Communicating Brand Image on the World Wide Web: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of the Red Bull Commercial Website
Masterarbeit
zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades
Master of Arts (MA)
an der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
vorgelegt von
Sandrina Harrer
am Institut für Anglistik
Begutachterin:
Ao.Univ.-Prof.Mag.Dr. phil. Margit Reitbauer
Graz, 2017
Table of Contents
1 Introduction…………………………….…………………..………….…………...… 1
1.1 Structure and Aim……………..……………………………………………... 1-2
1.2 Methodology……………….……………………..………………………….. 3
2 Communicating on the World Wide Web……………………..……………………. 3
2.1 The Internet as a Mixed Medium……………………………………….…..... 4
2.2 Differences to Speech……………….………………..…………………….... 4-5
2.3 Differences to Writing…………………………………………..……….….... 6
2.4 The Linguistic Features of Netspeak………………………………………… 7
2.4.1 The Morphology of Netspeak…………………….……..…..……... 8
2.4.1.1 Acronyms…………………………………………..…..… 9 2.4.1.2 Compounds and Blends………………………….……...... 9 2.4.1.3 Affixation……………………………………………....… 9-10
3 Hypertext Linguistics…………………………………………………………...... 10
3.1 Defining Hypertext…………………………………………….....……….… 10-11
3.2 Reading Hypertext…………………………………………………….……... 11
3.3 Hypertext Structures………………………...…………………………….…. 12-14
3.4 Hypertext and Coherence…………………………………..…………..……. 14-15
3.4.1 Three Levels of Coherence in Hypertext….……….…………...... 15-16
3.5 Hypertext Links…………………………………………………………....… 16-18
4 The Language of Advertising…………………………………...…………………… 18-19
4.1 Linguistic Criteria for the Analysis of Advertising…………………….……. 19
4.1.1 Phonology……………………………………………………….…. 19 4.1.2 Morphology……………………………………………………...… 19
4.1.3 Lexis………………………………………………………………. 20 4.1.4 Syntax…………………………………………………………...... 20-21 4.1.5 Rhetorical Devices……………………………………………….... 21-22 4.1.6 Pragmatics…………………………………………………………. 22 4.1.7 Semiotics…………………………………………….………...... 22-23
4.2 Attention-Seeking Devices in Advertising……………………..…..………... 23-24
4.3 Persuasion in Advertising………………………………..………..…………. 24-25
4.3.1 Attention…………………………………….....…………..………. 25 4.3.2 Comprehend…………………………………………….……….… 25-26 4.3.3 Yield…………………………………………….…..…………...... 26 4.3.4 Memorise…………………………….………….……………...... 26 4.3.5 Imagine…………………………….………………………....….....27 4.3.6 Distract…………………………….…………….....…………...... 27 4.3.7 Please…………………………...... 28
4.4 Multilingualism in Advertising……….……………………………...... …. 28-30
5 Text and Image in Advertising………………………….…………...... …….….….. 30-31
5.1 Multimodality in Advertising………………………………..……...….……. 31
5.2 Analysing the Text-Image Relationship in Advertising…………….……….. 31-34
5.3 „Picture Relation Type‟ (PRT)…………………………….……….....…….... 34
5.3.1 Syntax…………………………………….………………..….…..... 34 5.3.2 Embedding of Visual Elements in the Communicative Unit……….. 35 5.3.3 Semiotics……………………………………………….………….... 35 5.3.4 Semantics………………………………………………………...... 36 5.3.5 Visualisation methods……………………………………….....….... 36 5.3.6 Communicative Effects……………………………..…..…..….….... 36 5.3.7 Degree of Verbalisation……………………………………..…….... 37
5.4 Example of the „Picture Relation Type‟ Classification System……….…….. 37
5.4.1 Verbal Analysis…..…………………………………….…...…...... 37-38 5.4.2 Visual Analysis………………………..………….………………... 39
6 Communicating Brand Image Online…………………………………….……….... 39-41
6.1 Global Branding…………………………………………….………...... 41-42 6.1.1 Brand Architecture……………………….…….………….………. 42 6.1.2 Brand Image…………………………………..………………….... 43 6.2 Global Branding Models and Strategies…………………………………...... 43-44 6.3 E-commerce and Website Design…………………..…………….………..... 44-46
7 ‘Gives you wings’ – Communicating Brand Image on the Red Bull Commercial Website …………………………………………...... ………………..………….. 46-47
7.1 Red Bull‟s Marketing Strategy and Brand Image…………….……………… 47-48 7.2 Content and Sections…………………………………………….…………... 49-55 7.3 Language Use…………………………….……………………………..….... 56-58 7.4 Analysis of the Text-Image Relationship……………………………………. 58-62
8 A Hypertextual Analysis of the Red Bull Commercial Website……………....…... 62
8.1 The Dynamic Character of the Website…………………………..………..... 62-63 8.2 Hypertext Structure…………………………………………….…………..... 64-65 8.3 Link and Node Classification…………………………………….………...... 66-67
9 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………...…... 67-68
10 References…………………………………………...... 69
10.1 Table of Figures………………………………………….…….………...... 69 10.2 Bibliography……………………..…………………….………………...... 70-78 10.3 Online Sources…………………………………………………….……...… 78-80
Statutory Declaration:
I declare that I have authored this thesis independently, that I have not used other than the declared sources/resources, and that I have explicitly marked all material which has been quoted either literally or by content from the used sources.
Location, Date Signature:
Acknowledgement:
First of all, I would like to thank my parents for their never-ending love and support and for their continuous encouragement throughout my years of study.
Special thanks go to my friends and my boyfriend who have always provided me with emotional support and made sure that I never lost my sense of humour.
Finally, I would also like to express my gratitude to Prof. Reitbauer for her academic advice, her patience and her guidance in the process of writing this thesis.
1 Introduction
In today‟s society, the internet has become one of the most important means of communication. This is also the reason why companies increasingly use their websites in order to communicate their brand image and advertise their products via the World Wide Web. A commercial website can be seen as the business card of a company. It is often the first contact that customers have with the company and the first source of information concerning products and services. Therefore, companies attach great value to the language and design that is used on their websites. The internet offers many possibilities to make advertising more attractive. For example, websites can combine texts, images, videos, and links with other information, which makes them more dynamic than conventional forms of advertising. Furthermore, if one takes a closer look at commercial websites, it becomes clear that each company has their own central theme which is supported by the right choice of words, textual structure, rhetoric strategies and images. All these components help to convey a certain brand image to the audience that is often referred to as corporate identity. This image intends to address people‟s emotions and eventually affect their buying behaviour.
1.1 Structure and Aim of the Paper
The aim of this paper is to analyse the linguistic and semiotic strategies that are used to advertise a company and their products on commercial websites. This analysis will be carried out with the help of multimodal discourse analysis, hypertextual analysis, and semiotics. It will examine the linguistic strategies that are used in the language of advertising, the text- image relationship in advertisements, and the characteristics of hypertext and computer- mediated communication. Since this thesis also focuses on the communication of brand image, it will also examine the importance of corporate identity for a company, and the characteristics of online marketing. In order to illustrate the theoretical findings, it will provide an analysis of a selected corporate website and show how it combines language and images to communicate their corporate image to a large audience. The following thesis is structured in a theoretical part and a practical analysis of a selected website. In the theory section of this paper, I will discuss approaches to internet linguistics, hypertextual analysis, the language of advertising, the text-image relationships in
1 advertising, and the concept of branding. The practical part is concerned with an in-depth analysis of the Red Bull commercial website in terms of its hypertext structure, language, design, communication of its corporate image, and the text-image relationships in selected advertisements. Following the introduction, the second chapter presents an overview of the field of internet linguistics. I will provide some information on computer-mediated communication, the differences to traditional forms of communication, and the linguistic characteristics of Netspeak. The third chapter is dedicated to a discussion of hypertext linguistics. It will provide an overview of the field of hypertextual analysis, different types of hypertext, coherence in hypertext, and the study of hypertext links. The fourth part of this thesis focuses on the language of advertising. In this section, I will examine the linguistic characteristics of the language of advertising and discuss how rhetorical strategies in advertising are used to influence and persuade recipients. In addition, I will also show how multilingualism affects advertising and how different languages can be used to convey symbolic meaning. The fifth chapter will give an overview of the multimodal analysis of advertisements. It focuses on the analysis of the text-image relationship in advertising and provides a selected classification scheme of the verbal and visual elements of advertisements. The sixth chapter is concerned with the concept of corporate identity and the communication of brand image on the World Wide Web. It will examine the hidden ideologies that are conveyed in advertising and outline how brand image can influence buying behaviour and the success of a brand across various cultures. Chapter seven and eight are dedicated to the practical analysis of the Red Bull commercial website. In chapter seven, I will give an overview of Red Bull‟s marketing strategy, outline the content and sections of the Red Bull website and examine the language that is used in order to convey brand image. Furthermore, I will analyse the text-image relationship of advertisements on the website. Chapter eight focuses on the discussion of the hypertext and link structure on the Red Bull website. It will examine the different kinds of hypertext structures that are used and how they influence the reading process. Following the theoretical part as well as the practical part of this thesis, the last two chapters will present a conclusion of my findings and provide a list of consulted sources.
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1.2 Methodology
My research was primarily carried out with the help of a multimodal discourse analysis of the language of advertising and with hypertextual analysis. The first chapters of this thesis are based on my theoretical findings concerning internet linguistics, the language of advertising, the study of hypertext, the study of text-image relationships in advertising and an analysis of global branding strategies. For the analysis of image and text in advertising, I primarily relied on Hartmut Stöckl‟s (1997) „picture relation type‟ classification scheme which will be discussed in detail in the course of this paper. The practical part of this paper is mainly dedicated to the hypertextual analysis of a selected commercial website (Redbull.com) and examines the hypertext structure and the use of hypertext links on the website. Furthermore, it analyses the language that is used to advertise products or events with the help of a multimodal discourse analysis. The „picture relation type‟ (PRT) forms the basis for my analysis of text-image relationships in selected advertisements on the mentioned website.
2 Communicating on the World Wide Web
Our communicative behaviour has changed dramatically with the emergence of the World Wide Web. Today, the internet and especially social media have become more important means of communication than ever before. Not only in everyday communication but also in advertising, the internet has outdated conventional forms of advertising such a print media or TV advertisements. According to Crystal (2011: 1-2), the arrival of the internet in the middle of the 1990s marked the beginning of a linguistic change that continues to this day. With the increasing popularity of the internet, many terms such as computer-mediated communication (CMC), electronically-mediated communication (EMC), digitally-mediated communication (DMC), Cyberspeak and Netspeak have entered linguistic discourse. However, as Crystal states, these terms are all problematic, as they are rather broad. He therefore suggests Internet Linguistics as the most suitable term for the scientific study of language in the electronic medium (cf. Crystal 2011: 1-2).
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2.1 The Internet as a Mixed Medium
Language output on the internet shows a great deal of variation. Especially when it comes to speech and writing, the web clearly displays some similarities but also many differences to real life communication. On the one hand, there are publications that do not differ from traditional written language. In fact, many varieties of written language on the web, for example in the fields of law, science, and journalism, show little or no stylistic change. On the other hand, the language of instant messaging services, emails, and chatrooms displays several core properties of speech. For instance, it is time governed, expects or demands an immediate response, and is transient which means that messages can easily be deleted or be lost to attention as people scroll down the screen (cf. Crystal 2011:19-21). Services such as Skype and iChat make it possible to get even closer to face-to-face interactions. However, the time gap between message transmission and reception is sometimes too big to allow the simultaneity that we would encounter in everyday conversations (cf. Crystal 2011: 20). All in all, Crystal states that internet language can best be defined as “writing which has been pulled some way in the direction of speech rather than as speech which has been written down” (Crystal 2011: 21). Furthermore, he argues that internet language is special in the sense that it displays properties of both speech and writing in a way that no other medium does. Therefore, the following paragraphs will take a closer look at how internet language differs from speech and writing and provide a general overview of the linguistic features of internet language.
2.2 Differences to Speech
The most fundamental difference to speech is certainly the lack of simultaneous feedback in internet conversations. Even though there might be situations in chat rooms or forums in which feedback is almost simultaneous, it cannot be equated with having a face-to-face conversation. In real life conversation, speakers perform an active role by unconsciously recognizing feedback from the person they are having a conversation with and modifying their speech accordingly. This can be done by using vocalisations such as mhm, facial movements such as nodding or smiling and gestures such as hand movements. This form of immediate feedback can, for example, help us detect possible ambiguous or sarcastic utterances (cf. Crystal 2011: 21-22).
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In internet conversations, this lack of feedback and paralinguistic features often leads to problems when recipients are not aware of the impending message of an utterance or how something is meant. In emails, for example, we often do not know how to understand an utterance and are therefore easily offended by an unexpectedly harsh reply. Netiquette guides can help to better formulate emails so that we do not send something we did not intend to say (cf. Crystal 2011: 22-23). The use of emoticons is another characteristic of Internet language. Emoticons can replace facial expressions and gestures which are crucial for expressing personal opinions and attitudes or moderating social relationships. In 2011, Crystal stated that there are over 60 different emoticons. Furthermore, he argued that emoticons still allow ambiguity, as the basic smile emoticon :) can express sympathy, delight, amusement or even irony. He also stated that emoticons are mainly used by younger generations and women, but that they are not used very frequently altogether (cf. Crystal 2011: 23-24). Today, emoticons are highly specific and allow much less ambiguity and virtually appear everywhere in modern instant messaging services or on social media platforms. This development illustrates how quickly language on the internet changes and the dynamic nature of research in this field. Another major difference to face-to-face conversations is that the internet makes it possible to engage in multiple conversations. In reality, it is impossible to hold a conversation with more than one or two people at the same time because we would not be able to pay attention to all people in the conversation or to interact with them. In a chatroom, for example, this is perfectly acceptable. We can even observe messages from other participants who are having several conversations about different topics, and depending on our interests and motivation we can comment on them or not (cf. Crystal 2011: 24-25). Additionally, characteristics of chatroom conversations such as the use of abbreviations or a lack of punctuation sometimes make it hard for us to follow conversations on the internet. Another difficult matter is how to deal with turn-taking in an environment where several people are involved in the same conversation at the same time and the order the messages appear in on the screen is beyond the control of the participants (cf. Crystal 2011: 24-25).
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2.3 Differences to Writing
According to Crystal (2011: 28-29), the first fundamental property of the internet and also one of the main differences to traditional writing is its hypertextuality. On the internet, hypertext links allow messages to be sent from any computer on one network to another computer on a different network. Whenever users want to go from one part of the system to another they can click on colour-coded elements on the screen. While it is perfectly fine to have a traditional text without footnotes or cross references, the internet would not be possible without hypertext links (cf. Crystal 2011: 28-29). Another fundamental difference to traditional writing is that the internet is not persistent. If one looks at a piece of text in real life, it is static and permanent. A printed page will remain unchanged even if it is referenced repeatedly. However, a page on the web is usually very variable. Apart from online archives which might feature electronic replica of printed originals, content on webpages can change within seconds as in news headlines, for example. As we scroll down a webpage, colourful advertising pop-ups may appear and change immediately as soon as we enter the next page. Content may be regularly updated or deleted by the website owner. This is especially the case with e-commerce pages where content such as price or product details are regularly changed (cf. Crystal 2011: 29-30). Furthermore, content on the internet is not only frequently changed but can have multiple authors. The best example of multiple authorship is the online encyclopaedia „Wikipedia‟ where basically everyone can alter already existing texts. First of all, this makes the text pragmatically heterogeneous. For example, intentions behind various contributions may vary greatly and contributions range from being objective to being very subjective. Furthermore, multiple authorship makes the text stylistically heterogeneous. In many entries, there are considerable differences when it comes to the language that is used. One may find standard and non-standard language coexisting in one text or even people communicating in a language they are not proficient in. Stylistic coherence with regard to a certain level of formality, technicality, and individuality does no longer exist. Additionally, cultural differences that influence people‟s views about how a text should be written, how formal it should be or how many digressions are allowed make multiple authorship problematic (cf. Crystal 2011: 30-31).
