Benetton caselet

Introduction:  

How Benetton originated as a brand? Company profile. Different egs:

Benetton's new communication strategy started in the spring of 1984, with the campaign entitled "All the Colors of the World". It all began with photographs in which different races were portrayed as living together in peace and harmony. The targeted audience of this campaign was young black people. The campaign caused a "racial polemic in South Africa";the photographs were rejected by publications set aside for whites. This campaign ran through 14 countries and was the first to trigger the controversy that exists till today towards Oliviero Tuscani's advertising campaigns. However, this slight setback did not stop any future campaigns from taking place no matter their outrageousness. Contrast in black and white:  

It was designed to promote racial equality, the ads were set outto develop a sense of common humanity that transcends skin colours. Benetton children: This campaign was based on dualism between black and white, this campaign mark the concept of unity and diversity. Angels and devils: The ad campaign had dual objectives : At one tym at marks the concept of racial equality nd at the same tym it also shows to the world the harsh realtiy of racism by making the hair of the black girl like horns and depicting it as a devil

In 1993, it ran a series of ads that had the phrase "HIV positive" printed on different body parts. In response, Aids groups in France sued Benetton for "commercial exploitation of suffering". Also, in the 90s, the Roman Catholic Church protested a campaign containing models dressed as a priest and a nun kissing.

Most recently, on January 1st 2000,the "Death Row" ads feature portraits of American death Row inmates in jail uniforms with the slogan, "Sentenced to Death". The ads uncovered their names, dates of birth, crime and expected method of execution. Within the campaign, the inmates also discuss topics ranging from their childhood to their dreams, everything that comes to mind except their victims (Pro-death penalty.com). Once again, the Benetton group faces great controversy that could perhaps worsen their US market share. Benetton had 700 stores in the United States. Today, this number has decreased significantly to 200 stores (Wall Street Journal, p.6). At this point in time, when Benetton owns 7,000 stores in 120 countries worldwide, the mere 200 in the U.S are screaming "BAD NEWS". This is obviously a negative aspect because one of the main goals for an advertising campaign is to reach people.

Bosnian soldier:

The campaign wz launched in 1994, wen there wz a war goin on in bosnia. The advertisement follows a very global, universal and homogenous theme of war, peace and suffering. The blood drenched uniform a soldier depicts the harsh reality of war. Strength of this ad is that is a real image og uniform of marinko garo, a soldier who died in the war of bosnia.the ad has a single line body copy which says” the language in the ad belong to the dictionary.western world doest not want to open”. This image shows mirror to the world, by showing the suffering of a soldier. The stronger point of this ad is that it carries real information, a real uniform pf a real soldier, who fought a real battle, faced real bullets in real situation and circumstances. Nothing in this ad is scripted of fake. Its reality and simplicity increase its effectiveness.

Evidently, Benetton's marketing strategies have generated both positive and negative impacts on the company group. One of the "negative" aspects is that there is no link between the campaign and the products the company makes and sells; yet the campaign does this to promote the company and its brand. The positive aspect of this whole fiasco is that the campaigns did in fact cause discussions to take place about these important social issues. Who knows? Maybe someday they will be the cause for a drastic movement for change. Advertising is the richest and most powerful form of commercial communication in the world

Benetton picks up on important social and political issues with the intention of making us aware of their existence and that we should not ignore them, even if the rest of the advertising industry tries to maintain the illusion of a perfect world. Their campaigns deal with racial harmony, religious intolerance, war, peace, natural disaster, child labour, human rights, sex, HIV, Aids and disability. Every one of Toscani’s images raised different reactions wherever published, depending on the issue raised and how strong the public, the church and the politicians felt about it. However, many of Toscani’s campaigns helped to change general awareness, acceptance and change of attitude. Advertisements have intruded in people’s personal lives so much, that now a stage has come where people don’t even want to look at ads with social messages is big no to even look at. To make a long lasting impact on people’s mind, the ad has to be unique and diff. with this kind of an audience and scenario, Benetton groups very creatively employs. The strategy of using shocking image in its ad so as to break through the clutter of ads and make its message visible to people.

Benetton’s shocking ads are designed to raise public awareness of social issues, issues that are global and universal. Using shocking image people are forced to think about the topic. Something is required to make some people come out of their world. Benetton ads carry a power to raise people’s collective consciousness which might also influence and insist them to take a positive constructive action. Ques: Why did Benetton initiate a strategy of attitude change ? wat are the prob it might face as a result? Increasingly, consumers began to lose the connection between Benetton and fashion. Prob: Sales will fluctuating either it may rise or decline. Consumers may fail to recognize the product after repositioning Marketers need to study the market again before repositioning, which will be time consuming and expensive process. Ques: Which model of atti does the case tlks about? Attitude towards the ads model in the case that is formation of attitude because of advertisement. Ques: Do you agree with Benetton’s decision to drop the use of shock ads and return to the

use of more conventional ads? Change is usually very difficult to adapt to, especially if you are used to doing things a certain way for a lengthy period of time. Benetton is known for its shock advertisements that are direct and to the point. These advertisements are geared towards social responsibilities that the company has for its customers. I have never heard about Benetton and just from reading the article I experienced a wealth of emotions and connections to the information contained in the article. Benetton represents truth and honesty, even if the information contained within the advertisement may be a bit harsh. I believe if Benetton drops the use of shock ads and return to the use of more conventional ads that this would ruin what the company stands for. The relationship that Benetton has built with their long term customers may be affected because customers may now start to rethink the values and standards that Benetton stood by have now been broken. Benetton should have seriously taken into consideration how their customers may feel about change before diving into making changes. Ques: Wat strategy Benetton use for atti change? Associating the product with special group, event or cause.

CONCLUSION: The company’s website highlighted its advertising strategy for the future: “We need to have models wearing our clothes by UCB in our advertisements. We need to show consumers that we are an actual clothing line, and not a political or governmental company. By picturing our stylish clothes, we will attract more business. Consumers want to buy our clothes because they are attractive and have a high quality reputation. People who respect our clothing line are the only ones that actually buy it, despite the political issues that we represent. If we can undo the damage that we have already caused in the minds of many consumers by ceasing to offend them, our sales will greatly increase. Let’s show the world that we make great clothing, not that we have controversial opinions on various subjects.” From 2001, Benetton’s advertisements started featuring conventional images- teenagers in colorful Benetton clothing. Benetton, however, maintained that the company would still continue with its “socially responsible” status by focusing on non-controversial themes like racial discrimination, poverty, child labor, AIDS awareness, etc. To that effect, in early 2003, Benetton in association with UN’s World Food Programme, launched a year- long $16 million communication campaign, called Food for Life. This campaign covered around 30 countries and the stories and photos taken from these countries were used in Colors, under the title “Hunger.” The images in this campaign showed crisis and poverty. When questioned about Benetton’s new strategy of using models and products to advertise, Toscani just commented: “It’s a waste of money.” However, he was supportive of the company’s decision not to move away from highlighting social causes. As 2003 got underway, Benetton management, advertising gurus and customers alike wondered the impact the new philosophy of product- based advertisements would have on Benetton’s brand building efforts and sales.