Evaluate the adverts {U20;M3,D2)

Learning Outcome 3 (U20): Be able to produce the planned media components

M3 (U20) - Create production material that follows the codes and conventions of the chosen genre for the media product

Codes and conventions are used in any media product. Whether it be a film, a billboard, a magazine or a video advertisement, these are always applied. The codes are the actual pieces that demonstrate what the product is, and give it meaning. This could include the way it has been filmed by the camera, or the actions of someone/something in the media text. Conventions are the ways of using the codes, which is where the audience comes into play. This is because conventions demonstrate the expected way a media product should be.

Codes and conventions are very genre specific, therefore to create a successful product, they have to be used carefully and with diligence. This ensures the media product is being portrayed in the correct way, and will lead to a maximised engagement from the targeted audience. They give the meaning behind the product, which is why it is fundamental they are created and implemented in the correct and most appropriate ways.

I will be explaining how we managed the codes and conventions of the media products we created, and how we created meaning behind the production materials. The three different methods of marketing that we used for Phizzwizzard were:

1. Magazine advert
2. Billboard advert
3. Video advert (Youtube)

Magazine and billboard advert:

The first billboard and magazine code and convention that I included was the consistent use of the Phizzwizzard can. We were able to wrap the can which gave it a very real and perfect look, which was important when trying to be professional in the advertising. It has a very vibrant aesthetic look to it, and with the combination it of being consistently planted on a pink/purple bright background, it makes it stand out clearly. It clearly promotes the 'strawberry lace' flavour due to the red strawberry coming through the back of the can which follows the codes and conventions of the product, because the brief clearly states to promote it as a strawberry laced drink.

Another code and convention that I followed throughout the different advertising campaigns was the consistent logo. This font (Fabfelt) appeals to our target audience because the twirls and curves illustrate the flavour of the drink being strawberry laced. This appeals to our older target audience because they have nostalgia from when they drunk this flavoured drink when they were younger, but also interests the younger audience because its a cool new flavour being reintroduced into the market. Including this as the logo of the drink relates back to the code and convention of both keeping the promotion consistent throughout, and using it as a flavoured effect. Keeping the font consistent is important because it means people will have an instant understanding that it is Phizzwizzard when they come across it. 

Next, we used a catch phrase throughout the video, magazine and billboard advertising - "A magical phizz". This connotes the magical effect that the drink has, relating back to the 'wizard' element of the product name. This clever catch on words was a key factor we used to interest the target audiences by making the drink seem magical. This was a key theme that we carried throughout the project, giving the product an enchanted and mythical effect. This was used to mainly target the younger target audiences because they would be attracted to a magical and special new drink.

Another aspect we used to add towards our key theme of the product being magical was the use of clouds lifting the product in our magazine advertising. This was a very effective special element we included because it glorified the product, making it seem like it was being lifted into heaven. This increases the attraction we will gain because it gives the drink a strong and powerful identity.

We also ensured we made the promotions easy to engage with for the target audiences. Without this, there would be no action they could take to keep up with the brand and they wouldn't know where they could purchase the drink. This is why we used our social media and website in order to interact with the customer who wants more information about the product. In addition, another way we did this is through using the QR code on the billboard and magazine, so they could scan them with their phone to direct them to our website. This is a key code and convention because it enables the customer to actually interact and engage with the product/business.

Video advert:

There were many conventions which we used in our video advert to ensure both of our target audiences were targeted, creating both a retro theme and a magical effect throughout the production. The first one I will be discussing was the location of the advert. This was filmed in a bar in London (Cuckoo Club), which mainly targets the older target audience. This aspect of the video is fundamental to the successfulness of the drink, because it leads to interest from this age range. This in turn create the nostalgic effect on this target audience, which drives engagement and sales of the product. Although you're able to see the alcohol in the back on view, we had to be careful of this considering our target audience. However, to ensure we were not going against any of our codes and conventions, we steered clear of including any alcohol in the production of the video, despite it being set at an over 18s club. 
We decided to use this location because we were granted free access for a day, meaning we still managed to keep the costs low for the production of the video advert. This was a much more suitable location to film our video advert because it is a private room which makes the production look much more professional than doing it in a public place which everyone has access to. In addition, it meant there were no potential dilemmas or issues, as we were the only ones in the room to produce the content as we wanted it. Not only was it free and professional, but it was also perfect when attempting to target our target audiences because it is a very cool location This was especially great for targeting the older target audience because we filmed at the bar, which they can easily relate to.