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2.4 The Linguistic Features of Netspeak
According to Crystal, the internet is “one of the most creative lexical domains in contemporary English, involving all major lexical processes” (2006: 87). One of the most characteristic features of internet language is that it has its own lexicon. This lexicon does not necessarily involve technical terminology associated with computer science but rather evolves from language that is used in Internet-restricted situations. Many of the terms that have entered the lexicon of Netspeak also evolved from the actual software that allows us to use the internet (cf. Crystal 2006: 86-87). These terms mostly appear on screen to specify user options and, for example, include: “file, edit, view, insert, paste, format, tools, window, help, search, refresh, address, history, […]” (Crystal 2006: 87). Other terms such as forbidden, error or not found (cf. Crystal 2006: 87) may only appear at intervals on screen when something has gone wrong. Some terms such as freeze or lock have evolved from the use of computer hardware, while others such as netizens, netters, netheads, cybersurfer, and nerds can be associated with internet users themselves (cf. Crystal 2006: 87). Apart from the fact that internet language can be classified as an individual jargon with its own terms, it also seems to follow a number of other conventions which can especially be observed in chat rooms or e-mails (cf. Crystal 2006: 89-90). First of all, capitalisation varies greatly in online communication since the Internet does not seem to be “case-sensitive” (Crystal 2006: 90) as opposed to normal handwriting. In general, the internet tends to use lower case letters everywhere and to use capitals only randomly or not at all. This principle leads to sentences without capitalisation or punctuation, as can be seen in the following example:
“john are you going to london next week” (Crystal 2006: 90)
At the same time, the lack of capitalisation leads to a different meaning of capital letters. Capital letters in internet communication are often perceived as a strongly marked form that is used to add emphasis. Therefore, messages that are written entirely in capital letters are considered to be „shouted‟ (cf. Crystal 2006: 92). Another difference can be found in spelling practice which is completely different from traditional writing. For example, spelling mistakes that would be severely penalised in traditional writing or even considered as uneducated seem to be perfectly acceptable in emails. Moreover, new spelling conventions such as the use of –z instead of the plural –s as in
7 gamez or downloadz signifying pirated versions of software have emerged. Non-standard spellings that reflect pronunciation such as in yep, yup or nope are also frequently found in chat rooms. In order to express their emotions users also make use of varying numbers of vowels or consonants such as in yayyy. In general, the Internet is full of different groups of users who have adopted their own spellings. For example, teenage users have introduced a number of deviant spellings such as the replacement of a lower case o by the number 0 as in d00dz (dudes) or l0zers (losers) or the use of f instead of ph as in fone for phone (cf. Crystal 2006: 93-94). With regard to punctuation, the internet tends to be very minimalistic. Some users strictly follow traditional punctuation rules, while others use punctuation only in some places to avoid ambiguity. A great number of users do not use punctuation at all. The reasons for this lack of punctuation may be a higher typing speed or the fact that people simply do not realise that ambiguity could be the result of missing punctuation (cf. Crystal 2006: 94). However, there is an increased number of other symbols on the Internet that are not normally used in traditional punctuation. Examples include the well-known hashtag symbol # that is especially used on social media, the use of dots representing a pause (…) or the combination of an exclamation- and a question mark (!?) which expresses an exaggerated and slightly sceptical reaction. Imaginary actions or facial expressions are often marked by the use of asterisks or angle brackets as in *grin* or
2.4.1 The Morphology of Netspeak
As already mentioned, the lexicon of Netspeak features many neologisms which were created by morphological processes such as abbreviation, compounding, blending and affixation. A large proportion of Netspeak neologisms are compounds, but acronyms can also very frequently be found in internet communication (cf. Crystal 2006: 87-88). The following paragraphs will give an overview of the morphological processes that occur most frequently in Netspeak and provide a number of examples for each category.
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2.4.1.1 Acronyms
Acronyms are used very frequently in Internet jargon. Among the most common acronyms are, for example, HTML („Hypertext Markup Language‟), URL („uniform resource locator‟), FAQ („frequently asked questions‟), PLS („please‟) and THX („thanks‟). However, there are also a number of acronyms that are not restricted to words or short phrases but can be used to replace whole sentences as in AYSOS („Are you stupid or something?‟) or CID („Consider it done‟). (cf. Crystal 2006: 89-90) In his book, Crystal (2006) furthermore points out an entire list of abbreviations that are used in chatroom conversations, emails or on personal webpages. Examples include: afaik („as far as I know‟), afk („away from keyword‟), asap („as soon as possible‟) or btw („by the way‟). (cf. Crystal 2006: 91)
2.4.1.2 Compounds and Blends
Crystal (2006) points out that another popular method of creating Internet neologisms is to join two separate words to a compound. For example, words that are frequently used on the Internet such as mouse, click, ware or web are combined with other words to form neologisms as in mousepad, mouseclick, click-and-buy, one-click, freeware, webcam, webliography, and webmail (cf. Crystal 2006: 87-88). Another strategy that is frequently used in Netspeak is blending, where one part of a word is joined with the part of another. As opposed to compounds, blends are formed from parts of words and their meaning is often a mixture between the source words. Some examples of blending are netiquette, bugzilla, netizen, infonet, or cybercide (cf. Crystal 2006: 88).
2.4.1.3 Affixation
Affixation occurs when a morpheme is attached to the root of a word. For example, cyber- and hyper- are often used as prefixes or in combining forms as in cyberspace, cyberculture, hypertext, hyperlink or hyperfiction. Other frequently used prefixes in Netspeak include e- („electronic‟) as in ecommerce, edating, and eculture, v- („virtual‟) as in V-chat and the word at- which is often represented as @ in the Internet context, as in @Home. The use of suffixes
9 such as –bot („robot‟) for words such as mailbot or spybot, –itude such as in geekitude, hackitude or –full as in windowfull and screenfull can also be observed (cf. Crystal 2006: 88).
3 Hypertext Linguistics
The reason why the study of hypertext is important is because it confronts readers with new challenges that have not existed before. Furthermore, hypertext offers completely new possibilities for advertising, journalism, and many other industries. The following paragraphs will discuss different hypertext structures and how they function. In addition, they will explore the difficulties readers are faced with when reading hypertext and how they manage to establish coherence in hypertext. Another important aspect will be the analysis of hypertext links and their fundamental role in hypertext systems.
3.1 Defining Hypertext
When it comes to online communication, the notion of hypertext is very important. Engebretsen defines hypertext as “texts or text elements interconnected by means of electronic links” (Engebretsen 2001: Chapter 3). According to Nielsen (1995), one of the most important advantages of hypertext is that it integrates several technologies and industries that would otherwise only exist separately. The most important ones are “publishing, computing, and broadcasting in the form of television and film” (Nielsen 1995: 14). As Nielsen points out, “hypertext provides the opportunity to publish information structures to the general public in much the same way as books or newspapers are currently published” (Nielsen 1995: 15). One reason for its popularity is certainly that hypertext is controlled by the user. This means that hypertext systems can be customised by adding annotations and links. This way, we only get the information we want to see and that matches our interests (cf. Nielsen 1995: 15-17). According to Nielsen (1995), systems such as „NewsPeek‟, which was developed at the MIT Media Lab, enabled the public to switch positions with journalists, who were previously in charge of the information that was presented to the readers. Systems similar to „NewsPeek‟ systems gather information from many different sources and integrate them in a hypertext structure with additional links to detailed news or videos (cf. Nielsen 1995: 14-15).
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Then, the computer edits the information so that it exactly matches the user‟s own interests and preferences. It gives a higher priority to news and information that somehow relates to previously visited pages (cf. Nielsen 1995: 14-15). However, recent discussions on hypertext criticise the fact that it only seems to deliver the pieces of information which interest us the most. This is especially problematic since people can easily be influenced by unreliable websites or so-called „fake news‟.
3.2 Reading Hypertext
On the one hand, the Web displays large quantities of interrupted linear text which can be defined as “text which follows the unidimensional flow of speech, but interrupted by conventions which aid intelligibility” (Crystal 2006: 204). Interrupted linear text is basically the dominant way of using written language and therefore also dominates the Web. Interrupting conventions might be spaces between words or lines that divide the text (cf. Crystal 2006: 204). On the other hand, there are also large quantities of non-linear text on the Web. According to Crystal, non-linear text is “text which can be read in a multidimensional way” (Crystal 2006: 204). In non-linear viewing, readers do not read in a fixed sequence but let their eyes move across the page. This form of reading is primarily governed by the user‟s interests but also depends on the designer‟s ability to move some parts into the focus of attention. Crystal (2006: 204) states that a typical example of non-linear viewing would be looking at a commercial website which advertises a wide range of different products. Furthermore, Crystal (2006: 204-205) points out that on a webpage, different areas are allocated to particular kinds of information which are arranged and designed to attract the reader‟s attention. Devices such as the use of colour, flashing and movement disturb any form of predictable or conventional linear reading. On a sales page different sections such as search, help or shopping basket constantly compete for our attention. According to Crystal, this form of hypertext linking “is perhaps the most fundamental challenge to linear viewing” (Crystal 2006: 205).
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3.3 Hypertext Structures
While traditional text in printed form can be read in a linear sequence, hypertext is non- sequential. This means that in hypertext there is no single order that determines how a text has to be read (cf. Nielsen 1995: 1). Nielsen (1995: 2) states that hypertext presents the reader with several different options. It is thus the reader who decides which option he or she wants to follow when reading a text. The same applies to footnotes or cross references in traditional printed texts. Here, the reader also has to decide whether to continue reading the text or to branch off to follow the footnote. Therefore, hypertext is often referred to as a “generalized footnote” (Nielsen 1995: 2). Hypertext consists of interlinked pieces of text or information which can be best illustrated with Nielsen‟s (1995: 1) simplified view of a hypertext structure:
Figure 1: Simplified view of a hypertext structure (Nielsen 1995: 1)
As illustrated Figure 1, the pieces of information are depicted as small computer screens. These units of information are called nodes. Each node can have pointers to other units, which are called links. Depending on the content, each node may then be related to many other nodes and therefore have many links. There may also be nodes that serve as destinations for other links but which have no outgoing links of their own. These nodes are sometimes called leaf nodes (cf. Nielsen 1995: 2).
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Thereby, the hypertext structure forms a network of nodes and links. Readers can move within this network and actively determine the order in which they read the nodes, which we usually refer to as browsing or navigating (cf. Nielsen 1995: 2). As already mentioned, a hypertext link connects two nodes. In most cases, this link points from the anchor node to a destination node. In Figure 1, the hypertext links are anchored at specific places in the departure node but their destination is the whole arrival node. An example of such a structure would be a link that is anchored at a certain word in the departure node. The user then has to activate the link by clicking on the respective word (cf. Nielsen 1995: 2). Sometimes when users follow the links in a hypertext network, they will need to move back to previous nodes. Therefore, many hypertext systems have a so-called „backtrack facility‟ which depends on the individual user‟s previous movement in the system (cf. Nielsen 1995: 3). Engebretsen (2001) focuses on the different types of organising information on the Internet and on how most webpages are structured. He states that hypertext offers a new opportunity for establishing a linguistic order and that the designer of a page has to decide which elements of a text should be electronically linked (cf. Engebretsen 2001: Chapter 3.1). Therefore, it is necessary to choose a global structure for the system of nodes and links. Engebretsen (2001) points out two fundamental types of hyperstructure, namely the axial or hierarchical structure and the network structure:
Figure 2: Axial/hierarchical structure (left) and network structure (right). (Engebretsen, 2001: Chapter 3.1)
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As can be seen in Figure 2, the hierarchical structure (left) consists of a trunk with a simple main node or sequence of nodes, which suggests a fixed order of reading. The network structure on the right side, however, has basically no device that indicates the order of nodes. Engebretsen (2001) points out that the strict division of hypertext structures into hierarchical and network is by no means always existent. There may of course also be hypertext that is apparently structured hierarchically but has a more open link structure. Thus, it can be said that the degree of openness of the structure often varies, though there is usually dominance on one side of the two principles (cf. Engebretsen, 2001: Chapter 3.1). In practice, the axial or hierarchical structure usually presents its content with a short introduction at the top of the page, the main text in the wide frame, and additional information at the right side of the page, which means that there is a continuous presentation of items. The nodes are connected to the text via hyperlinks which are anchored at relevant words or phrases. The reader can click on the hyperlink and a supplementary node will open in the box at the side of the page without affecting the main text (cf. Engebretsen, 2001: Chapter 3.1). The network structure, on the other hand, gives the reader a greater degree of control. Here, the information is usually presented in the form of a map on the left side of the screen. The reader can click on the different boxes according to the information he or she needs. The boxes remain stable but the text on the main screen may change (cf. Engebretsen, 2001: Chapter 3.1). All in all, Engebretsen (2001) states that the effectiveness of a hypertext structure will not only depend on the type of information that is presented but also on the reader. Some readers will have difficulties with the network structure, while other, more proficient readers might even benefit from it. Nevertheless, it is important that the entire webpage displays a global structure that gives a certain coherence and unity (cf. Engebretsen, 2001: Chapter 3.1).
3.4 Hypertext and Coherence
Engebretsen (2001) states that in the field of text linguistics, coherence basically refers to all mechanisms that make a text a logical unit. Therefore, coherence refers to the system of explicitly and implicitly connective elements that can be found in a text. In more cognitively oriented approaches, coherence is considered to be the result of mental work and is more closely connected to the reading process itself (cf. Engebretsen 2001: Chapter 4).
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According to van Dijk, “discourse does not have coherence, but is assigned coherence by language users” (1988: 62 in Engebretsen 2001: Chapter 4). For Beaugrande and Dressler (1996: 84 in Engebretsen 2001: Chapter 4), readers assign coherence to a text when they feel that all units are mutually relevant within a text‟s overall meaning. In the relevance theory put forward by Sperber and Wilson (1986 in Engebretsen 2001: Chapter 4), coherence is even more closely connected to the inner activities of the reader. This means that, when we are reading a text, we are constantly searching for relevance which means the logical relation between the unit we are reading and the previous discourse. Even though scholars such as van Dijk (1988) put the reader in the centre of the process of establishing coherence, others such as Beaugrande and Dressler (1996) argue that it is the material that triggers meaning-creating activity in the reader. Therefore, Engebretsen suggests that it is best to view coherence as an interplay between textual and cognitive factors (cf. Engebretsen, 2001: Chapter 4.1). When examining coherence at a higher text level, the cognitive perspective becomes even more important. A text usually consists of several semantic units which must be logically related. While the relationship between two neighbouring units is referred to as local coherence, the overall structure of main themes and subthemes is called global coherence (cf. Engebretsen, 2001: Chapter 4.2).
