Media has increased widely around the world and the advertising world has covered almost every corner on land around a number of populations. Despite influencing people, some news still stays vague, although markets have presented them by spending a huge amount of money for the advertising. (See Image 1)
Image 1. Too many advertisements
A total disregard of advertisements that you pass by in your everyday cycle remains a problem that organizations have faced forever. One of them is our own university, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. Why is it so difficult to get attention from students, staff and faculty to convey messages and keep them informed of what is going on and what is coming up? This is not only an issue this university needs to resolve but a lot of other universities are under the same mission.
Image 2. No ads? No students noticing? VCUQatar Orange Hall
Beginning to focus on the students, they are packed with so much to do and remember that keeping track of upcoming events or on-going activities are always their last priorities over their assignments and project deadlines. Is the curriculum not prepared considering the students’ everyday schedules? As important as a syllabus might be for a program, some space for co-curricular activities does have some significant importance for mental stability through some relaxing and joyful events and lectures that may be important for knowledge needed for their projects, of whose advertisements are neglected as well with the overwhelming moods they have while the students pass by them.
Keeping everyone in sight, people vary amongst each other with different viewing habits. Having all designers in this university, we should keep in mind that not everyone will think the same way. Surveys would be great to find out about the audience we are advertising to and what they prefer or take note of. Most ignored is the intranet server provided for the students, faculty and staff to stay updated with the university events and news.
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Do the ad designers not have enough content on the posters? Is the content too crowded? Not to forget that there are Graphic designers walking around and analyzing these ads. An efficiently designed ad can control how viewers take notice of them. This strategy is what successful formal organizations use and spend most on. (See Image 3)
Image 3. Images help making successful ads!
A defense form people who are not able to notice ads is ‘Inattentional Blindness’.
Inattentional blindness, also known as perceptual blindness. This is when a person fails to notice some stimulus that is in plain sight. This stimulus is usually unexpected but fully visible. This typically happens because humans are overloaded with inputs. It is impossible to pay attention to every single input that is presented. A person’s attention cannot be focused on everything, and therefore, everyone experiences inattentional blindness. People can falsely believe that they do not experience inattentional blindness. This is due to the fact that they are unaware that they are missing things. Inattentional blindness also has an effect on people’s perception. The term inattentional blindness was coined by Arien Mack and Irvin Rock in 1992.
Selective Attention Test - showing the height of blindness of noticing one thing when you are focusing on something so intensely.
As a sanction, with evidence of what causes the ads to be camouflaged for the eyes of the viewers and a design fail, unfortunately, the event or lecture turns out a waste of money and a no show of people because societies cannot be controlled only limitedly manipulated. (See Image 4)
Image 4. Waste of catering and seating after a low show of audience
From the sociological view of the Functionalist Perspective, although most people may be aware of the events advertisment, it is still not possible for some people to remember about it or even have knowledge of it at all. There are always some people whom the advertisements can not reach to. Sometimes we have to accept what is functional and what just has to be the way it is, not functional. (See Image 5)
Image 5. Functionalism is not always functional.
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