Domestika

Domestika, the company has created the advertisement to sell workshops, and this one was on “how to create original tiktoks and reels” by Helena Palau Arvizu. It is a still advertisement which displays other workshops as you swipe through. This advertisement shows the title, an image of a phone video recording, the previous price of the workshop and the new offer price which is for a limited period. The image allows one to find more information on this workshop by clicking on the “Learn more” hyperlink, and it also has a two liner in the caption about the workshop.

The image is positioned in the centre of this advertisement with a background color similar to green. The main subject is the phone that is positioned in a holder while video recording a person in the middle of the phone screen. The recording has 05:41mins on the clock above stating that it’s been recording for that long and the image before us is a snap from that. The image of the person is slightly blurry, although you can tell that the person is doing something or in movement. The text on this advertisement has a white background and the text itself is black. The background in the video recording and the background color behind the phone are almost similar.

This conveys a simple message of a workshop on video recording that can help you create tiktoks and reels, and that there’s a limited-time offer on this workshop and it also implies that it will be a virtual one. As for the pictorial elements alone, conveys through its imagery that it’s about videography on the phone, no fancy app, a simple video recording from the camera app. There’s also a grid visible in the video mode, implying perfectionism, accuracy or professionalism.

The image indicates the message in a generic sense, very basic, I’m assuming it’s this way so that the message is clear and not lost with too much information or imagery. I do think it’s effective, but can it be better? Yes, I suppose it could’ve been better or is basic better? With the target group, in my opinion, they would’ve preferred seeing an example of the learnings in this workshop in a video format because after all this is about a video creating/editing workshop. The convincing means in this case is using instagram ads, then it’s the right place for the target audience since major part of instagram is in video format. The effective the image has on me is continuity since the color is the similar in the frame of the phone and behind the phone. Apart from that it doesn’t indicate much interest as a regular video recording can be done even without a workshop. As for the position of the phone in the holder, it does give me the impression that it’s a legitimate workshop.

I’ve seen numerous ads in the past from this same brand: Domestika, and often it’s about various workshops/lessons again. Users have uploaded reviews on ‘Trustpilot’¹ which indicate that Domestika entices through ads and special offers for the workshops, dropping the price from a ridiculously high amount to an absurd low amount giving the impression that it’s a good limited time offer. However, upon reading these reviews, it is mentioned that the company has been charging users additionally, claiming it’s a free trial when they didn’t agree for the same. The amount charged additionally was seen to be almost 4 times the original price before the discount. Users have also mentioned that they aren’t able to delete their credit card information from Domestika’s website and when reported about this, the company apparently reminds the users of their policy of no refund on subscriptions. Non disclosure of opting the free trial/premium plus, no email of the new subscription and direct charge on the card, has made it difficult for users to keep track on the unauthorized charges the company has been making in an underhand way. Better Business Bureau², another reputable source, displays that 117 complaints were made against the company by users. BBB also made attempts to reach out to the company regarding the complaints, however “Consumers state the business is unresponsive to consumer attempts to reach them.” To this date, the Domestika hasn’t resolved these requests. ‘Product Review’³ website has 95% of negative reviews on Domestika, with most comments screaming ‘SCAM’. Similar reviews are observed on ‘Pissed consumer’⁴, another platform for reviews on products and companies, stating that credit cards are charged without consent, no customer service to resolves complaints and no refund. Despite all the complaints, Domestika still continues to operate and put ads. The dissatisfaction still continues to arise while Domestika only responds with automated messages or comments stating that subscription refunds are against their policy. Domestika deletes comments on social media as a response to the complaints.