3.4.1 Three Levels of Coherence in Hypertext
When it comes to describing the text-immanent apparatus in hypertext reading, Engebretsen (2001) outlines a three-level model of coherence in hypertext which is informed by the linguistic levels of hypertext:
1. intranodal coherence 2. internodal coherence 3. hyperstructural coherence (Engebretsen 2001: Chapter 4.3)
Engebretsen (2001) furthermore states that the level of intranodal coherence is restricted to the node level of the hypertext. Intranodal coherence corresponds to what we traditionally think of coherence in a textlinguistic context and to the reader‟s expectations of relatedness and a certain linearity of a text (cf. Engebretsen, 2001: Chapter 4.3).
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The term internodal coherence refers to the relationship between two text nodes that are read in a sequence. Even in a non-linear environment such as hypertext, we expect linearity in two separate readings. Internodal coherence is also often defined as „local coherence‟, meaning the link between two different nodes in a system (cf. Engebretsen, 2001: Chapter 4.3). The term hyperstructural coherence describes the overall coherence of the structure that governs the links and nodes in a system. This level of coherence also involves the overall placement of links and nodes. Hyperstructural coherence is therefore also related to the textlinguistic notion of „global coherence‟ (cf. Engebretsen 2001: Chapter 4.3).
3.5 Hypertext Links
As Crystal states, “the hypertext link is the most fundamental structural property of the Web, without which the medium would not exist” (Crystal 2006: 210). He furthermore argues that the link can be compared to the footnote in a traditional text which enables the reader to jump from one place in the text to another. Shields states that in a linguistic context, “the link plays a conjunctive role, binding together disparate ideas in digital prose” (Shields 2000: 152). Therefore, Johnson describes the link as “a way of drawing connections between things, a way of forging semantic relationships” (Johnson 1997: 111 in Shields 2000: 152). Shields (2000: 150) points out that there are three fundamental properties of hypertext links, the first one being its connectivity. He argues that links should always be viewed in relation to their connection to other elements in the network. Secondly, another feature of the hypertext link is its dialogical nature which means that the identity of elements in a network depends on the identity of elements to which it is linked (cf. Bakhtin 1981 in Shields 2000: 150). The notion of „dialogism‟ goes back to Mikhail Bakhtin (1981), who emphasises the richness and possibilities that derive from multiple interweaving ideas (cf. Shields 1996 in Shields 2000: 151). Thirdly, Shields points out the dual function of hypertext links. On the one hand, a link can be a sign that is a seamless part of a page. On the other hand, it can function as an indexical sign. For example, image files can be imported from another computer to form an essential part of a webpage, but they can also be used as a clickable link that leads readers to another webpage. In this context, Turner speaks of the two–sided quality of hypertext links (cf. Turner 1974 in Shields 2000: 151). Basically, links as we see them on a webpage are provided by the owner, who is in control of what can be seen, what we can access, and which links we can follow (cf. Crystal 2006: 211-212).
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It is therefore important to emphasize that “the presence of a link reflects a communicative choice made by the designer. A link, therefore, is strategic. The possible variations for structure are shaped by communicative ends, rather than technological means” (Jackson 1997: 8 in Crystal 2006: 212). Furthermore, Crystal points out that, since basically any piece of text can be a link, it is important not to overflow the web with links - both internally between webpages or externally between websites (cf. Crystal 2006: 211). Engebretsen (2001) states that a link signals strong coherence between two units of meaning. He furthermore points out that links are usually manifested in one of the following three ways:
1. through text-internal markings (marked phrases in the text); 2. through text-external markings (often a separate list of titles or key words leading to other nodes); 3. they may be hidden for each individual node, but made accessible by means of a visual, clickable presentation of the entire node system. (Engebretsen 2001: Chapter 4.3.3)
Thus, Engebretsen (2001: Chapter 4.3.3) states that we can differentiate between text-internal, text-external, and implicit links, which indicates relations in the internal macrostructure of the nodes. For example, text-internal links signals a relation between departure and destination phrases. The choice a destination phrase depends on whether the entire destination node is relevant in connection to the departure phrase or just to a short sequence. Text-external links mostly appear outside of the text and are often listed separately. The link itself also often has an indexical quality and can signal coherence itself. This method is more implicit and makes it a rather demanding tool. On the one hand, it can cause frustration if the destination node does not fulfil users‟ expectations. On the other hand, it can shape the semantic dynamics of the text material (cf. Engebretsen, 2001: Chapter 4.3.3). Furthermore, it is possible to label links in some hypertext systems. Link information can be of a relative or a qualitative nature and can, for example, indicate whether a destination node is an elaboration, a counter argument or just additional information. Furthermore, it can present information on the size of a destination node, the type of medium (picture, text, sound), or the format that is used. Normally, this kind of information becomes visible when the marker touches the anchor phrase but before actually clicking on the link (cf. Engebretsen, 2001: Chapter 4.3.3).
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Furthermore, Bardini (1997 in Engebretsen 2001: Chapter 4.3.3.1) argues that there can be made a distinction between connective and associative links. While connective links connect nodes that are semantically related, associative links connect information that is less related. Their relationship may build on a more idiosyncratic, occasional or semantic nature which makes the units relevant in a larger context. The choice of link structure depends on the kind of material that is presented. For instance, connective links are more dominant in axial hypertext structures, while network structures can be said to be dominated by associative links. Certain types of material may require a more associative link structure, while other material presupposes a connective link structure (cf. Engebretsen 2001: Chapter 4.3.3).
4 The Language of Advertising
Due to their omnipresence and diversity, advertisements play an important role in the context of mass media communication. Especially for the field of Applied Linguistics, advertising has always been an interesting discipline (cf. Knapp et al. 2004: 233). When analysing advertisements, linguists deal with three main tasks. First of all, interpreting and analysing advertisements raises awareness for their hidden strategies and is a prerequisite for their critical analysis (cf. Knapp et al. 2004: 233). Secondly, advertisements are not created randomly but are mostly the product of carefully planned communication strategies. Therefore, knowledge of the discourse in a certain product category or market segment is essential for the development of new communication strategies. Furthermore, analysing target groups and their language is especially useful in order to tailor advertisements to the needs of a certain group of people (cf. Knapp et al. 2004: 233). Thirdly, the language of advertising can have a crucial effect on people as it can drastically influence their buying behaviour. Therefore, the analysis of advertising texts according to linguistic categories can help predict the communicative effects it might have on potential customers (cf. Knapp et al. 2004: 233-234). Advertising is an interesting field for various disciplines such as marketing, psychology, sociology, and intercultural communication (cf. Knapp et al. 2004: 243). As a matter of fact, there is a considerable amount of linguistic knowledge in the field of advertising. The linguistic analysis of advertisements ranges from the study of structural elements such as morphology, phonetics, and syntax to rhetorical strategies, pragmatics, and semiotics and will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
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Furthermore, I will look at attention-seeking devices in advertising, such as the deliberate use of provoking images, for example. Another topic that will be especially important in this chapter is the role of persuasion in advertising. For this purpose, I will examine Hartmut Stöckl‟s (1997) persuasive process which will be especially important for the discussion of the „picture relation type‟ in Chapter 5.
4.1 Linguistic Criteria for the Analysis of Advertising
4.1.1 Phonology
On a phonological level, the most prominent feature of advertising texts or slogans is caused by the repetition of sounds. Alliteration and assonance are stylistic devices that are used to make a text more rhythmic and more euphonic. In alliteration the initial sound of a word is repeatedly used in multiple following words. Similarly, assonance denotes the repetition of vowel sounds in successive words so as to create internal rhyming. Alliteration and assonance can help intensify the poetic qualities of a text and make it more memorable and catchy (cf. Knapp et al., 2004: 238).
4.1.2. Morphology
On a morphological level, the use of nouns and adjectives is especially striking in advertising. This is certainly due to the fact that the focus is placed on the product that is being advertised. Verbs used in advertisements are usually short and simple because they have to convey the necessary information in a very concise way. With regard to the use of tenses, present and future tenses are used most frequently in advertising since they are the best way to make universal statements or promises about the future (cf. Knapp et al., 2004: 238-239). Since advertisements are either implicitly or explicitly based on comparisons with other products, the use of comparatives and superlatives is quite common. If advertisers want to address their potential customers directly, they can also make use of imperatives (cf. Knapp et al., 2004: 238-239). When it comes to word formation and the invention of new forms, advertising can be a very creative linguistic environment. Neologisms are often invented for particular advertisements to make them more interesting and memorable (cf. Knapp et al., 2004: 238- 239).
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4.1.3 Lexis
As a matter of fact, the language of advertising tries to be very positive about certain products and wants to emphasize why customers should choose one product instead of another one. Therefore, advertisements primarily use vocabulary that highlights the positive characteristics of a product. Knapp et al. refer to this technique as the “principle of melioration” (2004: 239, own translation). One the one hand, this includes the use of evaluative adjectives and compound words such as extra-large, feather-light or longer-lasting. On the other hand lexical melioration also uses associative words such as natural, adventurous, or fascinating that evoke certain emotions among potential customers (cf. Knapp et al. 2004: 239). Another important lexical technique in the language of advertising is the use of words from foreign languages. By using words from different languages people may associate certain products with other countries, cultures and ethnic stereotypes. For example, wine and fashion are often associated with France, while Spain usually stands for passion and temperament. Sometimes the use of words from another language originates from the technical terminology in a certain field. This is also one of the reasons why English is the dominant language in technical advertisements (cf. Knapp et al. 2004: 239).
4.1.4 Syntax
On a syntactical level, the language of advertising is characterised by the brevity of sentences, structural simplicity, and a tendency towards ellipsis (cf. Knapp et al. 2004: 239). Since there is not much space in advertisements to explain or discuss facts, the overall message of advertisements should be clear at a glance and make an immediate impression on potential customers. Therefore sentences tend to be short and quite obvious as, for example, in “Coke adds life” (Online 10). Furthermore, imperative sentences which are more demanding and stimulating than declarative sentences are frequently used in advertising as in “Make this Sunday a fun day” (Online 10) Another frequently used technique in advertising is ellipsis. Elliptical sentence structures tend to lack irrelevant details and only convey the most important information. Therefore sentences that are of minor importance are simplified and reduced, as can be seen in the following example: “Smooth, rich, rewarding” (Online 10).
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Furthermore, parallel structures can increase the memorability of advertisements. Parallelism refers to the use of sentence elements that are similar in grammar, structure or sound. Sentences including parallel structures, such as “In China. For China” (Online 10), are more rhythmic and thus also more memorable (cf. Online 10). It is also quite common for advertisements to use interrogative sentences. General questions or tag questions arouse the interest and curiosity of customers. Rhetorical questions as, for example, “Are you going grey too early?” (Online 10) directly address people and get them involved. This way, customers are reminded of their personal wants or needs and are more motivated to try the advertised product (cf. Online 10).
4.1.5 Rhetorical Devices
According to Corbett and Connors (1998 in Bateman 2014: 122), a rhetorical device can be described as “an artful deviation” from everyday language that shapes the message in such a way that elements such as persuasiveness or memorability are foregrounded. When it comes to making a text more persuasive and catchy, advertisers tend to incorporate a great number of rhetorical devices. Among the most prominent devices in advertising are sound parallelisms, figures of repetition, antithesis, rhetorical questions and metaphors (cf. Knapp et al. 2004: 239). According to McQuarrie and Mick (1996: 430), one example that is frequently used is anaphora which refers to the repetition of the first word at the beginning of successive clauses: “Early Treatment, Early Cure”. Similarly, epistrophe repeats the same words at the end of successive clauses as in “Choose to be your most beautiful. Salon beautiful” (McQuarrie and Mick 1996: 430). Another rhetoric device that is used quite often in advertising is alliteration, which refers to the repetition of consonant sounds in two or more following words and can be found in “No one knows the land like a Navajo” (Mcquarrie and Mick, 1996: 430). Another example is ellipsis which advertisers can use to fill gaps that have to be completed in sentences: “Everyday vehicles that aren‟t” (Mcquarrie and Mick, 1996: 431) Furthermore, the use of tricolon which denotes a series of three words that are equal in structure, length or rhythm is also quite common in advertising: “Thinner, lighter, and faster” (Online 6).
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Antithesis can be used to signal a contrasting relationship between two ideas: “We got hot prices on cool stuff” (Mcquarrie and Mick, 1996: 430). The use of hyperbole can also be rather effective as it makes an exaggerated claim about the product: “Experience color so rich you can feel it” (Mcquarrie and Mick, 1996: 430). Lastly, rhetorical questions such as “Don‟t you have something better to do?” (Mcquarrie and Mick, 1996: 431) can be used in order to directly address potential customers. Of course, tropes such as metaphors which can be described as a substitution based on resemblance, e.g. “Science you can touch” and metonymy which uses one element to refer to the whole concept, e.g. “The imports are getting nervous” are also important instruments in the language of advertising (Mcquarrie and Mick, 1996: 431). As Stöckl (1997 in Knapp et al. 2004: 239-240), points out rhetorical devices in advertising can help intensify the psychological impact of advertisements on the recipients and intensify its persuasive effects.
4.1.6 Pragmatics
Pragmatics is concerned with the functionality of communication in context and is therefore closely interwoven with the field of advertising. It primarily focuses on speech acts and their explicit or implicit meanings. Aside from speech acts such as explaining, describing, or recommending the overall function of advertisements is, of course, persuasion which will be discussed in Chapter 4.3 (cf. Knapp et al. 2004: 240).
4.1.7 Semiotics
Semiotics in advertising is concerned with how messages are communicated through signs and symbols. Semiotic approaches also focus on the multimodality of advertisements and take into account various different sign systems and communicative modes such as music, image and sound (cf. Knapp et al., 2004: 240). Lewis (Online 5) suggests that simple images can be extremely effective means of communication. For example, a picture of a dessert placed a few metres away from a bakery store, may already be enough to get the message across. Similarly, words can be extremely powerful. For example, using a word such as conservative in a political advertisement can already be enough to set a candidate apart from his or her opponents. In order to capture the
22 mood of their message, advertisers also like to use music. A catchy jingle can become the symbol of a product and does not need any further explanation (cf. Online 5). Semiotic approaches point out that all individual communicative activities such as catalogues, brochures, TV or radio spots, public relations texts and sales conversations stand in relation to each other and highlight the importance for a company to have a unified communication strategy (cf. Knapp et al. 2004: 240).
4.2 Attention-Seeking Devices in Advertising
Naturally, advertisements aim to attract our attention and want us to be favourably disposed towards the advertised product or service. Therefore it is not surprising that the term „advertisement‟ has its origin in the Latin word advertere which means to 'turn towards‟ (cf. Goddard 2002: 9). In order to capture our attention, advertisers make use of several so-called attention-seeking strategies. One attention-seeking strategy is the use of startling images. A number of companies have adopted the strategy of using images that are deliberately upsetting or controversial in order to provoke people‟s attention. Goddard (2002) points out Benetton‟s series of hoardings which showed real scenes of life and death. The campaign provoked an enormous outcry but also brought the company a great deal of attention (cf. Goddard 2002: 10). Another attention-seeking strategy is the use of verbal text. Goddard (2002: 13) states that images are not read in isolation from the verbal text that accompanies them. She furthermore argues that verbal language can emphasise particular qualities of an image which means that writing is a “form of image making, too” (Goddard 2002: 13). Therefore, it is not only the message of the verbal text that is important but also the way in which writing appears in the advertisement. For example, there is a sharp distinction between handwriting and typed print. While handwriting is perceived to be more human, personal and individualistic, typed print is perceived to be more mechanic. Furthermore, people associate different kinds of handwriting with different personalities. A rounded script may be associated with a younger author while italicised print suggests that the author is someone who is older (cf. Goddard 2002: 13-14). However, not only typographical features such as size or typeface are effective in advertisements. Writing can also be used to create larger textual shapes or layouts. This way, verbal language can work as a picture of its own subject matter (cf. Goddard 2002: 16):
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Figure 3: Harvey‟s Bristol Cream (Goddard 2002: 17)
4.3 Persuasion in Advertising
According to Santello, “the ability to use linguistic resources is strongly linked with the convincing power of messages” (2016: 1). The knowledge of linguistic skills and their persuasive function dates back to as early as the 1st century AD, when the rhetorician Quintilian made his suggestions for how to become a good persuader (cf. Santello 2006: 1). Since the primary aim of advertising is naturally to convince and persuade people, advertising texts are characterised by intentionality, and a certain degree of artificiality (cf. Stöckl 1997: 67). In order to simplify and structure the analysis of persuasion in advertising, Stöckl (cf. 1997: 67 ff.) formulates his own model of the persuasive process, whereby he divides the process into 7 steps. Stöckl‟s model aims to provide a systematic and comprehensible description of how the use of rhetoric functions in the different persuasive steps in advertising works. His persuasive categories also play a role in the „picture relation type‟ classification system which will be discussed in Chapter 5 (cf. Stöckl 1997: 67 ff.).
