Monday, 30 November 2015

AS1:Task 7: Audience Information

Audience Information


Relationship between Audience and Media Product

A media audience is the group of people who purchase a media product. It is a group that the producers are aiming their magazine or TV shot at. They are important because without an audience a media product would not sell and so would not make money.

 Audience 

 An individual or collective group of people who read or consume any media texts. For example: Radio Listeners, Television viewers, Newspapers and magazine readers, Web traffic on web sites. 

 Why are audiences important?

 Audiences are important because without an audience there would be no media. Media organization produce media texts to make profit- no audience = no profit. The mass media is becoming more competitive than ever to attract more and more audience in different ways and stay profitable

New Technologies had bought impact  on Audiences.

 Old media such as TV, Print and Ratio, which used to have a high numbers of audiences must now work harder to maintain audience numbers. Digital technology has also led to an increasing uncertainty over how we define an audience, with the general agreement that a large group of people reading the same thing at the same time is outdated and that audiences are now 'fragmented'.

Fragmented audience:

 The division of audiences into smaller groups due to the variety of media outlets. For example:  With newspapers and magazines- you can now view hard copy and online version that are sometimes free. The aim is to hit as many people as possible/sell more copies/generate a larger audience. But measuring audience becomes hard! You can have people who only looks online, some read the hard copy or some do both! 

 Audiences can be divided into categories based on social class/grade.

Psychographics

 Every advertisers wants to target a particular type of audience. Therefore, media companies produce texts that target a particular 'type' of audiences. In terms of commercial media, much of their funding is generated by advertising revenue. Their product needs to appeal to a specific type of audience so that advertisers will pay to promote their product. Most media products can be define their 'typical' audience member, often with a psychographics profile.

 This is the study of personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles. This is because this area of research focuses on:
  • Interest,
  • Activities
  • Opinions
 Hence psychographic factors are also called IAO variables


Geodemographics

 Geodemographics segmentation is based on two simple principles:
  1.  People who live in the same neighborhood  are more likely to have a similar characteristics than are two people chosen at random.
  2. Neighborhood can be categorized in terms of the characteristics of the population which they contain. Any two neighborhoods can be placed in the same category, i.e., they contain similar types of people, even though they are widely separated.
Audience demographics (statistical data)

 Once they know: income bracket/status, age, gender, location etc. of their potential audience media producers can be begin to shape their text to appeal to a target audience with known reading/viewing/listening habits.

Where to place your advert:

 Once you have produced your TV advert, it is important to make sure your target audience see it. 

You will want as any relevant people as possible to see your advert. Therefore, it is important you know 'who' and 'how many' people watch different television programmes. 

The more viewers a programme has, the more expensive it is to buy an advertising slot. NB Advertisers particularly like programmes that young people with disposable income watch.

BARB

 BARB is an acronym for Broadcaster's Audience Research Board. BARB was set up in 1981 to provide the industry standard television audience measurement service for broadcasters and the advertising industry. BARB is owned by BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BSkyB and the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) and is a not for profit company limited by guarantee

 Currently, BARB have approximately 5,100 homes (equating to approximately 11,500 individuals) participating in the panel. The box records exactly what programmes they watch, and the panellists indicate who is the room watching by pressing a button on a remote control handset. The data are then collected overnight and published as overnight ratings at around 9:30 the following morning for use by TV stations and the advertising industry.

 The following week, final figures are released which are a combination of the overnight figures with 'time-shift' figures (people recording a programme and watching it within a week). This means that with a total UK population of 58,789,194, according to the 2001 census, each viewer with a BARB reporting box represents over 5,000 people.

 The age groups the BARB agency reported are all individuals aged 4+ are measured and reported by BARB. Within this, a user ay look at any age group they wish.

 The minimum amount of viewing that can contribute to rating with BARB is the viewing is reported by clock minuted. Each clock minute is attributed to the channel that is viewed the longest within the clock minuted subject to there being at least 30 seconds of viewing.

Measuring the number of viewers and listeners is a complex business. The reason for this s that, generally, an audience search agency (e.g. BARB) will select sample of the population and monitor their viewing and listening habits for over the space of 7 days (The Panel).

 What I mean by that is that and agency such as BARB will pick a random person from the population who will then they will monitor to see what that person likes to watch and listens to. This will be on going for 7 days. And if that chosen person likes to watch Eastenders for example, then the agency will estimate that this is how much viewers watch this programme and listen to this as they can base it all to that person's age, sex, gender, and where that person lives.

