Media Research

If I could research any aspect of media I would research audiences. Specifically, I would research the ways in which different media effects audiences and why it does so. To start my research I think I would show an audience a selection of clips. After reviewing the clips I would ask the following questions of them:

1. How do you feel after watching this clip?
2. Did your feelings change in any way over the course of the clip?
3. Did this clip influence your thoughts about the subject matter?
4. If so, how?
5. What did you think of the subject matter presented?

If I decided to do the research for the purpose of advertising, I would show the audience a selection of commercials and then add the following questions to the list above:

1. Had you previously heard of the product advertised?
2. Did you previously know of the actions and services the product advertised provides?
3. Was any emotion struck by viewing this commercial?
4. How likely are you to use this product after viewing this advertisement?
5. What about the advertisement makes you want or not want to use the product?

This type of research would be categorized under positivism media research. The media theories that I would be basing my research off of would be media effects and cultural studies. I would use a mixture of the both because my research would involve both limited and direct effects as well as audience research. However I think that to be thorough in my research I would also have to use a post positivism approach. In order to be conclusive about the effects of media on an audience I would need to use qualitative research because observations of audience reactions to the media would be an important component.

Ubiquity of Advertising

Some advertisements I’ve noticed:

Bus/ bus stop- tutors, late night classes, late night transit, various restaurants (The Sink, Beau Joe’s, Half Fast)

My sorority house bulletin board- Restaurants (Cefiore, Rush), Greek event and philanthropies, CU sponsored events

Walking around campus- Club/ cause (recycling, voting), Restaurants, Tutors and study groups, Greek events, CU sponsored events

Email- HungryBuff, Greek events, CU events

Website (CuConnect)- Events (http://www.colorado.edu/events/)

Usually I do not take too much notice to the advertising that surrounds me as I go through my daily life because more often than not I find them uninteresting and irrelevant. However as I took notice the last couple of days for the purpose of this assignment, I realized how immersed I actually am in advertising. I open my email and I have advertisements from HungryBuff informing me of the deals of the week and I log on to my CuConnect page to find lists of ongoing events. I even have advertising happening in my own home, that thanks to this assignment I now notice every time I go through the buffet line. When in comes to the ubiquity of advertising, I would say that it really is everywhere. We’ve developed a society where advertising is the fastest way to get your word out.

If I am sitting on the bus just twiddling my thumbs, waiting for my upcoming stop before I can de-board, I am very likely to check out the advertisements just merely to amuse myself. I can’t say exactly how effective of a method this is, however I can recall a few times that I took mental note of something I saw. I think the same goes for advertising in classrooms, bus stops, dining halls, buffet lines and various other spots of campus. Taking advantage of a person’s lack of amusement, if only for a moment, is a very effective way for people to at least see a company’s name or brand.  

Impact of Social Media

If someone had told me when I was 15 years old that the majority of my interaction with most of my friends would be via a social networking website, I would have called them crazy. However, the fact of the matter is that I have 929 friends on Facebook, 476 of those are in my mobile phone book, and about 350 of those I would actually call if I needed or wanted something, about 250 of those I have called in the past year, 200 of those I have at least biyearly interaction with, 50 of those I see on a daily basis, and 30 of those I would call personal friends. I am 19 years old now, and 4 years ago this social media phenomenon would have been unimaginable.

            Whether or not we realize it, social media is a huge operating point of our present day. I check my Facebook to catch up with whatever web interaction is going on between my friends and acquaintances; I listen to Pandora while studying to browse songs that match up with my interests and then YouTube the music video of the new song I discovered. In between all this I’ve also checked Wikipedia to get some background for the paper I’m writing, logged on to blogger to make a blog for my Contemporary Mass Media class and then Stumbled when I finally had some free time.

