Effect of Provocative Advertisements on Deordorant Sales

BRM PROJECT REPORT

ON

EFFECT OF PROVOCATIVE ADVERTISEMENTS ON DEORDORANT SALES

Executive summary:

Today, in the market there are thousands of brands, millions of products and their different varieties being offered by different companies. In such a situation it becomes very difficult for the customer to take buying decision rationally and wisely.

Every day we see lot of advertisements on the television, or posters on the billboards, or pictures in the magazines, the question is how many advertisements or brand we are able to remember or recollect. Generally, people are able to recollect those brands with which they are able to connect.

In order to attract or hold the attention of the people marketers use the medium of provocative advertisement. It is the approach which we can call as "going off the track-gaining attention". through showcasing something shocking, unexpected or against the normal concerns attain the attention of the people. It helps in creating the buzz.

Advertisements showcasing a model using deodorant over his body, may not appeal the elders as it might be against their values and norms, but, youth gets attracted to it. It is the message source which matters as the message source in this case is the sex appeal.

Marketers objective is to gain the interest of the people so that they can desire for the product and purchase it. Through provocative advertisements they use AIDA approach. But consumers are living in a society and by going against the societal norms, marketers may have to bear a heavy cost in terms of decrease in the goodwill and brand equity and decrease in sales.

Daring and controversial campaigns have become a new source of attracting customers. Deodorants (provocative advertisement) are being advertised in such a manner that audience can be challenged through a manner which is distinctive and closely related to the humour, sex, irritation and warmth appeals. Desire, to say, to have a sexual appeal through smell is being created. Due which the interest of the people to have good sex appeal arouses, which ultimately end up with the sale of the deodorant.

Hence, perceptions of the people play a important role in determining the impact of provocative advertisements on them. As different people have different values, believes, attitudes and personality, which all in total comprises of the perception of the individual. Also it differs from person to person the basis of age, different age groups have different mind sets, as the youth population is try summers as they believe in new innovative ways and products. So, in order to entertain and increase the brand recognition provocative advertisement is being used, which has its own pros and cons. Pros like gaining attention, appealing etc on the one hand, while, on the other hand, there is a heavy cost associated with it in the case of failure as it is very risky.

INTRODUCTION

Provocative advertising is a medium which the modern advertisers have been using through affecting the attitudes and shaping the perceptions of the customers through presenting the products by using the medium of sex, nudity, disgust, religious taboos etc.

As advertising is an important part of promotional activities, which helps in capturing the market share and also in building the image of the brand, provocative advertising plays an important role. In provocative advertising humor is being used to gain the attention which again depends on the characteristics or the attitudes of the customers/audiences.

It has become very important for a company in order for its product's survival to be recalled by the customer. Today when the memory retention of the customer is very low company for holding the attention of the customers, they follow the path of provocative advertising. Challenging the social norms has become a way through which the markers advertise their products in order to get the attention which ultimately leads to an arousal through creating a pressure on their norms.

More the provocation, more will be the attention of the target audience. Based on this provocative advertising has been used on vary massive scale. But before presenting the product or brand in a provocative manner it is very important to understand the attitudes and perceptions of the target audience otherwise it may lead to a failure.

The risk associated with provocative advertising is very high as the audience may perceive