Conventional advertising tools in the PR strategy of the social network "VKontakte"

Nacharova Liudmila Igorevna ORCID: 0009-0005-3244-2481 Lecturer; Department of Foreign Languages No. 1; Plekhanov Russian University of Economics Postgraduate student; Department of Journalism, Media Communications and Advertising; A.S. Griboyedov Moscow University 100 Rusanova St., office of Moscow, 129323, Russia, Moscow luda_konstant@mail.ru Other publications by this author

The word "advertisement" comes from the Latin verb "reclamare", which means "to shout" or "shout out" ^{[1, p. 72]}. As A.B. Orishev notes in his article, "in ancient Rome, this term was used in the meaning of "to urge," "to object," or "to announce aloud." Over time, the word "advertising" has acquired a modern meaning – the public dissemination of information about goods, services, or ideas in order to attract attention and encourage people to take certain actions, usually to purchase" ^{[2, p. 5]}. The author of the article adds: "Note that when a person shouts, he wants to emphasize the importance of the message. Consequently, advertising is not just words, but vital information transmitted from one to another" ^{[2, p. 6]}.

Thus, one of the established meanings of the concept of advertising is "notification in various ways to create widespread awareness, attract consumers, viewers, as well as an announcement with such an alert" ^{[3, p. 411]}.

"Traditional" advertising tools are so called because they were used long before the advent of digital and Internet technologies and for a long time remained the main means of communication between brands and consumers. These tools have well-established methods and techniques of influencing the audience, which have proven their effectiveness and have become classic in the field of marketing and advertising.

The main traditional advertising tools include ^{[4, p. 213]}:

1. Television advertising: the use of commercials broadcast on television. It has a wide reach and the ability to visually and audibly influence the viewer.

2. Radio Advertising: advertising messages broadcast on radio stations. It provides an opportunity to reach an audience in mobile settings, for example, in transport.

3. Print advertising: ads and advertising modules published in newspapers, magazines and other printed publications. This type of advertising allows you to focus on visual and textual impact.

4. Outdoor advertising: placement of advertising messages on billboards, posters and other outdoor media. It covers a wide range of consumers in public places.

5. Direct mail (direct mail): sending promotional materials directly to the postal addresses of consumers. Mailing to e-mail addresses is also used. This tool allows you to target specific audience segments.

6. POS materials (English points of sales - at points of sale): the use of promotional materials (samples, display cases, displays) directly at points of sale to stimulate impulse purchases.

Traditionally, advertising has been used to promote products or services. As noted earlier, social networks are a hybrid of new media, a social community, as well as services and goods provided by the companies that own them. Therefore, traditional methods of promotion can also be used by such companies to advertise and attract attention to social networks.

With the development of digital advertising, these methods of promotion continue to be used, but their meaning has changed depending on the specifics of the target audience and the nature of the goods and services being promoted ^{[5, p. 115]}. With the transition to digital media, traditional advertising tools have undergone significant changes. This is especially true for the promotion of online communities, which are much more complex than a product or service, and at the same time are a community of actors of these networks and a media channel, which, in turn, are online platforms offering services to promote goods and services for other companies.

David Ogilvy, one of the influential figures in the history of advertising, defined advertising as a tool whose main task is to sell a product, and not just to create creative or aesthetically pleasing messages ^{[6, p. 24]}. Ogilvy believed that advertising should be truthful, informative and aimed at meeting the needs of consumers. His approach is that effective advertising focuses on the unique advantages of the product and emphasizes them in such a way as to encourage the target audience to purchase ^{[6, p. 26]}. In his famous book Ogilvy on Advertising ^[6], the author notes that "advertising that does not sell cannot be effective," emphasizing that the ultimate goal of advertising should always be commercial gain.

As modern practice shows, the effectiveness of modern traditional advertising is controversial, and despite its many advantages, marketing practitioners are increasingly questioning its methods of communicating information to consumers, and, accordingly, its effectiveness is being questioned ^{[7, p. 61]}.

