Unit 20, P2: Mood Board - For Advertising Campaign

Unit 20, P2: Mind Map - Initial Ideas for advertising

Unit 20, P2: Evaluate The Brief - Advertising Campaign for BBC Three Drama

The Brief

"Your TV drama series has been greenlit by BBC Three and they have asked you to produce an advertising campaign for it.

The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness of the series and attract viewers when it is broadcast. You must identify and justify the series’ target audience.

Your campaign must have a strong message, include cross-media advertising and there must be no copyright or ethical issues that could undermine BBC Three."

Evaluation of Brief 

1) What are the aims and objectives of the brief?

The aim and objectives of the campaign are to raise awareness of the series and attract as many viewers as possible to watch the programme when it is released on the BBC iPlayer. This will be done by targeting the specific audience that will most like the programme through a strong message. The advertising campaign will take place across multiple forms of media such as TV, Radio and Online including social media. To protect BBC Three's reputation it will be vital that no legal or ethical issues arise as a result of the campaign.

2) What drama series will you be advertising and what are the key things that are likely to appeal to the target audience?

The Drama series that will be advertised is "My Syrian Boyfriend". The story is based on real-world events and follows a relationship that builds between a British female student and a Syrian man. Elements of this that will appeal to the young target audience is most likely transgressive details of the relationship that these characters have (especially as it is an unusual non-typical relationship - because of current real-world events).  Clues of violence and hardship may also appeal in the advertising campaign to the audience - this could be created using news clips from the recent broadcasts (this would have to be done with permission to use the clips or fake versions would have to be remade to avoid legal copyright issues).

3) Who exactly is the target audience? Think carefully about demographics (don’t just say ‘young people’!)

The target audience for the drama is 15-21-year-old male and females. This is because this age group can relate to the characters of a similar age in the production - specifically the protagonist as they are potentially going through the University of looking ahead to university just like she is) - they will have similar decisions to make that she does. 

In terms of social demographics, this is likely to be A, B or C1 as these are the demographics which are most likely to attend higher education as the jobs they are likely to go forward with a career in to make them of this social demographic. For example, A social grade viewers are likely to become Chief Executives or work in managerial roles which would normally require a degree. B social grade viewers are likely to aspire to similar roles whilst C1 social grade viewers may aspire to jobs that aspire degrees but may not be essential. 

4) How can you work out exactly who the target audience is likely to be?

To work out the exact target audience, secondary research from BBC Three could be used to see what the most common target audience for its programmes may be. Primary research may also be useful. Focus groups could be held to get feedback from different audiences about the programme or online surveys could be carried out to see how different groups of people react to the programme - therefor helping to determine exactly who would watch the programme therefor who the target audience would be.

5) Potential issues and concerns?

Potential issues that could arise in the campaign is the potential audience of where they adverts are displayed. If we are trying to show the transgressive content - this may make some adverts inappropriate for some people. This will have to be considered when releasing print adverts as it cannot be controlled who sees these (walk past in the street etc). Also, this would minimise the reach of the adverts as they could only be broadcast on TV and Radio after the watershed. For this reason, it may be best to make the adverts appropriate for all, although this in itself could then attract the wrong kind of audience. This will have to be considered.

Another issue will be ensuring all the correct permissions are granted to avoid legal issues before release. For example actor and locations, forms will be required for the advertising campaign as well as the drama series itself. Permission for all audio will need to be granted and licensed if required (the programme will be using traditional Syrian music) as well as third-party video (news clips) and graphics.

There is also the issue of representation within the adverts. Because the characters will only be seen very briefly, typical stereotypes may be assumed by the audience as they do not get the whole backstory. A way will have to be found so the story still appeals to an audience, but tries to avoid using the same negative stereotypes of these people.

6) What are some of the possible methods and platforms on which you could advertise the series?

• Social Media (BBC Three Instagram, BBC Three Twitter,  BBC Three YouTube).
• TV (across BBC TV channels and also some commercial channels).
• Radio (BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Local Radio).
• Online (BBC News Website, BBC Three Articles Website, BBC Radio 1 Website)
• Print (Public transport systems - Buses, Trains etc), newspapers (Metro), magazines (ASOS, Cosmopolitan).

Unit 20, M1: Evaluate different cross media advertising campaigns for consistency of message (Make Google Do It)

"Make Google Do It" was a campaign run by Google in 2018 promoting the new Google Assistant. It ran across TV and online using a video advert and also across billboards and newspapers in the form of print.

