Benetton Group: Evolution of Communication Strategy (Essay Sample)

Marketing Communications: Topic 01
(Word Limit 1200)
“Benetton Group: Evolution of Communication Strategy”
The Benetton case: Read the case “Benetton Group: Evolution of Communication Strategy” and answer the following questions using the concepts/terminology covered in the module. (40 points)
What effects did Benetton’s shock advertising campaign have for the consumers, society and the company? (Words 721)
While the year 1965 marked the foundation of the prominently famous Italian brand recognized worldwide as Benetton Group — the year 1982 sowed the seed for its future reap with the joining of Oliviero Toscani as the creative director who will be the sole authority for designing Benetton’s advertisement campaigns for next long eighteen years. From a family start-up to a global Italian brand, Benetton was doing rapid business growth initially with easily identifiable ‘contrived’ marketing campaigns targeting young consumer groups CITATION BenettonCaseStudy \l 1033 (Ganesan & Thota, 2003). However, Toscani had some drastically different approach towards Company’s ‘communication strategy’ (as they put this phrase in place of advertisement). He was eager to shift the simple, traditional, conventional imagery with something more society-conscious, contemporary, ‘unusually’ creative communication.
The trademark “United Colors of Benetton” started with an ad campaign featuring playfully active teenagers and kids, from various cultures and nations, in colorful Benetton clothing — communicating racial integration and global peace though the subjective polarity of the ad invoked a negative catharsis for the audience of England, United States and South Africa. In 1986, this message of ethnic harmony changed into more intense communication of “All colors are equal, just as all men are equal” with the launch of theme-specific advertisements for different pair of nations engaged in wars: Iran and Iraq, Israel and Germany, Israelis and Arabs, England and Argentina etc. From 1989, Benetton ignored showing products in their ads and replaced their existing knot logo with a green small rectangle shape consisting the slogan “United Colors of Benetton”. An advertisement of this series depicting a white-baby being breastfed by a black-woman was rigorously disparaged by many audience to whom the imagery echoed the gloomy slavery days of black people CITATION BenettonCaseStudy \l 1033 (Ganesan & Thota, 2003).
Toscani’s ‘unusually’ creative sense of communication strategy continued depicting alarming social issues to attract public attention. The disturbing imagery of a newborn with an umbilical cord from the 1991 advertisement-series symbolizing the celebration of birth, universal love and motherhood evoked confused and defragmented opinion in the audience mind. While some wanted it to be welcomed, others wanted it to be censored. Another advert of this row portraying kissing of a nun and priest upset religious feelings of many viewers and this time Pope was also among the unhappy viewers.
Benetton’s shock-evoking communication strategy with the catchphrase “United Colors of Benetton” goes on to depict never-ending troubling images. Few examples include distressed family picture of a dying AIDS sufferer lying on his bed, an African revolutionary standing with a Russian machine-gun in his arm holding a big human bone, a ship overpopulated with Albanians, a shocking display of male and female reproductive organs from various ages and colors etc.. In another place, their shock provoking advertisement-series exhibited real human body parts tattooed ‘HIV Positive’ reminding of the prisoners in Nazi concentration camp.
Creatively unrestricted communication policy, Toscani and Benetton’s joint venture brainchild, culminated into the now ill-famous 2000-campaign with the slogan “We, on the Death Row”. Real colored faces of twenty-six US prisoners undergoing capital punishment were ‘advertised’, with their names and execution date, everywhere including billboards, publications, booklets and videos. This particular campaign stimulated prompt protests from global customers, families of prisoners’ undergoing death sentence and the Government of United States. Before this campaign, Sear Outlets distributed Benetton attires all through the US. After protests, public distress and boycotts, the fashion line was curtailed from Sear Outlets costing the resignation of Toscani from Benetton Groups CITATION Anti_Advertising \l 1033 (Mannion, 2005).