Another convention that we included in this piece of advertising for our new releasing drink was the colour scheme of the video. We filmed the video at a bar, which meant the colours were very bright and vibrant, therefore having a luminescent and magical impact on our product. Due to the background of some of the scenes having flashing lights and bright banners, it enabled us to create a key vision for the product, which demonstrates the cool retro aspect it has.

As demonstrated by the pictures, we can see that most of the time, there were bright pink/purple lights which coordinates with the flavour of our drink, making it stand out.

This was vital when we were trying to target the younger target audience, because the lights and shining colours all added to brining a new cool drink to the market for this age range.

The logo and slogan were massively important conventions we used in this media product. At the very end of the video, there are two last scenes - one showcasing the logo and the other including our slogan under the hashtag '#MagicalPhizz'. The logo is made very big and bold to increase awareness and recognition for the drink. Consistently seeing and recognising the drink from billboards, magazines and this video has a large influence on consumers decisions, because when they're in a shop deciding what drink to buy, they may be aware of Phizzwizzard and purchase this instead of their regular choice.

The use of our slogan including connotations of magic and mystery reinforces the magical elements of the drink. This targets the younger demographic. because magic is a very popular theme in the teenage youth. Having a play on words with the 'wizard' part of the name of the drink is a great way to attract the audience and make the drink more relatable for the older target audience. This is because it has a nostalgic effect for them and makes them think about all the times they drank a similar drink when they were growing up. In addition, due to having the nostalgic effect on the older audience, they may feel like the drink is bringing them back to the youth with the magical connotations. Therefore the slogan is well targeted for both our older and younger target audiences.

Furthermore, regarding the slogan, we used a hashtag (#) to present it in the video advert. This was massively important to us when we were trying to target the younger demographic because it is very in fashion to use them at the moment. This may even start viral thread of people sharing their drinks with the hashtag. As a result of this, people may feel left out, therefore will purchase the drink to get in on the hashtag trend. Therefore, this was a great strategy in targeting the teenage audience.

We developed the slogan early in the pre-production stage, as this is a vital part of the campaign. Having the slogan early on meant that we could develop the entire campaign around it, using it as a focal point for the Phizzwizzard brand. 

Through these two short video clips, we had to ensure we maximised the amount of attention we were bringing to the product. A key code and convention we used here was gaining the customers attention on the product by creating unique and enticing video clips. We were able to achieve this by demonstrating the drink being poured into a glass in. a very aesthetically pleasing way. This made the drink very well presented and glorified, which in turn brought about awareness of the product. Using the red liquid really portrayed the strawberry laced flavour of the drink which is bright and shiny looking. This enabled us to inform the customers of what they would receive if they bought the drink. 

Similarly to the billboard and magazine advertising, we were also able to have shots of the canned drink clearly presented in the video advert, which fulfils the code and convention of bringing attention to the uniqueness of the product. 

(image sourced from youtube)

The last code and convention that we used in this video advert was the music throughout. We used two songs to separate the video into two sections, both having much different feels to give the audience two ideas of what the product Phizzwizzard is like. Both of the songs were released in the 1990's, which gives the video a retro theme. This was one of our key specifications for the promotional material from the client, therefore using retro styled songs was very important and impactful. 
The first song we used is called 'The Notorious B.I.G.' by Mo Money Mo Problems. The second song we used is called 'How's it Goin' down' by DMX. As we are targeting around 30-35 year olds as one of our primary target audiences, using these songs was perfect as they would have listened to them while they were growing up. The nostalgic effect was already coming through from the flavour and style of the drink, but adding these songs in the video   advertising indicates we are really targeting this audience, and they would find it very personally directed at.


