Abstract:

If the mantra is 'Unseen is Unsold' then the question must be 'Am I being seen?' The environment in which brands and advertising compete for the attention of consumers is more cluttered than ever before: Markets have fragmented as the number of brands and products on offer have steadily grown. In addition this, a plethora of marketing media is now used by marketers and this itself accentuates the sense of visual overload for the consumer. While huge sums are spent promoting products, how sure can advertisers be sure that their brands are being noticed and that the intended messages are reaching the consumer? This paper considers these issues in the context of the cluttered marketing space of Asia, and Japan in particular. Looking beyond conventional notions of Brand Equity, we consider the Visual Equity of a product or offering. In particular this paper considers technological solutions that may allow market researchers in Asia to measure Visual Equity and so develop a more systematic approach to developing effective visual communications.