Thorpe Park Radio Advert

I still think that I have quite a bit to learn about radio adverts. Therefore, I have decided to look into more so that I know exactly what the codes and conventions are. I purposely picked a Thorpe Park advert as I knew it would be very different from the other radio adverts that I have seen. Even though I have not thought about creating an advert that would be loud and scary, it is still helpful to see how the sound creates a type of atmosphere as that is what I want to achieve. 

The Thorpe Park advert is advertising a new ride called 'The Swarm'. 

The non diagetic sound immediately cuts in of sharp noises, sounding like a walkie talkie. The diagetic sound of a male voice comes in, the tone sounds petrified. The dialogue "Hello, it's Adam, is anyone there?" combined with the sound effects, consequently creates a dramatic atmosphere, luring the audience into the advert, wondering what is happening. The on going list of 'The Swarm' - "It's mutated, it's preparing to attack again, it's got a sting in it's tail, it was dragged backwards on a 1270 drop" followed along by "it's here" - the language used is significant as it is very dramatic, which makes the new ride sound exciting. The voice of the male speaker plays an important role as the tone sounds nervous to even talk, reinforcing the idea of the new ride being scary, however, Thorpe Park fans would find this exciting and would therefore be engaged into the radio advert. The non diahetic sound of the 'phone line' being cut off, leading onto an actual speaker who speaks of the ride, providing the audience with more information about The Swarm. - "The UK's first winged roller coaster  The Swarm, at Thorpe Park, now brave it backwards, book at least 7 days in advanced for big savings" - stating how this is the first UK roller coaster which is of a different shape will draw the audience in as the ride is a one off, making Thorpe Park fans want to visit Thorpe Park just to go on this ride. The repetition of the rides name "The Swarm" and "Thorpe Park" makes it more memorable for the audience. The mention of discount if booking in advance would also seem appealing for the audience and therefore despite being attracted to the advert because of the ride, audiences would now be even more engaged. 

Therefore, I think the Thorpe Park advert was successful in engaging their target audience. The language that is used was appealing to the audience, ensuring the audience will be lured into wanting to attend Thorpe Park. Additionally, the sound effects were also engaging as they sound realistic which make the audience genuinely want to find out what the ride is like.

Tesco Radio Advert

The second radio advert I am looking at is of Tesco. I have decided to look at this because Tesco is more of a service, which sells thousands of products. Tesco adverts are deemed as reasonably successful and I want to find out how and why the company achieve this.

The diagetic sound of a male talking cuts straight in at 0.1 seconds. The sound of the male's voice is friendly which is significant because the target audience will feel invited into the advert. In the first sentence the words "price drop" is used, already inferring to the audience that Tesco has a sale, inviting the customers' in. The on going list, spoken very fast, creates humor in the advert, likely to make the target audience remember the advertisement as data has stated that humorous adverts are the most memorable. Moreover, diagetic sound of a woman is cut in half way through the on going long list of products. The female speaker then explains the price drop and says Tesco's motto: "every little helps" which again, reinforces the brand name and slogan, making it easier for the audience to remember the advert.

I think this 30 second advert has been successful. This is because the two speakers seem very inviting and the humor in the advert sub consciously makes the audience listen and take in more of the information. This advert has influenced me as the advert was very persuasive and inviting and I think it would be a good idea if I looked at more Tesco radio adverts to see if I can use or even challenge some of the conventions. 

 

Analysis of radio advertisements

Due to me choosing the idea of advertising events, or an events planner, I have found no radio advertisements in that kind of area. This does not mean I still cannot find out the conventions of radio advertisements and how to create a successful radio advert. I am going to analyse various radio adverts so that I can see how radio adverts work and how the advert target their viewers. I am going to try and be critical to ensure I am only influenced by the successful parts of the adverts.

The first advert I am looking at is Dogs Trust -

I am not focusing on the video, just the sound throughout the advert. Initially, the advert begins with diagetic sound of people talking, calling different dogs names. Additionally, non diagetic sound begins at the same time which is upbeat and joyful. This already sets a up lifting tone in the advert, the audience will immediatly be engaged into the advert, sub conciously wanting to hear more. The man's voice in the advert is very friendly, which makes the advert seem welcoming. The man uses emotive language such as: "find your best friend here", infering to the audience that the audience will find a perfect dog for them. Additionally, "from young breeds.. to young puppies" illustartes the variety of selection the organisation has to offer and therefore will be appealing to the audience. I think this advert is engaging and will attract it's target audience. The friendliness in the tone of the woman and man speaking lurs in the auidience.

Where I am at..

Currently, I have completed some parts of my research. To recap, I am researching into event planning companies, analysing their adverts as I am very interested in making an advert based on event organisations. However, due to there being so many type of events e.g. sporting events, weddings, christenings etc I need to decide on what type of events I will hold. Before deciding I feel that it is important that I carry on my research into looking at diverse types of events so that I can see which one(s) I would like to advertise for. 