Consistency of message

The key message/slogan throughout the adverts is "Make Google Do It". In the video advert, it features many clips of actors stating what they need "To Do", and then displays white text saying "Make Google Do It". These things are relatable thoughts to what most people would have on a daily basis such as "Did I leave the heating on?" etc. This message is also used in the print ads, where it states all the things the assistant can do such as "Skip It", "Play it", with the text at the end stating "Make Google Do It". So the same message is displayed across the different advertising mediums - making the consumer aware of different everyday tasks that the Google assistant can do for you.

The font is the same font used throughout all the marketing and a colour theme of Black and White is always used. In the advert the overlay text is white, but the end card has black text with a white background. The print advert has the slogan in black text on a white ground. Showing the theme running across the campaign. 

Link from the TV to print ads

The message of the advert flows between the two mediums by the use of the same slogan and the use of repetition. Both types of advert use repetition of all the things the product can do with the slogan bookending these. This repetition will help the user remember it as they hear it over and over. 

Also, the use of the white background with black text and the recognisable "Product Sans" font is always used. This font is used across all Google products not just through the advertising and the company specifically designed the font for themselves. This has now become recognisable as "The Google Font" which many people will associate the company and its products with. 

The same Colours are used throughout Google advertising. In both the TV ad and the print ads the Google Black, grey, white, red, yellow and blue colours are used. For the same reason as the font, we now recognise this combination as "Google", therefore making the products identifiable immediately to the consumer. 

Google advertising is also always "Bold". The TV advert has the slogan in huge text flashing up on the screen at multiple issues. Meaning its going to have an impact on the viewer no matter what size display they are viewing it on - it cannot be missed. The same applies to the print advert. The text takes up the majority of the ad space, making it stand out and unmissable - almost forcing people to read it without them even realising it. Pictures and other graphics almost take a back seat with the focus being on the text. 

Unit 20, P1: Describe an existing media advertising campaign (Sky UK - "Addictively Good")

Aims and Objectives
The aim of this adverts is to make people aware of a service Sky UK offer through the TV service called "box sets". The TV advert suggests that people can 'binge' lots of episodes all at once. Idris Elba features in the TV advert (an actor who appears in many of the box sets on Sky) - this makes it almost 'feel like' the actor in the programme is telling you to 'watch more'!


The objective of the advertising campaign is to get people to ad the box sets bundle onto their Sky package or even sign up to Sky and ad the box sets bundle. It's all about getting more customers to pay for more services. On the billboard adverts, a selection of the programmes on offer is displayed - this is showing what kind of content is on offer - making people more likely to sign up if they see something they want to watch.


Target Audience
The target market for this campaign is most likely young professional adverts (aged 20-40, A, B, C1). In the advert, we see a man on the sofa dressed in a shirt and tie which has been undone. This suggests this man has been working a professional job and is relaxing after work. He also appears to be in quite a nice environment which is well furnished and quite roomy. This would not be possible without earning a reasonable sum of money. This suggests he is working in a well-paid job. The actor in the add is also a little older with some subtle facial hair and older appearance. At no point in either the billboard ads or the TV ad is the price of the products shown - this suggests that this isn't the main draw factor but instead the product is more important. For many young people, the price is key, suggested this product is targeted at someone older.


Representation

In the billboard adverts, no people have showcased just the content on offer, it is just a white background with text and images of the content. This means no image about who this is for is in the users head meaning they probably link it to themselves. The way the phrase states "5 hours is plenty" is almost fighting your own thoughts straight away. Like you are doing something 'naughty' or something that you really 'shouldn't do' but Sky is saying its ok - immediately creating a connection with you personally.

However, the TV advert seems to target a more specific audience. The man is dressed in a suit and is sitting in what appears to be a well furnished and tidy apartment that looks 'expensive'. The suit may suggest that this man is a businessman which means he is probably on a higher income than your average person, the fact that he is wearing a tie also may suggest he is in a managerial or higher importance role because the formal attire is not normally worn by your average office worker (typically they may wear a shirt with no tie or a specific uniform). The apartment is very clean and tidy which we could cynically infer that this person has a cleaner etc. All of this may suggest that Sky is targeting people who fall into the A (Chief Executives, bankers) or B social grade (managers and other professionals) because of the representation in the advertising campaign. 

Key Message

The key message from this campaign appears to be that 'bingeing TV' is good and that by using Sky Box Sets you will get nothing but "addictively good" content. It suggests that watching TV into the night is ok and as little as 5 hours sleep is ok. This is clearly stated in bold text on the billboards and actor Idris Elba hints at this is the TV ad. 

Choice of Media

A white background is used which makes the objects on the background stand out - they are bold and obvious to see. The text is yellow, red and purple with shine too it. This makes it appear 'warm' and appealing to the observer. 

The advert features one of the countries most loved actors - Idris Elba - plus another actor who is relatble to the target viewer (especially through the way they are sat viewing and what they do - almost comical relation). The same banner is used at the end of the TV commercial as is used on the billboard, having the same effect.  