The main advantages of traditional advertising include wide audience coverage. Television and radio are able to reach significant audiences in various geographical regions, providing a massive impact on target groups. Outdoor advertising and print media also work effectively at the local level, contributing to the creation of brand awareness. In addition, traditional advertising channels have a high level of trust among consumers. Many of them perceive information coming from such sources as more reliable and verified, due to the long history and reputation of these media.

When forming a traditional advertising message, it is important to take into account the local cultural aspect, since culture significantly affects the perception and interpretation of information by the audience. Different societies have unique norms, values, traditions, and symbols that can both enhance and weaken the impact of advertising. For example, images, colors, communication style, or humor that are effective in one culture may be unacceptable or misunderstood in another. As A.B. Orishev notes, "for centuries, the most important characteristic of Russian advertising has been its ability to entertain. Advertising in Russia has never been limited to the informational function." ^{[2, c. 11]}. Advertising messages are perceived as a kind of gambling game in which consumers willingly participate. Also, as the author notes, "the main features of the Russian audience include: the ineffectiveness of arguments about obtaining benefits over a long period of time (the Russian consumer seeks to get everything here and now); the popularity of national motifs and ornaments (heroes of Russian epics and fairy tales arouse interest). References to patriotism serve as a guarantee of the success of the advertising message." Also, according to experts, Russia is a country where people often act as experts. Giving advice is one of the favorite activities of the Russian audience, and many consider themselves experts in areas such as football, barbecue cooking, fishing, or financial management. That is why the use of images of specialists in Russian advertising is so effective ^{[2, p. 12]}.

Another important advantage is the visual and emotional power inherent in television and print advertising. The ability to convey complex ideas through visual images, audio effects, and text allows for a deeper impact on the emotional aspects of perception, which contributes to effective brand formation. Traditional advertising formats also play a significant role in creating a company's or product's image, as they can attract attention and elicit an emotional response through high-quality creative solutions.

However, traditional types of advertising have a number of significant drawbacks, which, in our case, limit their effectiveness in the modern advertising landscape. First of all, it is the difficulty of measuring effectiveness. Unlike digital advertising, where you can accurately track clicks, conversions, and user behavior, traditional media does not provide such opportunities to accurately assess the return on investment. This makes it difficult to understand how successful an advertising campaign is and creates problems with optimizing the advertising budget.

High costs are also a significant barrier to using traditional advertising. For example, advertising on television and in popular print media requires significant financial investments, especially for placement in prime time or prominent positions. This makes traditional formats less accessible to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as startups.

In addition, the low degree of targeting of traditional advertising channels reduces their effectiveness. According to marketer B. Sharpe, "advertising provides great coverage, but very little direct impact at the level of an individual consumer" ^{[8, p. 184]}. It is important to emphasize the fact that advertising is usually perceived as a one-sided type of communication, which reduces the number and effectiveness of mechanisms for influencing the audience. Unlike digital advertising, which allows you to accurately target advertising messages to specific audience segments, taking into account demographic data and interests, traditional channels operate on a broad-coverage model, which can lead to significant resource losses to reach irrelevant segments.

According to the observations of modern marketers, Russians have a negative attitude towards direct traditional advertising. She may seem intrusive, intrusive, persistent, and interfering with watching the show or reading the news. In Russian culture, an important role is played by the subtext and common understanding that underlies communication. Excessive directness and clarity can be perceived as audacity, aggressiveness, or lack of tact. It is quite acceptable to use hints and allegorical expressions as communication strategies, and speculation is considered a common part of interaction ^{[2, p. 11]}.

One of the important tasks facing sociologists and marketers is to change the attitude towards advertising among the population. Thus, studies conducted in Russia in the 2020s ^{[2, p. 14]} continue to demonstrate the predominance of negative perception of advertising messages.

Traditional advertising methods such as television, radio, print media, and outdoor advertising are characterized by longer production and placement cycles, which limits their ability to respond quickly to changes in the modern world. In the context of a dynamically developing information space and a rapidly changing agenda, this slowness is becoming one of the significant disadvantages of such advertising formats.