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Stöckl (1997) divides the concept of persuasion in advertising into several persuasive sub- categories:
1. seek attention 2. create understanding 3. ensure acceptance 4. increase memorability 5. activate imagination 6. distract from strategy and argumentation 7. guarantee attractiveness (Stöckl 1997: 67 ff. in Knapp et al. 2004: 240, own translation)
In order to discuss the role of each category in the persuasive process and how the individual steps are realised in advertising, I will examine each category in detail in the following paragraphs.
4.3.1 Attention
The first step in the persuasive process is to get the attention of the recipients. Attention is, of course, necessary in order for the advertisement to be recognised in the first place and to allow the audience to even get to the next steps in the persuasive process. Therefore, it is very important to attract the attention and activate the curiosity of customers (cf. Stöckl 1997: 71- 72). For example, one way to attract attention is to use a greater font size or bold print in headlines. Rhetorical questions can also help to directly address the recipients and thereby evoke curiosity. The same applies to neologisms, the effective use of images, disjunctive grammar, and the use of modality (cf. Stöckl 1997: 71-72).
4.3.2 Comprehend
The second step aims to make the advertisement understandable for recipients. This means that the overall message should be rationally and emotionally understood. With regard to advertising, statements about the product or service and its positive effect on the customer‟s life should be clearly conveyed in the message (cf. Stöckl, 1997: 72).
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On a lexical level the use of expressions from specific target groups can be very effective. Furthermore, concise statements, a logical structure of arguments, and rhetorical figures such as parallelisms, antithesis, simile, metaphors, synecdoche, analogy, and repetition are a means to elaborate the message (cf. Stöckl, 1997: 72).
4.3.3 Yield
The third category aims at getting acceptance from recipients. Therefore, the message has to be created in a way so that potential customers can accept it and find it credible. According to Stöckl (1997), acceptance is achieved as soon as people integrate ideas, formulations and assumptions from the advertisement into their own discourse. In practice, acceptance can be achieved by taking up certain trends, myths, colloquial expressions and idioms of a certain target group. Additionally, the use of signalling authority can be effective. For example, this is often done by showing examples or providing scientific proof that underline the truth of what is being said about the product (cf. Stöckl 1997: 72-73).
4.3.4 Memorise
The degree of memorability is the only constant measurable entity in advertising research. It is important to keep in mind that the acceptance of an advertisement only leads to a purchase of the product if the message is memorised. Therefore, Stöckl (1997: 73) argues that memorability is the link between the illocutionary act of the message and the perlocutionary effect of actually buying the product. In order to make the advertised message memorable, advertisers use rhyme, alliteration, assonance, repetition, allusions, word play and climactic sentence structures. Only if the message is memorised will chances be high that the advertisement will lead to an actual purchase of a product (cf. Stöckl 1997: 73).
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4.3.5 Imagine
Stöckl argues that persuasive texts often rely on people‟s imagination. Some advertisements try to take the recipient to a fictive or future world after they have bought or consumed the advertised product. According to Jamieson:
The persuasion „industry‟ utilises imagery in many of its appeals, inviting its audience to project themselves, via imagination, into some other state of existence, or some other time or place. In doing so it feeds upon the potentiality of the imaginative consciousness to transcend physical or practical limitations. (Jamieson 1985: 44 cited in Stöckl 1997: 74)
According to Stöckl (1997) imagination is activated by explicit, direct speech acts that often start with „Imagine‟ and the use of metaphors, hyperbolic formulations, euphemisms and synecdoche. Furthermore, the integration of narrative elements can help increase the recipients‟ imagination as it stands in contrast to the very descriptive and argumentative language that is normally used in advertising (cf. Stöckl 1997: 74).
4.3.6 Distract
The next step in the persuasive process is meant to distract recipients from the argumentative and persuasive structure of the advertisement. Nash points out that “style helps both to implement the underlying stratagem and to distract attention from it” (1989: 6 in Stöckl 1997: 74). The reason for this is that our brain can only perceive a limited amount of information at a time. If recipients get aware of the persuasive techniques that are employed and concentrate too much on how they are manipulated they might lose the actual message. Therefore, advertisers try to disguise persuasive strategies with the help of humorous elements such as word plays, jokes, parodies, allusions, understatements and comparisons (cf. Stöckl 1997: 74- 75).
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4.3.7 Please
The final step of the persuasive process aims to make the advertisement more attractive for recipients. Ideally, the decoding and reception of the message should be entertaining. In order to make sure that „reading‟ the advertisement is a pleasurable experience, humorous elements such as wordplay and wit, various tropes and smart text-image combinations can be used (cf. Stöckl 1997: 75).
4.4 Multilingualism in Advertising
As already discussed, the choice of language can be a decisive factor in the success of a marketing campaign. Due to the increasing globalisation of our society, advertisements are no longer restricted to national boundaries. Therefore, researchers such as Kelly Holmes (2005: 22-22 in Santello 2016: 7-8) have argued that advertising should be regarded as multilingual communication because it often uses a range of languages side by side or even within the same message. For example, research has shown that numerous organisations employ multilingual practices when interacting with their clients. This originates from the fact that multilingual people tend to respond differently to messages, depending on which of their languages is used (cf. Luna 2011; Peracchio, Bublitz & Luna 2014; Santello 2015). Today, there exist numerous studies which show how companies use multiple languages in order to address different clients across a variety of contexts (cf. Santello 2016: 1-2). Apart from English, which can certainly be considered as the central marketing language (cf. Blommaert 2010: 144 in Santello 2016: 2), marketers also take into account the linguistic repertoire of their target audiences (cf. de Bres 2014 in Santello 2016: 2) in order to establish a stronger emotional relationship with their clients. However, with some products it can be useful to use foreign languages that seem to relate to the advertised products on an associative level. For instance, Haarmann (1989: 99-116 in Santello 2016: 8) discovered that some products fit some languages better than others. For example, while English is more likely used to advertise sportswear or technology, French is more often used for furniture or food advertisements. Furthermore, Tanaka (1999: 55-58 in Santello 2016: 8) argues that French is commonly associated with charm and elegance.
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Based on his findings, Haarmann concludes that languages implicate cultural associations which he calls „ethno-cultural stereotypes‟ (cf. 1989 in Santello 2016: 8). In a number of other studies conducted by Haarmann, he found out that the perception of languages also depends on the recipients‟ age. While young television viewers prefer foreign languages in advertising, this does not seem to apply to older viewers (cf. Haarmann 1989 in Santello 2016: 8). Haarmann (1989 in Santello 2016: 8) furthermore developed the concept of „impersonal multilingualism‟ and discussed the example of Japan, where he found that English is by far the most used language in advertising. However, English actually plays a minor role in the everyday lives of Japanese people (cf. Noguchi and Fotos 2001: 329 in Santello 2016: 9), since other languages are far more dominant (cf. Cary 2001: 98-132 in Santello 2016: 9). Consequently, the contrast between the languages that are used by a majority of people in the country and the use of foreign languages in advertising can be called „impersonal‟. Haarmann‟s (1989) findings show that even though a language is not directly related to people‟s lives, it can nevertheless be used very effectively in advertising since it conveys associations and can help to influence attitudes towards a brand (cf. Santello 2016: 9). A number of ethnocultural stereotypes which can vary in numerous different ways according to different contexts lie at the basis of the concept of „impersonal multilingualism‟ in advertising (cf. Myers 1994: 92-96 in Santello 2016: 9). These stereotypes serve different purposes connected to „ethnosymbolism‟ (cf. Haarmann 1986: 109 in Santello 2016: 9) which according to Bhatia and Ritchie (2006 in Santello 2016: 9) are linked to socio-psychological elements. These elements are features of language that can be used to create meaning and enhance creativity in advertising and to achieve desired results. A similar view is put forward by Kelly-Holmes (2005 in Santello 2016: 9) who argues that multilingualism in advertising has a highly symbolic function (cf. Kinder 2009; Declercq 2011 in Santello 2016: 9). As there is no actual communicative value in using more than one language, Kelly-Holmes argues that the true purpose of using foreign languages in advertising is to sell the image of a country and thus to attract more customers (cf. 2005 in Santello 2016: 10). When it comes to choosing a language, advertisers have to decide which symbolic meanings they intend to convey with a language. According to Sebba (2012) it is important to keep in mind that multilingualism in advertising serves different purposes than in society. In advertising, languages are exploited regarding their cultural depth and are turned into marketing tools (cf. Sebba 2012 in Santello 2016: 11).
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As already discussed, the language that is used in advertising does not necessarily have to correlate with the repertoire of the language used by the target group. However, in order for a code to be effective it needs to somehow relate with the audience. Even though some of the content might get lost due to language barriers, the audience can still engage in a dialogue with the languages used in a message (cf. Bhatia 2000: 124-25 in Santello 2016: 11). Since English is spoken in many parts of the world, it correlates with the linguistic resources of a large number of people in various ways and is therefore widely used in advertising. According to Kelly-Holmes, English in advertising is the “hypercentral language” (2006: 514 in Santello 2016: 11) and thus holds a hegemonic position in advertisements around the world (cf. Frith and Mueller 2007: 33 in Santello 2016: 11). Some researchers such as Martin (2005: 37 in Santello 2016: 11) argue that the dominance of English in advertising derives from the fact that it is often used as a „lingua franca‟ or because many people consider it a „cool language‟ (cf. Kelly-Holmes 2005: 73-75 in Santello 2016: 11). Others argue that it is often used as a tool to make advertising more international (cf. Myers 1999: 64-67 in Santello 2016: 11). For example, in Switzerland, the presence of English in advertising seems to make a more professional impression on customers (cf. Cheshire and Moser 1994 in Santello 2016: 11-12). In Russian advertisements, English represents attributes associated with Western culture such as individualism, self-esteem, success, and a joy in life and thereby influences the values and beliefs of recipients (cf. Ustinova 2003, 2006 in Santello 2016: 12). Furthermore, using English also serves psychological purposes, such as attracting attention, for example (cf. Ustinova and Bhatia 2005 in Santello 2016: 12). However, Bhatia who examined advertising across six cultures argues that the use of English in advertising goes beyond symbolic or psychological purposes. For him, the English language can be a creative tool which allows more phonological and syntactic adaptations than other languages. This enables advertisers to produce the desired effect of persuasion (cf. Bhatia 1992 in Santello 2016: 12).
5 Text and Image in Advertising
The following chapter analyses the text-image relationship in advertising. I will argue that a multimodal approach has to be chosen for the analysis of advertisements, in order to be able to take into account various different modes of communication. Furthermore, I will provide an overview of Hartmut Stöckl‟s (1997) classification system called the „picture relation type‟
30 which can be used to analyse the verbal and the visual components of advertisements. Stöckl‟s „picture relation type‟ will also be used to explore the relationship between text and image in selected advertisements in Chapter 7.
5.1 The Multimodality of Advertising
Over the past few decades, advertising has shifted its main focus from text and language to the effective combination of various forms of media. Unlike any other industry sector, advertising uses multimedia to connect text, image, graphics and music in order to attract their recipients‟ attention. Therefore, Stöckl argues that it is no longer sufficient to limit the analysis of advertisements to text but that it has become necessary to perform an integrative analysis of advertisements comprising various different communicative codes (cf. Stöckl 1997: 9). The multimodal nature of advertising forces us to look beyond language as text and to take into consideration other communicative modes such as print, images, layout and music. Norris (2004: 1) argues that not only advertising but basically all human interaction is multimodal. Even in ordinary face-to-face communication we also communicate via various different modes such as language, gestures, gaze or posture. These modes play a significant role in our everyday conversations as they tell us more about the person we are talking to and also address our emotions (cf. Norris 2004: xi). Since this paper focuses on the relationship between image and text in advertising, the following paragraphs will discuss how this relationship can be analysed and which effects it can have on the recipients.
5.2 Analysing the Text-Image Relationship in Advertising
For advertisers, the right combination of text and image has numerous benefits as it can intensify the persuasive effects of a campaign on the recipients. Images in advertising can convey ideologies, emotions, aesthetic and also cultural connotations. According to Nöth (1985: 416 in Stöckl 1997: 111), images are not only illustrations or supplements to verbal text, as both entities correlate with each other and form a textual unity.
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Hartmut Stöckl‟s (1997) research has been highly influential in the analysis of text-image relationships in advertising. Stöckl points out that the analysis of print media differs from other forms of media such as TV or radio spots. Traditionally, print media comprise text and image which is why they can be described as „two-code texts‟. TV spots, for example, work with text, images, and sound and are therefore multimedia-based texts (cf. Stöckl 1997: 112). When it comes to the analysis of text and image in advertising there are several different approaches. The contrastive approach which examines similarities and differences between verbal text and visual material is particularly revealing (cf. Muckenhaupt 1989: 5 in Stöckl 1997: 113). Within the contrastive approach, researchers have determined a few main differences between images and texts. For example, they argue that images are polysemantic and therefore open for interpretation. They are also more direct and do not require the same amount of decoding from recipients which is why they are easier to memorise (cf. Stöckl 1997: 113). Based on these differences, researchers such as Römer (1976 in Stöckl 1997: 114) and Bürli-Storz (1980 in Stöckl 1997: 114) came up with four main functions of visual images in advertising: First of all, a visual image functions as an eye-catcher as it increases memorability, attractiveness and creates a visual stimulus. According to Jamieson, “it can... lead the reader into the text” (1985: 107 in Stöckl 1995: 114). Secondly, images function as supplements to the information presented in an advertisement. Due to its analogous character, an image can present information more directly and naturally and “can quicken the reading of the associated text” (Jamieson 1985: 107 in Stöckl 1997: 114). According to Spillner (1980: 620), Nöth (1985: 415), Barthes (1977: 38f) and Preisendanz (1971: 7) images are also polyvalent which means that they are ambiguous and allow room for interpretation (cf. Stöckl 1997: 113). Lastly, images in advertising can create an atmosphere which has the power to enhance the status of a product. All in all, images can be extremely powerful means of conveying emotions and ideologies and their aesthetic qualities can have a considerable influence on recipients (cf. Stöckl 1997: 113-114). Researchers such as Bateman (2014) also deal with Stöckl‟s way of analysing text- image combinations in advertising and argue that it aims to “reveal patterns of distributions of textual and visual material and to relate these patterns to particular effects that the communicative artefacts may have on their readers/viewers” (Bateman 2014: 229). Bateman furthermore states that Stöckl‟s (1997) multimodal description of advertisements looks at advertisements from three main perspectives. First of all, a text- structural perspective that examines the verbal components of an advertisement. Secondly, a
32 rhetorical perspective that looks at the verbal effects employed in those components and thirdly a characterisation of the text-image relationship based on a multidimensional classification scheme (cf. Bateman 2014: 229). Accordingly, the first perspective looks at hierarchical text structures which suggests that units work together structurally to build coherent textual units. In his work, Bateman (2014: 230) refers to a slightly adapted version of Stöckl‟s (1997: 394-395) example text structure for the analysis of a Spanish tourist advertisement taken from his corpus. Figure 4 shows an extract from the actual advertising text on the left side, while the corresponding hierarchical structure is depicted on the right side:
Figure 4: Extract from the hierarchical text structure of a Spanish tourist advertisement (Stöckl 1997: 394-395, example Spain 6 in Bateman 2014: 230)
As can be seen in Figure 4, Stöckl (1997) proposes an overview of the rhetorical building blocks, argumentative patterns and their distribution in the mentioned advertisement. He suggests that particular argumentative functions work together and each textual element can be broken down in finer and finer elements. (cf. Stöckl 1997 in Bateman 2014: 230) The Statement “you can always soak up the sea in a variety of other positions” (Figure 4) is followed by the Substantiation which supports this claim by adding information on the additional activities. Next, the varieties “for the energetic” and “for the less energetic” (Figure 4) are presented. Variety 1 is then specified by two facts, namely that tourists can do “every water sport under the sun” and “several under the sea” (Figure 4).
