Advertising Project Information

Project Information

Intro to Media Industries

Spring 2015

Task: To create an advertising campaign for an entertainment media property.

Goal: To understand an aspect of the entertainment media business (advertising) that is critical to the entire mass media field.  

The Advertising Campaign

A campaign consists of a large number of ads all stressing the same major theme or appeal that appear in a number of media over a specified time. In simple form, here are six typical phases:

1. choosing the marketing strategy

2. selecting the main appeal or theme

3. translating the theme into the various media

4. producing the ads

5. buying space and time

6. executing and evaluating the campaign

During the initial phase, much research is done to determine the target audience, the marketing objective, the appropriate price for the product or service, and the ad budget.

Positioning the product or service also comes into play at this point: positioning means fitting a product into the quality and price range of its competition--in a sense, setting it apart from the competition.

Then a coordinated overall campaign theme needs to be developed.

The next step is to translate the concept into an actual media format, attempting concept variation between media without compromising the ad campaign’s central theme.

For print media, artists create a rough layout to experiment with positioning ad elements; then a comprehensive layout (the final draft) is executed.

Radio ads are often created in ways similar to a dramatic program, with scripts, sound effects, music, and professional voice talent.

Television ad production starts with a storyboard, a series of drawings depicting key scenes of the planned ad; because of the costs involved, storyboards are usually shown to the client before any actual production begins. Television ads are the most expensive ads to produce, a 30-second commercial can easily cost more than $500,000 (produced for the national level).

During the production stage, the marketing department is buying time in the media mix they deemed to be the most cost effective for their target audience.

The final stage has the agency doing test research both during the ads and after the run is finished to see if the ads really had the desired effect on sales.

Your group project must have the following:

1.     The six steps to a typical advertising campaign.

2.    Storyboard for TV commercial(s)

3.    Script for radio commercial

4.    Dummy ads for billboard

5.    Ads for web

6.    Ads for magazine (full color)

For the assignment, you are to create a small advertising agency. Provide a thumbnail photo and brief profile for each agency team member.

For those who want to go above and beyond, here is a formal campaign outline that professional advertising agencies use for their clients.

Feel free to adopt any portion of the sections below.

Advertising Campaign Info

REPORT FORMAT AND OUTLINE

Title Page:

The following information should be included:

Name of client and product Course Number and Title

Time period covered by campaign College Name

Name of your agency team Professor Name

Names of agency team members Date

Table of Contents

List all major headings in your plan, with page numbers.

Agency Philosophy

A short statement (maximum: one-half page) that presents the basic principles underlying the approach used in attacking this assignment. The agency philosophy statement should clearly indicate the standards and beliefs that guide the agency in its work.

Executive Summary

A cogent summary (maximum: two pages) of exactly what your IMC plan involves. Among the items to include are:

· Major target audiences

· Time period of the plan

· Campaign objectives

· Campaign theme/slogan

· Overall budget total

· Budget breakdown (dollars and percentages) by each major IMC element and each medium

· Summary of media used

· Rationale for each major element and each medium

· Evaluation program

The Executive Summary may be arranged in any fashion, but it has to pack a wallop. Remember, the basic purpose of the Executive Summary is to inform top officials at the client organization exactly what you are proposing -- in one or two pages. Be precise. Be complete. Organizing the Executive Summary (as well as other sections of the promotion campaign plan) in a bullet-type format is one effective way to present your material.

Review of Marketing Plan

Industry Background

· Size

· Growth

· Current Trends/Developments Affecting the Promotion Program

· Macroenvironment Factors and Issues

(e.g., demographic, economic, technological, political, legal, social, cultural, environmental)

Company Snapshot

· Brief Sketch

· Place in the Industry (e.g., size, growth, image)

· Mission, Business Philosophy

· Resources

· Organizational Structure

· Product Line

· Sales History

· Target Markets

· Market Shares

· Positioning

· Current Marketing Mix

Product/Service Review

· Category Review

Description

· Life Cycle Stage

· Sales, Growth

· Brand Review (the product/service that constitutes the focus of the campaign)

Description

· Market Share, Sales, Growth

· Strengths and Weaknesses

· Key Benefits

· Brand Image

· Positioning

· Perceptual Map

• Product/Brand Performance in Selected Markets

· Category Development Index (CDI)

· Brand Development Index (BDI)

Competitive Review

· Direct and Indirect Competitors

· Key Competitors (each considered separately)

· Market Shares, Sales, Growth

· Target Markets

· Marketing Objectives

· Marketing Strategies

· Positioning

· Budgets

· Current Marketing Mixes/Tactics

· Current Advertising, Sales Promotion, Public Relations, and Direct Marketing Programs

· Message Strategies

· Media Strategies

· Strengths

· Weaknesses

· Overall Assessment

Buyer Analysis

· User Profile

(demographic, geographic, psychographic, behavioristic factors)

· Buying Decision Process

· Who Buys the Product

· Who Influences the Purchase Decision

· Who Makes the Decision

· Decision Criteria

Strengths and Weaknesses

(e.g., Crackerjack Golf Club Company -- new line of golf clubs)

Strengths

· Crackerjack is known for innovative products

· Strong base in professional golf shops

· Highest consumer satisfaction ratings among major brands

· Outstanding sales force

Weaknesses

· Highest prices in the industry

· Advertising expenditures are less than half those of major competitors

· Little trade promotion

· Weak presence in mass-merchandise and discount stores

Threats and Opportunities

(e.g., Crackerjack Golf)

Threats

· Increasing number of golfers are buying equipment in mass-merchandise and discount stores

· Crackerjack’s most-feared rival, Nifty Golf, recently introduced its entire line into a major golf discount chain

· Several major competitors have become more aggressive in trade promotion efforts

Opportunities

· More people of all ages are playing golf

· A major sporting goods chain indicated it would carry Crackerjack irons, if Crackerjack would increase its trade allowances and introduce a cooperative advertising program

· Some notable professional golfers have recently switched to Crackerjack irons, with positive results

Marketing Goals

Marketing goals are what is to be accomplished by the overall marketing program. The situation analysis is the foundation for the marketing goals. They are defined in terms of one or some combination of the following:

· Sales Volume

· Market Share

· Sales Revenue

· Profit

· Return on Investment

Marketing goals and communications objectives are not the same. Marketing goals establish a framework for the determination of communications objectives.