Creating a television commercial or print campaign requires significant time and financial resources: from the development of a concept and script to filming, production of promotional material and its approval. Even if the team is highly prepared and the budget is available, the process can take several weeks, and sometimes even months. Radio and outdoor advertising also take time to produce and coordinate. At the same time, the placement of such materials should be planned in advance, especially when it comes to airing in popular time slots or placing on highly competitive advertising platforms. This process makes traditional advertising methods poorly adapted to work with current events and trends.

The modern world, however, is moving at high speed: events unfold at lightning speed, public sentiment is changing rapidly, and trends relevant today may become obsolete tomorrow. In such circumstances, advertising must be flexible and adaptable in order to remain relevant. This is especially important for brands seeking to retain the attention of a young audience that is accustomed to the instant availability of information and actively monitors changes in the socio-cultural and political spheres.

In addition, traditional advertising formats often do not have the ability to adjust their messages in real time based on audience reactions or new data. This makes such campaigns less flexible in an ever-changing information environment. For example, if a company wants to respond quickly to a relevant event or trend, traditional advertising methods do not always allow it to be done promptly. As a result, she may lose the opportunity to seize the moment and not be able to adapt to the changed agenda in time.

Digital advertising, especially on social networks and online platforms, provides much more opportunities for flexibility and rapid response ^{[9, p. 185]}. Tools such as contextual advertising, targeting, and native integrations allow you to quickly change advertising messages and adapt them to the current needs and interests of the audience. Modern technologies make it possible to monitor user behavior in real time and adjust advertising campaigns accordingly.

Thus, despite their advantages, such as wide reach, audience trust, and emotional impact, traditional types of advertising face limitations related to the difficulty of measurement, the psychological and cultural characteristics of the recipient of the information message, high costs, a lengthy content production process, and, as a result, not always high relevance of the offer, as well as insufficient targeting accuracy. These factors emphasize the need for their integration with digital formats to achieve maximum efficiency in modern conditions. As B. Sharpe notes, "advertising causes trouble for both sociologists and finance directors: the first is because they believe that it works, and the second is because they are sure that it does not work" ^{[8, p. 176]}.

Advertising has its effect mainly due to the fact that it periodically updates and creates mental images and associations in the memory of consumers ^{[8, p. 184]}. The task of the creators of the promotion campaigns is to study these images and ensure that they are constantly updated through the consistent use of key brand elements. Thus, advertising should not only inform, but also support existing ideas about the brand.

An advertising message that does not directly seek to convince or provide new arguments in favor of a purchase can have a positive effect on sales. It can influence consumers by gradually changing their opinion of the brand and remaining almost invisible to them. This explains why large brands that have been on the market for a long time continue to actively invest in advertising. The more well-known a brand is, the more funds need to be invested in maintaining its presence on the market, even if it has long gained popularity ^{[10, p. 133]}.

If an advertising product is able to attract attention, be remembered, and update or strengthen existing brand associations, this increases the likelihood that the brand will be noticed at the time of purchase. Thus, advertising enhances the brand's mental accessibility and visibility in the market. The impact of advertising on the probability of purchase is due to its effect on memory. Well-established associations remain in the memory of consumers, which makes broad-based media strategies particularly effective. It is important that the advertisement is permanent, since a break in its display can weaken the formed images and associations ^{[11, p. 213]}.

Thus, advertising not only creates connections between the brand and the consumer, but also maintains them in memory, making the brand recognizable and accessible for subsequent purchases. That is why the constant updating and maintenance of the brand through its advertising is a key factor in its success and sustainability in the market. However, to promote social media, the negative aspects of traditional promotion methods should also be taken into account.

As an example, let's note that the social network VKontakte relies on traditional methods of promoting its services and digital goods. According to information from the official press release of the company, after the slowdown of Youtube in the Russian Federation, in September 2024, "the federal advertising campaign was launched on TV, on the Internet, as well as in outdoor advertising: metro, airports and train stations, universities, fitness centers and media facades in the largest cities of Russia" ^[13]. It should be noted that such promotion channels are not quite typical in relation to social networks. These methods of distributing advertising information do not reflect the social nature of such platforms ^{[12, p. 230]}, but continue the traditions of standard offering and advertising of services, without using modern achievements and sufficiently developed in many countries of the world (as well as more appropriate) principles of perception management in relation to the expansion of online communities.

