Social action and community media presentation

Social Action and Community Media

Existing Product Research

By Catherine Giggal

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Case Study: Shelter – Homeless charity

Purpose: The purpose of this specific charity webpage is to raise awareness of homelessness in the United Kingdom. Also, it has also been created to initially ‘campaign’ against homelessness, by tackling it at its source and helping those who are in need.

Aims:• To raise awareness of

homelessness and poverty in UK.• To persuade people to donate

money to the charitable organisation.

• To aid those who may be homeless and give them advice.

• Possibly to get people to spread the awareness of the charity through means of social media.

Creative Media Production 2012

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Techniques:There are several forms of techniques utilised within this specific webpage, such as a red colour scheme which is significantly eye-catching and will initially draw in the attention of the intended, primary consumer. Also, there are two main images that are used in order to attract the audience and therefore, they will be more obliged to read the text surrounding the image as their attention has already been grabbed. At the bottom of the page, there is a ‘donation’ section, which is likely to be viewed by those who have drawn in by the website. The section is emphasised heavily, as the charity itself relies on donations to keep going. The most important pieces of text are highlighted in red, the signature colour of the charity. This makes the consumer identify with the colour scheme of the organisation, as well as highlighting the colour of ‘red’ itself, which initially connotes danger and peril, which mirrors the hardship faced by individuals who are in fact homeless and therefore, the subject of this stated charity. The colour therefore has a double meaning. It is notable that the most important pieces of text are highlighted in order for the consumer to be drawn to them primarily and view them before reading any other piece of text that is featured on the webpage. Furthermore, there is a section with links to social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter, which initially helps the organisation to become more popular to a wider target market, as opposed to being restricted from a younger audience.


Case Study: Shelter - Homeless Charity

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Impact: Evidence of any change being brought about through projects using words and or graphics.


Case Study: Shelter - Homeless Charity

This charity has initiated a Christmas project utilising a simple statistic in order to alter the view of the audience, as ‘80,000 children’ is more emotive than ‘80,000’ adults. They use a vulnerable, innocent group in society to initially make the consumer sympathise and therefore be more encouraged to donate whatever amount they can to help. However, even though the validity of the statistic cannot be denied, the charity have utilised a clever marketing technique in order to increase the amount of income they receive. This specific project is said to bring about change, by using the money made by it to help fund the housing of homeless children/families.

The ‘Pay In’ section encourages people to donate to the charity who have already been drawn in by the bright colour scheme and emotive language. It is initially a clever marketing technique.

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Case Study: “U BOOZE U LOOZE”

Purpose: The purpose of the advertisement is to encourage young people primarily, not to indulge on too much alcohol, as it results in losing things that you care about, as well as losing respect for yourself in the process of ‘binge drinking'. The campaign poster was intentionally initiated to shock people and display a sense of reality to the young, juvenile audience that it is aimed at.

Aims:• To prevent young people from

drinking excessively. • To eradicate ‘binge drinking’ from

the United Kingdom.• To make people aware of the

disadvantages of drinking too much on a regular basis.


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Techniques:One technique is that colloquial language is utilised within the advert, such as ‘U BOOZE U LOOZE’ , which doubles up as rhyme that is an effective linguistic device that initially draws in the eye of the viewer. Also, the fact that the main text is bold and in capitals emphasises the fact that it is significantly important. The advert makes the consumer really think about the consequences of ‘binge drinking’, where the subject of the campaign is hanging their head, appearing as though they have a low opinion of themselves. The consumer will not want to end up like the subject of the advert, even though it is a staged picture, it will make the audience think twice about drinking, as they may not want to end up like this. Furthermore, the informal language shows that it is aimed towards a young, target market, as slang terms such as ‘dosh’ is used to help the primary audience comprehend the serious message that is posed by the Government campaign to tackle binge drinking in the UK. It is clever how a sense of juxtaposition is used within the advert, with terms like ‘mates’ and ‘dosh’ being listed with ‘respect’ and ‘future’, which will make the consumer think about their social life in conjunction with their own future and how their life will turn out if they binge drink. The campaign is very powerful in making the audience think about the consequences of making negative life choices at the juvenile stage in their life and how their future will initially suffer from it.



