Blog Post #3

For Post #3, you need to purchase a magazine you would not normally read.  Read it carefully.  Read the articles AND look at the ads.  What can you learn about the magazine's demographic strategy through signaling alone?  Then find the information posted by the magazine's publisher online intended for potential advertisers.  This information will be under a tab such as "about us," "advertise with us," or "media kit."  Use this information to further analyze the magazine's demographic strategy, and how well it matches your preliminary assessment.  As always: 350 words, using concepts and vocabulary from class, appropriate grammar, the third-person voice, and proper argumentative structure.

America's Horse

When thinking about the advertising in a collective sense it's easy to see the ads are geared towards the image of a hard working and rugged individual, one that needs reliable, dependable products, and services (basically whatever falls into that stereotype). Some ads use the words tradition and dependability, relying on long years in which they feel they have served this demographic: Examples of this would be the Ford, John Deere, and riding equipment ads. Sometimes they add a bit of "this is what the professionals use" to farther solidify the image of the hard working western style rancher or farmer. By adding professional endorsement they garrente that followers of this lifestyle will buy their product(s) or service(s). There are also sections for feedback and write ins from people talking at length about their own experiences with the product(s) and service(s).

Fulfilling America's Horse goal of staying progressive there were a surprising number of ads in the category of innovation beyond the area of horse health: New more reliable trailer hitches, a new system for identifying horses through eye scanning technology, and self-refilling or on demand filling water buckets. While these ads use the language playing towards making life easier for this demographic they seem to quickly add "so you can get back to work" or "play", and show images or people either working or horseback riding in dramatic fashion. These were set apart from the tractor, truck, and etc. for one because they were for one not from name brands that most people would know.

After doing research into America's Horse advertising section they push their image as a magazine as being "world’s-largest and most-progressive" magazine and their goals to stay at the top and ahead of their competition by being "home to the most extensive selection of media opportunities for marketing horses as well as products and services." So new service(s) and product(s) are encouraged to approach this magazine for advertisement oppertunities for many different mediums of advertising exhibition.

"High impressions and low prices are trademarks of advertising..." is something that to me reaches out to these less known brands that I've seen in the magazine, perhaps small businesses. Conceding with this financial mindset there is more than one advertisement from the Bank of America and their "smart banking". Another thing I found interesting is that the credit or debit cards have AQHA (American Quater Horse Assiocation) logos on them. This feed into the other ads seen in this issue which adds a nice synergy between between companies in different fields but serving the same demographic serving both vertical and horizontal integration. This would have an intersting impact on long tail and popularity sales as there is a relationship between the two sale perspectives and goals.