Media is the means of communicating news and information to the public via printed and visual media. In contemporary society printed media has become an essential way to advertise a product to its target audience, as it is a cheap and accessible form of communication. Furthermore, examples of printed media can be seen in many different ways as they are varied forms such as leaflets, newspapers and brochures. For this particular piece of coursework I will be comparing the ‘Club 18-30’, ‘Superfamily’ and ‘Forever Young’ brochures and seeing how they attract their target audience by using various linguistic and presentation devices.
The Club 18-30 brochure appears to be aimed towards a younger and more outgoing audience who are partygoers. This can be seen through its choice of layout and organization. Although its layout might appear rushed and erratic to the older and untargeted section of society, it actually provides the younger generation with all the qualities needed in a good club brochure. The layout and organization can also be seen to be enticing as it engages the younger audience because of its simplistic form.
However through the choice of layout and organization of the ‘Superfamily’ brochure the audience immediately realises that the brochure’s target audience is families with young children as shown by the childish qualities of the presentation: bubbles, distinctive colours etc. The layout and organisation of the Superfamily brochure is different to the others as it is clearly trying to lure children and their parents to read the brochure.
Furthermore, the ‘Forever Young’ brochure identifies its target audience, which appears to be mature sophisticated adults. This is shown through the layout and organization of the brochure, as it is well structured and organised. The brochure appeals to this specific type of audience since mature reserved adults are not interested in a humorous brochure as they care not for the brochure’s appearance, this is shown in the brochure’s text layout and organisation as most young people in a contemporary society will find the brochure dull and tiresome.
The use of presentational devices in the Club 18-30 brochure reinforces the sense of reliability and authenticity, as shown by the logo of the brochure, which informs the audience that the club is an established company. Furthermore the logo specifies its target audience and uses eye-catching colours, red and yellow, reflecting the sun to entice the reader to continue reading the brochure and display the enjoyment many experience at the resort in order for people travel to the resort so they can participate in the excitement.
Equally the picture succeeds in attracting its the target audience in a similar way as it enhances the sense of reliability and enjoyment, which is shown by the way the people in the picture are presented as enjoying themselves. Sub headings are also used to empathise with the audience and deal with essential questions but can be slightly abrupt by reflecting the demanding attitude of many young people.
Furthermore the Superfamily brochure appeals to its target audience with its use of presentational devices such as; the irregular shape of its picture, which develops the child theme of the brochure as it is something interesting to a child would enjoy. The central, socialising picture, also illustrates the lively yet relaxed social scene for all the family and focuses on the more relevant aspects of the holiday for a family holiday, such as the accommodation, which clearly guides the reader suggesting it is a comfortable and secure environment for young children. On top of this, bullet points and sub-headings are effectively combined to summarise key points of the holiday and focuses the reader on essential information as parents need this useful information to organise their holiday so that they may feel that their children are being catered for.
Additionally the use of presentational devices in the Forever young brochure enhances the quality and sophistication of the brochure, as devices such as bullet points and sub-headings are used to organise and structure the most useful information and present it in an informative way. The two pictures in the brochure also illustrate the accommodation but balance it with interesting educational places to visit on the holiday. This is done in a controlled manner, as the brochure seems to be aimed more towards mature sophisticated adults who would expect formality and professionalism.
The ‘Club 18-30’ brochure employs the use of informal language to engage its target audience as this type of language appeals to the youthful generation in the contemporary society. The line ‘you will need a fair bit of wedge because there’s so much to do’ demonstrates the writer desire to relate with younger people on an informal relaxed level, which helps the reader engage his audience because of its simplicity. Abbreviations like ‘Fab’ and ‘Med’ are used in the brochure to further empathise with the youthful audience and to manipulate them not to lose interest, as the brochure uses informal language they understand but mature adult would be less comfortable with, which confirms how ‘friendly’ the writer to be towards young people, as obviously this is a device used to persuade and encourage young people to spend their hard earned money at the club.
Further use of informal language can be seen in the line ‘enough to keep even the most hardened party animals happy’ which challenges the reader and cleverly influences them to go to the club. Factual language can also be seen in the brochure but it is not excessive preferring to engage young people with informal and more evocative language compared to factual.
However the Super family brochure takes a different approach compared to the Club 18-30, as the brochure is aimed towards families with young children. This is shown in the line ‘It has a beautiful one kilometre long beach of gentle-shelving white sand’ where the brochure employs the use of emotive and factual language, which appeals to a wider audience rather than the expected target audience. The activities also listed in the first paragraph ‘Water sports are available, as well as tennis, go-karting and cycling’ attractive active and out going people who are energetic. The brochure also empathises with audience in the line ‘No need to agonise over a menu’ which inform the audience that their holiday will be taken care for them and illustrates a relaxed, calm, comfortable scene as many parents wish to do this on their holiday. The line ‘There are plenty of family activities’ evokes a sense of security to the parents as they know what will be available for them to do on there holiday.
The linguistic devices used to entice mature adults in the Forever young brochure vary from; factual language in the line ‘It is the largest of the Balearies’ which is used to give a factual representation of the holiday, to emotive language in the line ‘an island of incredible beauty’ to evoke a sense of anticipation for the holiday. The consolidating options in the line ‘it need never be the same resort twice’ along with the emotive word ‘abundance’ emphasises the numerous activities available in the resort and the variety available to the people on holiday. The simple sentence ‘Quite simple it has something for everyone’ empathises with the audience and their needs, at the same time as informing the audience of the quality of the holiday.
Through my analysis of the three brochures and their use of presentational and linguistic devices they can be seen to have engaged their targeted audiences effectively; as the brochures employ the use of formal, informal and emotive language to entice their targeted audience to the holidays the brochures are advertising. Furthermore, I can clearly announce that the brochures have achieved their fundamental purpose, as I have identified their targeted audience and empathised with them to get a clear understanding of the brochures are trying to convey.
