Linquistic Peculiarities Of The Mobile Phones And Gadgets Advertising Discourse

Abstract

The present article is dedicated to the study of the peculiarities of verbal impact of language persuasive strategies on target audience. The analysis concentrates on studying verbal techniques of manipulation used in mobile phones advertising discourse and also language means of expression on the three levels: morphological, lexical and syntactical. The aim of our research is to find out how the pragmatic component of advertising discourse is realized in advertising text and what peculiarities it conveys concerning the technological sphere.During our analysis we came to the following conclusions. First of all, pragmatic aspect is realized very clearly in advertising discourse and appears to be the dominant one, because advertising is closely connected with language manipulation. Secondly, the study of verbal impact of advertising discourse should be realized on different levels of the language, so that the peculiarities could be analyzed more profoundly. The most prevalent communication strategies used in advertising discourse of mobile phones are: positioning, optimization and manipulation. Each of these strategies has its own tactics to realize its verbal impact and full potential of convincing target audience to buy the product.

Keywords: Advertising discoursemanipulationlanguage persuasive strategies and tactics

Introduction

Advertising discourse has its peculiarities. First of all, this is one of the youngest and fastest growing spheres, since the phones have spread relatively recently, and since then are constantly renewing their functionality. The modern man does not imagine himself without a mobile device serving not only as a means of communication, but also a source of entertainment, useful information, a calendar, e-mail, a pocket graphics editor, a camera, and many others. Therefore, every member of the society has a need to purchase this product. Such technical device serves several years and does not require a replacement for about a season. The phone is a necessary commodity, forcing manufacturers to artificially raise the demand for the realization of the manufactured product. Frequent updating of the technical capacities, appearance of new structural changes and active pressure of competitors stimulate regular production of advertising campaigns of the mobile equipment realized on the Internet, on television, on radio, in the form of outdoor advertising or personal sales. The variety of devices generates an increase in the audience, the presentation of models of different price segments and, as a result, the use of different communication means encourage recipients to purchase new and updated models.

Problem Statement

Considering the diversity of the material and the need for a versatile analysis in view of the novelty of the topic, we propose a classification of communicative strategies, including optimizing, positioning and manipulative. They are able to reflect the features of the mobile phones and gadgets advertising discourse. We point out the following characteristics of the discourse under study:

• The main emphasis is on the verbal description, including the technical capacities of the device.

• There is an appeal to the important values of the audience and linking their achievements with the acquisition of a type of a mobile phone.

• Implication and manipulative influence are generated by fierce competition on the market of mobile devices and the need to distinguish a particular model from the competitive series with objectively identical characteristics.

Research Questions

This study is premised on the following research questions:

• What are the main forms and structural features of an advertising text?

• What is meant by communicative strategies and tactics?

• What are the main peculiarities of the communicative strategies and tactics of the mobile phones and gadgets advertising discourse on the morphological, lexical and syntactic levels?

Purpose of the Study

Research Methods

In accordance with the goals and objectives of the study, the following set of methods was used: comparison method, descriptive-analytical, content analysis method, contextual analysis method, lexical-stylistic, interpretative and statistical.

Findings

Advertising is defined as any paid form of non-personal communication through the mass media about the product by an identified sponsor (Balakhnina, 2013). Being a tool of marketing and a means of communication, advertisements which are the products of advertising are delivered to different kinds of societies in order to convey these two basic ways of function. Advertising is a form of mass communication that informs, persuades, or influences people to buy goods or services. In marketing field, the role of advertising is to carry persuasive messages to actual and potential customers. Thus it is important to know the target audience of an advertisement in order to know the marketing techniques to sell the products (Kokhtev, 2015).

A successful advertisement, according to Ukhova (Ukhova,2014), is expected to accomplish five functions: attracting attention; commanding interest; creating desire; inspiring conviction; and provoking action. All these five functions are related to each other and serve to promote the selling power of the advertised product.

Information in the advertising text is distributed in certain proportions between the text and the non-verbal means of communication. This helps to create a perfect balance for a successful presentation of the message. Advertising can be seen as an interaction between pictures, language or text, paralanguage and so forth. These components are considered to form the discourse of advertising.