Target Market

· Segmentation Analysis

· Primary Target Market

· Secondary Target Market

Promotional Program Situation Analysis

· Review of Existing/Past Programs

- Detailed Review of Previous and Current Promotion Programs for the Product or Service, including Budgets, Promotion Mix, Share of Voice, Message Strategies, and Media Strategies

o Strengths

o Weaknesses

o Overall Assessment

· Internal Analysis

· External Analysis

IMC Objectives and Strategies

(i.e., what needs to be accomplished in order for Crackerjack to meet marketing goals and how the objectives will be achieved)

A statement of what the marketing communications program will accomplish – the role the program will play in the marketing effort. IMC objectives involve a desired audience response, which results from the process of consumer decision making, useful frameworks for planners are the hierarchy-of-effects models discussed in Chapter 5 of the text.

Example Objectives:

· Awareness Objectives: used when most of the target audience is unaware of the product, service or brand or when awareness levels need to be increased

· Knowledge Objectives: used when the target audience has awareness, but knows little beyond that

· Liking Objectives: used when the target audience knows the company and its product, but does not look favorably on it

· Preference Objectives: used when the target audience is aware of the product, knows about it, and likes it – but does not prefer it to other brands

· Conviction Objectives: used when the target audience may prefer the product but is not convinced that it is the best choice for them

· Purchase (i.e., Action) Objectives: used when the target audience has conviction but still hasn’t purchased the product

(You may choose to use another hierarchy discussed in the text if it better fits the needs of your client.)

Campaign Objectives – Example (e.g., Crackerjack Golf)

· increase awareness among golfers by 10% that Crackerjack irons have the highest consumer satisfaction ratings of all major brands, in a three-month time period

· increase trial of Crackerjack irons among golfers 35-49 by 3% in three-month time period

· create the understanding among 5% of target audience that Crackerjack’s Big Blaster driver allows the golfer to hit the ball farther with greater accuracy

Campaign Strategies (e.g., Crackerjack Golf)

· place advertising in special interest golf magazines

· provide cooperative advertising support to retail outlets

· make available demonstration sets to key retailers to stimulate trial

· sponsor instructional clinics for golfers of all ages

Follow each objective and strategy with a brief rationale.

Positioning and Campaign Theme

(i.e., the image you want your product to have in the minds of the target market; how you want your product perceived relative to the competition; it is the basis for all your communications)

1. · Positioning Strategy

(e.g., by product difference, by key attribute or benefit, by usage, against a specific competitor(s), by users of the product)

2. · Positioning Statement

3. · Campaign Theme (i.e., the slogan)

Creative Recommendations

· Target Audience

· The Copy Platform (which includes the following)

· Advertising Objectives

(what the advertising is supposed to do)

· Example: To increase awareness ...

· Example: To persuade the target audience that ...

· Advertising Strategy

(what the advertising is attempting to communicate; i.e., the benefit, problem solution or other advantage that is the value of the product -- physical or psychological)

Example: Use of this product will allow you to recover more quickly after strenuous exercise.

· Advertising Appeals

(how the advertising stimulates interest and influences feelings)

Example: fear, pleasure, comfort, convenience

· Advertising Execution Format

(how the advertising appears)

Example: demonstration, problem-solution, comparison

· Rationale for Creative Recommendations

· Executions

Storyboards, Scripts, Mechanicals, etc. 


Advertising Media Recommendations

· Target Audience

· Objectives

Example: To achieve an 80 reach and a frequency level of three

Example: To increase advertising in certain geographical locations

· Strategy

Example: Use magazines primarily targeted toward women 25-49.

Example: Schedule increased media use to coincide with sales promotions.

Example: Increase radio advertising in selected markets.

Sales Promotions Recommendations (Consumer)

· Target Audience

· Objectives

· Techniques

· Sales Promotion Plan/Timing

· Rationale

· Budget

Sales Promotions Recommendations (Trade)

· Target Audience

· Objectives

· Techniques

· Sales Promotion Plan/Timing

· Rationale

· Budget

Direct Marketing Recommendations

· Target Audience

· Objectives

· MediaType

Direct Mail

Electronic

Print Media

Telemarketing

Catalog

Kiosk

Face-to-Face Selling

· Direct Marketing Plan/Timing

· Rationale

· Budget

Internet/Interactive Recommendations

· Target Audience

• Objectives

· Strategies/executions

· Rationale

· Budget

Public Relations Recommendations

(including press releases, press conferences, special events, sponsorships, product placements, and cause-related efforts)

· Target Audience

· Objectives

· Strategy/Execution

· Scheduling/Plan

· Rationale

· Budget

Personal Selling Recommendations

· Target Audience

· Objectives

· Strategy

· Rationale

· Budget

Campaign Flowchart

A one-page summary diagram showing the timing of the major elements, events, and activities of the campaign. The campaign flowchart shows at a glance what is to happen when throughout the entire campaign.

Measurement and Evaluation

Measurement and evaluation activities occur during the course of the campaign, as well as at the end.This section of the proposal should contain a description of those activities and the specific methods that will be used to appraise the individual components of the campaign, as well as for measuring the overall effectiveness of the campaign.

Budget Summary

This section is a summary of all costs of the campaign (e.g., media, production, sales promotion, direct marketing, public relations, sponsorship, endorsements, measurement and evaluation expenditures, and more). The budget should show both dollar and percent-of-total expenditures.

Timetable

Summary of key dates for various activities (e.g., date for client approval of creative strategy, dates for production materials, dates for tracking studies).

Conclusion

A very brief review of your plan and how well it meets the needs of the client. One page should be sufficient to summarize the factors that make your plan the one that will best get the job done for the client. Recommendations for the future.

Appendices

In most cases, this is a very important section of the plan. It will include information and material which have potential value to your client and which have not been fully presented in the text of your plan. Examples: industry data, market data, questionnaires, competitors’ advertisements. This section can be a valuable resource for your client.

References

A complete list of secondary sources used for the campaign plan.

