Research Blog

Research

All companies research what they are going to sell so they can get information. research helps to gather information that can provide insights into consumer buying habits, needs, choices, opinions, and interests. It helps the organization to implement the most suitable marketing mix for the success. This gives the company the idea of what they should do with their product to make it more appealing to the general public. Currently the Pokémon is one of the most popular franchises in the world.

The creator of Pokémon was born in Japan, in his Pokémon games he used things that used to do as a child like bug collecting, a popular pastime which Pokémon executive director Satoshi Tajiri-Oniwa enjoyed as a child. The Pokémon product is appealing to many children, this is because they are simple things which children find amusing, the content is easy to understandable and is easy for the child’s mind to grasp, the level of sophistication of the product is very low, simple terms, colours and symbols are used to keep their attention. The Pokémon franchise targets the child audience and relies most on that audience. The Pokémon game touched children’s hearts. Its part of player’s curiosity and what they are interested in. It delivers a new world for them to explore.

The audiences that the Pokémon franchise targeted love most of the products the company produces, just recently Pokémon Black and White were released recently they were and still are really popular, every generation that has had Pokémon think its timeless and they will always buy the newest Pokémon game because they love the adventure it brings. There are a few different Pokémon audiences which of each respond differently, there are hardcore Pokémon lovers that love the franchise and they consider it to be there all-time favourite source of entertainment, then there are people that like Pokémon products but they don’t go crazy like the other hardcore fans and children, children love Pokémon for them it is like they are exploring a new world and they can do anything they want, meeting new people, making new things and catching new Pokémon. The Franchise has the power to influence children and adults, not just children this is because the game has different aspects for everyone, the Pokémon, the world, the things to do everything is possible in Pokémon and every generation recognizes this.

There has been a lot of controversies throughout Pokémon, it did get cancelled for causing many views to have an epileptic fit, Flashing lights and colours on screen caused the TV series to be cancelled for eleven months, There has been speculation that there is racism some of the episodes (All Things Bright and Beautifly!), A Team Rocket fantasy involves Jessie, James and Meowth, as well as many Team Rocket Grunts, raising their hands in a manner somewhat similar to the Hitler salute, the Pokémon called Jynx was claimed to look like a negative racial stereotype of African-Americans.

There has also been acclaimed Satanism in Pokémon, some people say Pokémon are like demons because they are captured and must be called upon to perform tasks, magical talismans (Gym Badges) are needed to control them, Pokémon evolve though this transformation is more akin to metamorphosis in most Pokémon, the theory of evolution is denied entirely by the most fundamentalist creationists and some people claim that if you play the Pokérap backwards you can hear I love Satan.

There has been many deleted scenes in Pokémon the famous "Bikini Pokémon Scene" that was deleted which wasn’t appropriate for children, it is easy to find on YouTube and was right to be kept from kids. My response to the Pokémon franchise is, I love Pokémon, It has been around since I was a child and my generation has grown up with it, The games are popular and the TV series was successful, Years ago everybody collected Pokémon trading cards because it was fun and interesting, everyone always wanted to have the all the cards and be the best.

The Media doesn’t tell us what to think but it does tell us what to think about, for example when you watch the news it is the companies decision of what they put on so they decide what the ‘News’ actually is and people discuss the news all the time so it could be said that the media make us talk about the ‘news’ which is broadcast by them.

The Hypodermic Needle Theory is believed to make audiences be directly affected by what they see and hear, buy what they are advertised, they will be more violent after seeing violence or they will be kinder after seeing your hero onscreen being kind Although it’s still just a theory, advertisers still spend billions on advertising and the repetition of a message starts to make it sound true but on the other hand we aren’t robots and we don’t take in everything we hear and we are not islands we discuss what we see and hear with each other and decide how to respond ourselves. In sum up this theory has a direct effect on the viewer. This would mean if a child we’re to watch Pokémon they may go out and maybe throw something that looks like a Poke ball at a cat or a different animal.

This is the Cultivation Theory, The media doesn’t literally control us or completely influence us to do things, but it does influence how we understand society. I mean watching TV doesn’t necessarily make you violent but it may make you think the world is a more violent place than it actually is. This is an indirect version of the Hypodermic Needle Theory. if you want to talk about messages that might cause an indirect effect on viewers this is Basically what the Cultivation Theory means .

In the Reception Theory the meaning of the text is constructed by the viewer different viewers,
with different life experiences will construct different meanings for themselves. There are 3 ways that audiences respond to a media message, Dominant, Negotiated and Oppositional. In the Dominant Response they fully accept the message in the text and reproduce it in themselves no resistance, completely influenced. In the Negotiated Response they accept some elements and modify others to fit in with their world view, some influence. In the oppositional response they reject the text entirely as false and read it in a different light, no influence, and complete rejection of the message.

In the Uses and Gratifications Theory people use the media to gratify their needs,Escape – Like in Grand Theft Auto, Can do anything free of consequence, unlike in real life.

Social Interaction – Pokémon Cards, Children have common interest with others or discussing a TV programme with others.

Identity – Simpsons, The use of role models.

Information – Channel 4 News.

Entertainment – All or none of the above, just for the fun of it.