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For Variety 2 a further statement is presented, namely that “for the less energetic a cooling glass of sangria is normally within easy reach” (Figure 4). Finally, the Comment aims to assess integrated qualities. In this example, it points out the reoccurring use of the letter s as in Spanish, sport, and sea (cf. Stöckl 1997: 394-395 in Bateman 2014: 230). Stöckl relates these patterns to rhetorical functions and to his corresponding set of persuasive effects which have been outlined in Chapter 4 (cf. 1997: 211 in Bateman 2014: 232). Finally, the last component in the analysis of advertisements is Stöckl‟s (1997) multidimensional classification of the text-image relationship in advertising which is called the „picture relation type‟ and will be discussed in detail in the following paragraphs.
5.3 „Picture Relation Type‟ (PRT)
According to Bateman, Stöckl‟s „picture relation type‟ (1997) “offers a multifaceted description of the relations constructed in an artefact across the verbal and visual modes” (Bateman 2014: 233). Stöckl thereby proposes different categories that have to be taken into account in order to describe the relation between visual and verbal elements of communicative units and their communicative effects on the recipients.
5.3.1 Syntax
The „syntax category‟ focuses on the spatial position of images with respect to the text. It is assumed that the position of the image is relevant for the reception of the whole communicative unit. For example, researchers discovered that the sequence in which advertisements are read usually runs from the left upper corner to the right lower corner (cf. Stöckl 1997: 140). Stöckl differentiates between the images preceding or following the text in an advertisement (cf. 1997: 140). Vestergaard (1986 in Stöckl 1997: 140) furthermore introduces the term „visual emphasis‟ which means that emphasis is put on the image by deliberately positioning the image in a certain place. According to Lund (1947: 128 in Stöckl 1997: 140), „visual emphasis‟ is created if the image is placed on the „upper-left-lower right diagonal‟. Furthermore, the size of the image is also believed to have an influence on the perception on the readers (cf. Stöckl 1997: 140).
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5.3.2 Embedding of Visual Elements in the Communicative Unit
„Anchorage‟ and „relay‟ describe two different possible relationships between picture and text (cf. Barthes 1977: 38 ff. in Stöckl 1997: 122). The terms were coined by Barthes (cf. 1977: 38 ff.) in order to explain the impact of verbal text on visual text. With „anchorage‟, it is the text that denotes the meaning of the image and does not leave room for interpretation. This means that pictures are just illustrations of what was said in the text. As Barthes puts it: “The text directs the reader through the signifieds of the image, causing him to avoid some and receive others; by means of an often subtle dispatching, it remote-controls him towards a meaning chosen in advance” (Barthes 1977 cited in Heath 1977: 40). „Relay‟, on the other hand, assumes that image and text are in a „complementary relationship‟ and convey meaning to an equal extent: “The unity of the message is realized at a higher level, that of the story, the anecdote, the diegesis” (Barthes 1977 cited in Heath 1977: 41). This means that eliminating text from the image may result in a loss of its logic and communicative effect.
5.3.3 Semiotics
This category focuses on the semiotic qualities of an image. It enables readers to analyse the semiotic form of an image without giving away any of its semantic contents. In order to describe the semiotic properties of images, it is useful to turn to Peirce‟s triadic model from the late 19th century that suggests that there are iconic, indexical and symbolic signs (cf. Stöckl 1997: 141-142). For example, iconic signs physically resemble what they stand for. Thus, a picture of a printer on a computer screen is an icon for the print function. Indexes are often related to an object or state but not in a concrete way. They often bear some kind of sensory features that imply something else. For instance, dark clouds can be seen as an index for impending rain. Symbols are arbitrary and have no logical relation between the symbol and the concept that is signified. For example, words are basically symbols as they stand for something else and their meaning has to be learned and does not result from a logical relation (cf. Online 4). Furthermore, in the context of Stöckl‟s „PRT‟ the following binary categories enable us to further describe the semiotic properties of images in a more precise way. Accordingly, images can be described as dynamic or static (Stöckl 1992 in Stöckl 1997:141), chromatic or achromatic, real or abstract and real or unreal (cf. Antonoff 1982 in Stöckl 1997: 141).
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5.3.4 Semantics
This category focuses on the semantic meaning or the content of image. In most cases, images and texts in advertising exhibit either a positive or a negative orientation. Therefore, images can be categorised according to whether they work with negative or positive associations (cf. Stöckl 1997: 142). Advertisements often present negative situations in order to show how something positive can be achieved with the help of the advertised product. Images can therefore influence the overall message of the advertisement with the help of positive or negative associations (cf. Stöckl 1997: 142; see also Stöckl 1992: 53).
5.3.5 Visualisation methods
The next category is concerned with the full range of visualisation methods or patterns (cf. Gaede 1981 in Stöckl 1997: 142) activated within image-text combinations. Stöckl (1997: 272) states that there are 12 different visualisation methods which show the variability of the visual composition of advertisements. Furthermore he observes that some methods seem to be more used more frequently than others. These methods include: “1. Argumentation, 2. Grund-Folge, 3. Konnexion, 4. Verfremdung, 5. Symbolisierung 6. Synekdoche, 7. Analogie” (Stöckl 1997: 272). In addition, Stöckl argues that there are three visualisation methods which are most common in advertising that can be deduced from these categories: “A: Argumentative, B: Auf Merkmalsübertragung basierende C: auf eine überraschende Bedeutungsübertragung bzw. Bedeutungsspiel aufbauend“ (Stöckl 1997: 272).
5.3.6 Communicative Effects
This category is concerned with the effectiveness of verbal and visual messages and how they impact the recipients‟ perception. In his „picture relation type‟, Stöckl (1997) examines which of his persuasive categories (e.g. acceptance, attractiveness, memorability) are visually realised in text-image combinations and how they can influence the recipients (cf. Stöckl 1997: 142-143).
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5.3.7 Degree of Verbalisation
In order to establish a semantic connection between text and image, both units have to point towards each other. The degree of verbalisation can be identified by looking at the number of lexical units pointing towards the image. These contact points bridge the gap between both units and build an interface between the two codes (cf. Stöckl 1997: 143). Bateman describes the degree of verbalisation as “the extent to which lexical choices, phrases, etc. in the verbal text pick-up particular aspects present in the image” (Bateman 2014: 233).
5.4 Example of the „Picture Relation Type‟ Classification System
5.4.1 Verbal Analysis
The following example is a recreated sketch of a Mazda advertisement taken from Bateman (2014: 232) which was part of Stöckl‟s (1997) corpus. It shows a ballerina‟s leg and shoe stretched out on a wooden floor of a practice room and the accompanying advertising text:
Figure 5: Re-sketched version of Stöckl‟s corpus example Mazda 3 (Stöckl 1997: 332-333 in Bateman 2014: 232)
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Stöckl (1997: 403) provides an analysis of the verbal as well as the visual elements of the Mazda 3 advertisement. With regard to the verbal analysis, he begins by defining the „functional parts‟ such as the slogan, a catchy phrase that makes the advertisement more memorable, the body copy, which is the main text in an advertisement and the signature, which is the name of the company that usually appears at the bottom of the advertisement. He furthermore looks at the „linguistic structure‟ of the text, which refers to the communicative work the individual units are performing. Among other things, this includes whether the units work as statements or arguments, for example. The „text configuration‟ refers to the labels that are given to individual parts in the hierarchical text structure as discussed in Chapter 5.2. For the linear structure, Stöckl furthermore lists the rhetorical figures which are linked to their communicative purpose and the persuasive effects on the recipients (cf. Bateman 2016: 231). In the case of the respective Mazda advertisements, some of the rhetorical figures identified in the text are similitude, parison, alliteration and ellipsis (cf. Figure 6).
Figure 6: Extract from the verbal analysis of the Mazda 3 car advertisement (Stöckl 1997: 403 in Bateman 2014: 232)
Additionally, Stöckl (1997: 211 cited in Bateman 2014: 232) links the identified rhetorical figures with their persuasive effects on the recipients:
- similitude supports comprehension, - parison supports comprehension and memory, - alliteration supports comprehension and memory, - ellipsis supports attention. (Stöckl 1997: 211 in Bateman 2014: 232)
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5.4.2 Visual Analysis
With regard to the visual analysis of the Mazda 3 advertisement, Stöckl (1997: 411-412 in Bateman 2014: 233-234) makes use of his „picture relation type‟ classification system. He analyses the categories syntax (e.g. preceding/following and visual emphasis), the embedding of the image in the artefact (e.g. anchorage and relay), the semiotic properties of the image, the overall semantics of the image (e.g. positive/negative), the employed visualisation methods, the communicative effects, and the degree of verbalisation as can be seen in Figure 7.
Figure 7: Picture relation type classification of the Mazda 3 advertisement (Stöckl 1997: 411-412 in Bateman 2014: 234)
6 Communicating Brand Image Online
The internet is a global communications tool that has the ability to reach customers worldwide. People integrate it into the ways they communicate with each other every day. Today, a majority of people get informed, do their shopping or communicate with their friends on the internet and thereby automatically switch between phone, computer, tablet and face-to-face communication (cf. de Mooij 2010: 201-203).
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According to de Mooij, “the basic roles of the internet are information (search for, compare, and buy products), entertainment (games, online video), and social (e-mail, social networks and chat rooms)” (de Mooij, 2010: 202). There is no doubt that internet takes time away from more traditional forms of media such as newspapers or books, but it has also changed our social activities and our behaviour (cf. de Mooij 2010: 202). Naturally, companies have reacted to the changes caused by new media and therefore started to advertise their products and to promote their brands worldwide and online. Today, companies mainly compete with brands which can be defined as “augmented products that are differentiated and positioned versus other brands in the category” (de Mooij 2010: 24). Brands mainly get their strength from the emotions they create. For companies, brands have a high financial value as they convey beliefs and establish an emotional bonding with the consumers. Brand awareness, belief in exclusivity and superiority and emotional bonding are some of the key assets to successful brands (cf. Kapferer 2008 in de Mooij 2010: 24). The question of what makes a brand a global brand is not easy to answer. Some scholars and professionals define global brands as “brands that are available across multiple geographies” (Van Gelder 2003 in de Mooij 2010: 28) or “brands with the same strategy in all target markets” (de Mooij 2010: 28). However, these definitions assume that global brands are merely those that are distributed worldwide. Therefore, de Mooij (2010: 29) provides a summary of academic definitions which is a more detailed description of what constitutes a global brand:
A global brand is one that is available in most countries in the world and shares the same strategic principles, positioning, and marketing in every market throughout the world, although the marketing mix can vary. It has a substantial market share in all countries (dominates markets) and comparable brand loyalty (brand franchise). It carries the same brand name or logo. (de Mooij 2010: 29)
This definition suggests that a global brand is characterised by availability, substantial market share, the same strategic principles and marketing, similar positioning, and the same brand name or logo. With respect to availability, McDonald‟s or Coca-Cola, perfectly fit this description. De Mooij (2010: 29) points out that in 2008, McDonald‟s offered its services via more than 30.000 locations in more than 100 countries and Coca-Cola served their products in more than 200 countries. 40
When it comes to substantial market share, Coca-Cola has repeatedly been voted number one of the most powerful brands worldwide (cf. de Mooij 2010: 29). Shared strategic principles and marketing refer to facets of brand identity which usually comprise logo, symbols, brand name and colour, the brand‟s positioning, its marketing and product mix, distribution, and advertising. However, most global brands are not fully standardised since positioning or the product mix will often vary to meet local consumer needs. For example, Coca-Cola sells their products with increased sweetness in the Middle East where local customers, prefer sweeter drinks than those in Europe or the U.S. What often remains the same is positioning which means that a brand that is premium-priced in some parts of the world will normally stay premium-priced around the whole world (cf. de Mooij 2010: 29).
6.1 Global Branding
The concept of branding can be defined as “attaching a trademark to a product” (de Mooij 2010: 23) and is actually quite old. A branded item provides the consumer with assurances about the origin of the product and the place and methods of production. Furthermore, it signals that the corporate entity fully stands behind the brand. Brand strategists have long recognised the potential of brands to produce a perceived uniqueness of products and services and to differentiate against competitors in the market. The brand is, furthermore, a site to establish goodwill, trust and loyalty. Branding specialists use customers‟ emotions to give their products a specific identity and are keen on making their products tell a story rather than exchangeable (cf. de Mooij 2010: 23). According to de Mooij the omnipresence of global brands has become part of our modern life and is, of course, also one of the core subjects of modern marketing. Today, there is not only an increased number of brands but also an increased number of firms that want to take their brands to a global level (cf. de Mooij 2010: 23). As already mentioned, today‟s companies mostly do not compete with products but with brands. The most fundamental characteristic of a brand is that it appears to be unique and that it can evoke certain feelings. Feelings and emotions are also why people are ready to pay more for certain brands than for others. Brands are all about the visual and emotional images that people associate with a company or a product. In order to illustrate this phenomenon, de Mooij (2010:24) points out an excellent example of the crucial role emotions play in marketing. For example, although Pepsi-Cola won blind taste tests over Coca-Cola, people
41 were ready to pay more money for products from Pepsi‟s greatest competitor Coca-Cola. This can be explained by the fact that people had already established a stronger emotional relationship with the brand and simply enjoyed the experience of buying or drinking Coca- Cola. Consequently, managing the meaning of brands is an important task that can increase both a company‟s popularity and its financial value (cf. Kay 2006 in de Mooij 2010:24).
