Week 1 Exploration: Web Designer & Serial Entrepreneur

MCPP Portfolio Project Submission: Chief Pinning

Star Rating Sought:

2 Star

Project Description:

Every year in the navy we promote a few people to Chief. It is a big deal because it is the first Enlisted rank that is equivalent to an officer. I am putting together a DVD of the Promotion Ceremony for this years new Chiefs. 

Link to Deliverable:

Once uploaded I will post the link here.

Feedback Received:

Resources Utilized:

Will update upon completion. 

Analysis: PR Plan - Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Tactics

Goal

Our goal is to gain back the 10% of ticket sales we lost over the last year. We will do this without raising ticket prices and getting people re-interested in seeing movies at the theater.

Objectives

Bring in 10% more revenue then last year

Keep ticket and concession prices at current costs or lower

Bring in additional entertainment options (stand up comedy, closed circuit events, live theater)

Strategies

We will advertise these events and goals through local radio advertising and flyers at local community events.

Show the theaters interest in the community by attending and advertising at community events (farmers market, school events, concerts)

Talk with local live entertainment about setting up community nights.

Hold local film festivals and Film making and critiquing classes.

Tactics

Attend local entertainment in the area and bring in acts that will set the mood and feel for the theater.

Create a unique feel for each theater so people are interested in visiting for the theater not just the movie.

Offer short-term childcare for duration of show.

Offer larger variety of healthy and local options at concession stand

Build a community by offering events where people can mingle and talk as opposed to watching a movie in silence and walking away. (Classes, movie discussion time)

Target Audience

List your three primary audiences, those whom you want to impact through this plan.

People interested in getting involved with the community

People who like movies and want to know more about them

People looking for alternative entertainment but like the comfort of the movie theater.

Key Messages

The movie theater and Hollywood are separate.

We are invested in the Community

We have more to offer then Just movies.

Exploration: Situation Analysis

Hi Class,

This campaign will be a little different because it is for the whole industry and not just one company. I might want to scale back later and focus on one company but for now I am looking at the industry as a whole. The public opinion seems to be pretty low right now. The big concern currently is skyrocketing prices, both for tickets and concessions. There also appears to be little disconnecting in the audiences mind between the movie theater industry and Hollywood. With the way we watch movies at home now it is more important for theaters to provide a service that entices the audience out of their homes.

                With most theater charging over $10 per ticket and at least that much for popcorn and a drink, it becomes a pricey date fast and even worse for a family. When you take into consideration the turnaround time for that same movie to be available for $15.99 on DVD is getting to be right around three months or less, the price doesn’t seem worth it. The customer service has gone downhill too. The ticket and concession lines are long and slow, the cahiers are listless and apathetic, and the fellow movie goer is becoming less considerate. It has gotten to the point where we get at least three cell phone reminders and still hear a phone ringing half way through a movie. Why put up with that when you have a 70 in High definition TV in your living room and the latest Blu-Ray for less than two admission tickets.

                The connection between movie theaters and Hollywood is pretty tight. This is another area where the theater companies might want to re-image. When Hollywood is in a lull and putting out films that aren’t interesting the public theaters suffer. This would be a good time to diversify entertainment options. Many theaters do have some live shows and closed circuit events, but the advertisement is shoddy and rarely reaches the right market. Movie marketing is huge and most big budget films create buzz through many outlets: trailers, actor interviews, web sites, magazines and the list goes on. Theaters need to vary their advertising as well, and promote the theater not the movie.

                With some re imaging and some slight re-structuring of the antiquated business model the theater industry can put the audience back in their seats.

               

Week 1 Practice: Research

Hi Class,

Here is the link for My Power Point for Research.

Thanks
Addicus

Brain Based Ideas

https://www.apple.com/

Apple’ website does great things with minimalism and contrast. The white background makes everything

pop off the screen and really highlights the product. The use of white makes the whole site look clean

and bright and sets the tone for viewing the products.

http://www.progressive.com/commercials/betterplace/

Progressive does a similar thing with their commercials, the minimalist white background and color on

the customer and their product. Even the mascon is dressed in all white because they want to highlight

the brand and the consumer.

PLZSTAYCALM

This is a GPS game that allows you to interact within you community. You can meet other players or explore areas near where you are. It also has limited time games that are only available to certain players. I does a great job of creating sub-communities and making people feel like they have access to special and unique content.

Branded Vs Traditional: Are they Really Different?

There seems to be a lot of controversy over the rise of the advertorial. Both sides agree that the audience is skeptical and that the journalists that write advertorials have a stigma of not being real journalists. Propionates of the practice say that it is a realistic way to continue working in a shrinking field and actually make more money then they did in traditional journalism. The other side argues that you cannot produce maintain journalistic integrity with a brand image to worry about.  

            The primary argument on either side seems to boil down to one of two things: Money and Integrity. Those in that support advertorials point out that it is a lucrative way to continue working in journalism in a time when traditional organizations are downsizing. It makes since to go where the money is especially if they other option just fired you. Those opposed to the practice say that the money corrupts the story by giving it a desired outcome.