Pre-existing media products that inspired our Phizzwizzard advertising campaigns

When we were creating the billboard and magazine adverts, we considered other different and previous soft drink adverts. This gavels inspiration as to how to make an impactful and successful campaign which attracts the soft drinks target markets. The first one we looked at was the 'Fanta' billboards. The main aspect we focused on when taking inspiration from this billboard was the colour scheme and the impact that it  has on the overall campaign. As Fanta is an orange fizzy drink, they used their main colour consistently to create a brand image and a key theme to run through the branding. Similarly to them, our drink is one distinctive flavour - strawberry laced. This means that we can use the idea of keeping the colours consistent to the flavour of the drink, which is why we created a red and purple theme to all of our promotions. This met our key codes and conventions of making the brand recognisable and creating awareness for the product.

(image taken from google images)

As pictured the right, we can see that the inspiration we took really took an effect on the overall product we created for our billboard advertising. Just like the Fanta advert, we created a colour coordinated campaign to incise the customer into purchasing the 'strawberry laced' flavoured fizzy drink.

Within the video advert, we also took inspiration from another drink advert. J20 was a very good example for us of how we could use our colour palette throughout to create meaning in the piece of advertising. Throughout their video advert, they used their orange colour palette to really emphasise the drinks flavour and the brand identity. Therefore, to take inspiration from them, we were able to take our colour palette of red/pink/purple colours to demonstrate the strawberry laced flavour of the drink to the target audience. This was great for meeting the brief because it met the key values of the product and demonstrated clearly to the target audience what the product is. 

As shown by the image to the right, we used red lighting to have an effect on the product being strawberry lace flavoured. In addition we included the red drink logo and the red canned product for added red effect.

In addition, similarly to a J20 drink, our drink is an alternative to an alcoholic drink. Taking this and the colour palette into consideration, we filmed the video advert at a bar in London called Cuckoo Club. This really targets the older target audience as well as the older range in the younger target audience of 17 and 18 year olds. Therefore, it gives the idea that the drink could act as a mixer or an alternative to an alcoholic beverage. There is a gap in the market for young people who don't drink, which is a growing statistic. This indicates it is a great campaign in terms of staying cool in a bar but not including alcohol in the drink, therefore targeting both our older and younger target audiences. 

Our storyboard was very helpful when it came to producing the advert because it enabled us to see what we had planned and give us an outline as to how we should film it. It links to the video because even before filming we knew we wanted to have a key red theme come through in the advert to really showcase the strawberry laced flavour of the drink. Just like J20 did with their orange theme, we wanted to replicate it in our own unique way. As seen in the story board, a key way we planned to do this was through demonstrating various pictures of the red canned drink and different vivid images of the drink being poured out, being a bright red colour. We also used the storyboard to plan a variety of different shot types and camera movements, as this is consistent with existing ads, so fits the codes and conventions in the industry.

D2 (U20) - Demonstrate how the technical and aesthetic properties of the media components meet the client brief

The client brief had one main component in which we had to achieve within the overall project. This was to create three pieces of advertising promotion for the drink 'Phizzwizzard' under a larger corporation 'Carter Soft Drinks'. These three pieces of promotion include a billboard advert, a magazine advert and a video (youtube/tv) advert.



Billboard advert:

Magazine advert:

Video advert:

We were also given a specific target audience in which we had to direct our three marketing campaigns at. As stated in the brief, our two target audiences are 13-18 year olds, and people in their 30s. Our methods of promotion worked really well because the different adverts were able to appeal to the different target audiences. For example, the video was great when trying to target the younger demographic because it was promoted over social media, meaning it was easily accessible for the audience, and gave it the potential to become viral online. However, the magazine was a great example of a piece of promotion that worked especially well for the older target audience because they're more likely to pick up a food/drinks magazine or read up on print based articles. 
Although these methods were quite effective when attempting to target our target audiences, there were definitely different methods which we could have implemented that could have been just as impactful, if not more. For example, creating a social media post would be an exceptionally effective method of advertising in order to target the younger demographic. This is because it would be much more trendy than a billboard for example, and could lead to sharing and mass viewing of it within our younger target audience. However, it would have been much too difficult to create this many different methods of marketing our product, so we had to narrow it down to just the three ones stated in the brief. It is more important to us to perfect the three that the client has asked for than create another but not make each one as quality as they could be.