I think it is important I set a deadline for myself so that my research can be completed on time. I would like to start planning, and visualizing what my advert may (or may not) look like in 2-3 weeks. Therefore, this gives me enough time to carry on my research but also provides me with enough time to plan efficiently. 

To ensure I have a wide understanding on how event planning works as well as the advertising presenting the company I have decided I am going thoroughly research into two major event companies to find out exactly what they do and to view how they represent themselves. Even though they may not have an advert, it will be interesting to find out the choices of images, text, and colors which will be on their website.

Radio advertising

I think I have developed my understanding of TV advertising and I feel quite confident in that area. However, I am making a radio advert too and I do not feel confident in radio advertising. I am going to research into radio adverts, broadening my understanding of how effective they are and how to do them. I want to look into: the power and significance of radio advertising, how to create a radio advert and what you are/not allowed to say on radio adverts.

The power of radio advertising 

Before looking into radio advertising, it is important I understand how powerful the radio is so that I can fully understand how significant radio advertising is. I think it is important I know the power of radio advertising because I need to understand why it is powerful and what type of language do the adverts use to make them so successful and engaging. The image below shows a graph of the increased amount of listeners from 1994. Therefore, it is evident there has been a vast more amount of listeners and I need to know how radio's encouraged their audience to listen, and how adverts took a toll in this.

Additionally, I have done some research on an online website: "MediaPostPublications" which has provided me with more data about radio advertising.

"According to a study by Ipsos OTX MediaCT in partnership with Katz Marketing Solutions, people who are exposed to radio ad campaigns demonstrate high levels of engagement with brands at all stages of the purchase funnel, and particularly across metrics such as brand affinity and advocacy. Comparing results among consumers who had been exposed to radio ad campaigns (via listening to at least one station airing the ads) with a control group of people in the same market who had not listened to those stations, on average, consumers' exposure to radio ads generated a lift at all stages of the purchase funnel, from brand familiarity to purchase consideration, and most dramatically in brand affinity, and recommendation among 23 campaigns evaluated,"

This quotations essentially tells me the power of radio advertising and how it effects people. I need to ensure my radio advert is done properly so that I know my target audience will be engaged. 

Moreover, radio stations usually use advertising to their advantage and put adverts on at the same time, so that the audience have no choice but to listen to them. The radio station has to ensure they know when their target audience would be listening in - e.g. an insurance advert is targeted towards adults therefore would be played between the times 7am-9am and 3:30pm-6:30pm as that is when adults, who are travelling to work, most likely in a vehicle will hear it. 

What am I allowed to say?

When planning the language I am going to use in my advert, I want to ensure my language is emotive and persuasive so that my audience is engaged. The most common words I will use is 'you' and 'us' as I will be directly talking to the audience, as well as including them into what I am trying to promote. I need to look into words and phrases which I would not be able to say.

• Swearing is banned on radio ads, despite the time. 

• Any inappropriate / sexual language is banned

• Cigarette adverts

Furthermore, I think it is important that I research into real radio adverts despite if they're not on my chosen idea. Before looking into real adverts, I have found out some basic codes and conventions of radio advertising. 

• Persuasive language is used throughout using techniques such as direct address and rhetorical questions.

• Adverts that use persuasive language are normally deemed as humorous as it makes the advert more memorable. 

• The title of the product or service is used in the first (or) second sentence so that the audience can recognise the brand straight away.

• Advert's last around 25-45 seconds

• Dependent on the advert, there is usually some kind of non diagetic sound - such as a theme park advert would have people screaming/sound of rides in the background

I am aware I have not learned all the codes and conventions which means I need to still do more research into the conventions of radio advertising to ensure when I start planning, I am aware of them and I can decide whether they have influenced me or if I would like to challenge the conventions.

Therefore, I think I have gathered some research which has provided me with an insight into the power of radio advertising and why it is deemed as so engaging. I still think I have a lot of research to do about radio advertising before planning.

Current research

I am currently in the research stage. So far, I have analysed 5 adverts, the pros and cons about advertising and what is aloud to be shown on TV. Before  planning, I have to ensure all of my research is done, up to a high standard so that I have a broad understanding of advertising in general, as well as the chosen area of advertising I am going into.

The five adverts I have analysed I do not think have been successful. All of the adverts display no live footage of real events, which I think prevents the advert from being engaging. Some adverts display no images therefore the audience cannot actually view what the company can do. The adverts that do show images, are still not engaging. I therefore will most likely be chalenging the conventions of event advertising. I want to ensure my target audience is fully engaged, at all times. I still want to look into events adverts, to see if I can find any adverts that might influence me. If not, I might look into another area of events such as sporting events, as they might be more engaging.

So far I have learned about advertising in general and how powerful it is. I think it was really beneficial for me to broaden my understanding about advertising because now when it comes to planning I know what I can do to make my advert effective. 

