Youtube.

I recently discovered a new feature on youtube that lets me see the statistics and data of my youtube channel (www.youtube.com/silisali). The feature shows the demographics of people who watch my channel, the popularity of my channel around the world, daily amount of views, and the percentage of my videos that are watched the most compared to each other. It even let’s me break down the data for each video individually and see the different ways that people have found my videos. It’s awesome!!

Just like how advertisers look for a target audience, and have tons of meetings to find out their statistics and data.. people with youtube channels now have that same information for themselves! Personally, it’s just cool to see what kind of people are on my channel frequently and how they find my videos… but people with Vlogs or people who are looking to promote themselves or a certain product will find this feature extremely helpful in seeing what kind of people they’re attracting.

Here are a couple examples from my channel’s statistics (click on the picture to view it):

Demographics:

Popularity:

Top Vids:

 

If you already have a youtube account… check out your stats! If not… get an account, upload a video… and see what happens!

-Sali. 

Advertising in Theme Parks.

Theme parks are saturated with advertisements… EVERYWHERE. Their goal: to get the park visitor to spend as much money as possible. Today I went to Universal Studios: Hollywood, and before I even walked into the park, I knew exactly what I wanted to eat for lunch thanks to the HUGE poster with delicious food on it right next to the ticket line.

As soon as I walked inside, someone took my picture and gave me a slip of paper that would later lead me to see the picture that was taken and try to convince me to pay $20 for a key chain with the picture and the park logo on it. After I got through that, another person asked me to sign-up for their new credit card so I could save money around the  park and get a free bag.

Aside from people trying to persuade me to buy things, there was product placement all around the park. At one restaurant, all the umbrellas that were by the tables had the Corona logo on them, at another one, there was a HUGE picture of a nice, refreshing Coca-Cola.

The best trick theme parks have is when they offer things like “souvenir cups” or “special meal deals.” At Universal, they offer “All You Can Eat” passes, where you pay $25 for a pass that lets you eat all day long. What they don’t tell you is that drinks are not included, and that you can only use the pass at certain restaurants. So you end up thinking that you’re going to save ’sooo much’ by buying the pass, where in reality, you wouldn’t have spent $25 on food anyway. Same thing with the souvenir cups… you pay $8 for a cup with 75 cent refills.. and end up refilling only once. That’s a waste… but by presenting products to park visitors with the illusion that it will help the visitors save money, the park makes MORE money.

Basically, places like theme parks are the best at taking your money in clever ways. It’s up to you to decide if what you’re buying is really worth what you’re paying. With souvenir shops placed every couple of steps, and all those “special deals,” you really have to be on the lookout to be able to differentiate between real deals and full on scams…. Good Luck!!

 

-Sali.

New Ways of Advertising.

It definitely seems like the media is always reinventing itself in order to get peoples’ attention. Have you noticed the new electronic billboards, conveniently placed at long traffic lights, changing every couple of seconds to show a different advertisement? This one is located on Santa Monica Blvd. @ Sawtelle Blvd. in Los Angeles:

If you think about it, these things aren’t even safe! As someone is driving, these billboards can certainly be very distracting, yet it does not stop the media world from putting them up… if anything, that’s their point.. to distract people from what they would usually be doing and revert their attention to what they are promoting.

Another new media tool I have noticed is what some channels do to make their viewers pay attention to commercials. I watch Robin Hood on BBC America, and during their commercial breaks they always say stay tuned during our commercials to catch a ‘Robin Hood: Inside Look,’  which is basically like a 20 second interview with a cast member. If someone likes the show, instead of getting up and using the restroom, or going to the kitchen to get a snack, they’re more likely to watch the commercials and wait for the “inside look.” Clever. Personally, I don’t have to deal with that because I DVR the show and I watch it when I have time, so I can just fast forward through the annoying commercials, which is absolutely fabulous.

Robin Hood on BBC America

Point of this post: The media is ridiculously clever. They know exactly what to do to get a person’s attention and use it to push whatever they’re selling. With that said, be careful! You never know what they’ll come up with next… just try and avoid getting brainwashed!

 

-Sali.

Music in Media.

Something that is used very often in advertisements is music… whether it’s a catchy jingle or just a song playing in the background, musicplays a huge part in making consumers notice the ad. A very recent example is the iTunes commercial with Coldplay’s new song – “Viva La Vida.” During certain shows, this commercial is played during EVERY commercial break! I was watching an episode of “Scrubs” and with the 30 minute time slot, i saw this commercial about 4 or 5 times. By the end of the show, I had the song stuck in my head… I actually went to my computer, and bought the song off of iTunes just so I could listen to it. Not only did iTunes use a clever cut of the song to make it extra catchy… they played the commercial so many times, they were sure people would take notice and take action.

Another type of music used in commercials are the catchy jingle songs… They show them so many times, with their annoying little jingles that even when you’re not watching tv.. you might catch yourself singing or humming the tune of the ad. A great example is the “freecreditreport.com” commercials… it’s gotten to the point where i sing along with the commercial!! I know that if i ever need a credit report.. i would go to that site, just because the song is burned forever in my head.

Another good television commercial example of a jingle is the Empire Carpet commercial.. I could recite the number for you by heart because I’ve seen the commercial so many times and because they paired their phone number with a catchy jingle.

This method of annoying jingles also works well on the radio. Two examples that i can think of are the Keyes on Van Nuys ads and the Toyota of Orange ads. The Keyes one, goes “Keyes, Keyes, Keyes, Keyes on Van Nuys.” I can’t tell you how many times i’ve seen someone looking for their keys and i’ve just randomly broken out into song with “Keyes, Keyes, Keyes, Keyes on Van Nuys.” The Toyota of Orange is equally as annoying with their jingle.. “Well you won’t get a lemon (I wouldn’t'a got a lemon?)
From Toyota of Orange
Well you won’t get a lemon (I wouldn’t'a got a lemon…!)
From Toyota of Orange”

In America… if someone can hear.. then there’s a preeeeeeetty good chance their brain has been filled with the nonsense of advertisers.. whether they want to believe it or not. I know almost everyone out there knows who will “beat anyone’s advertised price.. or your mattress is FREEEEEEEEEEEE!” 

 

–Sali.