Perspectives on Mass Communication

Perspectives on Mass Communication

Models to guide how we think about mass communication processes. Examples of paradigms include the functional and the critical/cultural approaches. Paradigms are helpful because they:

. provide a perspective from which to examine mass communication
. generate concepts to understand media behavior
. help us identify important components or elements in the process


FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS


In is simplest form, the functional approach holds that something is best understood by examining how it is used. In mass communication, this means examining the uses that audiences make of their interactions with the media.

The Role of Mass Communication

. different media provide different primary uses.
. macroanalysis considers what functions the media provide for society as a whole.
. microanalysis considers what functions the media provide for the individual.

Functions of Mass Communication for Society

For society to exist, certain communication needs must be met. These needs existed long before the advent of mass media. As society became larger, these functions became too large to be handled by single individuals. We should consider the consequences of performing these communication functions via the mass media. Some of these consequences are harmful or negative and are called dysfunctions.


Surveillance.
Refers to role media plays in relaying news and information. There are two main types. Warning (beware) surveillance: occurs when the mass media warn us about impending dangers such as storms, economic declines, military threats, etc.; also used to warn of long-term dangers such as diseases, pollution, population growth, etc. Instrumental surveillance: information that is useful and helpful in everyday life such as movie schedules, stock quotes, sports scores, fads, new products, how-to pieces, etc. Note that not all examples of surveillance occur in the news media; instrumental surveillance often comes from a wide variety of other media sources.

There are several consequences of relying on the mass media for surveillance:

. news (accurate accounts as well as mistaken ones) travels further and faster than ever.
. news of events comes to us second-hand and is usually not personally verifiable; as such,
we’ve come to place our trust in media, or grant the media credibility.
. as a dysfunction, media surveillance can create unnecessary anxiety
. being featured by the mass media may give individuals or issues status conferral, a belief
by the audience—justified or not—that simply being featured is a sign of importance.

Interpretation.
Refers to role media plays in giving meaning and significance to events. Gatekeepers provide interpretations, comments, analysis, and opinions on various events so as to give the audience a better understanding of the event’s relative importance to society.

There are several benefits of relying on the mass media for interpretation:

. audiences are exposed to a wider range of often contrasting viewpoints
. allows us to weigh all sides of an issue before deciding on our position
. gives us a greater depth of expertise upon which to draw conclusions

There are several potential consequences of relying on the mass media for interpretation:

. no guarantee that media interpretations are accurate or valid
. individuals could become overly dependent on media interpretation and lose the ability to
analyze situations or think for themselves

Linkage.
Brings together various elements of society that are not directly connected. The linkage can be based on common interests, usually matching wants with needs, e.g., buyer with seller; dating services; lost and found; Internet outlets such as e-Bay, WebMD, chat rooms, newsgroups, and listservs.

Transmission of Values (socialization).
Refers to ways in which an individual comes to adopt the behavior and values of a group. Individuals exposed to media portrayals of certain types of behavior and value systems are likely to grow up and accept them as their own, and thus pass along these values from one generation to another.

There are several consequences of relying on the mass media for socialization:

. helps stabilize society by creating common bonds between members in terms of shared values
and experiences
. bear in mind that the values and cultural information presented in the media is usually selected
by large groups that encourage the status quo.
. the media can also transmit values by enforcing social norms

Television may play a special role in socialization:

. of all mass media, television has the greatest potential for establishing common social values
. by age 18, the average person has spent more time watching TV than doing anything else
except sleep
. dysfunctions can occur if youngsters watching violent content are socialized into accepting
violence as a means of problem solving
. TV serves as a source of knowledge (accurately or not) about occupations and role models
. many TV images of minority groups reflect the stereotypes held by majority population (Whites)


Entertainment.
The importance of this media function has grown proportionately to the rise in our collective leisure time, and we are spending increasing amounts of that leisure time being passively entertained by all forms of the mass media.

There are several consequences of relying on the mass media for entertainment:

. most entertainment content is designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator of taste
. being passively entertained may inhibit our ability to actively entertain ourselves


How People Use the Mass Media


At the individual level, the functional approach is called the uses-and-gratifications model. This model holds that audience members have certain needs or drives that are satisfied by using both non-media and media sources. Media uses are generally broken down into four categories: cognition, social utility, diversion, and withdrawal.

Cognition.
The process of coming to know something, which is closely parallel to the surveillance function. On the individual level, there are two different types of cognitive functions:

. using media to keep up with current events
. using media to satisfy a desire for general knowledge

Diversion.
Using the media to “get away from it all.” Types of diversion include stimulation, relaxation, and emotional release.

. Stimulation involves seeking some sort of emotional or intellectual mental activity.

. Relaxation involves seeking relief from sensory overload. The type of content is not
the defining factor, because different people find different media material relaxing.

. Emotional release involves seeking some type of emotional catharsis, generally by
creating a vicarious participation in, or empathy with, a situation (fictional or otherwise)
depicted in the media.

Social Utility.
Seeking social integration or affiliation with others, generally by using the mass media as a common denominator of experience. Social utility can manifest itself in several forms, including:

. Conversational currency: Provides a common ground of information and experiences, which can be used to strike up a conversation

. Parasocial relationships: develop when individuals develop feelings of kinship or
friendship with media characters (fictional or not).


Withdrawal.
Using media to create a barrier or buffer zone between oneself and other people or activities.

Content and Context.
It’s important to remember that it’s not only the media content that determines media use, but also the social context within which the media exposure occurs. For example, when going to the theater, the content of a film may be perceived as having less value than the opportunity to socialize with one's peers.

The functional approach to studying mass media makes several assumptions:

. Audiences take an active role in their interaction with various media, and people's needs
provide motivation for media use.

. The mass media are not the only sources to satisfy people's needs; for example, relaxation can be achieved by taking a nap.

. The uses-and-gratification approach assumes that people are aware of their own needs and are able to verbalize them. The approach relies on survey methodology.

Historical and Cultural Context

Historical and Cultural Context

LANGUAGE


The birth of spoken language marked a major development in the evolution of our species. By necessity, oral-based societies became very dependent upon their members to have exceptional memories. The challenge was to accurately pass down from generation to generation as much information as could be remembered. That limitation, however, caused our collective knowledge and information base to grow slowly. As hunter-gatherer societies evolved into more complex agricultural societies, our need for better record keeping intensified.


