Print Advertisement Audience Research

For my print advert getting an idea of where to place the advert is a priority. Once more I presented my target audience with a form to fill in about their news reading habits. The following trends became clear:

Firstly, my target audience does consume news media - and the majority of it is online based:

Results for whether they consume news media

From which source news is gathered

In addition to this, I wanted to find out whether my audience used their smart devices (tablets, phones) to view the news. This is because I have to consider the possibility that an advertisement may not reach the correct audience if it is a printed news paper - especially in this day and age.

People who owned a smart device

Response to whether they use it to view online news

What this response indicated is that although a majority do have smart devices, they tend not to use them to view online news.

Finally, I sought to find out what type of news paper my target audience favours. As a more educated middle class audience, I did not expect the lower end of the tabloid spectrum to rank highly in the results. This theory was vindicated by the results received:

So my summary is that my advertisement should be placed within the Guardian newspaper, both in print and on their website - as this would maximise exposure. Smart devices are negligible as the majority do not browse on them.

Status

This post is to reflect on what I have, and haven't done so far.
Have Done and Evidenced / Have Done, but not Evidenced / Not Done

Print Media

• Using IT appropriately.
• Showing understanding of conventions of layout and page design.
• Showing awareness of the need for variety in fonts and text size.
• Accurate use of language and register.
• Framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate.
• Using a variety of shot distances as appropriate.
• Shooting material appropriate to the task set.
• selecting mise-en-scéne including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting
• Manipulating photographs as appropriate to the context for presentation, including within text, within particular IT programmes, cropping and resizing.

Web Based Media  

• Combining some or all of images, text, sound and video as appropriate for the task set.
• Using ICT effectively to facilitate the combination of such material.
• Producing material so that it communcates clearly to the "reader".
• Using the conventions of web publishing to enable the "reader" to navigate the material appropriately.

Research and Planning

• There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience
• There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props 
• There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding
• Time Management is excellent
• There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning
• There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation
• There are execllent communication skills 

Evaluative Criteria:

• There is excellent understanding of the forums and conventions used in the productions.
• There is excellent understanding of the role and use of new media in various stages of the production.
• There is excellent understanding of the combination of main product and ancillary texts.
• There is excellent understanding of the significance of audience feedback.
• There is exellent skill in the choice of form in which to present the evaluation.
• There is excellent ability to communicate.
• There is excellent use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation.

These are in line in where I expect to be at the current point in time. The website layout is made to a basic structure, however it has not had content put onto it. I have not evidenced the need for variety of font usages and as such will need to make sure I do before I can declare the print section completed.

My targets this week are:

•  To complete the Print Advertisement section, including prospective locations it should be placed.
• Capture footage for the idents, and experiment with other forms of media they can be created in
• Plan structure of website in order to assess content needed for it. 

Ident Animatics

I've begun the task of planning my ident sequence. I've come up with a range of ideas, all based upon the signifier of the orbital ring present on my logo. The idea is that it shows a person is switched on and engaged about my channel and it's content.

At first I thought they should all be in one sequence, however research indicated that most of the time they are around 15-30 seconds rather than a full minute. As such I split my ideas into seperate ones, and will attempt one or more of them individually.

As of yet I am unsure of the style of the idents, I am considering live-action with animated portions (the ring super imposed on top), however 3D and Flash are considerations too.

Here is the Animatic Reel of my ideas:

Print Advertisement

Here is the completed print ad, sans audience feedback. I am hoping it will suit my target audience, initial feedback from my peers indicates it does however I am yet to do any formal focus group related activities.

Click to view high resolution version

Print Advertisement Progress

I've begun the task of constructing my print advertisement. Here are some screenshots through the development:

Screenshot one is cutting out the photograph taken on Thursday, the background isn't needed as I am adding my own to it. Using the magnetic lasso tool, careful use of the eraser and the marquee tools to chop away unneeded background. The eraser tool is used to reshape and refine areas that did not come out well with the lasso tool.

