Identify a specific target audience informed by an analysis of the Sensis data.
From the preliminary research I did for my last post, I’ve continued to look into the social media habits of 18-29 year olds.Whilst the youngest age bracket in the Sensis data is 18-29, I’d like to scale back my target audience for this project. Therefore, my target audience is 13-24 year olds. The research in the Sensis data is however, still applicable.
It goes without saying that these are the people who have had access to social media from a young age. This means that these people have had social media when they were most impressionable; as children and teenagers. For this reason, I believe that social media has a greater impact on this demographic’s mental health. That’s not to say that social media doesn’t affect all demographic’s mental health but you have to make a start somewhere. I’d like to create a community that doesn’t dissuade anyone from participating but simultaneously, this community needs to be trusting of who they’re engaging with. Thus, through having a younger target audience, everyone will be of a similar age and may in turn be facing similar issues as well as be striving for the same things.
Furthermore, I am leaning towards starting an Instagram page for my mental health campaign. Whilst Facebook is most popular across all age brackets, Instagram is more popular with younger people; 74.8% of 18-29 year olds use Instagram whereas only 40.9% of 40-49 year olds do (Sensis 2020). Therefore, I can hone in on this younger demographic.
Furthermore, I have decided that given the current situation, now is the time to learn animation and I believe that short-form animations will fit best on Instagram. From this, I may go on to make long-form animations and this may suit distribution on other platforms such as YouTube. But for now, as I try to get my head around after effects, I’ll continue to test out what will work best.
Reference:
Sensis 2020, Have Your Say Australia, company report, Sensis, viewed 23 March 2020.
Pose a question that you will answer with your social media strategy and posts.
If there’s one thing I know about myself, it’s that I’m passionate about mental health. Whilst mental health has always been something important, how it’s understood nowadays has undeniably been shaped by the internet. The internet and social media is a double edged sword when discussing mental health. That whilst social media can be used to better one’s mental health, it can also be the source or perpetuation of mental health challenges.
To understand a bit more about the role social media plays in mental health, I looked to the Sensis data. Upon looking at the Sensis (2020) data, I discovered that 37.6% of 18-29 year olds have witnessed someone being bullied or harassed on social media. It’s clear that the online world is not always a positive place. Furthermore, the ability we have to share and view photos and videos also affects our perceptions of ourselves and our self esteem. Sensis (2020) data supports this by revealing that 48.5% of 18-29 year olds feel excited when their post receives more likes than usual. In saying this some measures have been put in place to combat this such as Instagram removing likes. But is it enough? Was that the problem? There are many questions to be asked.
Ultimately, I do believe that social media often presents a false sense of reality. That despite being online within a community, people still feel isolated. That even if they’re updating and appear okay, they really need someone to check in on them. In saying this I ask the following question:
How can social media become a more honest, open and encouraging place?
Reference:
Sensis 2020, Have Your Say Australia, company report, Sensis, viewed 19 March 2020.
McDonald’s and Hungry Jack’s were founded in the USA, 1954. Hungry Jack’s however, is Burger King in the USA. Both brands advanced into the Australian market in 1971 (Burger King 2020; Hungry Jack’s 2020; McDonald’s 2020).
McDonald’s
Advertisement’s Key Message + Brand Narrative
This past summer, McDonald’s brought back the El Maco range and encouraged consumers to choose McDonald’s these summer holidays.The message of the advertisement is however, a sub-message to McDonald’s overall brand narrative. McDonald’s functions as both a dine-in and drive-thru restaurant. Their exterior however, has recently altered whereby writing McDonald’s is no longer necessary as the golden arches are a recognisable enough physical attribute of the brand. But, brand narrative is ‘also affected by the personalities of specific product categories’ (Puzakova, Kwak & Bell 2015, p. 222). Fast food typically means unhealthy but McDonald’s focuses on being a sincere family oriented brand. For example, the Ronald McDonald House Charities mission is ‘to support the ever-changing needs of seriously ill children and their families’ (RMHC 2020, para 1).