WRITING


Two problems needed to be solved before writing emerged: (1) what symbols to use to represent sounds and ideas, and (2) upon what type of surface could these symbols be recorded.

Sign Writing Vs. Phonetic Writing

The first problem was solved in two ways: (1) with systems that used graphic symbols to represent objects, sounds and ideas, e.g., Chinese pictographs and Egyptian hieroglyphics, and (2) with systems that used symbols (later known as alphabet letters) to primarily represent sounds; groups of letters made a word and groups of word made a sentence, a complete thought. The Phoenicians are generally credited for creating the first alphabet. The Romans later modified our alphabet to its present 26 characters.

Clay vs. Paper

Writing surfaces evolved. In Sumeria, soft clay tablets were inscribed with wedge-shaped tool. Egyptians wrote on woven papyrus plants made semi-smooth by rock polishing. Greeks used parchment made from sheep or goat hides; parchment sheets could be stitched together to form scrolls. The Chinese made paper from a pressed pulp made of tree bark and fibrous materials; in use by 100 AD, but unavailable in Europe for another 1,000 years.

Social Impact of Writing:

. created a new division among people; those who could write and read, and those who
could not, the result was an access or non-access to power garnered through knowledge
. facilitated the birth, growth, and maintenance of powerful ancient empire civilizations
. knowledge could be accumulated by preserving and passing it down to new generations
. laws could be codified and applied consistently throughout the land

The Middle Ages

Began with the fall of Rome in the 6th century. Demand for books continues to rise, but the slow, error-prone, expensive, method of hand-copying each manuscript kept supplies minimal.
Monks in monasteries often took a year to copy just one commissioned book. Mistakes were common and cumulative, and there was no standard book filing or cross-indexing system in use.

By 1150, trade routes were expanding, the idea of universities was emerging, strong central governments began forming, and the need to accumulate information continued to grow. Over the years the demand for more books continued to increase, and eventually book production moved from the religious to the secular arena. Helped by the widespread introduction of paper from China, writing shops, or scriptoria, opened all across the European continent. Nonetheless, supplies were still limited by the number of books that scribes could hand-produce.


PRINTING

Though early Asian variations of printing existed before Johann Gutenberg, his use of moveable metal type in 1453 revolutionized communication. Printing could become cheap, quick, and error-free.

Effects of the Gutenberg Revolution

. helped standardize and popularize vernacular (everyday) languages (as opposed to Latin),
which in turn helped spawn the growth of nationalism in Europe in the later Middle Ages
. information quickly became more accessible to a wider range of people
. more books fueled the demand for literacy which in turn created a demand for more books
. generated new schools of social and religious doctrines during the Reformation era, such as Martin Luther’s Protestantism
. accelerated the publication of and interest in scientific research
. helped encourage exploration by the timely publishing of maps, geographical information,
and the colorful accounts of early explorers
. had a profound effect on the growth of accumulated knowledge, with more books resulting
in an increased number of scholars and students; helped make possible the Renaissance of the 16th Century
. led to the development of current concept of “news”

Technology and Cultural Change

If we ascribe too much credit for cultural change to a specific technology, we risk viewing social development through the narrow lens of technological determinism, the view that technology drives historical change. A more moderate position might suggest that technology functions with various social, economic, and cultural forces to help bring about those changes.

The introduction of moveable type marked the start of what we generally define as mass communication, a critical event in Western history.


CONQUERING SPACE AND TIME:
THE TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE

Development of the Telegraph

Before the telegraph, messages traveled only as fast as the fastest form of transportation; but with one invention the speed of communication went from 30 miles per hour (train) to 186,000 miles per second (the speed of light). It was the first device that made possible instantaneous point-to-point communication at huge distances. The word telegraph comes from Greek words meaning “to write at a distance.” It was also the first technology to use digital signals—dots and dashes.
Using a device to vary the time an electric current was sent across the wires, the telegraph made point-to-point communication possible by sending codes across the wires. Samuel Morse’s code of telegraphic dots and dashes, still in use today, is the most famous.

Cultural Impact of the Telegraph

. by 1850, almost every city on our Western frontier was linked with other cities
. in 1866, the U.S. laid a trans-Atlantic cable connecting America with Europe

Parallel to the expansion of the railroads, the telegraph helped change the way we moved goods, coordinated services (particularly military actions), and helped speed up communication between buyers and sellers. Because of near-instant communication, market prices between cities were standardized and stabilized. The telegraph also affected the flow of news, making it both possible and a commercial “must” to carry up-to-the-day’s events from far distant points. News stories also became shorter due to the fact that telegraph services charged by the word.

Government and Media

Unlike other countries where the telegraph was seen as an extension of the postal service, and therefore under logical control and operation of the government, the United States followed a model of private ownership and commercial development.

A Change in Perspective

The telegraph changed how people thought of distance; as the new device reconfigured old concepts of space and time, every “there” became a “here.” We began rethinking our world, as mass media writer Marshall McLuhan came to describe it, as a “Global Village.” Thanks to the telegraph system, most countries on the planet became inextricably linked together.

Soon after the telegraph, the telephone began linking people together by voice, eliminating the need to understand telegraphic codes. Its ability to network and offer private communications made it a “must have” in homes and businesses. And just as big business came to dominate the telegraph industry (Western Union), AT&T (which later acquired Western Union) quickly became the giant of the telephone industry.


CAPTURING THE IMAGE:
PHOTOGRAPHY AND MOTION PICTURES

Early Technological Development

Two inventions were needed to make photography a reality:

. a way to focus light rays from a subject onto a surface
. a way to permanently store (and copy) those images

In the 16th century artists discovered that they could project an inverted image of a subject in the end of a dark box through a pinhole at the other end of the box, a device called the camera obscura (dark chamber).

In the 1830s, two Frenchmen, Joseph Niepce and Louis Daguerre, found a way to capture images on glass plates treated with silver iodide. Early photos (called Daguerreotypes) required long exposure times, and made them particularly suitable for portrait work. At about the same time William Fox Talbot, from England, found a way to store images (and subsequently produce multiple copies) on paper. In the 1890s, George Eastman introduced and marketed his new box camera, the Brownie, thus making photography accessible to the masses.

