Page 379 - Gabrijela Kišiček and Igor Ž. Žagar (eds.), What do we know about the world? Rhetorical and argumentative perspectives, Digital Library, Educational Research Institute, Ljubljana 2013
P. 379
stakeholders in promotional genres:
a rhetorical perspective on marketing communication 379
lease titled “Xylo-Mepha – lo spray nasale senza conservanti”7 was pub-
lished on pressportal.ch on October 31st 2005 to launch the nasal spray
and give information about it; the press release was issued by Mepha
Pharma AG and Martina Beranek is indicated as the person to contact
in order to have more information about the launch of the product. The
brochure is composed of 6 pages: the front page shows the picture of a
woman and a little girl smiling at each other and the title “Meglio infor-
mati sul raffreddore”8, the back page gives details about who should use
the product (a pack shot of the product is also depicted) and how, inter-
nal pages give information on what is a cold. The same image of a wom-
an and a little girl is employed as the visual of the print ad published on
SunStore; the headline reads “Raffreddore? Xylo-Mepha Libera il naso
in pochi minuti – per ore”9 and it is matched with the pack shot of the
nasal spray. The TV commercial has a problem-solution structure: the
viewer sees a woman suffering from a cold and the product Xylo-Me-
pha, the same woman is then presented happily playing in the snow with
her little girl. In the following sections, firstly we characterize the four
texts from the point of view of genre, by highlighting the exigency they
face and by describing the goal they pursue. Secondly, we identify their
stakeholders.
5.1. In Terms of Genre
These four texts are responses to the producer’s exigency of selling
the product. The officium of all these four texts is to positively modify
this exigency by making the rhetorical audience aware of the factual con-
dition (the Xylo-Mepha nasal spray) and its interest (all the advantages
it provides in respect to other nasal sprays), thus awakening in it an exi-
gency (to benefit from Xylo-Mepha nasal spray) that pushes to an action
(to buy Xylo-Mepha nasal spray) capable of modifying the producer’s ex-
igency of selling the product. This is an exigency that creates a complex
rhetorical situation (Bitzer 1968: 12) and, as it is the case for most rhetor-
ical situations in the realm of business communication, a highly struc-
tured one (Bitzer, 1968: 12), i.e. a rhetorical situation that employs usu-
al and well-known communicative practices, for which in the course of
time a structured rhetorical response has been elaborated. This structured
rhetorical response corresponds to Bakhtinian discourse genres.
7 [“Xyo-Mepha – the nasal spray without preservatives”] Authors’ translation.
8 [“Better informed on cold”] Authors’ translation.
9 [“Cold? Xylo-Mepha Unblock you nose in few minutes – for hours] Authors’ translation.
a rhetorical perspective on marketing communication 379
lease titled “Xylo-Mepha – lo spray nasale senza conservanti”7 was pub-
lished on pressportal.ch on October 31st 2005 to launch the nasal spray
and give information about it; the press release was issued by Mepha
Pharma AG and Martina Beranek is indicated as the person to contact
in order to have more information about the launch of the product. The
brochure is composed of 6 pages: the front page shows the picture of a
woman and a little girl smiling at each other and the title “Meglio infor-
mati sul raffreddore”8, the back page gives details about who should use
the product (a pack shot of the product is also depicted) and how, inter-
nal pages give information on what is a cold. The same image of a wom-
an and a little girl is employed as the visual of the print ad published on
SunStore; the headline reads “Raffreddore? Xylo-Mepha Libera il naso
in pochi minuti – per ore”9 and it is matched with the pack shot of the
nasal spray. The TV commercial has a problem-solution structure: the
viewer sees a woman suffering from a cold and the product Xylo-Me-
pha, the same woman is then presented happily playing in the snow with
her little girl. In the following sections, firstly we characterize the four
texts from the point of view of genre, by highlighting the exigency they
face and by describing the goal they pursue. Secondly, we identify their
stakeholders.
5.1. In Terms of Genre
These four texts are responses to the producer’s exigency of selling
the product. The officium of all these four texts is to positively modify
this exigency by making the rhetorical audience aware of the factual con-
dition (the Xylo-Mepha nasal spray) and its interest (all the advantages
it provides in respect to other nasal sprays), thus awakening in it an exi-
gency (to benefit from Xylo-Mepha nasal spray) that pushes to an action
(to buy Xylo-Mepha nasal spray) capable of modifying the producer’s ex-
igency of selling the product. This is an exigency that creates a complex
rhetorical situation (Bitzer 1968: 12) and, as it is the case for most rhetor-
ical situations in the realm of business communication, a highly struc-
tured one (Bitzer, 1968: 12), i.e. a rhetorical situation that employs usu-
al and well-known communicative practices, for which in the course of
time a structured rhetorical response has been elaborated. This structured
rhetorical response corresponds to Bakhtinian discourse genres.
7 [“Xyo-Mepha – the nasal spray without preservatives”] Authors’ translation.
8 [“Better informed on cold”] Authors’ translation.
9 [“Cold? Xylo-Mepha Unblock you nose in few minutes – for hours] Authors’ translation.