Setting the scene, sofa, shading and the positions of the floor and scale of the elements are all being worked out here. Using a very high feather creates the soft shadow effect.

The colours are done, and shading is added to the sofa and table to give the impression of depth and 3D. Realism wont be acheived due to the simple nature of the background. An inner shadow creates the 3d look to the back wall. For the shadow behind the sofa, a duplicate was made of the layer which was then coloured black, made transparent and skewed where the floor meets the wall.

Adding the light beam from the television, the reason for the expression on his face is added in this screen. Blending options and the way layers affect each others colours created the blue tint, and a faint lighter glow at the edges makes the beam not look simply flat.

 

The final screenshot this evening is a test with a brush to create the telly bursting forth from out of the screen. The Laptop is also added, fitting in with the T.A. I'm not too sure of the way the light effect looks - I think it is something like a horror movie rather than bursting technological goodness.

Logo Market Research

Following the successful focus group feedback post previously, I presented the logo - and 2 variations to an audience similar to that which is being targeted, the internet savvy middle-class young adult, in order to confirm that my choices of colour were fitting. Primarily the blue, which I used to represent cool, modern and technological. However this could always have been misinterpreted by my audience.

The logo variations were Green and Yellow, and can be seen here:

The results from this wider market test strongly back up my intentions with the colour scheme. 88% of those asked preferred the blue, one preferred the green and no one thought the yellow was suitable. A graphic of the results is as follows:

Practise Shots for Print Ad

In preparation for the production shots required for the print ad, Blaine and Myself ran a few test shots to gauge any issues with the task, to familarise us with the poses needed and to see if it is feasible to get the angle needed.

The Sketch I am working from is as follows:

 I am taking parts of the shots in different photographs to give a degree of flexibility in the positioning - and to work within the constraints of house layout.

The first shot was a mid-shot completely side on to the subject. This is the one closest resembling the above sketch:

I felt this worked well, however the low angle of the shot gives an impression of power to the subject that should not exist, as the advert is intending to demonstrate the TV Channel as the source of power / inspiration rather than the viewer. Therefore, another shot was taken from an eye-level thus neutralising the shot:

This rectifies the problem, but I feel this is too steep an angle. From this I am going to ensure in the final one that I have a shot at an angle between the two to keep it neutral and in the correct perspective.

I also experimented with how close the subject should be. The above were taken at the furthest zoom, I repeated the shot with an increased zoom:

 This I feel is the strongest. You can see the expression and the angle its taken from is neither too low, nor too high.

For the final shots, I now have an indication of what sort of angle and zoom level to capture to place the user in the advertisement so they do not create mixed messages and so they are in the correct perspective.

Print Advert Brief

The brief I have set myself in order to meet the needs of my target audience for the print ad is the following:

The advert must combine the following basic principles: it must show creativity, information and humour to reflect the image of the channel. It must incorporate the typical viewer of the channel: young adult, middle class and "geeky". In addition to this it must feature the colourscheme of the channel: blue, grey and black.

In order to do this I must delegate roles out to people outside of the main project. For this task the primary role of Photographer will be fulfilled by Myself. The model will be Blaine Kenneally. As Photographer I will be charged with lighting, composition, framing and directing the subject into a specific shot. The model's role will be to create a believable character that can be used for the print advert.

Logo Feedback

I presented my first logo, and a second to a small feedback group to gauge their reaction to the logo and the ideas behind it, as well as the colour scheme.

The logos presented were the one seen previously:

And a new design with a different approach:

The feedback receieved was mostly positive, however it's highlighted the drastic impact shape has on the way a logo is received. Due to the square shape Logo 2 was interpreted to be better for use in traditional media - film and TV. While Logo 1 was seen as more Web orientated due to the rectangular and header-like design.

Logo Design Attempt 1

To be able to further progress with the practical elements I must create a logo for my channel. Sticking with the blue and grey colour scheme mentioned in my initial pitch I have began to create drafts to possibly use:

Initial logo design with robot like logo.