Subliminal Messages Essay

Abstract

This research synopsis has been written to outline how subliminal messages have been developed to seek to encourage consumers to buy products. Further to this, the research also seeks to understand how these techniques are employed by advertising agencies in Thailand today.

Therefore, the subliminal advertising techniques that have been developed to encourage consumers to buy products shall be identified through undertaking a review of the literature in this field. Once this has been completed, a questionnaire shall be utilised to ask advertising agencies in Thailand if they use any of these techniques. The researcher will then assess the findings of the questionnaire and compare them with each of the techniques that have been identified through the literature review. This will enable the researcher to understand how subliminal message are used by advertising agencies in Thailand today.

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Introduction

This synopsis has been written to outline how subliminal messages have been developed to seek to encourage consumers to buy products. Further to this, the research also seeks to understand how these techniques are employed by advertising agencies in Thailand today.

What is the lead question?

The question, which shall be used to explore this topic, is - How are subliminal messages used by advertising agencies in Thailand.

What are the aims of this investigation?

In conjunction with the research question, which has been stated above the aims of this study are:

• To seek to identify how subliminal messages have been used in s to encourage consumers to buy products.
• To seek to understand to what extent subliminal messages are used by advertising agencies in Thailand.
• To understand which of the subliminal messages are used today.

Each of these shall be explored by implementing a research methodology.

How will this investigation be undertaken?

This investigation will be undertaken by determining the subliminal techniques, which have been devised to encourage consumers to buy products. In conjunction, with this a number of advertising companies who are situated in Thailand shall be asked which of these techniques they employ in their work.

What is the research strategy?

The research strategy that shall be utilised for this study will consist of a literature review, which will seek to identify how subliminal advertising techniques have been developed to encourage consumers to buy products.

The researcher has considered both the qualitative and quantitative methods, which may be used to undertake this study (Lincoln and Guba, 1985). The quantitative method focuses on measured variables, which have been determined through the formulation of hypotheses. Often these types of study may generate numerical data, which can then be used to test the hypotheses. In comparison to these, qualitative studies are not so clearly defined the researcher may be aware of a problem but may not have identified variables, which specifically have an impact upon the phenomena in question (Lincoln and Guba, 1985).

In considering both of these methods, the researcher has decided to adopt a quantitative approach to this study, as this will enable them to measure to what extent subliminal messages are used by advertising agencies in Thailand. To ensure that this investigation is properly undertaken, the researcher shall use the findings from the literature review, which would have identified how subliminal messages have been used in advertising, to devise a questionnaire. This questionnaire shall then be sent to advertising agencies in Thailand to ask them if they use any of these techniques in their work today.

The researcher will then assess the findings from the questionnaire and compare them with each of the techniques that have been identified through the literature review (Lincoln and Guba, 1985). This will enable the researcher to understand how subliminal message are used by advertising agencies in Thailand today.

What sources will be utilised to investigate these phenomena?

A number of sources shall be used to investigate this, these are as follows:

• Books
• Advertising images, which have been used to date.
• Journal Articles
• Newspapers or magazines
• Electronic database searches
• Internet sources such as, Google Scholar or Advertising Agency websites
• Questionnaires
• Photographs
• Videos

What are the main issues, which have been identified?

For many years, subliminal messages have been used by advertisers to entice different consumers to buy products (Nuijten, 2013). Many have surmised that an advert needs to:

• Attract a consumer’s attention
• Focus the attention onto the message
• Make the consumer remember the message
• Cause the consumer to take the desired action (Benjamin & Baker, 2004; Goodwin, 1999 a; b).

This is why advertisers have sought to use subliminal messages to attract consumers to buy a variety of products. Thus, the main issues that have been identified in relation to this research are:

• How have subliminal images been used to seek to ensure that consumers are encouraged to buy products
• Which of these subliminal techniques is most effective
• To what extent are these techniques employed by advertising agencies today

Each of these shall be explored through undertaking this research.

Are there any ethical issues, debates, or contexts surrounding your enquiry that you should be aware of?

There are no ethical issues associated with undertaking this research. However, some question whether using subliminal messages in advertising is ethical (O’Barr, 2013). Therefore, this will need to be considered when the literature review is undertaken to ensure that articles, which are used, are not biased.

Which type of dissertation is going to be undertaken?

This dissertation shall be presented in a written format as the researcher has identified that they need to undertake a literature review and questionnaires to ensure that the research question is fully explored and answered (Lincoln and Guba, 1985).

Why was this subject chosen this subject?

I was inspired by a guest lecturer called Dave Morris who spoke to us about advertising and psychology this year. I also had depression 2 years ago so I am very keen to learn more about human mind.

What motivated you to approach it in this way?

I wanted to understand how subliminal messages are used in advertising and how the techniques, which are used for this, were devised. Most importantly, I was curious about how they were used in the advertising industry today.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the researcher is highly motivated to undertake a study to investigate how subliminal messages have been developed over time and how these are used by advertising agencies in Thailand. This synopsis has been compiled to provide a brief outline of how they intend to undertake this study.

References

1. Benjamin, L.T., & Baker, D.B. (2004). Industrial-organizational psychology: The new psychology and the business of advertising. From Seance to Science: A History of the Profession of Psychology in America. California: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
2. Goodwin, C.J. (1999a). Applying the new psychology: Applying psychology to business. A History of Modern Psychology (pp. 242). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
3. Goodwin, C.J. (1999b). The origins of behaviorism: A new life in advertising. A History of Modern Psychology (pp. 315-317). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
4. Lincoln, YS. & Guba, EG. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
5. Nuijten, K. C., Regt, A. D., Calvi, L., & Peeters, A. L. (2013). Subliminal advertising in shooter games: recognition effects of textual and pictorial brand logos. International Journal of Arts and Technology, 6(1), 5-21.
6. O’Barr, W. M. (2013). ” Subliminal” Advertising. Advertising & Society Review, 13(4).

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