Mathew Brady

Brady was the first to capture war—in this case our Civil War—on film, giving a more accurate, rather than glorified, record of what war was actually like. Though most of his glass plate negatives were lost, enough survived to show generations then and now the real horrors of warfare; his pictures, and their impact on the public, were a forerunner to what television would show us 100 years later in the Vietnam war.

Photography also affected art, dispensing with any need art may have had to accurately depict the real word. Photography freed artists to interpret the world and events in new and unique ways. Photography itself became its own art form, however, and spawned such noted photographers as Alfred Steiglitz, Margaret Bourke-White, Edward Steichen, and Ansel Adams.

Photography’s Influence on Mass Culture

Once in the hands of the masses, photography enabled people to create a permanent record of their personal histories. Printing advances made it easy to publish photographs in magazines and newspapers, creating a new profession—photojournalism. The 1920s saw a surge in time-saving devices, and the spread of photographic news added to that movement; Americans could now see, rather than have to read, newsworthy events. Printed columns soon decreased while space devoted to pictures increased; the movement later gave birth to such popular picture magazines such as Life and Look. Partly as a result, our definition of news became visually biased; news became that which could be shown.

Pictures in Motion

Helped by the advent of three great social movements (industrialization, urbanization, and immigration), the demand for film entertainment flourished in crude store-front theaters around the 1900s. By 1910 there were over 10,000 of these nickelodeons, which helped create the motion picture industry.

Motion Pictures and American Culture

Eventually, only the large companies who could afford to produce feature length films survived. They soon dominated the production, distribution, and exhibition of movies. The film industry killed Vaudeville and forever altered our concept of leisure time activities. In part due to photography and the  mass appeal newspaper, a mass culture of idolized film stars, movie images, and popularized portrayals of model “American” values and cultural icons was created.

Film gave impetus to a perceived need to study what impact motion pictures (and later other media) might have on the public psyche; the 1930s Payne Fund was one of the first serious efforts to investigate the media’s potential effects. During the 1930s film also injected itself into journalism in the form of newsreels, ten-minute short takes of various news, sports, weather, and human interest stories. Dying out in the 1950s under pressure from TV news, the newsreel format continues to influence the conventions of present day TV news formats.


NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT AT HOME:
RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCASTING

A byproduct of electromagnetic research in physics, the advent of radio (or wireless as it was first known) in the 1910s made it possible for one source to send a message to multiple receivers. In World War I military planners quickly saw radio’s applicability to warfare, thus encouraging both research and development in the medium while at the same time ending some long-standing patent wars that had delayed radio’s development.

Broadcasting

Radio’s one-to-many communication format, known as broadcasting, was the first medium to bring sports, music, talk, and news into the American living room. Manufacturing radio sets, the original profit motive for radio, was soon replaced in the 1920s by advertising (selling air time, or rather supplying audiences to businesses for a fee).

Radio growth was so frenzied, however, that the government was forced to intervene in 1927 by establishing the Federal Radio Commission to regulate radio’s technical side. In 1934. the FRC was replaced by the Federal Communications Commission; after that, the government opted to take a hands off approach to radio content, leaving radio’s fortunes in the hands of business.

Paralleling an era of newspaper consolidation, two national radio networks (later three) emerged. Radio content quickly moved toward mass appeal programs, which provided huge audiences for major advertisers. During the 1930s, economic pressures from the Great Depression forced many out-of-work Vaudeville performers to enter radio, thus increasing the level of professionalism and appeal of network programming. In the late 1930s, radio journalism came into being as a new and strong news medium and strongly rivaled the newspaper industry.

Cultural Impact of Radio

. radio helped popularize different kinds of music
. radio introduced a new entertainment genre, the soap opera, which by 1940 accounted for
some 60 percent of all daytime network programming
. radio was first medium to introduce mass content aimed at children, thus recognizing
children as a viable commercial market
. radio was first to introduce situation comedies, a program genre that’s become a staple on
television
. radio news came of age in the 1930s-40s as a result of serious world events.
. radio personalized news, giving rise to trusted and well-known news celebrities
. radio changed how Americans spent their free time – by the 1930s-40s, radio had become
the prime source of American entertainment and news in usually during the early evening hours, later known as prime time.

Television

Halted during WW II, television’s growth surged during the prosperous era of the early 1950s. Pent up consumer demand fueled spending (and thus TV ad dollars) following the war years. Sales of TV sets took off (it took only 10 years to be in 85 percent of U.S. homes), and an increasing amount of American leisure time was now being spent in front of the TV set.

Cultural Impact of TV

Television is in 99 percent of all households, and the set is on for over seven hours a day. It’s become our third largest time consumer (third only to sleep and work), and in the process it’s transforming almost every aspect of our culture, from politics, to religion, to news, and to the way we learn.

Today we routinely expect live coverage of events from anywhere at anytime. Time and space no longer seem important, and we have all come to share a national, even global, consciousness through the common visual icons provided by television—the Japanese Tsunami, the Arab Spring, President Kennedy's funeral, the Apollo moon landings, the Challenger explosion, and the planes striking the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, etc.


THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION

Nicholas Negroponte, MIT’s Media Laboratory Director, summed up the digital revolution as the difference between atoms and bits. Information, once solely comprised of atoms (material goods such as paper, film, tapes, and CDs) and which moved to and from the marketplace relatively slowly, is rapidly being replaced by the instantaneous transfer of bits—electronic zeros and ones.

Digital technology is a system that encodes information—sound, text, data, graphics and video—into a series of on-and-off pulses, denoted as zeros and ones. Once digitized, information can be easily copied and transported at extremely low costs. Digital technology and the Internet have triggered a revolution in the way information is stored and transmitted.

Digital technology is now mainstream (iPods, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, DVR, Digital TV, HDTV, Hulu, etc.).


Social and cultural implications of the digital age are considerable.
. many of the creative arts have embraced digital technology.
. the notion of what “community” means may have to be rethought, with relationships that
can be formed on the basis of needs and interests rather than locale
. consider what the digital age might mean for politics; perhaps representative democracy
could be rivaled by a digital democracy made possible by direct and instantaneous links
between the people and their government.
. there’s the problem of the digital divide, or the problem of the “have” and “have-nots”—
those who can afford the technology and have the training to use it, and those who can’t
and don’t.


