Topic Proposal #4: Final research project.
Logos - and I'm not talking Aristotle's appeals (logos, ethos, and pathos) I'm talking brand name logos.
Logos - and I'm not talking Aristotle's appeals (logos, ethos, and pathos) I'm talking brand name logos.
In this research paper I
will argue how advertisements effect us even before we know what the word
"advertisement" means. Studies show that brand name awareness and
recognition occur very early in a child’s life. Children can recognize logos
and brands and associate products with them at a very young age.
Some of the questions I want to think about for my
research:
·
How important is this young population as a
target audience for big companies?
·
At what ages are children first developing this
awareness (how young?)
·
What environmental factors affect a child’s ability
to become aware of these brand names? (what kind of exposure?)
·
When children recognize a logo do they imagine a
product or do they recall an experience?
· What is the difference between awareness, recognition and recall? Do these abilities occur at different stages of cognitive development?
The main argument in my paper is that logos do more than
just compliment a company name, they develop connotations that even young kids
can experience. I will argue that children associate brand logos with a
positive experience they have with the product (the interaction with the
product itself –where the emotional response of the experience is triggered and
reflective of their overall experience).
Perhaps I could design a study or test of some kind that
would help support my argument.
This is a great overview, and you present a clear argument. One thing you might want to consider is the parent's role. How influential are parents on this? For example, I'm not a big brand shopper, and therefore, my sons tend not be overly invested in one brand or another (they don't care what kind of peanut butter I buy, for example). They are, however, into certain kinds of toys and books. Do kids actually care about things like peanut butter (as certain commercials would have us believe) or are they more interested in a certain brand of toy? Also, I like the idea of designing a test. Despite not being brand dependent, my children certainly recognize the Starbucks logo (which probably says more about me than them) as well as the Chapters logo. Such recognition seems to start fairly young too.
ReplyDeleteMy primary concern is that this has the potential to be a huge topic, so be aware of that. You will have to focus on specific issues so that you can handle them effectively.
Hi Jessie. I think this is a really creative and interesting topic idea. I think there is much to say about brand logos. Once a logo is established in young minds, it sticks forever. I agree with Professor G-B that the topic might be too broad. Definitely narrow down your research and try to only tackle one or two questions from your list. Perhaps you can explore what strategies are used by large corporations to ensure brand recognition at a young age (i.e. disney and merchandise, McDonald's and toys, )
ReplyDeleteGreat start, good luck!
This is a very intriguing idea for your research essay. I think brands and brand loyalty is something that you could find a lot of research on and make a very compelling argument with. It would be interesting to learn why people get attached to certain brands...is it the quality of the product? or is it the experience attached to the brand that people connect with? These are just a few things to think about but I think you are off to a good start!
ReplyDelete