However, it is worth noting an interesting move that the company took in this regard, when "funny reviews about the work of the platform" were posted on advertising banners in the largest cities of Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg) ^[14].

Fig. 1 – VKontakte outdoor advertising campaign in August 2024 ^[14]

According to the information on the page of the online news resource "Gazeta.ru ": "The reviews contain encrypted names of famous personalities who joke and act out their roles. For example, Olga B. urges not to be afraid of anything and download the application, since there is only one life. The hamster laments that now it is not him who is being tapped, but the video. User Azamat M. writes that there is not enough Azamat on the platform, Dorokhov D. claims that there is too much. With the help of an advertising campaign, the VK Video team intends to introduce the audience to a platform where you can find a variety of video content" ^[14].

Words used in the advertising message ("tap") They are addressed to a youth audience that uses them in informal communication (see Figure 1). Also, we see signatures – these are not real names, but so-called "nicknames" - names used by netizens ("Hamster", "Oksana 69"). In addition, the names ("Azamat") they reflect a focus on certain national groups. The comments themselves show that these users understand the problems faced by their target audience, and as members of the VKontakte network, they say that this platform can help solve them by offering a first-hand user experience in the same informal way that users of online communities are used to seeing. These messages reflect the main concerns and discontents that the audience is experiencing, and commentators assure that in their case they have a different, pleasant experience using VKontakte: "Don't be afraid of anything, life is one, download." In this message, you can find links to the security of users' personal data, and to pirated content, which was the initial competitive advantage of the platform. It also reflects a rebellion against the limitations of the system and, possibly, a hint of certain kinds of prohibited content that may be available on the platform. Also, the comments send an audio signal that, unlike Youtube, which takes a long time to load (due to its slowdown in the country), VKontakte represents the usual video speed for users, which they lack ("The application is very fast, just like my ex"). A particularly interesting dissatisfied comment from the user "Yutub2024": "Everything is loading too fast for them (". Here we see a reference to a platform that disappointed users with its speed in the usual negative feed for online communication. The parenthesis "(" shown at the end of the comment indicates dissatisfaction. It is worth noting that this way of expressing emotions with the help of "smiles" addresses the message not only to young people (as in the previous cases described), but also to mature age categories.

It is noteworthy that the time of the appearance of these banners and their presence on the streets of cities coincided with the moment of Youtube's slowdown in Russia, and the advertising text reflected the situation, as well as offered a way out of it. Thus, the timeliness and relevance of the information attracted the attention of the audience and demonstrated the modernity of such a policy, as well as the fact that the members of the VKontakte community understand their audience and are ready to offer them a worthy alternative. As it was shown earlier, one of the main functions of traditional advertising is to remind, activate memories, and offer information that is necessary and important to the audience, and in this case, it was a timely move.

At the same time, banner ads were placed on the most popular search platform in Russia, Yandex Zen, also owned by the VK group of companies (see Fig. 2).

Fig. 2 – VKontakte advertising banner on the Internet in August 2024 ^[15]

In this case, the nature of the message has a classic look for traditional advertising messages (the faces of famous bloggers who offer their video materials on the platform are placed). The type of advertising banner does not reflect creativity in its message, but it demonstrates the understanding of its creators that it is for the content of certain bloggers that users can come to this platform. At the same time, there is a risk of "not getting into the target audience", since many users may not be familiar with these faces, and traditional advertising has the main advantage of its particularly large audience reach – that is, in this case, the money spent on it may not justify itself if the people depicted are not they will not cause any emotional response from the Yandex user who sees the advertisement.

Thus, the social network VKontakte actively uses traditional methods of distributing advertising messages. Such messages do not always correspond to the nature of such communities, but they serve their role as a reminder of the network and aim to create a certain image in the eyes of the audience. In addition, the use of traditional advertising methods for this social network also shows that the creators of such advertising campaigns understand the product and service orientation of the object of promotion, and use typical methods of promotion for goods and services.