THE NEXT REVOLUTION?
WIRELESS HANDHELD MEDIA

Smart phones, laptop computers, and tablet computers share common characteristics:

. they are linked together using wireless technology
. they are portable and allow users to access information from anywhere
. they are interconnected and allow users to hook into the worldwide phone network or the
Internet
. they combine features of mass communication and interpersonal communication

These devices will eventually merge into one, and have the potential to transform traditional media drastically and to alter American culture. Some of the changes we've already seen include:

. they have changed the practice of journalism, replacing pencil and paper as the tools of the
trade, and allowing reporters to send text, audio, and pictures from the field
. many media organizations are distributing content to wireless media
. wireless mobile media have taken on some of the surveillance functions of the media
. they facilitate mobile parenting
. they have "softened" the concept of time
. on the downside, they allow people to coordinate illegal activities, they can impair driving,
they can create social annoyance, and they cost money – will the digital divide increase?


CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

. it’s difficult to accurately predict the ultimate use of any new medium.

. it appears that the emergence of any new communication advance changes but does not make extinct those advances that came before it.

Where are you from?

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html?_r=0

Rules of Language

Language is a tool with mutliple functions:

• establish identities
• form relationships
• comfort others
• helps us to make sense of the world
• primary means of connecting with others

In order for communication to take place via language, those involved must all share "symbols," "referents," and "thoughts."

A symbol might be a written letter/character of the language, a vocal sound, a nonverbal cue, etc.

The referent means that we know what the symbol (or combination of symbols) refers to...

For example, if the symbol is "cat," then we should all share a common referent of a 4-legged, long-tailed animal with long whiskers and short pointy ears (excuse my horrible description of a cat).

That's the referent.

A thought is an abstract idea developed in our minds.

Meaning takes place when we understand the symbols, understand the referent, and understand the thoughts the sender of the message intended.

Altogether, we call this "The Triangle of Meaning."

Different types of communication

inherited communication-- genetic codes tell us what to do

learned communication--  via experience, we learn what to expect

What separates us is "language"-- the ability to use symbols to represent ideas/objects we want to share with others. 

Language doesn't imply "words"-- Morse Code, ASCII, sign language, etc.

Language is a game, and like any game, we first have to learn the rules.  Once we do, we quit paying conscious attention to them.

There are five sets of rules:

1. Phonemic rules (sound rules)-- sounds we produce… we produce about 44 different sounds with 26 letters.

2.  Semantic rules (meaning rules)-- meanings for sounds, words, or letters.  The smallest unit of meaning in a language is called a morpheme. 

Difficult to learn-- especially for those just learning the language (kids and people learning English)

General Semantics-- field of comm study that deals with getting rid of misunderstandings between  people.

3. Syntax rules-- putting meanings together in coherent patterns… If the patterns aren't followed, there is no meaning-- even if all the elements are there.  For example….

I would like a large, chocolate milkshake please.

Please chocolate a I milkshake like large would.

4. Pragmatic rules-- how ordinary people actually "use" language…   Do you know what time it is? ; Is Sarah there?  Can I speak to her? Etc.

            --  Speech Act Theory-- explains the pragmatic rules for accomplishing tasks like requests, commands, promises, questions, compliments…   Kathi, do you want some eggs?"  It's more than just a question, it's an "offer" and the answer "Yes, that sounds great" is not just an answer, it's an acceptance.  "Hey, how's it goin'?" is actually a greeting-- not really a question…

5. Normative rules-- we must also be aware of NORMS.  Norms are the 'shoulds' and 'should nots' of language.

If you break a rule, people will correct you.  If you break a norm, people will avoid your company.

The New York Times' stance on the FCC's decision:

Courage and Good Sense at the F.C.C.

Net Neutrality's Wise New Rules

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD FEB. 6, 2015

The New York Times

The Federal Communications Commission will soon put in place regulations designed to prevent cable and phone companies from blocking or slowing down information on the Internet. The companies and their congressional allies are using scare tactics to stop this from happening.

On Wednesday, the chairman of the F.C.C., Tom Wheeler,proposed reclassifying broadband Internet service provided by companies like Comcast and AT&T as a telecommunications service. That will give the commission legal authority to issue common-sense rules about how cable and phone companies treat their customers. Under those regulations, such companies would not be able to block or slow down information on their networks, which — absent new rules — they might be tempted to do to force customers to pay for a more expensive service. And cable and phone companies would not be allowed to give priority to the delivery of videos and other content from businesses that are willing to pay a fee. That would prejudice start-ups that do not have the deep pockets of established players, like, say, Amazon or YouTube, to pay the premium fees.

The telecommunications industry and Republicans like Senator John Thune of South Dakota are accusing Mr. Wheeler and President Obama, who called for strong rules in November, of imposing “public utility” regulations on the Internet. This, they say, will stifle the incentive to invest in high-speed networks. Those arguments are preposterous. The commission is not trying to regulate the price of broadband service. Nor is it forcing cable and phone companies to lease access to their networks to competitors, which it could do under a 1996 telecommunications law.

The truth is the F.C.C. is taking a measured approach, justified by the growing importance of Internet access, which has become the most important communications service for most individuals and businesses. An executive at Googlerecently said the commission’s proposals would not deter the company from building broadband networks known as Google Fiber in cities like Atlanta and Nashville. Even Verizon’s chief financial officer told investors in December that Mr. Wheeler’s plans would “not influence the way we invest.”

Indeed, there is good reason to think that strong rules will actually help innovation flourish because it will assure entrepreneurs that they can develop products and services without having to go through gatekeepers at large cable and phone companies. History confirms this. Starting in the late 1960s, the F.C.C. issued a series of decisions and rules that later allowed companies like AOL to sell dial-up Internet service over telephone lines. The widespread adoption of the Internet was made possible partly because the commission forced AT&T, then a monopoly, to allow equipment like modems made by other companies to use its network, something it bitterly resisted. That could have happened only with the kind of common carrier rules Mr. Wheeler is now proposing for broadband.