6.1.1 Brand Architecture
The way a company structures and names its brands is generally referred to as brand architecture and usually happens in one of the following ways: The first way is „corporate branding‟ denotes using one name for all products and services offered by the company. Corporate branding is, for example, done by companies such as Canon which offers cameras, photocopiers and office equipment under one single name (cf. de Mooij 2010: 27). Another option is „endorsement branding‟ which aims to link all subbrands to the corporate brand by using verbal or visual endorsement. The advantage of endorsement branding is that subbrands benefit from the popularity of their mother brand and save the company extra marketing expense that would be necessary to promote all subbrands individually. De Mooij mentions the example of the company Nestlé which puts its name one every package of every subbrand (e.g. Nescafé, Maggi, Dairy Crunch). Similarly, L‟Oréal uses the same brand name for a range of related personal care products which is commonly referred to as „family branding‟ (cf. de Mooij 2010: 27). A third possibility companies have to build their brands is „product branding‟ where each product or service is advertised individually. Product brand architecture works by using one corporate brand that operates as a holding company but supports many different product brands with its own name and style. In most cases, the company itself remains invisible to consumers. According to de Mooij, many have considered the company Procter & Gamble to have invented product branding. For example, brands such as Pampers, Ivory and Pantene are all part of the Procter & Gamble holding (cf. de Mooij 2010: 28).
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6.1.2 Brand Image
According to de Mooij (2010: 277), “brand image is the representation of the brand in the mind of the consumer”. Naturally, this representation can vary from culture to culture. While the brand is often given human-like characteristics such as young, adventurous or independent, in Western cultures, Eastern cultures prefer their brands to reflect qualities such as trust and loyalty. Consumers generally tend to attribute characteristics to a brand that overlap with their own mentality and establish a brand image in their heads (cf. de Mooij 2010: 277). Ideally, the identity of brands should be reflected in their image. However, consistent brand identity does not necessarily guarantee a consistent brand image. Different cultural backgrounds can influence the way people perceive characteristics (cf. de Mooij 2010: 277). For example, many successful global brands are usually perceived to have different characteristics in different cultures even though this was never intended by the company. In order to illustrate this phenomenon, de Mooij (2010: 277-278) points out the different images of the company Red Bull in different countries such as the United Kingdom, Austria, Singapore, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States and argues that customers in each country perceive the brand‟s personality in different ways. Red Bull‟s international advertising campaign originally wanted to push character traits such as competence and excitement as their main characteristics. However, these characteristics mostly appealed to customers in Western countries and especially in the U.K. This shows that brand positioning across cultures is a difficult issue because personality traits are not equally understood in all countries (cf. de Mooij 2010: 277-278).
6.2 Global Branding Models and Strategies
Due to the great number of different models and descriptions of what a brand should look like, it is almost impossible to define one single branding model. According to de Mooij (2010: 24), “successful brands are viewed as human personalities, ideologies, belief systems, stories, icons or myths”. In general, branding models are built around these characteristics. In order to make a local brand an internationalised or global brand, companies use one of the following strategies. First of all, companies can cultivate their established local brands and transport their brand value and strategy to other countries which, for example, was done at Coca-Cola (cf. de Mooij 2010: 34).
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Another strategy is to develop an established formula and adapt it to local values and products. This strategy is successfully employed at McDonald‟s which adapts its products according to different tastes across different countries (cf. de Mooij 2010: 34). Furthermore, companies also have the possibility to create completely new brands if they recognise global needs or wants. However, creating new brands can be risky as there are few examples of truly global needs. Companies that have successfully managed to cater to global needs are primarily found in the technology sector such as Google and Nokia (cf. de Mooij 2010: 34). Other companies might be able to afford to buy local brands and to internationalise them. For instance, it has become a common practice among major food companies such as Danone or Nestlé to purchase local brands before harmonising them with their international portfolios. The already existing brand thereby keeps its name so that customers still recognise it but it is combined with a new umbrella name (cf. de Mooij 2010: 34). Another option would be to develop brand extensions. Most brand names stand for more than one single product category. Gillette, for example, not only offers razors but also shaving foam, aftershave and deodorants. The same applies to the German company Beiersdorf which started with their all-purpose cream Nivea in 1911. Today, the brand has been extended across a wide range of personal care products (cf. de Mooij 2010: 34-35). Lastly, companies can develop multilocal strategies for different countries and explicitly highlight the product value for each country. An example of a multilocal strategy would be Nestlé‟s slogan “Nestlé, the best of Australia” (de Mooij 2010: 35).
6.3 E-Commerce and Website Design
Today, searching, comparing, and buying on the internet are part of our daily lives. The prospect of having global internet consumers has motivated many companies to standardise their internet marketing strategies worldwide. However, de Mooij (2010: 203) points out that when more and more companies started to sell their products to different people from all over the world, their strategies actually had to become more localised. This means that misunderstanding cultural preferences can easily influence the consumer‟s decisions. Therefore, intercultural competence has become crucial for companies in order to understand and mirror the culture of their target country (cf. de Mooij 2010: 203).
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According to de Mooij (2010:203) global e-commerce needs to understand their customers from a global perspective which that they should not only be able to manage logistic requirements but to also improve online features for communicating with customers. The structure and design of the website is therefore especially important as it must be culturally relevant and must take webpage design, language and content into account (cf. La Ferle, 2007 in de Mooij 2010: 203). In recent times, the Web 2.0 has increased the power of the internet and has caused a more direct communication from publishers to consumers. Social networks, blogs and so- called social media influencers have become incredibly important for companies (cf. de Mooij 2010: 204). However, the first contact point with the company will always be the company‟s website. As already mentioned, the difficulty with websites is that customers from all over the world have different needs regarding website design. Researchers have discovered that “people appear to perform information-seeking tasks faster when using Web content created by designers from their own culture” (Faiola and Matei 2005 in de Mooij 2010: 184). This means that website design basically has to follow the same laws as other communication channels. For example, people from different cultural backgrounds vary in the ways they want to be addressed. Moreover, they exhibit different norms, values, and communication styles, in general. Different websites from different countries not only reflect cultural values but also dominant themes. For example, Singh (2005 in de Mooij 2010: 185) states that the dominant theme on Chinese websites is family, while Japanese websites exhibit clear gender roles and rich colours. In contrast, U.S. websites are more direct, informative, and success-oriented. When it comes to creating local websites for global brands, advertisers distinguish between „low-context‟ and „high-context‟ communication. The distinction between „high- context cultures‟ and „low-context cultures‟ dates back to Hall (1984; 1994: 85-128 in de Mooij 2010: 71) who differentiated between cultures according to the degree of context in their communication systems. He argues that „low-context cultures‟ are characterised by explicit verbal messages, while „high-context cultures‟ are characterised by symbolism and indirectness (cf. Hall 1994 in de Mooij 2010: 71). In terms of website design, countries such as the U.S., Great Britain, and Germany display more literal visuals and animation on their websites and can therefore be classified as „low-context‟ cultures. In „high-context cultures‟, which can be found in Asian countries, websites feature more symbolic visuals and reflect values that are characteristic of collectivistic societies (cf. Daechun 2007 in de Mooij 2010: 185).
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The reason for this difference is probably that western cultures have had a long tradition of rhetoric which places central importance on the delivery of messages (cf. Ferraro 1994: 50-51 in de Mooij 2010: 71). Therefore advertising in the Western world is characterised by argumentation and persuasion rhetoric. According to Hofstede (2001 in de Mooij 2010: 71), advertising in the Asian world is more indirect and symbolic because there is less need to explain things as information flows more easily between members of collectivistic cultures. East and West are not only different regarding their website design but also differ significantly regarding the communication styles that are used on their websites. On high-context websites there is less consumer-marketer interaction due to a high power distance between consumer and marketers in Eastern cultures (cf. Cho and Cheon 2005 in de Mooij 2010: 185). Therefore, Ko et al. (2006 in de Mooij 2010: 185) suggest that one possible solution to support social interaction on websites in high context cultures could be to generate chat rooms and forums in order to increase the amount of consumer interaction. To sum up, the way information is presented, the rhetorical style, the degree of explicitness and the use of visuals or animations varies depending on the culture of the target groups and can influence customers‟ attitudes towards a company (cf. Husmann 2001 in de Mooij 2010: 185). Therefore, Singh et al. (2005 in de Mooij 2010: 185) argue that it is crucial for companies to develop culturally designed web sites. In general it can be said that the more familiar communication style and cultural habits are, the higher the chances that trust is established (cf. Hermeking 2005 in de Mooij 2010: 185).
7 ‘Gives you wings’ - Communicating Brand Image on the Red Bull Commercial Website
The following paragraphs aim to analyse the commercial website of Red Bull. As already mentioned, a commercial website is often the first contact that customers have with a brand and can also be described as a digital business card. The reason why I have chosen to focus on the company Red Bull in this thesis is that it is undoubtedly one of the most successful global brands and that it is well-known for its effective marketing and advertising strategies. This chapter is meant to give an overview of the development of the company and their marketing strategies and brand image. It will also provide an analysis of the content, the design, the language, the hypertext structure and the use of text and images on the Red Bull
46 commercial website. The aim of this chapter is to show how Red Bull communicates their brand image with the help of their digital advertising campaign. For the analysis of the text- image relationship in selected advertisements, Hartmut Stöckl‟s (1997) „picture relation type‟ will be used as a multimodal classification scheme. Since Red Bull‟s digital marketing campaign consists of various interlinked websites, I will limit my analysis to the main page RedBull.com (cf. Online 11) and the „Products & Company‟ website (cf. Online 12).
7.1 Red Bull‟s Marketing Strategy and Brand Image
When the Red Bull GmbH was founded in 1984, no one would have thought that the small red and blue cans would be as successful as they are today. While energy drinks had already been rather popular in Asia since the 1950s, they did not really exist on the European market. In 1987, the Red Bull energy drink was introduced in Austria and the company quickly seemed to understand that their key to success was marketing. Therefore, a marketing strategy was developed which aimed to establish Red Bull as a premium product. Slowly but surely, Red Bull started to sell their products in other European countries and introduced a range of new products such as the Red Bull Sugarfree Edition (cf. Haller et al. 2011: 1-3). Today, Red Bull is the market leader in the field of energy drinks, is available in 171 countries and has reportedly sold over 6 billion cans so far (cf. Online 12). From the beginning onwards, Red Bull has been heavily relying on marketing, which is also illustrated by the fact that the company does not have any official stores or factories. Since traditional distribution ways to national retail stores would have taken too long to get the products on the market, Red Bull went for a grass-roots marketing approach. The energy drink was first sold to snowboarders and clubbers and became the preferred drink at Austrian ski resorts. Consumer demand was mainly generated by word-of-mouth, peer-to-peer communications, and stealth marketing methods such as leaving empty cans in clubs. In terms of distribution, Red Bull‟s primary distribution channels were local and exclusive stores, or trendy bars and nightclubs. Special vehicles that were placed in front of places where people were likely to need an „energy lift‟ such as universities, offices, and building sites helped increase brand loyalty (cf. Dahlen et al. 2010: 315-316). Additionally, Red Bull shaped its brand image by sponsoring major sports events especially in the field of high adrenaline sports such as snowboarding, biking, skydiving, surfing and motorsports. Events such as the „Red Bull Flugtag‟ or the „Red Bull Air Race‟ have reached enormous popularity. Red Bull became furthermore very active in the field of
47 music and hosted various breakdance competitions and music festivals. According to the company‟s boss Dietrich Mateschitz, Red Bull‟s marketing motto has always been “bring the people to the product” (Dahlen et. al 2010: 315) which involved the sponsoring of events that enabled people not only to consume but also to experience the brand. This undoubtedly helped Red Bull create an image and a myth of being young, energetic and anti-establishment (cf. Dahlen et al. 2010: 315-316). In addition to having a strong marketing strategy, the company created a logo that effectively symbolises their strengths. According to Dahlen et al. (2010: 169), a logo is basically a visual means of communicating. Logos can catch the customer‟s attention and remind them of the brand‟s characteristics. Kapferer states that it “is not so much that they help identify the brand, but that the brand identifies with them” (1997: 115 in Dahlen et al. 2010: 169) For example, the Red Bull logo showing two fighting bulls in the company‟s red and blue colours clearly symbolises its key strengths energy and strength.
Figure 8: Red Bull Logo (https://www.pinterest.at/pin/452048881323578051/)
Although the brand experienced a major crisis when it was banned from countries such as Denmark or France due to reported health risks, it managed to survive and continued to grow. The main reason for this was certainly that Red Bull has never only sold energy drinks but has promoted a lifestyle associated with high adrenaline sports and youth culture. The company‟s marketing strength lies in the consistent image which is communicated in many different messages and across many different forms of media. This strategy was once described by Mateschitz as “having the same tone of voice” (Dahlen et al., 2010: 316).
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7.2 Content and Sections
Redbull.com is the company‟s international commercial website and is located on the Web at https://www.redbull.com/int-en/. The main website connects several different websites and webpages with more specific information on the company‟s products, history, sponsored events and jobs, for example. As already mentioned, my analysis will focus on the main page RedBull.com (cf. Online 11) and the „Products & Company‟ website (cf. Online 12). The difference between a website and a webpage is that websites collect several webpages which are grouped together and are related in various ways. A webpage, on the other hand, is a document which can be displayed on a web browser (cf. Online 18). First of all, the website as a whole can be classified as a commercial website as it serves to advertise the company, their products and their events. According to Cowie (2008: 9), a commercial website is usually run by companies that need a certain web presence in order to boost their business. As the internet is a powerful sales medium, companies aim to provide high quality content on their web pages to inform customers about their company and to get their attention. The type of content that is shared on a website is highly important and determines who visits the website, how people like it, and whether they will visit it again. According to Barker, “content is information produced through editorial process and ultimately intended for human consumption via publication” (2016: 5). This definition illustrates that content such as articles or blog posts are produced by humans and are meant to be consumed by another human being in the future. For example, an article may be read for years and can thereby shape the future of a company (cf. Barker 2016: 5). In terms of content, it can be observed that the Red Bull website is rather diverse. The homepage provides information on the latest news about music and sports events as well as short video clips of sports performances and upcoming events. Furthermore, it provides a number of links to different sports categories such as “Winter Sports”, “Motorsports” and “Water Sports” (Online 11) which are sponsored by Red Bull. When looking at the Red Bull main page one can clearly see that it is not so much focussed on advertising but tries get visitors involved in what the company often refers to as the “World of Red Bull” (Online 11). It invites people to stay on the website and click on various different articles and videos which include impressive images of nature and sports performances or blog posts of sponsored athletes.
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The content that is posted on the website is of rather high quality. Videos and images appear to be very professional and are combined with music which is also produced by the company‟s own label „Red Bull Records‟ (cf. Online 11).
