Introduction To Perception

Perception can be defined in various ways.  Different sources have contrasting views on the definition of perception:

1) The act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition, understanding.
2) A single unified awareness derived from sensory prosesses while a stimulus is present.

Gibson (1966) suggests that perception relies directly onn the information present in the stimulus.

In other words, perception is the changing way that people see things, shift attitudes and create recognition.  These definitions can be found at:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perceptionse/perception

The subjective nature of percetion can be demonstrated by controversial advertisement, such as the one below, created for 'Benetton'.
 
Because a 'black' and 'white' man are handcuffed together, this ad became the target of many complaints about racism after it appeared on magazines.  Despite the company having a reputation for promoting racial tolerance, people interpreted it to mean that the 'black' man had been arrested by the 'white' man.  Even though both men are dressed identically, people's prior assumptions shaped the ads meaning.  Such interpretations and assumptionsn develop from organised collections of beliefs or feelings.  Cosequently, we tend to group the objects we see, differently and which can result to a mis-interpretation.  All of these definitions originate from the same background and efficiently have the same meaning.  In saying this, it can be argued that perception comes from our senses and as we look at adverts in particular, followed by what we see, we can associate different feelings with seeing these things.

In lectures, we were shown various adverts from TV and magazines, then we shared our thoughts and discussed our individual interpretations of these adverts.  In listening to how other people formed perceptions from these adverts, I was intrigued to see how people's opinions differed.  One of the adverts shown was a holiday brochure to Egypt.  In this advert, a range of bright and bold colours have been used to ensure that it stands out and catches the eye of the consumer.  Certain visuals are used to give the audience a 3D insight into the ad and generally, the page looks busy, which is a tactic exerted in order to portray exactly what the promoters are aiming to suggest: that when vacating in Egypt, you are surrounded by excitement and recreational activities.  When someone looks at this advert, they will get the perception that Egypt is the ideal holiday home, with the effect of nature; palnts, trees, sea and fish.  All of these images evoke earthly and calm senses, luring the consumer to take a holiday there. 

Another advert that triggers consumer perception, is below:

When people look at this advert, they will get the perception that the perfume has a seductive aroma.  The use of a male presence suggests that the perfume lures men and generates attention for the person wearing it.  The man that is kneeling by the woman, connotes a sense of authority for her, almost emphasising that it is imperative to buy the perfume.  The lady looks relaxed but arguably, fed up.  This also suggests that if the perfume is purchased, it will bring you unconditional deference.  Besides the bottle of perfume, the colours used here are dark creating sinister ideas.  This suggests that the good feelings that the lady experiencing can only be winessed if the perfume is purchased, and without owning one of your own, you will always be anonymous to the treats that the aroma brings.

The colour of the perfume bottle is bright, and is the only bright colour used in the advert.  This is appealing as the target audience need something that will stick with them, and here, the gold dominates the page guaranteeing that once the perfume is sprayed, the consumer will no longer be left in the dark.  There is also harldy any background space, as the advert is dominated by the number of men.  This supports the idea that the smell of the perfume, will never leave you unoticed again.

Having looked at these adverts and shared our thoughts during feedback, I concluded that when looking at these adverts, subconciously our minds take in the information that is being portrayed, which effectively leas us to want to buy a certain product that is being advertised.  In regards to businesses and consumers, businesses have to know their target audience in order to gain the response they want and be successful in selling products or offering a service.  It is vital that they know the demographic profile of their audience; age, income, education... All of this information is important when promoting and advertising.  In as much, marketers need to play with the consumers senses in order to perceive products how marketers exhibit them.