense
that at least a couple of these would cling linger and cling to your mind. I
have hundreds of nonsensical jingles cached away in my brain, ready to be
triggered by the slightest of provocation. I was having a conversation with my
brother the other day and he mentioned personality. Personality, a word with
many constructs, concepts and emotions attached to it, and instead of thinking
about any of thee I thought: spreadable cheese. After which, I sang the jingle
for Cheez Whiz. The process of associating personality with something so
completely unrelated as spreadable cheese was instantaneous.
Companies
employ a musical rhetoric, playing on lyricism, rhythm and visual stimulation
all compacted into the fifteen second jingle. This form of musical persuasion
encompasses popular music in ads as well. Under the Influence, the podcast show
I am emulating, discusses the process of anchoring in their “Psychology of
Price” episode. A company will advertise an expensive product alongside (acting
as an anchor) alongside a cheaper product of similar design, so that the
consumer is steered towards the less expensive product – the actual target
product.
Popular
music, with its catchy tunes and simple lyrics are used in commercial
advertisements to steer consumers towards the actual message of the
advertisement. Whether the consumer likes the music being used or not, the
music – combined with visuals and dialogue – will influence how the consumer
remembers the ad. For example, a heavy machinery company that airs a commercial
with no dialogue or music, simply a man working intently in a bulldozer would
be far less impressive than an advertisement containing the same man, sweating
and talking while swinging on a wrecking ball with Miley Cirus playing in the
background.
People
think that their musical preferences are a result of their own interests and inclinations;
therefore they can’t be swayed so easily by music in commercial ads, but is this
true? Are music preferences, whether they are rock, pop, hip hop, Goth or
country in nature, manipulated by companies through ads to gear consumers
towards certain products? The hipster who only listens to artist with less than
a thousand followers keep the feather earing, headband, leather bag and Doc
Martin companies in business. This is characteristic of music genres in
general, as they all have certain codes, clothes and materials associated with
them. With this in mind, can music be artistic as well as a tool for marketing?
Is music even an artistic endeavour, or is it just another flashy trick to
ensure consumers keep consuming? Are the people that tailor our clothes, shoes,
bags and hair tailoring our music? I want to know specifically, and I think
consumers will as well, is popular music a manufactured product, created by
companies to secure a demand demographic?
...
I'd
love to hear feedback form you, my wonderful class, on how intriguing
and suitable this topic will be for Under the Influence. I'd appreciate any tips suggestions avenues I should explore in musical advertisement, especially from those who have a background in music, marketing and psychology.
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