The more I look at the way social media impacts everything around me, the more I realize that it has taken over. Advertisers now utilize User-targeted advertising via Facebook, Twitter, Google and countless others and music sharing sites have causing plummeting in music sales. However I think that they largest impact of social media has been the way in which we develop and maintain relationships. Now instead of calling my Grandma on the phone to say hello, I send her a Facebook message. If I meet a guy at a party, I tell him to Facebook me instead of giving him my number, and phone calls have been reduced to wall posts and chats. Relationships are less personal and require less effort than they would be if individuals were forced to physically interact. 

TV Show Pitch

The show I am pitching will be a teen drama centering on Greek Life. It will follow a group of 8 members of a Greek community (4 sorority women and 4 fraternity men) from a school in the South. The show will specifically be about the inner drama of Greek life, following them through school, everyday social life, parties, and conflict. The drama will be extreme and further amplified by on-and-off romantic relationships within the group.

            I am pitching this to the CW because it will be the perfect compliment for their already existing shows. Targeting women 18-34 years of age (the CW’s target audience), this teen drama including deception, scandal, love, and debauchery will be perfect in capturing their interest. Many of the CW’s popular shows such as Gossip Girl, 90210, One Tree Hill and The Vampire Diaries, prove this. Playing off the stereotypes of college Greek life will be beneficial for this particular show. Hardcore partying, rush, hazing, scandalous sex, and inner-Greek competition will be key opponents in the success of this show. However on the other side of the spectrum, showing the positive side of Greek life will also be essential. Incorporating things such as sisterhood/ brotherhood, philanthropy, school spirit and comradely within the Greek community will be important. This will be new and exciting because this is an idea yet to be explored on mainstream TV.

            The goal of this show will be entertainment and since the lines of what is appropriate and not are often blurry these days, I think that it will be beneficial to accurately portray what goes on behind closed doors in the Greek community along side the drama. I also think we will have to be careful to make sure it does not cross any controversial lines, but if pulled off correctly this show will be a hit. 

Product Placement in Mean Girls

Toaster’s Stroodle- Gretchen’s dad invented

Fendi- Regina’s purse

Lexus- Regina’s car

Diet Coke- Plastics drink during lunch

Silk soy milk- Cady's drink

Sprite- Gretchen's drink

Lacoste- Cady’s shirt

Doritos- On Cady's plate

Louis Vuitton- Cady’s bag

BMW- Ragina’s mom’s car

These products were strategically placed to reflect a message about the product being presented. For example, All of the Plastics (Cady, Regina, Gretchen, and Karen) drink Diet Coke during every lunch scene. The Plastics are also the "queen bees" of the high school. This send the message that if you're "cool" or want to be "queen bee", you drink Diet Coke. The same message is reflected with the Sprite, Silk Soy Milk and Doritos. 

Regina's family is very clearly well off and wealthy. This is reinforced with the shot of her mother's BMW, her silver Lexus, and also the mention of her Fendi bag. These are all high- priced designer items that you would have to have a lot of money in order to afford. Later in the movie, Cady is seen with a Louis Vuitton purse, portraying her shift from home-schooled loser to high class Plastic. In terms of product placement, these items were carefully placed in order to portray the image of wealth and high society. 

The most odd product placement was in the beginning when it was mentioned that Gretchen's dad invented Toaster's Stroodle so her family was "loaded". I'm not entirely sure of the intent of this product placement, but I think that perhaps it was supposed to send the message that Toaster's Stroodle is a big deal and a success. But beyond that, I don't think there was any significant impact on the characters or plot line. 

Watching this movie for the purpose of this assignment made for an interesting view experience. This is one of my favorite movies of all time, so I have watched it probably about 100 times. But it was interesting to look at the way in which the products were placed to send a message and think about how that product altered or added to my perception of the different characters. Usually product placement is used as more of an advertising tool and paid for by the producers of the product. However, I have realized what a useful tool it can be for the producers of the movie. The products can say things about the characters without actually saying anything. A product can created an entirely different message based on how they are placed. For example, if Regina had driven up in an old beaten up Ford, the image of her would have been drastically altered in opposition with her shiny new Lexus.