Perhaps when we hear or read the word imagology for the first time, we have no notion of what it means or what it means, but even if we do not know it, we have already witnessed it more than once.
The word imagology comes from the Latin root "imago", which could be interpreted as an image and is specified as the form, representation, approximation and aspect of a thing, it also comes from the Latin root "logia", which can be interpreted as the exhibition, study of something, although this word is also broken down from "logos", which is simply translated as word.
Knowing which is the origin of the word imagology, we could already break down what this important science studies. Imaging is specified as the precise scientific knowledge to establish, develop a public image, which could be for a person or an organization.
Now comes the turn of the public image, we can interpret it as the perception that all people have about something or someone, which generates a shared group response. If we want to be a little deeper, we can split the public image into two parts, the personal image, which will be exclusively for a single person (an example of this is the public image we have about the current candidates for the presidency of Mexico) and on the other hand is the institutional image, which is already for an organization or a group of people (using the mentioned example of the candidates, in this case it would be the image we have of the political parties they represent).
Key concepts
Although in the introduction to this article we were able to find some definitions of the key concepts, they will be quoted again from different authors, so that the reader will find this reading easier.
Image
"It is a visual representation, which manifests the visual appearance of a real or imaginary object." (Wikipedia, 2018)
"The concept of image has its origin in the Latin" imago "and allows to describe the figure, representation, resemblance, aspect or appearance of a certain thing." (Porto & Merino, 2012)
Public image
“It is the representation or figure of a person or an entity that makes a company. This means that the public image is made up of the set of features recognized by the community. " (Porto & Gardey, Definicion.de, 2014)
Imagology
“It is supported by knowledge of sciences such as Linguistics, psychology, communication, biological anthropology, semiology, design and the history of art and culture, etc. to study and control the stimuli that a person or institution emits, and how these stimuli shape images subordinate to their target audience. " (Latorre, 2010)
Image
According to various authors, an image is the characterization of a reality, a thing or a thought, which has the purpose that a user captures it through the sense of sight and processed through his brain, to return ideas, another different thinking, an opinion, among other things. An image is displayed in order to inform and attach a message to the receiving user.
According to Paredes, Rivera, Vega, & Martinez (2012) we can find three different types of images:
Informative image:
- The informational image is intended to state specific information.
Aesthetic image:
- The aesthetic image is based on the polishing and handling of the visual face.
Descriptive image:
- The descriptive image has the purpose of exposing a concept or some perception in more detail.
Likewise, we can also point to the image within two currents, in the first place we have the immaterial domain of images and on the other hand, there is the domain of images as visual representation.
Immaterial domain of images.
- The immaterial images that remain in our memory are established and that emerge in the form of perspectives, fantasies, guides or representations, ideas, among others.
Mastery of images as a visual representation.
- It is channeled into visual representation such as: schemes, paintings, carvings, portraits, photographs, TV broadcasts, cinema, among others. The images transmitted by these means are appreciated by the senses.
We could put the image as a system, which will grant the user who receives it a judgment or interest on a particular topic, the image will encourage the user to accept or reject what they wanted to transmit, they may or may not sympathize with the.
Gordoa (2004) points out four vital principles about the image, which are:
4 Principles of Public Image
4 principles of the image, own elaboration with information from (Gordoa, 2004)
Advertising
We could define advertising as the way in which an organization or company communicates with its consumers or the general public, since this is how they will make known new products that they launch, their awareness campaigns, among other things. By communication we could define that it is the spoken or unspoken transmission of data, information or knowledge of someone who wants to communicate it and generate a reaction in the user who receives it, this symbol is intended to be used by advertising so that it can induce decisions of future consumers.
In order for the communication process to be carried out with a user, you must first have an issuer, on the subject of advertising are advertisements, the information that is transmitted and to whom it is addressed, which would be the receiver; But it may be the case that in the middle of this summary of actions, a change occurs in the understanding of the message, since it depends on each person how they will understand the message and the final part is where the message will be sent.
As mentioned above, there are times when the message can provoke a different feeling or the information is not understood correctly by the receiver, since much of this depends on whether the message is something that is already known or is something completely different from what we already know, how the receiving user is emotionally, perhaps the appropriate words are not used for understanding, among other factors.
In general terms, what advertising seeks is to be able to change the wishes of customers, since it teaches them how to fulfill any wish they have; change people's inclinations. We could point out that the primary objective of advertising is to establish a brand.