Attaching business and social issues costs severe public unease for which the brand Benetton had to revamp its ideas about the communication strategy the Company was following. As a collective audience, people share some common viewing practice in which ‘censored’ aesthetics is unanimously appreciated. Viewers commonly share preferences what they want to watch in Television while with family and what they want to read in reality-publications when they are in a mood to engage with intellect privately CITATION Tinic \l 1033 (Tinic, 1997). Trying to mix these two separate purposes in a photo-journalistic way in the name of ‘reality advertisement’ proved impractical for brand Benetton in terms of sales and revenue. Scholars believe that advertising social issues can reduce their actual shocking effect making them the objects of fashion trend. In her Benetton article, Tinic echoed the same “commodification of social issues” articulating that “…the significance of cultural problems is perceived to be minimized or tainted by their association with the realm of commerce”.
Do you agree with Benetton’s decision to drop the use of shock ads and return to the use of more conventional ads in 2001? (Words 512)
Death row advertisements seem to have crossed the final limit of the traditional realm of what advertisements should depict projecting US prisoners as ‘models’ replacing the saleable-product and becoming the product itself. Whatever the controversy was, Benetton always defended company’s creative director — but, this time, the relationship between mentor patron-company and its artistic director saw a departure as this association was proving negative for the brand regarding business. This was the classic situation of consumer culture where the climbing sales charts matter most. After Toscani resigned in 2000, Benetton with its newly appointed Creative Director James Mollison continued to create communications on social issues but this time, with a lighter note, universal appeal, censored creativity; still, Benetton is producing such advertisements with lesser shock effects and more humanly approach.
Today after so many years of experiments post-modern advertising have done, a contemporary viewer (like me) may feel untouched from the whole Benetton ad-controversy. Thus, the issue should be investigated from the point of view of 80’s viewership practice and what effect it brought upon future advertising phenomenon.
Whatever you do, whatever you say / If you are trending, you’re here to stay: The foremost aim of an ad-campaign is to make its brand noticeable and memorable. Creating brand awareness coupled with the product message has to be understandable and people should talk about (positive or negative) the brand adverts in gatherings. Thanks to their controversial campaigns, Benetton has received effective acceptance globally as a quality brand. Their engagement with other popular brands such as Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations World Food Program initiated for the overwhelming response they got from these campaigns CITATION Benetton \l 1033 (Benetton).
One World, One Dream (Beijing 2008 Olympic Games): The second aim of an ad-campaign is to influence the consumer with emotional catharsis. Benetton’s AIDs ad-campaigns aimed to generate public awareness regarding this then unnoticed disease and to support AIDs victims globally CITATION Anti_Advertising \l 1033 (Mannion, 2005). Giroux studied that despite the criticism these advertisements brought, the company was able to lead the market psychologically because of the emotional message it has communicated and the brand was visible in people’s responses to the ads. As results showed, company’s share was climbing giving a considerable increase in publicity and revenue CITATION Giroux \l 1033 (Giroux, 1994).
Neighbors Envy, Owner’s Pride: Finally comes the purpose of manipulating consumer behavior pushing them to try / buy the advertised goods. The 1991 campaign of Benetton, the first of its controversial campaign, brought twenty-four percent increase in profit for the business. As we see now, these ad campaigns have made the brand somewhat ‘immortal’ and people are talking about these ads whenever they illustrate on evolution of communication strategy.
Benetton’s kind of shock advertising earned them accusation of exploiting serious issues making them saleable objects to advocate sales and profit. The headline of L’Osservator Romano CITATION Wells \l 1033 (Wells, Burnett, & Moriarty, 2003), the Vatican publication, had written, “Benetton is making a mockery even of death”. This type of reaction is usual for an unusually placed ad but shock advertising might signal a drastic societal change where consumer is God, consumption is religion and we are all subject to advertising.
Marketing Communications: Topic 02
(Word Limit 1200)
The “Yeo Valley Organic” Case
Read the “Yeo Valley Organic” Case and answer the following questions using the concepts/terminology co...