Four Semiotic Signs to Express Brand Narrative
Family + Drive Thru
This iconic expression whereby the signifier is the mum, dad, son and daughter is signified as a family going out. The denotative meaning is that the family is making a stop for food. The sign’s connotative meaning demonstrates McDonald’s desire to be family-oriented . They’re comfortable, reliable and have been with you your whole life. From getting toys with happy meals to hosting birthday parties, McDonald’s builds an attachment with its customers from a young age. Furthermore, this advertisement takes place in the drive thru. Denotatively, the family have chosen take-out over dine-in. Connotatively, McDonald’s expresses reliability; serving food in a timely manner will allow for more family time.
Dialogue + El Maco is Back-o
The dialogue is used to push the connotative meaning of family further. The signifier is the dad attempting to speak Spanish; signified as an element of humour. The denotative meaning is that the dad attempts to order in spanish but doesn’t say what he thinks he’s saying thus eliciting a laugh. But, the connotation of this is that the El Maco is for anyone. Furthermore, the sign El Maco is Back-o is signified as the slogan for this campaign. Denotatively it is used as a method to ensure people remember the ad. The mexican name is also seen as a myth as the name is given an Aussie spin so that it is palatable for Australian consumers.
Cross-Cultural Context
McDonald’s takes a customisation approach in some parts of the globe in order to ‘promote home country image to influence brand choice decisions among host country consumers’ (Kashif et al. 2015, p. 2347). For example, the Japanese menu incorporates Japanese cuisine. But with Australia being a multicultural nation, Australian menus may reference many cultures.
(Tonkatsu Teritama, Teritama, Cheese Teritama)
Hungry Jack’s
Advertisement’s Key Message + Brand Narrative
Hungry Jack’s functions as a dine-in and drive-thru fast food restaurant. As expressed in their logo, they specialise in burgers. Their slogan ‘the burgers are better’ expresses the feeling of grandeur and prestige. From this, their summer campaign was used to launch the Tropical Whopper. The advertisement uses the brand narrative to focus on the experience that will entail upon eating the burger.
Four Semiotic Signs to Express Brand Narrative
Surfer + Hammock
The man as a sign is indexical whereby as a signifier he is a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Given the context of being an Australian advertisement, he is signified as a stereotypical Aussie. The connotative meaning of this however, is that he is an active individual and regular beach goer but still finds Hungry Jack’s desirable. In combination with the hammock, summer is seen as a destination. The surfer is transported to the tropics with a single bite, alluding to the possibility of having an international getaway in your own backyard.
Dialogue + Friends
The signifier is the voiceover and signified it is an accent from the tropic region. Denotatively this is a voice that could be heard internationally rather than locally. The connotative meaning connects it back to Hungry Jack’s narrative of prestige being that a burger can elicit the feeling of travel which in turn would result in hearing accents. But, being in Australia, the advertisement ties its message back to enjoying an Aussie summer. In this case the signifier is the people and the signified is that it’s a summer gathering. Breaking down this sign’s signification, denotatively it means a pool party but connotatively it means the Tropical Whopper will satisfy everyone.
Cross-Cultural Context
Similar to McDonald’s, Hungry Jack’s takes inspiration from around the globe for their Australian menu due to Australia’s multiculturalism. But, their menu is localised to reflect a health conscious persona which isn’t seen on menus elsewhere such as in the USA.
(Australia) (USA)
Brand Narrative Similarities + Differences and Findings
McDonald’s reflects their brand narrative of family first in their advertisement. Hungry Jack’s takes a more international approach to convince consumers that their food is unmatched anywhere. Both however, localised their advertisements to the Australian summer. But Rubenstein (2017) argues that clear brand identity contributes to brand recall which influences choosing one brand over its competitors. McDonald’s strong use of semiotics that reflect brand narrative makes it my favoured brand.
Word Count: 822
References:
Burger King 2020, About Us, Burger King Corporation, viewed 20 March 2020, <https://mobile.bk.com/about-bk>.