Overall, the way these ads have been put together is to make the product seem appealing through warm colours and relatable aspects that make the user go away with positive thoughts about what has been promoted - making them more likely to purchase? 

Legal and Ethical

Images of box sets are used in the billboard ads - permission from the creators of the programs will of had to of been gained to use these images within the ad before they were used to avoid copyright infringement. 

Within the advert the music will of had to of been licensed to be used throughout and all graphics created or licensed by Sky in order to avoid copyright infringement.

Both actors will of had to of signed release forms to grant Sky permission to use them within there advert, also if the location is owned by third party permission would also have to be granted for this. 

There is also an ethical question with this advert - is it ok to say that '5 hours sleep is plenty'. Sky is promoting something here that most Doctors would state is unhealthy for any normal human and it could affect their daily lives if they went by what this advert says - misleading the consumer. There is a question whether Sky should ethically state this?

Regulatory Bodies

The billboard advert will be regulated by the Advertsing Standards Authority (ASA). They will lay out rules that Sky will have to follow before creating and publishing this advert. If the ASA receives complaints from anyone about the ad the regulator could investigate this - if they find the ad inappropriate they maybe take action against Sky in the form of fines and likely banning the advert. 

Ofcom will also regulate the TV commercial alongside the ASA. Ofcom has similar powers to the ASA. 

Call to Action

 Sky use emotional language and appeal as there call to action. Using phrases such as 'addictively good' makes the viewer think that by ignoring this, they may be missing out on something. 

Unit 21: Evaluation of First Draft Pitch

Links:

• First Draft Pitch - click here.
• Presentation - click here.
• Presentation Notes - click here.
• Supporting Document: Title and Font Explained - click here.
• Supporting Document: Character Profiles - click here.
• Supporting Document: Plot Outline - click here.
• Supporting Document: Episode 1, Scene 1 Screenplay - click here.

Self Evaluation:

I think my presentation style could be improved, although I think I appeared quite confident with what I was doing I feel like my tone and body language could be improved. Instead of being leant against a table and reading from a sheet (with some additional comments) I feel I should but some more energy into my presenting. I need to practice the presentation some more so I don't need to refer to the notes as much but also stand up and show my excitement for the product more. Not only will this make the presentation more interesting but could also hopefully make the idea more appealing to executives. 

I thought the presentation itself was good. The titles throughout were themed with the programme and I tried to not include minimal writing so I wasn't just saying what was said on the screen - I used a combination of videos, images, diagrams and small amounts of text to support my speech. I believe this worked well and makes the pitch more engaging (as people have to actually concentrate on what is happening to mean they are more likely to remember). I believe the presentation could be made more visually appealing in parts - to do this I plan on making some more themed graphics in Illustrator and including images that feature symbols from throughout the programme.

My pitch did include the title of the production, an executive summary, statement of need (through links to the BBC mission statement). I feel like the budget was well stated and supported with research conducted by myself, however, I believe I could have discussed in more detail about specific production companies I could use and why. This can be done by researching production companies the BBC regularly uses and see if these would be appropriate. this will be added for the final pitch. In the presentation notes, I did write about style but forget to mention this when I was presenting the pitch, I will ensure to mention this next time as I believe this is one of the USPs of my production. 

My supporting documents are attached and were complete by the time of the pitch but I was unable to print them in time for the presentation so the audience members were unable to see them - I have since printed them so they will be ready for future presentations.


Questions Asked:

• How would you fairly represent all cultures and viewpoints in the film? How are you going to research this?
• How could it be developed into a second series?
• What is the aim of the product? Political?
• Would you portray pro-refugee and anti-refugee views or just one side?
• Quite expensive to film? How are you going to film border control scenes and channel crossing scenes?
• How does the pilot episode end?
• How will you find a Syrian Actor?
• What language is the Syrian Character's speaking?
• How will it fit into the BBC Three catalogue? How are you going to be the final piece of the jigsaw?
• How can you be more specific about the target audience? Other than age? Survey? Focus Group?

The questions asked by the audience were very useful. I will use this to help me improve my proposal for the final presentation. I will start my presentation talking about BBC Three as a platform and discuss how I think my programme will fit into there catalogue. I will then move on to discuss my programme specifically, with a brief overview of the plot followed by specifics on the pilot episode and how it can be made serial. I could even discuss how the programme could be 'binged' rather than released weekly. I also want to detail some potential actors I could use and also what production company. I will need to do further research to do this. Before the final presentation, I also want to conduct a survey which I can then use data from within my proposal to support my ideas. 

Unit 21: Proposal Supporting Documents - Episode 1 Intro Screenplay