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Matthew Lee Poy 994630217 A1  CCT 356.

For this assignment I have chosen to analyze two advertising campaigns that present themselves as banners or pop up adds that appear on web sites about music making. The first ad is a banner advertising for a music school called, Full Sail University and the other ad is also a banner for a new electronic keyboard by the music manufacturer Korg.

Target Audience.

For both ads the target audience are musicians of any background, the performing musician, the home musician or beginning musician. These ads are designed to get them thinking about themselves as musicians and what they can do to improve their music or give them an advantage in producing their own music. The idea that they can have a secret weapon that will distinguish themselves from other musicians.

What are they trying to advance?

These ads are trying to advance artist’s production of music, to make it easier for them to produce and to make it easier for musicians to have access to the tools of making music. In both ads they are trying to separate themselves from the competition as well. In the case of the Korg ad, they are trying to advertise their new flagship keyboard as lightweight, affordable, easier to use, in comparison to other flagship keyboards from their competition like Roland, Yamaha or Kurzweil. In the Full Sail University ad, they are working the angle that musical education at their school will provide them with better knowledge of the music industry, musical skill and musical production that will promise students a better future in the music industry, compared to other schools like Trebas, Metal works or Recording Arts Canada.

When did you see this campaign and where?

These campaigns are usually seen on music education websites or websites that contain information on music products or instruction. The Full Sail University ad was seen on the Ultimate Guitar web site at http:// [|www.ultimate-guitar.com], and the Korg ad was seen on the Harmony Central website at [|http://www.harmonycentral.com].

What Techniques did they use?

Both ads used the banner technique; they present themselves neatly on the home web page of each site. They both display themselves non-abruptly on the page but can be easily seen by the user.

Do you believe they were effective?

I don’t think these ads are very effective, they advertise things that musicians know are already out there. The information they both share to the user isn’t very informative to the user as to what they are and what distinguishes themselves from their competition. In the case of the Full Sail University ad, I feel that the simple slogan “Make music your business,” is week and doesn’t help that particular school, if anything it makes me think about “making music my business,” but not at their school. I feel that I would rather do some research into other schools rather than jumping into theirs. In the case of the Korgs ad, all they have going for them is that the keyboard is a “heavy hitter,” ”lightweight” and at a “lower price.” That doesn’t tell me whether or not it is a good product or whether it would suit my needs at all.