 The data gained is then extrapolated to cover the whole population, based on the percentage sample. It is by no means an accurate science. The numbers obtained are known as the viewing figures or ratings.






Wednesday, 25 November 2015

AS1:Task 6: Methods of Research

METHODS OF RESEARCH



It is important to conduct a research before planning to start a new advertising campaign because starting a new advertising campaign without any planning can lead to problems therefore it is important to conduct a research before you start planning to start a new advertising campaign.

There are three different types of research. That three different types of research are:

> Audience Research:

  Who will be the audience for an advertisement depends on what type of advert the company had produced. If the advert is advertising  for a cereal product such as coco pops then the target audience these company is targeting are those ages from 5-12. However, their parents could also be the target as they will be the one who will choose whether this cereal product will be good for their children or not.

 On the other hand, if a company advertises products such a Lynx then the target audience will be adult men as this product are mainly for men not for women nor children.

> Market Research:

 It is important to understand the market within which product will compete with other products for audience and revenue. 
-Competitors- existing products.
-Audience Awareness of media products 
-Attitudes towards products and services and pattern of behaviour.

> Production Research:

 Production research is directly related to the production of media products (in our case the advert)
-Access viability
-Plan production logistics (staff, locations, licenses, equipment)

The Researcher

 What a researcher do is the they look for the people who use the media products. They use different types of research depending on what they want to look for.

Primary Research 
- Is when we do a research that is completely new and no one else has ever done it before. The information came from the researcher and the researcher didn't use any websites to have his/her information . The information was original and not copied.

 Whereas, Secondary Research is when we cheat and use somebody else's information and change it a bit so its not fully copied. The research is done by someone else. That someone else used a primary research in where we then turn it into secondary research.

Quantitive Research
-Is when a researcher just want to know simple information like how old my audiences are or how often they buy my product or how old a movie is.

 Quantitive Research can be shown as a set of numbers. For example: The movie called 'Titanic' was produced in 1997 whereas the Titanic sunk on the 14th-15th April 1912. Quantitive Research can also be displayed as charts and graphs and can also be measured.

 Qualitative research helps find out the way people feel, responses are personal and can't really be measured






Friday, 20 November 2015

AS1: Task 5: Regulation

Advertising Standards Authority and Office of Communication

ASA and OfCom



        Advertising needs to be regulated. Regulation takes place in two main bodies, the ASA and Ofcom.

       The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is UK's independent regulator of advertising across all media. They apply the Advertising Codes which are written by the Committees of Advertising Practice ( the sister of organisation of of the Advertising Standards Authority. They are responsible for the constant revising and updating of the British Code of Advertising, Direct marketing and Sales Promotion through Code Policy Team. Their work includes acting on complaints and proactively checking the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements. Each year, ASA consider over 30,000 complaints about around 2,000 ads.

       The type of advertising ASA covers are those adverts that goes in the magazines  and newspapers, radio and TV commercials, advertisement on the internet such as banner and display ads. They also cover for the leaflets and brochures, ads on CD ROMs , DVD and videos, sales promotions such as special offers and prize draws.

Each year, ASA receives complaints about ads and they to response to this complaints by giving the audience choices to how they can complaint, if they have any questions regarding about their complaints or about their problems.

       ASA use the most common questions that are being asked about how to handle complaints. Here are some of the choices of questions they offer.

> Can i email you my complaints
> How will i know you've received my complaints?
> Why do I need to provide you you with my full contacts details?
> Who decides whether or not the complaint should be upheld?
> How many complaints do you receive each year?
> Do i need to get more people to complain for the ASA to take action?
> How do i complain about the ASA or the decision the ASA has made?

These questions already has its answers provided underneath it on the ASA website. Visit https://www.asa.org.uk/News-resources/FAQs/Dealing-with-complaints-FAQs.aspx to see more about how ASA deals with complaints and to see how they answer these questions.


Non-Broadcast

 UK's code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP Code)
This Code must be followed by all advertisers, agencies and media.

This Code is enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority, who can take steps to remove or have amended any ads that breach these rules.

> Compliance- Rules relating to social responsibility; legality and fair competition. It also spells out the ASA applies the Code in the spirit, as well as the letter.

> Recognition of marketing communications-  Rules about making sure material is clearly identifiable as marketing communications/ advertisements/ advertorials.

> Misleading advertising- A key and extensive section of the Code, containing rules such as substantiation (evidence to prove claims); pricing; the use of testimonial and more.