Therefore, I feel that I am on track with my research but I still hope to have a wider understanding before starting my planning.

What progression I want to achieve whilst in A2

As I have now picked my production brief, chosen an idea and have started my research, I want to reflect upon the skills I have already achieved in the last 6 weeks which have developed from AS, and the skills that I am hoping to achieve. I want to ensure I know my my weaknesses and strengths so that in the period of time of the research, planning, creating, post production I can set a goal for myself so that I am able to progress in Media Studies.

Over the last year of doing my AS coursework, it is evident that digital technology has had a large impact on my learning and the actual creation of my AS product. I am now currently working towards my A2 coursework product and within the period of time I have to create it, digital technology is deemed as significant in the process. Over the last 6 weeks, I have used digital technology to research, which even though I had to do a lot of research in AS, I think I could develop the skills when in the process of A2. Moreover, as I am still in the process of researching, I have not been able to use a camera for a draft of my product. Last year I think I handled the camera at an average level as I did find using the camera reasonably hard as it was new to me, and often got perplexed on what angles to used and mostly changed the shots. This year I would like to be able to write all the camera shots and angles down and be able to do them instead of them looking bad and changing them. Therefore, this year I am hoping to achieve more advanced skills in camera work so that when I storyboard, it will not be a waste of time as I will use it and know every camera shot. Furthermore, last year me and my group split the editing skills between us, making it even amount of editing each. None of us were very experienced which meant our editing wasn't advanced as it could have been. One of my group members (Callum), did all of the advanced editing which I was not prepared to do. I took control of the simple editing which was important, but I found was quite simple. Therefore, over the next few months I would like to learn advanced editing skills so that when it comes to editing, I can use these skills and ensure my product is the best it can be. I am also hoping to develop my editing skills in general as this year I will be taking on the full editing, with only little guidance which means I have to ensure my skills are to the best they can be. Additionally, even though I used Adobe Premiere to edit the sound, I had to use voice recorders to actually record the sound. I found using the voice recorders easy therefore if I need to use them in A2, I will think I will be able to use them easily. Overall, I am hoping to exceed in my skills in digital technology in the process of the A2 coursework. I have learned a diverse amount of skills in AS but I want to ensure in the process of A2 coursework, they are advanced.

In my AS coursework, due to being in a group with three other members, it was reasonably easy to think up ideas, share them and develop them. However, as in A2, I have to think up all the ideas on my own, I want to ensure I mind map as much as possible. From researching the three briefs, I was most into adverts. When choosing this brief, I then started to think about brainstorming. In AS, I do not think my skills in brainstorming were very advanced as I did one, which was shared ideas between the group. However, I now need to ensure I am thinking up all the ideas I can so that I will find the best idea. Throughout the process of research, I want to be open to idea changes as I want my original idea to develop so that I can achieve the greatest idea for my product. At the moment, I have started researching but I do want to be able to adjust, and change my idea as I think when coming to planning and story boarding, the vision I have now will sub consciously change or adjust slightly. Therefore, whilst in the creation of my A2 coursework I want to develop advanced skills of creativity which will help me in the planning, creation and post production of my product.

Throughout my AS coursework, post production was a very important part. I think throughout post production in AS, I struggled as it was my first time making an opening sequence. I am hoping in my A2 coursework that I can develop skills in post production that will help me create the best product achievable. This year and next year, I want to be able to edit and create my product up to high standards. To ensure I gain these skills, I need to ensure I know what I need to do to achieve the skills: e.g. if I want to add any effects to my product, I need to know how to do them before post production. I think I will find post production the most difficult which means I need to make sure I take my time in the process of post production, but ensure I am keeping up with the deadlines.

Last year, research and planning helped me when it came to creating my product. I am hoping to develop the skills I learnt in the course of the AS coursework, and improve them in the process of my A2 coursework. I want to ensure my researching skills are up to a high standard so that I can gain as much knowledge as possible (about the brief I picked and the idea I am looking into) so that I can develop the original idea I have. I want to make sure I am not just researching online, that I am also looking in books and articles so that I can view different ways to approach the advertising task. Furthermore, when it comes to planning, I want to ensure I have a stable idea, even if I end up adjusting and changing it because I can work towards the final product, letting myself change and make it better on the way. Throughout the planning stage, I want to have a detailed storyboard and detailed mind maps so that I have as much information and idea's as possible, which will result in my product (hopefully) being successful. Additionally, whilst researching (last year) I had to link into real media products which had a large impact on my product as I sub consciously developed or challenged ideas from thriller films. In my A2 media coursework, I want to make sure whilst researching I find out the codes and conventions of the type of advert I am doing. I want to do this because I can develop or challenge the conventions from real media products. Therefore, I am hoping to develop my skills of research and planning from AS as I am now researching and planning on my own meaning that I have to think up and plan all alone. 

Overall, I am hoping to develop all of my skills that I learnt in AS, to ensure I achieve the greatest quality product I can.