Cable and phone companies will almost certainly file lawsuits in an attempt to overturn the new rules, which the F.C.C. is expected to approve on Feb. 26. Corporate executives have already previewed some of their legal arguments in blog posts and public statements. Last year, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down the F.C.C.’s previous net neutrality rules, which were based on flimsier legal ground. Mr. Wheeler has learned from this defeat, and he and his team appear to have written the kind of rules that the court said in its rulingwould be acceptable.

Mr. Thune and other Republicans have said they might try to pass a law to forbid the F.C.C. from issuing these rules. Their proposal would include some elements of what Mr. Wheeler wants and also some big and crippling exceptions. A draft of their bill would strip the commission of its authority to regulate broadband as a telecommunications service, gutting a longstanding communications law that has helped to keep the United States at the cutting edge of information technology. Mr. Obama would most likely veto such a bill if Congress approved it.

The F.C.C. almost always faces stiff resistance when it tries to do something bold. Given the importance of the Internet, Mr. Wheeler should press forward with his rules.

The basics of communication (Mass and Other Forms)

The basics of communication

Communication:
Mass and Other Forms
___________________________________________________________________
THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

At a general level, communication events involve the following elements:

. a source
. a process of encoding
. a message
. a channel
. a process of decoding
. a receiver
. the potential for feedback
. the chance of noise

Transmitting the Message

The Source. The source, or sender, initiates the communication process by having a thought or an idea that he or she wishes to transmit to some other entity. Sources can be individuals, groups, or even organizations.

Encoding the message. Encoding includes all the activities that a source goes through to translate thoughts and ideas into a form that can be perceived by the senses. It can take place one or more times in any given communication event. In a face to face conversation, the speaker encodes thoughts into words; if a telephone is used, subsequently encodes sound waves into electrical energy

Message. The message is the actual physical product that the source encodes which may range from the short, simple and inexpensive to the long, complex and costly. Humans usually have a large number and wide range of messages at their disposal that they can choose to send. Messages can be directed to an individual or to millions.

Channels. Channels refer to the ways in which the message travels to the receiver. These include sound waves, light waves, air currents, and touch. Some messages may go through multiple channels.

Decoding the message. Decoding the message is the opposite of the encoding process. It's the process by which a message is translated into a form the receiver can understand. Both people and machines can be message decoders. Some messages can involve many decoding stages.

Receiver. The receiver is the target of the message. The target can be an individual, a group, or an anonymous collection of people. Most people receive far more messages than they send. Receivers can be targeted for a message (a phone call) or they can self-select themselves (choosing which movie to watch). Receivers and senders can be in immediate contact (talking on the phone) or they can be separated by space and time (reading a Shakespearean play).

Feedback. Feedback refers to responses from the receiver that shape and alter later messages from the source. Feedback represents the reversal of the communication flow (sender becomes receiver). It answers the source’s unstated question, “How am I doing?”
. positive feedback: encourages current communication message or pattern
. negative feedback: tries to change the communication or even terminate it
. feedback can be immediate or delayed

Noise. Noise is anything that interferes with the delivery of the message.

. Semantic noise occurs when people have different meanings for different words

. Mechanical noise occurs when there is a problem with a machine being used for
communication

. Environmental noise occurs when noise external to the communication process
interferes with communication

. As noise increases, message fidelity (how closely the message sent resembles the
message received) degrades

. The more immediate and better the feedback, the more chance a source has to reduce
or eliminate noise interference with the message


COMMUNICATION SETTINGS

Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal communication involves one person (or group) interacting with another person (or group) without the aid of a mechanical device. The source and receiver are in the immediate physical presence of one another. Characteristics of interpersonal communication include the following:

. source and receiver can be individuals or groups
. encoding is usually a one-step process
. a variety of channels are usually available for use
. messages are relatively difficult for receiver to terminate
. produced at little or no expense
. messages can be private or public
. message can pinpoint highly specific targets
. decoding is usually a one-step process
. feedback is immediate
. noise can be semantic or environmental

Machine-Assisted Interpersonal Communication

Machine-assisted interpersonal communication involves one or more people communicating by means of a mechanical device or devices with one or more receivers. It combines characteristics of interpersonal and mass communication situations and blurs the line between the two types of communication, especially when involving the Internet and World Wide Web. Machines can give communication permanence and/or extend its range. The source and receiver can be separated by time and space. A great deal of modern communication falls into this category. Characteristics of machine-assisted interpersonal communication include the following:

. source may be an individual or group; may or may not be easy to identify
. source may or may not have first-hand knowledge of the receiver
. the encoding process can range from the simple to the complex
. Two encoding stages:

(1) source translates his/her thoughts into words or other symbols
(2) machine encodes the message for transmission or storage

. channel options are more restricted than interpersonal communication
. machine-assisted messages have at least one machine between source and receiver
. message customizability varies; messages can be private or public
. messages relatively inexpensive to send
. decoding requires one or more stages depending upon the encoding process
. receiver may be an individual or group; may or may not be easy to identify
. receivers can be selected by the sender for a message or they can self-select themselves
. feedback can be immediate or delayed; may be difficult or limited to one channel
. noise can be semantic, environmental, and mechanical
. use of mechanical-assisted interpersonal communication will continue to grow

Mass Communication (What we emphasize in this course).

Mass Communication is the process by which a complex organization produces and transmits public messages directed at large, heterogeneous and scattered audiences with the aid of one or more machines. Many communication situations will fall in a gray area between machine-assisted and mass communications, especially when considering the Internet and World Wide Web. Characteristics of mass communication include the following:

. source can be a group of individuals who usually act within the predetermined roles
of an organizational setting, or, since the advent of the Internet, one person
can become a mass communicator

. sender usually has little detailed information about particular audiences

. encoding is always a multi-stage process

. channel options are more restricted than interpersonal communication

. mass media channels characterized by the imposition of at least one and usually more
than one machine in the process of sending the message

. messages are public, and the same message is sent to all receivers

. message termination is easiest here

. typically requires multiple decoding

. message flow is generally one-way, from source to receiver

. feedback is usually harder to initiate than in interpersonal communication

. noise can be semantic, environmental, and mechanical

A prime distinction between mass communication and interpersonal and mechanical communication is that audience members are:

. large
. heterogeneous
. geographically dispersed
. largely anonymous to one another
. almost always self-defined

Defining Mass Media

A medium is the channel through which a message travels from source to receiver (“medium” is singular; “media” is plural). Mass media include not only the mechanical devices that transmit messages, but also the institutions that use these devices. A media vehicle is a single component of the mass media, such as a newspaper, radio station, or magazine, web site, video game, television station, etc.