> Harm and offence- Rules to ensure that ads do not cause harm or serious or widespread offence. Includes rules relating to shock tactics, unsafe practices and photosensitive epilepsy.

> Privacy- Rules about depicting members of the public; referring to people with a public profile; implying endorsement and the Royal Family.

For more information about the Non-Broadcast Advertising Code go to https://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes/Non-Broadcast.aspx

Broadcast
UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code)

> Compliance- Information about pre-clearance. Rules relating to social responsibility; legality. It also spells out that the ASA applies the Cod in the spirit, as well as the letter.

> Recognition of advertising- Separation rules and content rules to ensure that ads are not mistaken for editorial.

> Misleading advertising- A key and extensive section of the Code, containing rules such as substantiation (evidence to prove claims); pricing; the use of the word 'free'; availability of products, comparisons, testimonials and more.

> Harm and offence- Rules to ensure that ads do not cause harm or serious or widespread offence. Includes rules relating to loudness of TV ads; shock tactics, unsafe practices and photosensitive epilepsy.

> Privacy- Rules about permission for depicting - or referring to - living persons in ads, including members of the public and those with a public profile.

For more information about Broadcast Advertising Code go to https://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes/Broadcast.aspx


  Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postals industries of the UK.

They regulate the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operates. It has a statutory duty to represent the interest of citezens and costumers by promoting competition and protecting the pubic from what might be considered harmful or offensive material.

Ofcom's main legal duties are to ensure:

> The UK has the wide range of electronic communications services, including high-speed services such as broadband;
> A wide range of high quality television and radio programmes are provided, appealing to a range of tastes and interests;
> Television and radio services are provided by a range  of different organisations;
> People who watch television and listen to radio are protected from harmful or offensive material;
> People are protected from bring treated unfairly in television and radio programme, form having their privacy invaded;
> A universal postal service is provided in the UK- this means a six days a week, universally priced delivery and collection service across the country: and
> The radio spectrum (the airwaves used by everyone from taxi firms and boat owners, to mobile-phone companies and broadcasters) is used in the most effective way.

Ofcom is not responsible for regulating:

> Disputes between you and your telecoms provider:
> Premium-rate services, including mobile-phone text services and ringtones;
> The content of television and radio adverts;
> Complaints about accuracy in BBC programmes;
> The BBC TV license free;
> Post offices; or
> Newspapers and magazines.

Ofcom deals with most content on television and radio, but there are some areas where they share responsibility with another regulator.



















Tuesday, 3 November 2015

AS1: My Pencil Advert


My Pencil Advert

Staedtler Pencil

Is it just a pencil.....




From my previous blog (if you have read it and look at it) you can see that it's mainly about Television Advertising. I am learning more about how TV ads work and what's so good about them that we as their audience gets to remember them after all the years that had past by. 

This blog is quite different from my previous blogs as I won't be analysing the different styles of television advert  and what makes them a good type of TV ads. In this blog, i will show you our very own advert that my group and I had produced in a couple of hours. 

Beforehand, let me tell you what's the product my group and I are trying to sell and advertise in this advert. We are promoting a new 'pencil' that is very useful to use and can be used in daily circumstances. This 'pencil' is not just any type of 'pencil' that we randomly found at the floor, desk, chair in our school and home. This is a very 'special pencil' as it is a 'Staedtler Pencil'. It's not just a pencil.. its a 'Staedtler Pencil'.

All of us we're given a storyboard and in that storyboard we are to produce our own version for advertising a 'pencil'. My crew and I came up of three different story to use to advertise our 'pencil'. And those stories will be seen at the video provided underneath.





This is our finished advert advertising a 'pencil'. After we had filmed our video for our advert we are then to edit it. We are to edit our video in a software called adobe premiere pro. With this software we get to edit our video. This software let us cut and delete bits and bytes of the scenes that we don't need for our advert. This also let us add a music at the playground that can make our film look professional. This software is one of the most common software used when editing a video. If you we're to edit your video i highly recommend this software for you to use as it is very useful. If you got any questions to how to do this and that you can always look for your answer in Youtube as it shows a tutorial for that.

Thank you again for reading my blog and i hope you liked our 'pencil' advert. If you got any problems with looking for the tutorial you are looking for let me know by commenting at the comment provided below and I will help you look for it and send you the link. Thank you again and take care.


Staedtler Pencil

It's more than just a pencil