Brands produce permanence, sustainability and security, these 3 terms generate a feeling of union between the product and the customer, they also generate it with the brand itself and the environment that surrounds it.
Advertising helps to define what the image will be or how a certain product or service will be perceived, create links with society, whether emotional, psychological, among others. It can be for profit (commercial) or non-profit (non-commercial).
Advertising will not always be the same throughout the life of the product, a lot has to do with which part of its life stage it is, it may be that the product is within its development stage, the advertising that is handled It will be more focused on improving the image that is perceived of the brand that produces it and that it is a differentiator with respect to its competition, in the case of a new product, the advertising will be of the launch type and its main function is that everyone knows the new product and its characteristics that accompany it.
Depending on the type of advertising that is given to the product, it must contain what is the use and benefits that will give the consumer and the general characteristics of this, since with these you will see what is the final attitude that has the consumer with respect to the product.
Advertising will provoke feelings of need and desire with people, so they must be given reasons to acquire it and with this, make them become a loyal customer of the brand.
Public image
The public image is a fundamental part of the public relations of any organization, of the products that it handles or of a particular person. Here it is necessary to analyze the way in which the organization or the person will show themselves to society, which is what characterizes them, their values, among other things, in order to create a bond of sympathy with people.
In the professional sphere, the control of the public image overcomes the sensible and rational control, of various elements of the identity, both existential and visual (being an organization or a person) in order to create links with the perception that a person has in particular, a community, consumers of a brand, supporters of a public figure, among others, to form a positive idea or perception about the person or an organization.
Any company or person who is considered a public person or an influencerIt is practically all the time generating messages, without these having to be through speeches or spoken communication. The messages that the previously mentioned identities generate are given by the simple event that they already exist. But even if we do not realize it, the organization and the influential person have conscientious control of these messages, since they generate them in a rational way, so that they carry the communication they want between different sectors of the population.
For a message transmitted by organizations or people to be coherent and effective, they must have very marked and well polished identity codes, in which they will hold the basic characteristics of the creation of a public image.
Building a public image
According to Soto (2017), 5 factors that must be polished must be polished so that an influential person (be it a politician, CEO of a company, among others) can have a successful public image:
- Identity Attitude Behavior Speech Clothing
In the part of identity, this composes the essence of the public person and is the foundation for the construction of the image with which they will be perceived. Identity, among other elements, is formed by its unique "genetics" and causes a person to be unique and unrepeatable, together with the psychological, social, financial, school, culture, religious characteristics, among others that define it.
At the time that the public image of the person is designed, if it does not use the true identity of the person, the image that is generated will not be credible to the rest of the people and will generate mistrust.
It may be common for us to think that according to the position that a CEO or director of an important company has, they have to transmit an image of power, someone cold and calculating, who has great control over the rest of their collaborators; But if the way of being of the person is to be kind, cordial, affectionate with the rest of the people, they will have to find a middle point that allows them to preserve their cordial image but at the same time provoking an image of respect before their collaborators and the other people with whom you interact.
The interpretation and creation of a public image is not a process at all simple or easy to carry out, since it depends not only on personal factors, but also on the environment where it is located, therefore the public image will be formed with the need of the person and with the needs of the public to whom that public image is going to be addressed.
Bases of the public image
- According to many specialists, people usually make their decisions based on their visual perception of things, that is why sight plays an important role in influencing the opinion that a person has about a person. public person or an organization.The brain gives an almost immediate response when it is subjected to different provocations, it is enough that we see an image for a couple of seconds for our brain to send us a response, thanks to this we will create an opinion or a judgment. person (including ourselves) we provoke an image that will be perceived by the rest of the people, although we are not aware of this, since when living with the rest of the people, they will create an opinion about the other person, with whom they are interacting.As mentioned earlier in this article, the image that will be shown to the rest of society must contain the identity of the person, since if it does not have it, the image that is transmitted will not have credibility and will affect the person in a negative way.. A positive image is synonymous with a good influence with people, the more positive and sympathetic you feel with it, the person will exert more influence with the community.
What is the importance of public image?
It was the year 1960 when the crucial political debate between the candidates for the presidency of the United States of America, they were Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, was broadcast live on television.
This reached all the American people by radio and television, who had listened to it on the radio without being able to look at the candidates, were totally sure that the debate had been won by Nixon with all clarity. Those who had witnessed it on television, which by then had been the majority of Americans, were totally convinced that the winner had been the candidate of the Democratic party, Kennedy.