TRADITIONAL MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS


Traditional defining characteristics of mass communicators include the following:

. complex and formal organizations
. multiple gatekeepers
. need large amount of money to operate
. exist to make a profit
. highly competitive

Formal Organizational Structure

Mass media typically have a well-defined organizational structure characterized by specialization, division of labor, and focused areas of responsibility. Communication is generally the product of a bureaucracy, with decisions made on multiple levels, often within highly formalized channels (group decisions and committees, for example)

Many Gatekeepers

A gatekeeper is any person (or group) who has control over what material eventually reaches the public; the more complex the organization, the more gatekeepers will be found.

High Operating Expenses

It often costs millions of dollars to buy and maintain a mass media organization, which is one reason for the current trend towards media consolidation of ownership.

Competition for Profits

Most media organizations in the US exist to make a profit; if they don’t they will soon go out of business. Most profits are usually made by selling audiences to advertisers; hence media organizations compete with one another to attract audiences.



THE INTERNET
AND MASS COMMUNICATION

The Internet created a new channel for machine-assisted and mass communication, and brings the cost of mass communication to a level at which many can afford it. In addition, the personal ability to publish online creates new definitions of what it takes to be a “mass communicator,” many of which are at variance with the traditional defining characteristics of mass communicators. For example:

. Web sites can be produced by a single individual, so there’s little need for large staffs
or formal organizational structure;

. Web sites may bypass gatekeepers; creativity reigns (although there are, conversely, no
safeguards that what is “published” is tasteful, worthwhile, or even accurate);

. Web sites are characterized by low start up and maintenance costs;

. Web sites may or may not exist for profit;

. Competition for audiences, typical of traditional mass media, often doesn’t play a vital
role in individual web sites

The Internet has evolved into both a mass medium (we watch TV, movies, read newspapers, read books online, play video games, etc.) and an interpersonal medium (we go online to communicate with others via Facebook, Twitter, email, etc.).

MODELS FOR STUDYING
MASS COMMUNICATION


The Traditional Mass Communication Model

This one-way model of mass communication is adapted from an early model presented by Wilbur Schramm. In it, communication flows from left to right. According to this traditional model, information (news and entertainment) comes from the environment and is filtered through a mass media organization. The information is decoded, interpreted, and encoded. Messages passing through the gatekeepers are reproduced multiple times and sent through the appropriate channel. Each copy of the message is identical. Audience members are not passive; they decode, interpret, and encode messages themselves. They are socially connected to others, and the messages may be discussed, reinterpreted, and acted upon. Some audience behavior is observed by the media organization and serves as feedback to shape future messages. There is little direct interaction between sources and receivers.


An Internet Mass Communication Model

This model allows several levels of communication:
. one to one (email, Facebook message, IM, etc.)
. one to many (CNN.com, NYtimes.com, gawker.com, huffingtonpost.com, etc.)
. one/few to few (Facebook posts, blog posts, Twitter posts, online discussions groups, etc.-- though, admittedly, Facebook and Twitter posts CAN be one to many, most are one to few)
. many to many (e-Bay, Craigslist.org, etc.)

This is not a left-to-right model; communication flows inward. In this model, content can be provided by organizations and by individuals. There are no organizational gatekeepers. One person decodes, interprets, and encodes the content. The receiver initiates the process, choosing the time and manner of the interaction.

Messages flowing through the model are not identical, nor are they linear. The Internet’s use of hypertext (a means of presenting information that allows you to jump between one source of information or another in whatever order you choose) allows the receiver to access information in any order he or she sees fit. Some writers have characterized the traditional mass communication model as a “push” model (wherein the sender pushes the information to the receiver) whereas the Internet model is a “pull” model (wherein the receiver pulls only the information that he or she wants to receive).

Individuals and organizations are linked in a computer-mediated environment. This makes interaction and feedback easier, and supports totally new forms of interaction.


THE FUTURE OF MASS MEDIA


Segmentation

Mass communication has become less mass and more selective over the past few decades. This process is called fractionalization or segmentation of the mass media audience. Causes include:

. an increase in one-parent families
. an increase in the number of media vehicles from which to choose
. more time spent with media alone, as opposed to with friends or family members
. an increase in demand for special interest content
. commercial organizations are turning from mass-marketing to target-marketing

Despite these changes, the definition of mass communication given earlier still applies. Organizations are still complex, audiences still large. The channels of mass communication remain the same, though more mass media are using those channels to reach more selective audiences. Specialization is evident, but the potential for reaching a mass audience still exists.


Convergence

Convergence means coming together or uniting in a common theme or focus. It has become common in discussions of media trends. There are several levels of convergence.

Corporate convergence. Originally referred to in the 1980s as "synergy," corporate convergence occurs when companies acquire assets that extended the range of their activities. For example, a movie studio might acquire a distribution channel such as cable TV. The biggest example of corporate convergence was the 2001 merger of AOL and Time Warner. It looked like a good idea, but it didn't work, and in 2003 AOL was officially dropped from the company name. The current trend in corporate circles seems more toward divergence than convergence.

Operational convergence. Occurs when owners of several media properties in one market combine their operations. For example, a newspaper, a Web site, and a local cable news channel might operate a joint (converged) news department. Currently, about 50 instances of this kind of convergence are operating. Critics worry whether this will result in fewer independent and diverse forms of journalism.

Device convergence. One mechanism contains the functions of two or more devices. Examples include laptop computers that can play DVDs; smart phones that come equipped with digital video cameras, etc.


Disintermediation

Disintermediation refers to the process whereby access to a product or service is given directly to the consumer, thus eliminating the intermediary, or “middleperson,” who might typically supply the product or service. This phenomenon is particularly evident now on the Internet and on the World Wide Web. Disintermediation is of special concern to traditional media organizations because any large disruption of the distribution process can wreak economic havoc in the traditional distribution and production processes.