The next client requirement we had to meet was to meet the expectations of both target audiences, therefore having a fair spread of methods that could apply to and interest both age ranges. The reasoning behind targeting the completely contrasting target audiences is. because Carter Soft Drinks are trying to bring a retro theme to the drink and gain the interest from the older demographic. This would be done through creating a nostalgic effect for the product, as it is a similar one to what they would have drunk when they were younger. However, it is also targeted at the younger generation because it is a new cool and unique flavoured drink that is being brought to the market, which would be perfect on a day out. 

We were able to meet this criteria through creating the advertising material in a target market specific way. For example, we were able to target the older target audience in the magazine promotion. This is because they're much more likely to pick up a piece of print media to read through, especially if it is on food and drink, because it is a very neutral category. We were able to target both audiences through the billboard promotion, because it is a mass above the line piece of marketing. This suggests it would be visible to any person that is passing it, therefore acts as a vastly targeted promotion. This means it would be applicable to target both the older and the younger target audiences we set out to direct the product at. 
Lastly, we were also able to target both target audiences through the video advertisement we created at Cuckoo club in London. There are reasons that it targeted both demographics we intended to target. For example, we filmed the video at a club with a bar, which is strictly over 18, therefore eliminating the younger target audience. However, this strongly targets the older age group because it may be where they hang out and see people often, therefore gives feature for them to relate to in the advert. This ensures they feel personally targeted, and understand that the product is for their use. Although, on the other hand, it also targets the younger target audience because teenagers were used as characters in the production. This implies that people of this age drink the product, and it is perfectly targeted for them. This would make them very interested, as they see others their age drinking and enjoying the product. 
These are the ways we were able to meet this component of the brief, therefore ensuring we were evenly targeting both required audiences. 

The next component we had to include in the marketing materials was the logo of the product. We ensured we kept this consistent in order to create recognition and awareness of the fizzy drink, therefore making it more likely viewers of the promotion to purchase the product. In addition, we used a strawberry laced font (Fabfelt) to demonstrate the flavour of the drink, adding to the key aspects of what the customer would receive if they bought the drink. The red colour of the logo reiterates the strawberry flavour and gives the audience a clear understanding of what they would receive if purchased. It is important that this stood out because it is one of the main aspects of all of the pieces of advertising, as well as the first thing that a customer would see on the front of the can. Creating such a unique and genre based logo for the drink is a great way to entice customers and create a very strong image for the product.


In addition, we also had to include the actual company behind the 'Phizzwizzard' drink. As stated in the brief, Carter Soft Drinks are the business who own Phizzwizzard, therefore it is fundamental they are given the mention in the advertising campaigns we created. As they are the creators of the product, it is only fair to give them the relevant credit and brand awareness they deserve. It is a vital component because it gives the drink more of an identity and creates more meaning and background behind the drink for the viewers to see. This could lead to them to the website of Carter Soft Drinks, therefore understanding more about the product Phizzwizzard. 

Another component that we had to meet in the project was to include call to actions in the promotion. We only did this in the magazine and billboard advertising because it wouldn't have given the customer a long enough time to see it in the video advert had we included it there too. 
The first way we did this was through the social media symbols. For example, we included the Facebook, Instagram and Twitter symbols, to suggest there would be more information if they followed us on those platforms. This was really important because its a great way to capture the younger target audience. As there is a mass audience of young people on social media, giving them this opportunity to see the product on their screens is a key way to increase the awareness and sales. In addition, it would be able to become viral if the target audience shared the images and social media posts with their friends, and it became increasingly popular. 


The next way we did this is through the QR code presented on both the billboard and magazine adverts. This is extremely effective because if scanned by a phone, it will take the customer straight to the website, therefore making it hassle free and very easy to do. Putting it on a magazine advert allows the person reading to instantly find out more about the product, and give them the opportunity to purchase. Similarly, it would have the same impact with the billboard advert. This is most helpful for the older target audience because it is an easy way of using technology, and they might not be as advanced as the younger demographic.

Lastly, we were able to put in the website as the last call to action. As people may not have their phones on them when reading about the drink, or may not have a suitable phone where a QR code works, they would be able to note down the website which we put on the billboard and magazine. This would give them a platform they could visit to give them more of an idea behind Phizzwizzard, and an option to purchase the product.
These are all excellent call to actions which fulfil the component of gaining the interest and awareness from the target audiences the product is aimed at.


Overall, we were able to include all the components labelled in the brief to a very high quality, therefore creating three very successful advertising campaigns.