            Some opposed to advertorials or brand journalism say that the articles look too much like traditional news articles and it is misleading for the audience. With so much content out there it has become more important for the audience to be wary of information they receive. Large news organizations have television, print, web presence and social media. Smaller organizations have any combination of that list. home bloggers, podcasters and independent journalists are popping up all the time creating new sources of content. Not all of these sources are reliable and the audience has gotten better at researching what they are interested in to verify a story. The majority of the audience today does not blindly believe a story and are savvy enough to recognize a source.

            In the Columbia Journalism Review article Brandedbut ‘independent’ Media Ann Friedman discusses the economical advantages for working in Brand Journalism. But that increase in pay comes with a price as she points out  “The biggest annoyance for me was trying to prove to people- sources, media colleagues, my parents- that I was still a real ‘journalist.’” It has been argued through many articles that a stories validity will always be called into question when it has a brand sponsor. With that pointed out it is important to bring up that most big traditional media source are brands also. CNN, Fox, New York Times, Wall Street Journal are all companies with sponsors to appease and goals to meet. Just because Tumblr and FaceBook have a more focused agenda doesn’t mean that they can lie in a story.

            The importance of information accuracy is even more crucial then ever. Like Andy Bull points out, “If you say eight out of 10 cats prefer your cat food, you’d better be right. Because, if you are not, the crowd will tell you very publicly that you are wrong.” Not only in the audience willing to go out and do the research to validate your claim, they have the means and drive to set you straight on several public forums. This goes for both traditional journalism and advertorials. So the argument that brand journalism breeds inaccurate or blatantly false stories is irrelevant. As soon as a brand looses credibility they loose their audience.

            What is important in all the back and forth about the source of a story is really getting lost. Lewis DVorkin says “What’s a Facebook Like really worth? How often do Twitter followers actually read 140 characters? Not every post on Forbes.com gets tens of thousands of page views, nor do videos get as many streams. You need to be timely, relevant and authentic in this new era.” If you are producing content that is not reaching anyone then it doesn’t matter where it came from. The whole reason behind journalism, whether traditional or branded, is to get your information out. If I am going to write a story about an earthquake in California does it matter is I’m being paid by The New York Times or Apple Inc. Either way I’m going to be held to a journalistic standard by my organization and by my audience. And either way I am going to be scrutinized and challenged by other organizations.

As Bull Andy discusses in his In Defense Of article “In modern media, individuals are powerful – as powerful as the message they have to put across. Small campaigns can go viral on social media if they strike a chord.” One person can truly bring down or build up an idea. The independent bloggers and podcasters have a voice that can gain as much range as any organization. With just a few followers and a strong enough argument a Tweet can spread like wild fire. One person can call out a missed fact or skewed statistic and bring to light any spotty journalism in just a few hours. And again this goes for both sides of the journalistic fence.

As long as the brand is being honest about it’s involvement in the story and maintains that transparency the audience can weed out the commercialism out of the story. This can be applied to the “traditional journalism” organizations as well.  If Tumblr needs to put a disclaimer on their stories pointing out the sponsor then Fox should be held to the same standard. It could be argued that organizations like Fox keep open records of ownership and sponsors but the same could be said for advertorials.

On the surface it is not hard to see the difference between Traditional Journalism and Advertorials but the deeper you dig the more similar they become. It really has less to do with where the money comes from to produce the story and more to do with the individual creating the story. If Ann Friedman is hired by FaceBook to write a story on a new Presidential Candidate that might have a strong opinion about FaceBook and Sean Hannity is assigned by Fox to cover the same politician which story will be more trust worthy. One article will definitely be an advertorial but does that make it any less bias.

Advertorials if done right still require the same amount of investigation, research, story boarding and writing as a traditional editorial. The primary difference is where the money is coming form and some time in to the product or company providing the funding for the work. If the journalist has integrity the story will be solid and trust worth either way. It really should be an argument of solid work journalism and shoddy, lazy journalism instead of the argument of where the money is coming from. In Branded but ‘independent’ media Ann Friedman quotes Jessica Bennett saying, “There is a lot of crap journalism out there, so sometimes it bothers me when people get all high and mighty about branded content. I really think it’s the story, not where is comes from.” In the end the story and its accuracy is the thing that matters that is what the audience really cares about.

Andy Bull points out that “Here’s another reality: brand journalism is a fact. It’s here and it’s growing. Brands, organizations, charities, campaigns and causes have the money to employ journalists, and to use journalistic techniques, to engage with the public. Increasingly, they are choosing to do so, while traditional media companies are downsizing.” I think this sums up the bottom line. Whether you agree with the brand journalists or traditionjournalists it doesn’t change the fact that advertorials are here and a part of out lives. How we interact with them and how we choose to let them affect us is the real question.