2 discussion responses 125 words each with 2references each

one: Ideas and beliefs that are presented to the world are subject to criticism from everyone exposed to them. Art is a visual representation of an artists thoughts, which can be interpreted in various ways depending on the individual. “Any sculptor or painters who had in him something to express and the power of expressing it found the field open to him,” (Roosevelt, n.d.). Theodore Roosevelt’s statement describes the freedom one has when expressing their ideas publicly. The imagery could be as controversial as the artist wanted because there was a purpose behind it. Leo Tolstoy states that, “the activity of art is based on the fact that a man, receiving through his sense of hearing or sight another manʹs expression of feeling, is capable of experiencing the emotion which moved the man who expressed it,” (Tolstoy, n.d., p. 2). Both interpretations of art have one very important aspect in common. That commonality is the fact that art is an expression of an individual in physical form.

The textbook defines sales promotion as, “an action-focused marketing event whose purpose is to have a direct impact on the behavior of the firm’s customers,” (Winer & Dhar, 2010, p. 314). Promotional campaigns strive to influence consumer decisions based upon what information is presented. The current democratic. Election is the perfect example of what a promotional campaign entails. The Democratic candidates want voters to choose them and will distribute information to the public to reinforce their political positions. Both articles by Roosevelt and Tolstoy discuss the importance of expression and interpretation. The marketing team for Democratic candidates have to carefully select what the average American is exposed to when researching who to vote for.

The imagery used in these political campaigns can play a significant role in this process because each individual can see an image differently. “The nature of incentive directs the campaign appeal to certain groups of individuals, who for one reason or another, are more interested in what is offered,” (CELA, 2017, p. 2). Understanding who their target audience is and what their interests are will allow marketers to channel specific information to media outlets. The data that is distributed to consumers can be seen as a form of art because candidates are expressing their beliefs, and allowing voters to interpret those beliefs.

Roosevelt, T. (n.d.). A layman’s view of an art exhibition. Retrieved from http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/images/research/treditorials/o183.pdf

Tolstoy, L. (n.d.). What is Art? Retrieved from http://web.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/phil%20of%20art/printer-friendly/Tolstoy_on_Art_TWO_COLUMNS.pdf

Winer, R. S., & Dhar, R. (2010). Marketing Management (4th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson College Division.

CELA, J. (2017). Evaluation of Promotional Campaign Effects with Self-Selection of Participation – Propensity Score Application. Albanian Journal of Mathematics, 11(1), 35–71.

two: Marketing literature suggests that art is a unique consumption category as it is perceived differently than other categories. It is also said that artistic elements can be used in marketing to favorably influence consumers. Hagtvedt & Patrick (2008) name this phenomenon as “art infusion” and define it as the overall influence of art on consumer perceptions/evaluations of the product(s) with which the art is associated. Furthermore, it is believed that perceptions of luxury associated with visual art spill over from the art to the associated products regardless of the art’s content. In this view art is a stimulus which cues luxury. The benefit of using art as a cue is that it enables the manager to signal luxury while avoiding the negative effects that may be inherent in other cues (such as a price premium which may depress consumer demand). Art infusion is however not without issue and there are limitations to its use as a marketing tool. One such issue is that marketers may not know which images consumers will recognize or more importantly associate with high art. Further there is the age-old debate on what should be considered art and what should not. The consideration of this issue takes me back to art school, particularly to the Dada movement and Duchamp’s “Fountain” piece which was essentially a factory-produced urinal inscribed with a fictious signature. At the time of its creation the piece sparked much controversy and began the more public conversation over what is meant by the term art and thus what should or should not be considered fine art.

The viewpoints of Roosevelt and Tolstoy come into play in terms of the effectiveness of a promotional campaign in that they highlight the difficulty in determining not only what is art but what is high or fine art. Tolstoy suggests that anything which communicates emotions may be considered art including jokes, home decorations, and church services (Wikipedia, 2020). This inclusive viewpoint leaves much ambiguity and complicates the identification process in addition to presenting difficultly for both marketers and consumers in defining what is considered art. Without the ability to positively determine what is art one will be unable to determine what consumers will perceive as art. This gives rise the more difficult issues of determining what is fine art and what will que luxury for consumers.

In my opinion the central concept underlying these two articles echoes the concepts previously outline: that it can be difficult to determine what art is and thus what effect a chosen piece will have on the promotional campaign and ultimately consumer perception of the brand or product. To navigate these issues Hagtvedt & Patrick (2008) suggest that marketers select a strategy which utilizes images that are perceived as art by their target market; paintings by well-established masters are more easily recognized and may be better cue luxury; additionally series’ may be more effective than a single piece or art. Marketers should use images with content that matches the specific promotion, has a systematic influence, and requires little to no processing resources. Finally, these two articles indicate that in order for a work of art to be effective it must induce some sort of emotion so marketers should be research and select works that have an emotional component that matches the objectives of the promotional campaign and differentiates the product/brand in the market.

References

Chadwick, S. (2017). Introduction to Dada (article) | Dada. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/ww…

Hagtvedt, H., & Patrick, V. (2008). Art infusion: The influence of visual art on the perception and evaluation of consumer products. Journal of Marketing Research, 45(3), 379-389.

Wikipedia. (2020, January 24). What Is Art? Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Art?less