It was not long since Nixon had left the hospital (only a few weeks) due to discomfort in his knee, which is why, when he presented himself to the debate, he looked tremendously tired, with dark circles, symptoms of discomfort and finally when I got to the forum of the television channel, he did not want to be put on makeup to try to counteract these symptoms a bit.
On the other side of the coin, candidate Kennedy looked much younger than he really was, an attractive and interesting personality, very laid back and with a totally carefree attitude. The story ends with Kennedy winning the elections to become president of the United States, but it was by a very short margin, various experts point out that this small margin was due to the fact that those who saw Kennedy on television indicated that he had won that encounter.
From that moment on, the work of public image advisers began to be taken seriously, pointing out that appearance and non-verbal communication had a great weight when voters carried out their election for president of the country.
Public image consultancy (especially politics) is a part of communication that causes a little mistrust among people. For people who are against, they point out that the public image makes something superficial what politics or anything else really is. But for people who are in favor of this practice, they point out that there is nothing superficial since it investigates the person in depth to show who they are and sympathize with people.
The control / advice of the public image, is therefore, a methodological work, well structured, that must be well planned and not at all improvised and that if it is done with knowledge of the subject and the experience of whoever does it is noted, It will ensure that the person has the desired leadership and sympathy and ensures that it will be on the public's lips in a positive way for a long time.
Imagology
Imaging is a concept that was born during the last century, at the beginning of the 40's to be a little more exact. This is based mainly on the study and analysis of the public image, which can be of a person or an organization. Various specialists point out that the creator of this term is the Czech writer Milan Kundera, although his definition was a little different from what we currently know, he was the one who introduced the word as such.
According to Gordoa (2004), we can consider imaging as the methodological study carried out on the public image, which contains tactics that lead to analyze the reactions provoked by a certain organization or person, starting not only from the physical, but also of their non-verbal and verbal communication, so that by putting together everything mentioned above, these characteristics generate an appropriate image between what is said and done within their social context.
One of the objectives posed by the imagology is to make the person or organization known, respect their conditions and their origin, as well as identify the possible areas of opportunity that they may have. In this way, it is possible to build a strategy that has a physical, professional, visual, audiovisual, environmental and verbal impact when displaying the image and that this generates credibility and trust.
Thesis proposal.
Improve the public image of the Combustlan SA de CV gas station
Objective.
Improve the public image that people in the area have of the Combustlan gas station, using different imaging tools to improve the perception of it and increase its sales.
Thanks.
I thank my family, for giving me all the support and the drive to continue day by day, to the Technological Institute of Orizaba for opening its doors to me and allowing me to continue my studies with the Master in Administrative Engineering and Doctor Fernando Aguirre y Hernández for motivating me with their Knowledge in the Administrative Engineering Foundations seminar to carry out each of the assigned articles.
Conclusion.
As it was possible to read the imagology, it is not something that should be taken lightly, since unconsciously although we do not perceive it, we are interacting with it all the time, since we all have an opinion, whether good or bad, of different organizations or people. When it is good, we sympathize with it, it causes us joy, we recommend it to our acquaintances, among other things, now we know what is behind all this.
A good study of the public image and the imagery will only bring good things for the organization or the people, we could read in this article that it is capable of winning the presidential elections in the most powerful country in the world.
In Mexico, there are already some universities that offer a degree in imaging, due to the high impact it has on society.
Bibliography.
40 fever. (sf). 40 fever. Retrieved from
Arens, W. (2008). Advertising. Mexico: MCGRAW-HILL / INTERAMERICANA DE MEXICO.
Gordoa, V. (2004). The Power of Public Image: Master Plan to Inspire Confidence and Gain Credibility. In V. Gordoa, The Power of Public Image: Master Plan to Inspire Confidence and Gain Credibility. Mexico: Grijalbo.
Latorre, J. (July 20, 2010). Imagologia.jorge. Retrieved from
Paredes, AR, Rivera, AJ, Vega, LL, & Martinez, SI (November 2012). Thesis.IPN. Obtained from
hesis.ipn.mx/bitstream/handle/123456789/20812/Linguistica.pdf?sequence= 1 & isAllowed = y
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Porto, JP, & Merino, M. (2012). Definition of. Retrieved from
Soto, R. (December 5, 2017). roxanasoto.me. Obtained from
Wikipedia. (March 30, 2018). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Obtained from
An influencer is a person who has a certain credibility on a specific topic, and due to their presence and influence on social networks, they can become an interesting advocate for a brand. (40 fever).