Figure 9: Screenshot of the Red Bull homepage (https: //www.redbull.com/int-)
Information on the website is generally organised into different sections. Scott (Online 8) states that most company websites have six main sections. These sections include: “Home, Products & Services, About Us, Contact Us, Custom Information, and Dynamic Content” (Online 8). A homepage should introduce the company, give an overview of the products and services and explain why the company is different from others. It is supposed to give the customer an outlook of what he or she has to expect from the website. (cf. Online) The “Products & Services” section (Online 8) should provide details about what exactly the company offers. Visitors should be able to see the full range of products and services and receive additional information on the products. The “About Us” section (Online 8) serves to tell visitors more about the company, the team, the company history, the position on the market, and to mention a mission statement which states the company‟s philosophy. Another area which is also important is the “Contact Us” (Online 8) section. Ideally, companies should include different ways how they can be contacted. The more contact channels, such as a phone and fax number or a physical address of the business there are, the higher the chances that customers will get in touch. (cf. Online 8)
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The “Custom Information” (Online 8) section enables the company to include information about developers, partners, an image gallery or an online shop. The last section should ideally include “Dynamic Content” (Online 8) which has become increasingly important with the invention of social media. A blog, a forum, a news page and a social media profile keep the site interesting and up-to-date for visitors (cf. Online 8). Structuring a website is crucial to helping visitors find what they are looking for as quickly and easily as possible. However, website structures largely depend on the type of website or company and can of course be extended optionally with several sections and subsections to provide more detailed information (cf. Online 8). In the case of the Red bull website (cf. Online 11), it can be observed that it is not structured in a traditional hierarchical way. The website is rather dynamic and modern in the sense that it invites visitors to scroll down and explore the website rather than providing a traditional overview of the content at the top of the website. The main sections of the website can be found at the top and at the bottom of the homepage. These include the “Home” symbol represented by the Red Bull logo, and a “Search” and “Index” function at the top (Online 11). The sections “Privacy Policy”, “Terms of Use”, “Products & Company”, “Imprint”, “Brand Protection”, “Fraud Warning”, “Media”, “Contact Us”, and “Jobs” can be found at the bottom of the main page (Online 11). The difference between these sections is that those at the top of the homepage lead the visitors to sections within the same page or website whereas the sections at the bottom of the page lead to individual websites with a different URL and their own sections and subsections (cf. Online 11). The first section of the website is “Home” which is marked by the Red Bull logo. It is located in the left corner at the top part of the page and leads the visitors back to the homepage any time they click on the logo. Furthermore, there is a search function and an index in the right upper corner. What is rather interesting is that the index is again split into two different subsections which are called “Explore” and “Index” (Online 11). “Explore” proposes several popular subsections with articles or videos which are marked with hash tags such as “#Adventure”, “#Inspiring” or “#Events” (Online 11). The “Index” lists further sections which are grouped according to the main topics “Culture”, “Gaming”, “Bike”, “Motor Sports”, “Water Sports”, “Aerial Sports”, “Winter Sports”, “Discover More” and their individual subsections (Online 11).
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Figure 10: Screenshot of the “Explore” section (https://www.redbull.com/int-en/)
Figure 11: Screenshot of the “Index” (https://www.redbull.com/int-en/)
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When scrolling further down the main page, one can find the sections “Top Stories”, “Most Popular”, “Latest”, “Events” and “Athletes” (Online 11) which quickly lead to articles on the latest news and most popular stories. In addition, the section “Editor‟s Pick” presents selected articles from the subsections “Adventure”, “Epic”, “Genius” and “Inspiring” (Online 11). Following the sections on “Latest News” and the “Editor‟s Pick”, the next sections are “Bike”, “Culture”, “Gaming”, “Motorsports”, “Water Sports”, “Aerial Sports”, “Winter Sports” and “Discover More” (Online 11). The “Bike” section is concerned with all varieties of cycling and is split into different subsections “MTB” (Mountain Bike), “BMX” (Trial Biking), “Cycling” and “Fixed Gear” (Online 11). Each of these subsections provides further information and articles on athletes and competitions. The “Culture” section focuses on music, breakdance and festivals that are sponsored by Red Bull. It provides the subsections “Festival”, “Music”, “Art”, “Urban Culture”, “Film”, “B-Boys” (Breakdance), “Dance”, “Clubbing”, “Nightlife”, “Fashion”, and “Comics” (Online 11). Since motorsports are also widely sponsored by Red Bull, the website provides an entire “Motorsports” section with numerous subsections featuring articles and videos. For example, the subsections include “Rally”, “WRC” (World Rally Championship), “F1” (Formula One), “Single Seater Racing”, “Motogp”, “Motorbike Road Racing”, “Enduro”, “Rally Raid”, “Rallycross”, “Offroad” or “Superbike” (Online 11). Furthermore, the Red Bull website also provides visitors with a gaming section which offers gaming fans the latest news and reviews straight from professional gamers. It is divided into the subsections “Esports” and “Games”. (Online 11) Another section on the main page is “Water Sports” with the subsections “Sailing”, “Surfing”, “High Diving”, “Cliff Diving”, “SUP” (stand up paddling), “Windsurfing”, “Kayaking”, “Freediving”, “Swimming”, “Kitesurfing”, “Canoeing”, “Wakeboarding”, “Water Skiing”, “Rowing”, “Wake Skating”, “Wakesurfing”, “Water Polo” and “Scuba diving” (Online 11). The next section “Aerial Sports” also provides numerous subsections with “Air Racing”, “Paragliding”, “Hang Gliding”, “Base Jumping”, “Speedriding”, “Skydiving”, “Aerobatic Flying”, “Kite Flying”, “Wingsuit Flying”, “Paramotor”, “Helicopter”, „Ballooning‟, “Flugtag”, and “Paper Planes” (Online 11).
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The section “Winter Sports” includes “Snowboarding”, “Curling”, “Snowmobile”, “Ice Hockey”, “Skiing”, “Freeskiing”, “Snowkiting”, “Alpine Skiing”, “Cross-country Skiing”, “Ice Cross Downhill”, “Ski-cross”, “Ski Jumping”, “Skijoring”, “Lunge Ski Touring”, “Bobsleigh”, “Alpine Snowboarding”, and “Biathlon” (Online 11). Furthermore, there is also the “Discover More” section which provides subsections on various other fields Red Bull is involved in. These include “Technology”, “Skateboarding”, “Tricking”, “Martial Arts”, “Athletics” or “Freerunning” (Online 11). Since Red Bull also has their own TV channel called „Red Bull TV‟, the website also provides a section with video clips and episodes of Red Bull TV series. The focus of the TV channel is on sports, nature and sponsored athletes (cf. Online 11). The “Events” (Online 11) section shows visitors Red Bull‟s featured events such as music festivals, sports competitions, and information on how to get there, what to expect and of course a social media gallery. The last section on the website is the “Athletes” (Online 11) section which provides further information, articles and video clips on Red Bull‟s sponsored athletes who compete in different kinds of high adrenaline sports. Another section I would like to point out is the “VR” (virtual reality) section which can be accessed via the “Explore” function in the index. In the virtual reality section visitors can try out what it feels like to sit in an airplane in the „Red Bull Air Race‟, to jump off a cliff or to take part in the Rally Dakar. The “VR” section once again illustrates how the website is focussed on getting people involved and immersed in the “World of Red Bull” (Online 11). The „Products & Company‟ website (cf. Online 12) has a structure of its own with its own sections and subsections, and can be found on the Web under http://energydrink.redbull.com/company. As has already been mentioned, it can be accessed via the main sections at the bottom of the Red Bull main page. The „Products & Company‟ website lists its main sections at the top of the main page. The main sections include “Products”, “Can Lifecycle”, “Company”, “Cartoons”, “Contact” and “Search” (Online 12). At the bottom of the page, users can once again access the webpages “Imprint”, “Terms & Conditions”, “Data Protection & Privacy Policy”, “Brand Protection”, and “Products & Company Sitemap” (Online 12).
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Figure 12: Screenshot of the „Products & Company‟ homepage (https://energydrink.redbull.com/)
When users scroll further down the page they can find the sections “Products” and “Company” and can access information on the “Can Lifecycle” (Online 12). Other sections can only be accessed via links at the top of the page. The “Products” section includes information on various Red Bull products such the Red Bull Energy Drink, Red Bull Summer Edition, and Red Bull Cola. Then, the subsequent paragraphs on the website explain: “How it works” […] When to drink […] What‟s inside” (Online 12). The “Can Lifecycle” (Online 12) section informs customers about the production and recycling process of the cans that are used for the Red Bull Energy Drink. The “Company” (Online 12) section provides information on the company‟s history, how it all began, and some facts and figures about employees and sales. What can also be found on the website is a “Cartoons” (Online 12) section which leads the users to two other websites called “Flying Planet” (Online 12), the archive of Red Bull‟s famous cartoon advertisements, and the “My Wings” (Online 12) website where users can try to draw their own cartoons. In sum, it can be observed that the Red Bull websites are quite diverse in terms of their sections and content. There are many sections which lead to very specific information on many different topics such as sports, culture and events. The numerous subsections offer content for all sorts of interests and thereby try to reach as many people as possible. Furthermore, the websites are not structured in a hierarchical way, which means that users have to take on an active role when they search for information or draw their own cartoons.
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7.3 Language Use
The linguistic analysis of websites can shed light on usability and communicative effects. Moreover, it can help optimise a website by making it more attractive for certain target groups and communicating the image the company desires. The following paragraphs discuss the language that is used on the Red Bull website in terms of lexis, rhetorical devices, and features of the language of advertising and internet language. Overall, the language that is used on the Red Bull website is rather informal and colloquial. Furthermore, the website displays both features of the language of journalism and advertising. On the one hand, users can find several articles with headlines that resemble those of a news text. On the other hand, RedBull.com is a commercial website and naturally tries to sell its brand and products. (cf. Online 11) The website showcases a high degree of linguistic variation featuring elements of youth language, Netspeak, specific sports terminology and the language of advertising. During my analysis, I discovered that the language Red Bull uses is especially energetic, motivating, and dynamic. The company clearly tries to adopt the language of their target groups which are especially young people and professional athletes. (cf. Online 11) The famous Red Bull slogan “Red Bull gives you wings” (Online 12) and the general theme of wings and energy runs through the entire website. For example, it appears in the headlines of the „Red Bull Zero‟ section: “Zero Calories, 100% Wiiings” (Online 15); The „Red Bull Sugarfree‟ section: “Sugarfree Wings” (Online 16); and the „Red Bull Editions‟ section: “Wings for every taste” (Online 13) which can be found on the „Products & Company‟ website. In terms of lexis, the website uses vocabulary that is part of youth culture as well as the lexicon of Netspeak. Examples include epic, hashtag, gaming, follow and clubbing. Furthermore, it adopts words and expressions that are typical of sports terminology. Since Red Bull sponsors athletes that are professionals in a wide range of different sports, the website features very specific sports terminology. For example, in the “Snowboarding” section (Online 11) visitors get across words such as to shred, to slide and to powder (synonyms for snowboarding), or to do a stalefish (a snowboard trick). (cf. Online 11)
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In the “Surfing” (Online 11) section, the vocabulary centres on water and waves such as tubes or barrels which describe particularly big waves. Surfers who are particularly daring are often called chargers. The “Motorsports” (Online 11) section features some highly specific terminology. For the “F1” (Online 11) subsection words like apex (a specific way of driving curves), g-force, or throttle are often used and in the “Motogp” (Online 11) section motorbike racing one often encounters terms such as pace, slicks (a special type of tire) or grid. In addition, the Red Bull website features a considerable number of acronyms which are characteristic of internet language as well as of sports terminology. Examples include MTB (Mountain Bike), BMX (Bicycle Motocross), F1 (Formula 1), F2 (Formula 2), F3 (Formula three), WEC (World Endurance Championship), GRC (Global Rally Cross), WSR (World Series Renault), WTCC (World touring car championship), V8 (motor), FMX (Freestyle Motocross), and SUP (Stand-up paddling). (cf. Online 11) What is also particularly striking concerning the language used on the website is that there are several imperatives, as can be seen in various headlines taken from the website: “Watch the 2017 Red Bull Hare scramble live here”; “Connect with our wild skate trip across India.”; “See who‟s fastest on a WRC shakedown” (Online 11). As already mentioned in Chapter 4, imperative structures are more demanding and stimulating. They motivate the users to click on the headlines and read the articles. Of course, these imperative structures can not only be found on the homepage and its different sections but also on the „Products & Company‟ website: “Meet the others”; “Explore the world behind the can”; “Follow Red Bull” (Online 12). In general, it can be stated that the language relies on the use of verbs that convey an atmosphere of youth and energy: “Red Bull gives you wings”; “Giving wings to people and ideas” (Online 12). Furthermore the language of Red Bull shows rhetoric strategies that are typical of the language of advertising. For example, sentences are generally characterised by a certain brevity and clarity. This can be seen on the „Products & Company‟ webpage which gives clear information on its products: “How it works, When to drink, What‟s inside” (Online 14); “Taste: Cranberry. Benefit: Red Bull” (Online 13). In terms of phonological strategies, alliteration which is one of the most used strategies in the language of advertising is frequently used. As already mentioned alliteration makes the text more melodic and therefore increases memorability. One example of alliteration can be found in “Wings when you need them” (Online 12).
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Further strategies include repetition such as parallel structures or more precisely anaphora. This also makes a text more memorable and more rhythmic and can be seen in the slogan “All natural. All Cola” (Online 17); “Zero Calories. Zero Sugar” (Online 15). The famous Red Bull slogan “Red Bull gives you wings” (Online 12) itself is an example of sound repetition. Here, the consonant s at the end of gives and wings is repeated, which is generally referred to as consonance.
7.4 Analysis of the Text –Image Relationship
The use of images is one of the most striking characteristics of the Red Bull commercial website. Many images show impressive images of people performing stunts or images of beautiful and almost sublime landscapes. The website does not only use images but combines various different modes of communication such as image, text, videos, and sound. For the analysis of the text-image relationship in a selected advertisement, I mainly used the „Products & Company‟ website (cf. Online 12) which features a range of product advertisements promoting different Red Bull products such as the Red Bull Energy Drink, Red Bull Sugar Free, Red Bull Summer Edition or Red Bull Cola. As illustrated by the following figures, the style of advertising can be described as rather clear, straight, and informal.
Figure 13: Screenshot of a Red Bull product advertisement (https://energydrink.redbull.com/)
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In relation to Stöckl‟s „picture relation type‟ (1997) classification system which I outlined in Chapter 5, the following paragraphs aim to analyse the Red Bull advertisement in Figure 14. Figure 14 shows the original advertisement which was taken from the „Products & Company‟ website and which promotes the Red Bull Red Edition. It shows a Red Bull Red Edition can in front of a red background. The image of the can is accompanied by the text: “The Red Bull Red Edition. Taste: Cranberry. Benefit: Red Bull. The Red Bull Red Edition contains the same high quality ingredients as Red Bull Energy Drink and has a sweet cranberry taste” (Online 13).
Figure 14: Screenshot of the Red Bull Red Edition advertisement (https://energydrink.redbull.com/red- bull-editions)
Figure 15 shows my own analysis that is based on Stöckl‟s „picture relation type‟ (1997). On the left side, the categories according to which visual components of advertisements can be analysed are listed. These categories include the position of the image with respect to the text, the presence or absence of visual emphasis, the embedding of the image in the advertisement, the semiotic properties of the image, the overall semantics of the image, the visualisation methods, the communicative or persuasive effects the image has on recipients, and the degree to which text and image point towards each other.
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Figure 15: Analysis of the Red Bull Red Edition advertisement after Hartmut Stöckl‟s „picture relation type‟ (1997)
First of all, it can be argued that the image in the advertisement is preceding the text as it is the first thing that catches the eye. Furthermore, if we assume that recipients read advertisements from left to right and follow a reading order in the form of an F-shape, the image of the Red Bull can is definitely the first thing that catches people‟s attention. According to Nielsen (Online 7) the F-shape is assumed to be the dominant reading order of web content. The F stands for „fast‟. Eye tracking visualisations show that users often read web pages in an F-shape pattern which allows them to quickly skim across a page (cf. Online 7). Additionally, the presence of visual emphasis can be identified, since the image is placed on the diagonal axis between the left upper corner and the right lower corner. In terms of size, the image of the can is clearly emphasised, since it stretches from the top to the bottom of the advertisement. With regard to the embedding of the image within the artefact, the image is clearly anchored in the text. As already mentioned in previous chapters, we speak of anchorage when a text denotes the meaning of an image.