Hungry Jack’s 2020, About Hungry Jack’s, Hungry Jack’s Australia, viewed 20 March 2020, <https://www.hungryjacks.com.au/about-hj-s>.
Kashif, M, Awang, Z, Walsh, J & Altaf, U 2015, ‘I’m loving it but hating US Understanding consumer emotions and perceived service quality of US fast food brands’, British Food Journal, vol. 117, no. 9, pp. 2344-2360.
Puzakova, M, Kwak, H & Bell, M 2015, ‘Beyond Seeing McDonald’s Fiesta Menu: The Role of Accent in Brand Sincerity of Ethnic Products and Brands’, Journal of Advertising, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 219-231.
Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) 2020, About RMHC Australia, Ronald McDonald House Charities Australia, viewed 23 March 2020, <https://www.rmhc.org.au/about-us>.
Rubenstein, K 2017, ‘The Once and Future Burger King’, International Journal of Business and Economics, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 205-212.
In regards to what I hope to create in this studio, I don’t have one particular aim but instead, an abundance. The reason being that social media is not consumed in one way for all. I have discovered through seeing the results from the Sensis survey that whether you’re a business, a teenager or an adult, your views on the capabilities of social media differ. I think from that, everyone has a social media comfort zone. For example, I choose who I want to follow and I don’t often stray away from that content. But, if rather than being a consumer of social media I were to take the role of content author (which I will in this studio) then I need to think of ways to get people out of their comfort zone in order for them to see what I publish. This is no easy task as habits are strong and competition is those with millions of followers like the Dolan twins.
In recognising that social media is saturated with content, I do question the shelf life of what we see. For example, I scroll through my Instagram feed daily. Each day there is something new to focus on and the chances of me recalling what I see yesterday is slim. So if I can barely remember what I choose to interact with, how will I remember something I only come across once? In saying that, I would like to focus on the side of social media that promotes change for the better like the Dolan Twin’s documentary. I find that social media is being used more and more to start positive trends and I think that this is the kind of content people will remember. So whilst I don’t quite know exactly what form this content will take, I do know that I want to take advantage of social media’s power to connect people.
I spend a lot of time on social media. In particular, I find YouTube to be my go to choice and with that, I have come across many videos that are inspiring or challenging.
Dolan Twins is a YouTube channel by Ethan and Grayson Dolan. Their first video The Blender Challenge was uploaded on the 13th of July 2014. From then on, they uploaded a video every Tuesday. But on October 9 2019, things changed when they uploaded It’s Time To Move On. In the hour long video, they explained that they would no longer be uploading weekly. Whilst this may sound simple, it was challenging for the brothers. Ethan (Dolan Twins 2019) says ‘not being able to recover from certain things I’m going through because I’m posting has made me want to quit so many times.’ Watching this video was challenging for myself because it brings light to the issue of social media requiring consistency in order to remain relevant despite the effects this may have on one’s mental health. With a following of more than 10 million, in the brother’s eyes there was pressure to upload in order to not let down their fans. What I see from this is that because the internet is always on, there is always someone expecting an update from someone; whether that be a video or an instagram post or story. This however, gives those who have pursued a career in the limelight an unfair duty to be online everyday.
Thankfully, the brothers have taken a step forward in bettering their mental health. Now their videos are serial and uploaded whenever they see fit. On the 18th of February 2020 they uploaded a 1.5 hour documentary Losing a Best Friend. The documentary was made as a tribute to their father who passed away in 2019. The documentary was inspiring in that it revealed the strength of their father to continue looking on the bright side despite his worsening condition. Along with the documentary, the brothers announced the creation of Love From Sean; a foundation to help out a range of cancer charities. Watching this documentary reminded me of the power social media has to make a positive change in this world.
References:
Dolan Twins 2019, It’s Time To Move On, YouTube, 9 October, Dolan Twins, viewed 16 March 2020, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2LkO0IsR5A>.
Dolan Twins 2020, Losing a Best Friend, YouTube, 18 February, Dolan Twins, viewed 16 March 2020, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxvyC3BNzIo>.
