Advertising the I-Pod

Aims of the research

In today`s society the advertisement system plays a crucial role in selling the product. The researcher will conduct a survey on the efficiency of the advertisements for the Apple Company in selling the IPods. In this research, the basic concept of advertisement would be analyzed. The main focus the researcher would make on the IPod commercials in the Internet, as more and more people now use it. The focus on the Internet advertisements was taken into consideration as it has one of the most effective influences on people`s choice in the today`s society. Thus, on the example of the Apple Company and the IPod, the main Internet advertisement techniques would be outlined. Especially, the researcher will focus on teenagers and the influence of the IPod Internet advertisements on their choice. This particular age group was chosen as it is the major age group which uses the Internet. In addition, this age group can be easily controlled by general opinion. One of the aims of the research is to evaluate the effectiveness of the IPod advertisement, summarize the general approach and analyze the techniques from the point of harmfulness for the customer. Thus, the present research will deepen, consolidate, and expand the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of the advertisement system, in particular the IPod. The skills of independent work and formulating opinions would also be developed due to caring out unique surveys. The background knowledge on the chosen subject would be formulated as well.

Outline of the research and the research questions

The Internet has had and continues to have a very strong influence on the formation and development of the global information society. In its turn, the advertisement industry is one of the most effective types of influence on the people`s mind. This combination forms the great opportunity to develop and sell the products. Apple Company was one of the first which gained the advantages from it. Different types of IPods have been introduced online and most of them are successfully sold due to the Internet advertisement. Thus, many scientists argue if it is ethical to use the Internet as the method of influence. Cronin underlines, that the advertisement system has many hidden sides, and one of them is the use of the Internet. Cronin Frosh, in his work The Image Factory: Consumer Culture, Photography and the Visual Content Industry, claims that while watching visual advertisements, people become less attentive and can be treated much easier than those who only listen to a commercial. Andy Cush in his work underlines that Apple Company has used all techniques in order to sell their new device IPod. To the author`s mind, the most harmful is the Internet commercials of IPods, as it is available to everybody without age limit and can harmfully influence the children`s psychology.

What is more, the researchers who have been working on evaluating the Internet marketing strategy in Apple industry, such as Cassel and Darell, claim that Apple Company uses in its practice the hidden advertisements, especially with the help of the Internet. The study aims to discover the potential harmful influence of Apple’s Internet advertising on the example of IPod. These types of advertisements are called “aggressive” and they can cause a variety of inconveniences for the society, especially for the children and teenagers, most of who have the access to the Internet and Apple advertisements in general. In addition, one of the tasks of the research is to define the potential risk, analyze the likely field of this risk, and create the recommendations on how to avoid it.

Thus, the research will seek to provide the answers for the following questions:

-         What are the influences of the Internet IPod advertising on the society?

-         How to resist the hidden advertisements?

In general, the research aims to find out whether the ethical issues were taken into consideration while advertising IPods through the Internet.

Research methods

In order to get the precise data analysis, the following research methods are going to be used. Face-to-face surveys are a reliable method of studying consumer preferences and are well suited for evaluating the effectiveness of television and outdoor advertising. Methods of survey respondents can be obtained from a large amount of information with a high degree of accuracy. During the personal interviews, it is possible to use different visual stimuli: demonstration cards, advertising modules, logos, labels, promotional video clips, etc. The data obtained from the respondents in the survey will be processed and analyzed. The results of the surveys will be introduced in the form of graphs and tables of distribution for different groups of consumers in the questionnaire.

Secondly, the method of the focus group will be used. Focus group is a group interview conducted in a free form after a pre-designed scenario. Participants are not familiar with the contents of the script of focus groups. It is known only to the moderator. Deliberations will be recorded on audio or videotape. This is necessary for further decoding of non-verbal expressions and fixation behavior (facial expressions, gestures, etc.) of the focus group. The obtained transcripts serve as the basis of the analytical report. Typically, the duration of group discussion is 1.5-2 hours. This method is very important because it gives the opportunity to gauge not only the answers, but also real emotions while evaluating the existing problem.

One of the methods will be comparative socio-philosophical analysis and synthesis. With the help of this method, the most comprehensive influences of the IPod advertising will be evaluated as a sociocultural factor in the society.

In addition, the institutional method will allow focusing on advertising as a social and socio-political institution, which became an important factor in exacerbating personal identification problems due to the increasing conflict between the objective conditions of membership rights to social class and the subjective opinion of people about their place in the social structure. Advertising justifies and strengthens the perception of the individual's place in the social structure and socio-cultural environment.

Ethical issues

The main ethical issues of this particular topic is that, as a rule, the IPod Internet advertisements are orientated on the adult age group. However, the use of Internet as the way to promote the product, can`t prevent the teenagers or even children from viewing the particular advertisement. As a result, children and teenagers have an access to the information that cannot be properly accepted by them. In addition, the different methods that are used by the IPod Internet advertisements at most cases have very big influence on the consumer. Among such methods are the banners, which flash in front of the eyes even when the person doesn`t want to buy the IPod. Thus, one of the ethical issues thereof is the use of people`s subconscious as a way to promote the product.

Projected dissertation outline

Introduction (deals with the brief history of Apple Company and the implementation of IPods in the Internet industry, its development from the past till today; outlines the background information on how the Internet is used in the advertising system today);

Chapter 1 “Internet advertising in Apple Company” (analyzes the theoretical issues of the problem; gives the description of a variety of the approaches which are used by Apple Company in the Internet advertisement; evaluates the theoretical aspects of the different methods of Internet advertising which are used by Apple Company; underlines the most effective methods and their influence);

Chapter 2 “Characteristics of the Internet advertising of IPods” (analyzes the practical side of the issue; makes the focus on the carried surveys; underlines the particularity of the IPod Internet advertisements; analyzes the compliance between the goals and objectives of advertisement methods of the IPod Internet advertisements;  evaluates the hidden and philological methods used in the IPod Internet advertising);                                     

Conclusion (summarizes the researched material of the paper, evaluates the compliance with the aims of the research, and defines the main result).