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In the case of the respective Red Bull advertisement, the text clearly leaves no room for interpretation and determines the meaning of the image: “The Red Bull Red Edition. Taste: Cranberry. Benefit: Red Bull. The Red Bull Red Edition contains the same high quality ingredients as Red Bull Energy Drink and has a sweet cranberry taste” (Online 13). Regarding the semiotic properties of the image, it is clear that the image is iconic in the sense that it bears similarity to the real physical object of a Red Bull Red Edition can. Furthermore, it is a static image, as it does not contain any moving objects or dynamic elements. With regard to its colour, the image can clearly be described as chromatic. It features a bright red colour which probably intends to mirror the sweet cranberry taste that is being advertised. Furthermore, the image clearly works with positive associations. The Red Bull can stands for refreshment, taste, energy and lifestyle. Therefore, the image will certainly evoke positive associations in people‟s minds. As far as visualisation methods are concerned, the image is mainly visualised with the help of similarity and determination. On the one hand, the writing on the Red Bull can is similar to the writing that appears in the text. Not only does it have the same typeface but it also contains the same words. Furthermore, the image determines the meaning of the text message and makes it clear what the product looks like and what it contains. The image also has a number of communicative or persuasive effects on the recipients. First of all, it yields attention, which is important for the advertisement to be recognised. Furthermore, the image makes us comprehend what the advertisement is about and makes the message rather clear to understand. Additionally, the advertisement displays some rhetoric strategies such as alliteration (e.g. The Red Bull Red Edition) and also ellipsis (e.g. Taste: Cranberry) which adds memorability. Furthermore, the image also activates our imagination. When looking at the image of the Red Bull can, people may be mentally transported to future situations in which they are drinking Red Bull as a refreshment or doing sports as an energy lift and immediately feel connected with the typical Red Bull lifestyle. Additionally, looking at the advertisement can be described as a pleasant experience since the overall visual arrangement of the image appeals to aesthetic standards. The last category in the visual analysis of the advertisement discusses the degree of verbalisation which refers to the way in which text and image point towards each other. Here, it becomes clear that the image takes up the language of the text and also repeats parts of the text (e.g. The Red Bull Red Edition). Furthermore, it repeats the typeface that is used in the text and thereby creates a contact point between text and image.
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All in all, it can be stated that the analysed Red Bull Red Edition advertisement displays all the central elements that seem to be inherent in all Red Bull product advertisements. These elements include a simple and straightforward design, a clear colour scheme which often mirrors the colours of the Red Bull logo, the presence of visual emphasis that is placed on the most important part of the advertisement and numerous contact points between text and image which mainly build on similarities and repetitions. Furthermore, the communicative effects on the recipient such as attracting their attention, ensuring comprehension and memorability, stimulating imagination and pleasing the recipients are present in all advertisements on the website. In this way, Red Bull manages to convey their brand image not only with the help of TV commercials or famous testimonials, but also with ordinary product advertisements that mirror central verbal and visual elements of Red Bull‟s communicative strategy.
8 A Hypertextual Analysis of the Red Bull Commercial Website
The following paragraphs will provide an analysis of the hypertext structure of the Red Bull commercial website. As already outlined in Chapter 3, there are a number of different ways of organising hypertext. What has to be kept in mind, however, is that the kind of hypertext structure that is chosen for a website has different effects on the recipients. While more hierarchical structures are certainly easier to follow, they also allow less room for individual readers to follow their own interests. Network structures, on the other hand, might not leave readers with enough guidance and it can be more difficult to establish coherence when reading on a website. Therefore, the choice of hypertext structure can have a crucial effect on the recipients‟ attitude towards a commercial website and can dramatically influence the company‟s economic success.
8.1 The Dynamic Character of the Website
The content of the Red Bull website is changed very frequently. Every day, visitors are provided with the latest articles and video clips, or news on events and sports competitions. As the images on the website are changed within hours, the website never really looks the same. Furthermore, users can not only „read‟ the website but can actively use it. For example, there is a search function which enables users to look for certain sections or specific information. Therefore, the website can be classified as a dynamic website. 62
As opposed to static websites which are structured in a very simple way and do not change, dynamic websites are much more interactive and require much more coding and technical knowledge. This means that a dynamic website does not only use HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) which is the basic code websites are written in, or CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) which describes how to display HTML on the screen, but also includes website scripting (cf. Online 9). Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) adds structure to a text on a website by annotating it with tags. A tag consists of a word surrounded by angled brackets which are placed at the beginning and at the end of the part they are structuring. The closing tag also includes a slash inside the closing brackets. For example, in order to make a text appear bold on a website, HTML uses the tag. In the following example, the word „strong‟ is coded to appear bold on the screen: “Closing tags are very important” (Online 1). Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a code that describes how to display HTML on a website. In fact it is not the HTML strong tag that makes a text bold, but actually the CSS that delivers the instructions. The CSS tells the browser to find all the elements in the browser and to make them bold: “strong {font-weight: bold}” (Online 2). As already mentioned, dynamic websites not only require HTML and CSS but also website scripting. Website scripting makes the website interactive and facilitates the sharing of HTML code between pages. For example, the coding language Javascript adds functionality and interactivity to websites as it responds to user clicks, for example. However, responding to clicks is not enough to be considered dynamic. Dynamic sites use a number of other coding languages such as PHP or ASP.net which can also be used to generate HTML dynamically (cf. Online 9). Today, most websites and especially e-commerce websites are dynamic. This also applies to the Red Bull commercial website which can definitely be considered as a dynamic website. It is updated regularly and changes its articles and images every day. Furthermore, users can search for specific content and the site can be changed according to the users‟ native language. Additionally, the website attracts the users‟ attention and makes them return to the website with the help of interesting articles, fascinating images and video clips.
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8.2 Hypertext Structure
The Red Bull homepage is not only diverse in terms of its content but also in terms of its hypertext structure. As already mentioned https://www.redbull.com/int-en/ is the homepage or main page of a series of interlinked websites. The main page largely centres on articles and images which are updated regularly and form the centre of the website. Interestingly, the hypertext structures that can be found on the website are both axial and network structures. Some parts of the website, especially the individual articles suggest a fixed reading sequence as can be seen in Figure 16. They have a headline and a coherent article which suggests a reading sequence from the top to the bottom.
Figure 16: Screenshot of the “Young Brits win sailing title in last-minute upset” article (https://www.redbull.com/int-en/landroverbar-win-redbull-youth-americascup)
This means that there is one main node and other nodes which provide more information and which suggest a reading sequence. Additionally, the articles provide links to further information, images or video clips which are usually coloured in red. Thus the article can be described as the main node and the links as the branches which is typical of an axial structure. The majority of the Red Bull website, however, is built in the form of a network structure. This means that the overall structure of the website does not really follow a fixed hierarchy.
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Figure 17: Screenshot of the sections on the Red Bull main page (https://www.redbull.com/int-en/)
It may be the case that there is one section following another on the main page, but they focus on completely different topics and do not really relate to each other. This means that one can start reading an article at the bottom of the page and then jump to another one in the centre of the page and the website as a whole would still make sense. Therefore, users of the website can choose to click on one of the headlines or images according to their individual interests and preferences (cf. Online 11). Naturally, the network structure makes the website more interesting than a straight hierarchical structure as people can explore the different sections according to what catches their attention. However, it also makes the reading process more complicated and a little bit confusing. The Red Bull website cleverly combines the network structure with a hierarchical structure and thereby caters to different reader types and personal preferences. This is also shown in the “Index” at the top of the homepage which is split into an “Explore” section and a classical “Index” (Online 11) showing two different possibilities of navigating on the website. Despite its great variety in terms of hypertext structures, the website nevertheless displays global coherence in terms of topics and design. Therefore, it does not appear fragmented or completely unstructured. What it does is to leave the readers with different options and to motivate them to take on an active role.
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8.3 Link and Node Classification
As already mentioned, links are one of the fundamental properties of HTML and can basically be described as references to data which can be accessed by simply clicking on it. The Webster Online Dictionary describes the hyperlink as an “electronic link providing access from one distinctively marked place in a hypertext or hypermedia document to another in the same or a different document” (Online 3). What is important to note is that hyperlinks can take different forms. Most of the time they appear as underlined text often in blue or red but they can also appear as images and videos, or in drop-down menus (cf. Online 19). The Red Bull website features a number of links. First of all, it exhibits text-internal links which are primarily embedded in articles. These links are always underlined in red and either lead to other articles on the main page or to other websites which contain relevant information. Furthermore, there are a number of text-external links that lead to individual sections on the same website or on different websites. These links can either be accessed via the index or directly on the homepage. A number of text-external links, which can be accessed via the main sections on the homepage such as “Products & Company”, “Jobs” or “Contact Us” (Online 11), lead the visitor to different websites with a separate URL and their individual sections and subsections. As far as link labelling is concerned, some links on the Red Bull website are labelled, which means that they provide information on the destination node before actually clicking on the link. Labelled links can primarily be found in individual articles and are very often text- internal links such as embedded links to further information or to images and videos. Other links on the website are not labelled but are already named after their destination nodes such as, for example, links to individual sections on the main page (cf. Online 11). A further distinction can be made between connective and associative links on the website. As already mentioned, connective links link semantically connected material and can often be found in axial hypertext structures. These links can also be found on the Red Bull website. Connective links are predominantly embedded in articles where they only link to semantically connected material. For example, in a recent article on the Formula One Grand Prix of Austria 2017, visitors can find links to images, to a promotion video or to the ticket shop for next year‟s race. All nodes are thematically connected to the article and therefore connect semantically relevant material (cf. Online 11).
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The website also displays a number of associative links which establish a connection that is of a rather occasional or idiosyncratic nature. For example, associative links can be found in the “Explore” section which is part of the “Index” (Online 11). Here, users can follow links such as “Epic”, “Genius” or “Adventure” (Online 11). With associative links, users do not really know what they to expect from the information presented in the destination node since they basically contain information that is somehow related but not in an obvious way (cf. Online 11). Additionally, the Red Bull website also provides backtracking facilities for its users. Backtracking allows visitors to go back to previously visited nodes. This can either be done in a linear way which allows following back the links in a reverse order or through arbitrary jumps to previous nodes (cf. Balasubramanian, 1994: Chapter 4, 2.6). On the Red Bull website, users can go back to previous nodes by clicking on the „back symbol‟ in order to go back step by step or by clicking on the home button in order to jump back to the homepage.
9 Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be observed that the Red Bull commercial website communicates its brand image with the effective use of language, an innovative hypertext and link structure and the right combination of images with text. Unlike many other websites, it manages to cater to different interests and preferences and tries to involve readers in the “World of Red Bull” (Online 11). As far as its hypertext structure is concerned, it combines two different structures, namely the axial or hierarchical structure and the network structure. The website thereby manages to cater to different types of readers and personal preferences. This is also demonstrated by the fact that there is not one traditional index but that it is split into an “Explore” and an “Index” (Online 11) function which propose two different ways of reading the website. However, the website not only combines different forms of hypertext but also different kinds of links. While readers can find many connective links in the articles, a large number of links on the website are associative links. These links are based on a more occasional or associative relation between two nodes and invite the reader to explore the content that is presented in the individual nodes rather than to quickly search for information.
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Furthermore, the analysis has shown that the website features a great variety of sections and topics. Especially high adrenaline sports, music, and sponsored events are dominant themes on the main page of the Red Bull commercial website. Additionally, visitors can access information concerning the company, jobs or products via one of the connected websites. As far as the use of language is concerned, the website clearly features characteristics of the language that is used by advertisers in order to attract their recipients‟ attention and acceptance and to achieve memorability. These strategies include the use of terminology which is used by specific target groups, catchy slogans and the use of rhetorical strategies such as imperatives, repetition, parallelism, alliteration and ellipsis. The analysis has shown that the language of Red Bull is especially youthful, energetic, and dynamic and tries to get people involved. It takes up dominant themes and expressions and displays an informal and engaging style. Furthermore, the language on the website also displays features of computer-mediated communication. For example, there are a number of acronyms and terms which are mostly derived from computer software such as hashtag, virtual reality or follow (cf. Online 11). Another element of the website that has proven to be especially striking is the effective use of images. Images are clearly a dominant part of the website, as they often spread over the entire screen or start to move when they are touched by the mouse. Often, they overlap with text and show impressive scenes of nature, spectacular landscapes or sports performances. As far as the relationship between text and image in advertisements is concerned, the analysis has shown that image and text frequently point towards each other and support each other throughout the website. This is mainly achieved with the help of anchorage, repetitions, and similarities. Additionally, the selected advertisements featured a clear verbal and visual style with a clear colour scheme. In conclusion, it can be said that the Red Bull commercial website as a whole shows global coherence in terms its themes, language use and its unconventional way of combining a hierarchical hypertext structure with a more open hypertext and link structure. All in all, it can be said that the verbal as well as the visual elements of the website clearly fit Red Bull‟s communicative strategy which emphasizes characteristics such has competitiveness, energy, and strength.
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10 References
10.1 Table of Figures
Figure 1: Simplified view of a hypertext structure (Nielsen 1995: 1) Figure 2: Axial/hierarchical structure and network structure (Engebretsen 2001) Figure 3: Harvey‟s Bristol Cream (Goddard 2002: 12) Figure 4: Extract from the hierarchical text structure of a Spanish tourist advertisement (Stöckl 1997: 394-395 in Bateman 2014: 230) Figure: 5 Re-sketched version of Stöckl‟s corpus example Mazda 3 (Stöckl 1997: 332- 333 in Bateman 2014: 232) Figure 6: Extract from the verbal analysis of the Mazda 3 car advertisement (Stöckl 1997: 403 in Bateman 2014: 232) Figure 7: „Picture relation type‟ classification of the Mazda 3 advertisement (Stöckl 1997: 411-412 in Bateman 2014: 234) Figure 8: Red Bull logo (https://www.pinterest.at/pin/452048881323578051/ [2017, July 19] Figure 9: Screenshot of the Red Bull homepage (https://www.redbull.com/int-) [2017, July 19] Figure 10: Screenshot of the “Explore” section (https://www.redbull.com/int-en/ [2017, June 22] Figure 11: Screenshot of the “Index” section (https://www.redbull.com/int-en/) [2017, June 22] Figure 12: Screenshot of the „Products & Company‟ homepage (https://energydrink.redbull.com/) [2017, June 29] Figure 13: Screenshot of a Red Bull product advertisement (https://energydrink.redbull.com/) [2017, June 29] Figure 14: Screenshot of the Red Bull Red Edition advertisement (https://energydrink.redbull.com/red-bull-editions) [2017, July 29] Figure 15: Analysis of the Red Bull Red Edition advertisement after Hartmut Stöckl‟s „picture relation type‟ (cf. 1997) Figure 16: Screenshot of the “Young Brits win sailing title in last-minute upset” article (https://www.redbull.com/int-en/landroverbar-win-redbull-youth- americascup15.14.) [2017, June 22] Figure 17: Screenshot of the sections on the Red Bull main page (https://www.redbull.com/int-en/) [2017, June 22]
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Online 18: “What is the difference between webpage, website, web server, and search engine?” (2017, August 17) Mozilla Foundation. [Online] https://developer.mozilla.org/en- US/docs/Learn/Common_questions/Pages_sites_servers_and_search_engines [2017, July 28]
Online 19: “What is a Hyperlink? – Definition & Explanation.” Study.com [Online] http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-hyperlink-definition-lesson-quiz.html [2017, July 18]
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