In advertising discourse, the informative and directive functions, that is informing andadvising, might be considered the most common purposes of the language. We assume that the process of communication depends on specific conditions of communication, intentions and values of communicants and also information about the situation.The complex of speech actions aimed at achieving the communicative goal is called a communication strategy (Issers, 2008).For each strategy there is a specific set of tactics, as well as the language and stylistic features that enable the advertiser to make the text brighter, noticeable and memorable. Advertising impact as a whole is undoubtedly associated with the text, but also includes the graphics, design, visual tools, etc., has an "economic" component, etc. All this should be taken into account when creating an advertising text (Kluschina, 2013).

The strategy of an advertiser depends on the communicative tasks. Therefore for each advertising text the advertiser selects precisely the strategy that will lead the recipient to a purchase, which will contribute to the realization of the basic objectives of advertising.

Following Pirogova (2003), we point out three most prevalent communication strategies in advertising discourse of mobile phones. They are: optimizing, positioning and manipulative strategies. In the era of high technology and the widespread use of images that are easy to edit and change, the advantage of the presentation of the goods lies in the text. For consumers it is very important not to see what the gadget looks like but to be informed about the functionality and the benefits one gets after purchasing it.

That is why in our study of advertising discourse of mobile technologies, the positioning strategy takes the first place. Positioning strategy helps to improve the credibility of the brand and generate a clear idea of the product. The messages are shown with the minimum use of non-verbal means (neutral background, no images of the advertised unit and a company logo, the lack of text highlighting, font or case). The text aims to highlight important information about the customer, assure that all the problems will now be settled, engage you into an informal conversation about the possibilities that the advertised telephone is able to give you. Primary objective of positioning strategy is to form such a verbal image of a mobile telephone that would cause customer trust in the device and a desire to purchase it.

Differentiation tactic has a goal to distinguish the advertised object among competitive ones through direct demonstration of its benefits. The presentation of the new model of iPhone within the positioning strategy puts the main emphasis exactly on the differentiation tactic, distinguishing a brand from similar lines. Such a straightforward appeal to "buy" the product is supported by argumentative tactic. The advertiser persuades you to make a choice in favor of a particular gadget, using several reasons. The Question-and-answer form helps the customer to make some conclusions based on the necessary information presented in the message.

As a rule, the text of advertisements is dominated by simple sentences. This structure helps to make the text easier to understand. The telephone is quite a serious and expensive purchase, and this behavior helps to emphasize the seriousness of the decision taken by the buyer. Therefore, this text is dynamic, and expressive syntax in the form of parcellation enables the target audience to read and remember the message faster and easier. Parts of the sentence remain semantically and logically connected. But being structurally independent, they acquire greater communicative value and impart expressiveness to the whole utterance.

The text may contain examples of assonance. It helps to make them more memorable in a subtler way than through rhyming words. Antithesis can be a helpful means to set up an argument. The examples allow to contrast the advertised model to all competitors without the use of the names of brands, that is forbidden by legislation. The value-oriented tactic allows to associate the advertised object with important for the target group values and concepts, as in advertising of the new model of Samsung:

Within the framework of positioning strategy, the value-oriented tactic actualizes the concepts of “mobility”, "freedom", "speed", "outing", which are important for a modern user. A mobile telephone is demonstrated as a model that will allow the owner to remain connected. At the same time in this advertisement differentiation tactic is reflected: a new model of Samsung is implicitly opposed to other models of mobile devices, because it allows to "think more mobile", gives more opportunities to the active users.

Optimizing strategy pays more attention to the non-verbal aspect, where text remains the main means of expressivity and communication. Within the framework of optimizing strategy we distinguish the following tactics. Playing tactic is aimed at employing pun, play on words that produces a humorous effect. Apart from being witty and humorous, puns add profound meanings to texts, and shape the way in which the text is interpreted by the readers. It is not a direct order expressed in an imperative way, but a subtle and crafty move which prompts the customer what to buy. Being combined, tactics produce a greater effect on the customer. With the help of argumentative tactic the benefits of the device are demonstrated directly, persuasion tactic seeks to communicate a request to buy, not always providing reasons for it, and playing tactic appeals to our feelings.

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In this ad playing tactic within optimizing strategy is presented in the headline by the example of the pun based on visual likeness of the phrase i phone. IPhone stands for the name of a well-reputed brand of a smartphone and the phrase can be interpreted as I can afford this phone. Sub headline breaks into two parcellated sentences that focus on two important ideas: presentation of the model and availability of the price. This tactic enables the customer to buy a new model of a famous and trustworthy brand which will prove to make you proud of the price and benefits it gives you.

Information illustrating model descriptions is structured according to distribution tactic, starting from more important facts and going down to less important ones. New options are located in the upper part of the text to catch the reader`s attention. For example, the information about the GPS system which is integrated in any computer or electronic device is presented at the bottom of the ad, where the potential customer will not even look at.

