JDW: The Charlotte Agency Releases Advertising in Society Research

March 29, 2012 - PRLog -- JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a full-service marketing and advertising agency in Charlotte, NC has just released its research findings titled, "Advertising in Society". The research was compiled over a two-month period in late 2011 with over 200 respondents around the nation.

The research was asking the question how people felt about advertising in society, and if they thought it represented society (a reflection), or if it was a perception of society (what business wanted consumers to think society is).

Highlights of the report include:
- 86.3% believe that advertising plays a big role in our society
- 75% believe that advertising is a reflection of society
- 51% believes that our society is worse off without advertising
- 31.5% believe that more information has harmed the decision-making process
- 70% believe that TV is still the most effective advertising medium

"We were looking to prove that although the consumer has more information that they know what to deal with," says Dwayne Waite Jr., project lead, " they still rely on advertising."

The research suggests that not only do consumers have more information than they know what to do with, they don't trust it either. Forty-six percent of respondents thought that consumer are smarter than advertisers think, yet only 21% said that advertising doesn't affect them.

"It's a clear discrepancy. Advertising needs to do a better job relating to consumers and stop talking to them like they're stupid," says Waite. One of the takeaways of the report notes that creating what The Charlotte Agency deems "smart messaging" will help boost advertising's image. The Charlotte Agency also informed the advertising industry to stop calling sales promotions as advertising.

The report concludes that people indeed believe that advertising is a reflection of society, and that consumers are regarded as un-informed. However, consumers too are seemingly unaware of the effects that advertising has on their thinking.

See the full report here: http://www.slideshare.net/Dwayne_Waite_Jr/advertising-in-...



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JDW: The Charlotte Agency is a full-service marketing and advertising agency in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's goal is to make marketing cool again, and to have fun doing it. It helps small and medium size businesses make a living.