Evaluation

• Describe the campaign theme: Refer to the film and the importance of the awareness it discusses. Refer to other sources than the film you were asked to watch.

For this project, I was tasked to first watch "the need to grow" documentary on the importance of soil. This doc follows the story of 3 people trying desperately to make a difference to future generations. The doc presents the audience with a vivid understanding of the importance of soil. After watching the doc, I felt like I had seen a glimpse into the future of the planet, and the devastation that lack of care can bring.

The films theme was important because it shows hard facts without shying away from controversy. It touches on government conspiracy and the future of humanity. It presents the facts that were killing the environment and shows how we can help reduce the indefinite effects of our issues.

• Explain how you analysed the film and other sources / knowledge and then selected an aspect / subject /issue to focus your campaign on.

I picked up on the fact that moral panic was a big issue here. The idea that we are in danger and people feel no sense of urgency is what led me to do background research. Are people even aware of these issues?

 My initial thought was that I would be creating a digital and print based advert relating to soil. However, after going out of my way to find more documentary's, I discovered a documentary series about the illegal shark finning trade and decided to pursue this as my headline.  And this is where my thought process changed. I understood that the best way to sell my idea was through fear. I realised that people don't like the truth, even if that's what they want. Connecting the dots and putting it in the face of the audience was how I was going to become successful in selling the product. I took this information as a basis of my analysis and began research from here.

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I tried to incorporate impact theory into not only my research but also my final design. I started off with my headline. "How would you like it?" this relates to food preparation itself. we associate shark fins with shark fin soup, which is a dish that can be served in a wide range of ways. What I found interesting is that I could ask my intended audience a question relating to food and get an answer related to saving the world as we know it. The question itself becomes rhetorical as soon as the audience gives it some thought on the subject matter - "How do I feel about shark fin soup?" becomes "how would I feel in that situation?". A hypodermic needle theory, physically forcing the idea into the thoughts of my intended audience. However, to some extent its still somewhat subliminal. I am not directly asking them the question, but instead giving them the tools needed to think of the situation themselves. This has a lasting affect on the audience, and keeps it fresh in their mind - somewhat cultivation.

My target audience is no one specific. The idea is that anyone can change the world, they just need a sense of direction. My hope was that I could supply them with the information needed to make their own educated guess and judgement to make a change for themselves. My target audience fits no demographic, my target audience fits no psychographic. That felt too misleading to me. I believe that anyone can make a change, and so anyone is open to access the advertisement. 

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The final product turned out extremely well in my opinion. I was able to create 3 high quality images that matched their intended purpose. Every detail was carefully planned out and all of the final exports were made to fit their criteria. 

• Pop up ad
• Sticky Ad
• Print based ad

The pop up add worked by popping up during web streamed videos and news articles. It is bright in colour and easy to notice. The entire image is hyperlinked to the website by a single click, and an 'X' is positioned in the top right corner for if the audience has no intention in reading up the matter. I believe that the product was well made, and the ad strategy works well.

The sticky ad works by physically embedding itself into news articles and web pages. It is similar to the pop up ad, however is unable to close. As it is on screen for a longer duration of time, I was able to add an extra line of information to further entice the audience to want to click the link. The product was well made and the ad strategy works well.

The print based ad works because of its scale. Its downsides are that is requires extra time to print and distribute. However, because of its scale, it can be placed on large billboards or small ads for bus interiors. Printing means more detail at a larger scale. The more detail available to me was important because the clearer I was with the image, the clearer the audience perceived my message. The product was well made and the ad strategy works well.

Overall, I am extremely happy with how the Advertorial Awareness Campaign turned out. 

How do I know the campaign was a success? 

Well, I used a network file sharing tool to distribute my ad on every website that members of my household might use. It did not cost money to distribute as it was limited to a test audience (my local network). As a result, all members of my household clicked the link when presented with the ad. This information tells us that the campaign has a success rate of 100%. This means, theoretically, my campaign was 100% successful.