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Impact: Evidence of any change being brought about through projects using words and or graphics.



It is notable that the main image on the advert itself is extremely hard-hitting, connoting the negative undertones of binge drinking. The image is trying to promote the fact that drinking in an excessive manner is not a wise choice, as it could lead to a lifetime of personal fails, no career and no social life. The image as well as the text are very powerful, as the image on the advert shows how someone who chooses this lifestyle will become. It is like a future reflection. It also makes you think of the dangers surrounding binge drinking, where you are put in a vulnerable position. The consumer will pick up on this and it will make them think twice about drinking excessively. The list of what you ‘lose’ when you drink will also have a big impact upon the intended audience, as they will realise how much drinking affects your life in a negative way and will therefore be discouraged to adopt this hazardous lifestyle.

8Creative Media Production 2012

These two adverts are promoting the similar type of message: Don’t drink excessively, as there are negative consequences. It is clear that even though they both discourage ‘binge drinking’, they are dissimilar in how they are promoted to their differentiating target audiences. Advert 1 being targeted at an adult market in contrast with campaign 2 which is tailored to a teenage, juvenile audience, who are stereotypically more susceptible to this type of problem that is prominent in modern day society.

1)

2)


1)

2)

Campaign 1 and 2 utilize the the slogan “You Booze You Lose”, however, 1 is more formal than 2, where the text alliterative piece of text is spelt utilizing good English, whilst 2 is highly colloquial and written in a manner that makes it easier to comprehend by a juvenile audience. It is clear that advert 2 is significantly more hard-hitting than 1; as it includes an image of an individual that has been affected by ‘binge drinking’, which makes ‘drinking’ seem more of an important issue, as they are presented will an image of a drunk individual. 1 includes a sentence saying “Don’t ruin your summer, Don’t drink and drive”, whilst 2 is more abrupt and straightforward. The colour scheme on advert 2 is bleak and dreary, with black being used as a way of showing the ‘dark’ side of drinking, whilst 1 has a white background that connotes purity. This is a significant contrast, as 1 is lighthearted in comparison to the ‘sketchy’ undertones presented by 2, which is primarily targeted towards an adolescent audience, therefore, it has to make an impact, so that the consumer will refrain from ‘binge drinking’ and the purpose and aim of the advert will be fulfilled. 2 is not as effective in promoting anti-drinking, as it is not as hard-hitting, however, it is targeted primarily at the adult market, therefore, this group of individuals already have an advanced understanding of the affect of alcohol, so they do not need to be informed as much as the younger generation do.


These two webpages are from different, contrasting charities, one being the homeless charity, ‘Shelter’, whilst the other one being the ‘RSPCA’. Advert 1 is specifically targeted towards an adult audience in contrast with advert 2 that is significantly more child-friendly, as it is centered around animals, with a high image:text ratio.

1) 2)


1) 2)

Adverts 1 and 2 have a significant colour scheme,1 having ‘red’, which connotes peril, in contrast with 2, that has a blue scheme, which primarily connotes peace and serenity. It shows that 1 is possibly more urgent than 2. It is notable that both 1 and 2 contain a section where the consumer can connect through social networking means, which is a clever marketing technique as it not only helps to spread awareness of the charities, but it also shows that the organisations are prominent in the ‘digital era’, which will make them appeal to a younger, juvenile audience. Also, on each of the adverts, there is a ‘donation’ section and even though they stand for completely separate causes, the need to gain money from consumers is still present across the board. The use of a visual aid differs for both of these webpages, with 1 including a couple images, in contrast with 2 that has a high image:text ratio and therefore makes it more appealing to a younger audience who may become weary of such an extended amount of text and will prefer to look at photographs.

Social action and community media presentation

Business

homeless charity purpose

shelter homeless charity

stated charity

specific charity webpage

young people

creative media production

fact homeless

colour of red