Commercial Photography

Advertising photography is designed to sell products or services by capturing a viewer’s attention. It can be found in magazines, newspapers, and catalogs. The photographs may stand alone, or they may be combined with words to sell a product or illustrate a concept. Typically, an art director or advertising agency determines the content of the picture and hires a photographer to create the image. The image may be a still life of a company’s product, or the photograph may try to elicit an emotion the advertiser wishes to associate with a product. Male and female models are often used to create moods, especially in fashion photography. The photographer visually translates the idea into the final image using a variety of tools and techniques. He or she charges a daily rate for taking photographs, plus expenses, including the cost of hiring freelance assistants, stylists, and makeup artists when necessary. Some of the technical elements a photographer must skillfully control include sharpness, exposure, lighting, composition, and color reproduction.

Marketing Research Program

Business In the business world, psychology is applied in the workplace and in the marketplace. Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology focuses on human behavior in the workplace and other organizations. I-O psychologists conduct research, teach in business schools or universities, and work in private industry. Many I-O psychologists study the factors that influence worker motivation, satisfaction, and productivity. Others study the personal traits and situations that foster great leadership. Still others focus on the processes of personnel selection, training, and evaluation. Studies have shown, for example, that face-to-face interviews sometimes result in poor hiring decisions and may be biased by the applicant’s gender, race, and physical attractiveness. Studies have also shown that certain standardized tests can help to predict on-the-job performance. See Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Research Program Marketing research is a pivotal part of the marketing process. By referring to studies of prospective buyers’ needs, wants, and tastes, providers of goods and services can tailor their marketing programs. The results of marketing studies suggest to sellers not only what they should sell or provide but also where to offer particular goods and services, how to advertise them, and how to set prices.

Marketing Campaign

Marketing Campaign, strategy adopted by a business organization to promote a product or range of products over a period of time. Some products are supported by a long-term marketing campaign. Others, such as new products just launched, are supported by an intensive marketing campaign. Large firms may use an advertising agency to coordinate the campaign, which generally makes use of a variety of marketing techniques.

Consumers Protection

Consumers need sufficient information in order to choose wisely among the competing products and services available. The marketplace, however, contains a great many different and complex products, and advertising is usually not informative enough for consumer purposes. Therefore, consumers often lack the information required to compare the quality of various products and services, to determine their true cost, or to be assured of their suitability or safety. Many consumer problems are caused by incorrect or fraudulent information. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) bears the primary responsibility for making sure that advertising and labeling are not false or misleading..

Value of Advertising Image of a Product

By adding meaning to a product, advertising also adds value. For example, when Philip Morris Companies Inc. purchased Kraft Foods, Inc. in 1988 for nearly $13 billion, Philip Morris paid 600 percent more than Kraft’s factories and inventory were worth. Over 80 percent of the purchase price was for the current and future value of the Kraft brand, a value that was created in large part by advertising. Advertising plays such an important role in promoting products and adding value to brands that most companies spend considerable sums on their advertising and hire specialized firms, known as advertising agencies, to develop their advertising campaigns.