The text abounds in technical terms: processor, Android, screen, GPS, Wi – Fi, interconnected, networks. The most productive models of word-building in the given period in the sphere of mobile phones and gadgets discourse are formed with the help of affixation and compounding (multi-touch, interconnected, networks). Nevertheless, the text does not belong to scientific style, and combines in itself colloquial (I can afford) and literary (presenting, enabled, affordable) expressions. The oxymoron in the slogan of Nothing like anything demonstrates the policy of the company: the model is brand-new, reasonable and quite compatible. Many epithets are used in the text (best, capacitive, primary, affordable) to describe the software and hardware of the device. It allows the customer to be informed about the new programs, options and technical parameters and to learn easily how to use the gadget.

Argumentative tactic is presented by pointing out well-proved, logically-constructed arguments highlighting the benefits of the device. In this case a customer is viewed as a personality capable of making decisions independently through the process of logical conclusions. Special emphasis is placed on rationality and strong and clear arguments. Due to the fact that the consumer feels the importance of his role in decision making and trusts reliable facts about its characteristics and parameters, the tactic makes the buyer happy with his choice. The message based on argumentative tactic is intended for the audience that is competent at information technologies and values open dialogue, with no explicit or implicit appeals to purchase.

Arguments describing accurate and reliable technical characteristics of the model of the phone influence the logical side of our psyche. The epithets are used to provide confidence and competence in technical specifications of the phone, when they are supported with valid facts they show the new technical capabilities of the phone. Proposals seem clear and reasonable; the proofs are clearly stated. The advertising message is aimed at the audience that will carefully approach the decision to purchase, collecting information about a particular model. That is why the use of terms and descriptive words is justified – so the text looks both attractive and informative at the same time.

Tactic of appeal to universal needs is aimed at satisfying desires and necessities of the man driven by his demands. An advertisement manipulates these reasons to make a person buy a device. 

Manipulative strategy influences subconscious of the customer by reasoning on all kinds of readymade opinions and assumptions. Thus, facts and arguments are not clearly stated, what is more the customer feels obliged to support the provided point of view. For example, the customer is offered a phone with a changing back panel and a set of covers of different colors. These options are not provided for free but make a set that the customer pays extra. There is no need for that, but the customer gets the impression that the manufacturer cares about him, gives him a choice to make and, as a result, ensures his confidence and good mood.

Suggestion tactic is based on the assumption that the customer takes for granted all the opinions given to him. Quite often there is an appeal to commonly held stereotypes which help to influence the person`s mind.

In each message there is an implicit statement that gives the impression that the advertiser knows more about the buyer and his needs. In such advertising messages the example of syntactic parallelism is used. Parallel structures appeal to the reader because persuasion is created through repetition that draws the attention of the reader for a longer period than usual. Furthermore, it decreases the load of information needed to be processed by the reader, facilitating comprehension. We can see that the suggestion is designed for those consumers, who do not have strict criteria for choosing a product, but rely on popular choice and conventionally stated opinions.

Conclusion

During our analysis we came to the following conclusions. First of all, pragmatic aspect is realized very clearly in advertising discourse and appears to be the dominant one, because advertising is closely connected with language manipulation. Secondly, the study of verbal impact of advertising discourse should be realized on different levels of the language, so that the peculiarities could be analyzed more profoundly. Thirdly, the most prevalent communication strategies used in advertising discourse of mobile phones are: optimizing, positioning and manipulative. Each of these strategies has its own tactics to realize its verbal impact and full potential of convincing target audience to buy the product.

References

• Balakhnina, V. Y. (2013). Text in advertising: The textbook. Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia: Komsomolsk-on-Amur State Technical University.
• Issers, O.S. (2008). Communicative strategies and tactics of the Russian speech. Moscow, Russia: Editorial URSS.
• Kluschina, N.I. (2013). Intentional aspect of modern stylistics. Respectusphilologicus, 24(29), 50-64.
• Kokhtev, N. N. (2015). Advertising: the Art of words. Guidance for writers of advertising texts. Moscow, Russia: Publishing house of Moscow State University.
• Pirogova, U.K. (2003). Strategies of communicative persuasion and their reflection in advertising discourse. Moscow, Russia: Editorial URSS.
• Ukhova, L.V. (2014). The effectiveness of the advertising text. Moscow, Russia: Direct-Media.