Codes and Conventions of Newspaper Advertisements

30/09/10

As part of my coursework, I will have to produce a newspaper advertisement for my TV channel. As research, I have looked into factors which could be considered as some of the codes and conventions of newspaper advertising.
Most print advertising will make use of a brand name or logo. Logos are often instantly recognisable as being associated with a particular brand, e.g. the coca-cola logo or the McDonalds 'M.' This ensures that people are aware of the brand and clear as to what they are advertising.
Slogans are also common amongst advertising, including print advertising, these are primarily short and memorable phrases which allow the advertiser's message to sink in. Some examples of slogans include 'Beanz meanz Heinz' and 'Have a break, Have a Kit Kat.'
A fairly common convention found amongst these advertisements is that some factual information about the product/service will be provided, this can be a range of details. In the case of a TV channel, it would probably be details of some shows being aired on the channel, as well as the number of the TV channel on freeview, sky, or whatever service was being used.
Most advertisements also use persuasive techniques such as persuasive language, celebrity endorsement, desirable images, and striking colours.
For my TV channel, I will probably either do a music channel or a teen film channel; I haven't yet developed a logo, but will do so when I have decided which of these ideas I would like to use. I am not sure whether in my newspaper advertisement I would want to use a slogan, but have thought of a couple of slogans that I could use for each option. For example, if I did a music channel I could use the slogan, 'where music lives,' or 'massive music,' and if I did a film channel I could use the slogan, 'fantastic films in one place' or 'all your favourite films.'

Planning - Website Structure

30/09/10

Above is a screenshot of a plan for my website structure made in Microsoft word. The homepage is at the top of the chart, and the sections below are Contact us, Competitions, Videos, Programme Page (a page for a specific programme), What's On, News, Forum, and Games. Many of these subsections are split into further subsections. I am aware that I will be limited and will not construct the whole of the plan, but wanted to plan out what I would put on a complete website.

Research into teen websites

20/09/10

Another website which I have researched is the website for the E4 television channel. (www.E4.com)
E4 is a television channel aimed at a teenager and young adult audience. The primary content of the website seems to be video clips about, of, or previewing the programmes found on the channel.
The colours used throughout the website are white and purple, this corresponds with the colours found in the logo of the TV channel and so ensures that the website corresponds with the recognition of the brand. This may be a good idea for my own website.
Like the other websites I have researched so far, the navigation is at the top of the page, and similarly to the BBC Three website, the homepage of the E4 site displays a TV schedule. This is accompanied by a short synopsis of the episode of the programme selected. This schedule is next to a series of links to the TV shows shown on the E4 channel. At first, I didn't like this as the positioning of these links was a little misleading as I thought that they would be the shows highlighted in the schedule as they were right next to it. I do like the feature that allows the user to scroll sideways through the links however.
The E4 website, unlike the others, has links to several online games on it's homepage. These games seem to be primarily unrelated to the channel's programming, but nevertheless would probably be attractive to many teenagers using the website. Some of the games are linked to programmes on the channel. I liked some of the games, but didn't really see the point of having so many as the website isn't a gaming website.
This is a screenshot of the E4 homepage. I think that the main image stands out well, probably because of its size. I also like the way that the navigation highlights the link to the page that you are currently on as it means that you know where you are wherever you are on the site.

Research into teen websites

18/09/10

I have decided to analyse the Kerrang! website (http://www.kerrang.com/) next as part of my research. site is a music website focusing on rock music. It has a corresponding magazine and music channel. As many teenagers watch Kerrang! as well as othermusic channels, I thought it a good candidate for research. The colours used are darker than those used in the previous 2 websites, corresponding with the association of the genre of rock music with darkness and the colour black, this would be a convention familiar to fans of this particular genre of music. The navigation, as with the other 2 websites I have researched so far,runs along the top of the page. This seems to be a common feature amongst many websites and I would consider using it in my own website. The navigation on the Kerrang! website is accompanied with number labels, perhaps connoting the labels to tracks on a CD, and therefore appropriate to a website focused on music.
This screenshot shows the bottom of the homepage, which allows the oppurtunity of commercial gain through the merchandise available and the tickets on sale. These are both things which would appeal to the target audience of Kerrang! I like this is it's useful and shows that the designers understand their audience. The links to Twitter etc. would also be very appealing to this audience as it increases the interactivity of the website.
The images used on the website are primarily of musicians and bands, once again focusing on the subject of the site. There is also an image of the latest issue of the magazine next to the logo, similarly to the Bliss website.
The website has many links to music videos and clips of interviews etc. similarly to the the BBC Three website, which also relies heavily on the visual nature of video. It also has links to 'gigs' and tickets, particularly to those of it's own tour.
Unlike the other websites, it also contains aspects of outside advertising. I don't really like this as I think it takes attention away from the website itself, but I can understand how it would be a good method of gaining revenue.

Research into teen websites

18/09/10

The second website that I decided to research was the website for the TV Channel BBC Three. BBC Three shows programming that appeals to teenagers and young adults.(http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/) The website uses the colour schemes attributed to the channel's logo, and recent TV advertising campaigns for the channel provide the base for the images of birds, trees, buildings, and tubing. The website itself is very much centred on the programming available on the channel. .
There is a schedule with thumbnail pictures supplied at the top of the page, as well as a full schedule available via the navigation, which, similarly to the Bliss website, is also located at the top of the page.
There is also a working countdown counting the amount of time until the channel goes live for the night.
There are clips available of the TV shows, as well as entire episodes available via the BBC's iplayer system. There is slso a blog discussing the different programming which can be reached via various links to posts on different shows throughout the homepage. This screenshot shows another portion of the BBC Three homepage. This part of the homepage contains links to pages containing details of the TV shows on the channel and a 'Find us on the web' section which links to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to increase the interactivity. Promoting TV channels through the use of social networking sites etc. can be affective because the target audience in this case are young people who would use social networking sites regularly; this would mean that the target audience would be more aware of the TV channel throughseeing it on Facebook, Twitter, etc. The links are accompanied by pictures from some of the TV shows in order to make it more visual. I like the way that the sections on the portion of this homepage are separated into boxes as I feel it gives a clear definition of what each section is.
Unlike the Bliss site, the BBC Three site is firmly focussed on one subject - that of it's programming. Bright colours are used throughout, primarily the purple and pink of it's logo, although there is also a lot of blue used.
At the very bottom of the page there are links to other BBC channel websites as denoted by their logos.

Research into teen websites

16/09/10

I have begun researching websites aimed at teenagers in order to see what other websites do to attract a teenage audience, and also to try to judge whether certain things work or not regarding website design. The first website that I decided to research is the website linked to the teenage magazine Bliss (http://www.mybliss.co.uk/home). The magazine and website are aimed at a target audience of teenage girls; the colour scheme uses colours such as pink, black, white and purple. The pink used conforms to the stereotypical view of girls.
The website is easy to use, but almost every page is very full of links. The homepage itself has two links to horoscopes, and two links to the same competition. I didn't like this as I felt it was wasting space, and I think when I design my website I want to avoid having too many links to the same place on my homepage. There are links to the main features/interviews near the top of the page cycling on a form of slideshow to switch focus periodically to each of the features.
The main navigation is at the top of the page, beneath the logo and an advertisement for the latest issue of the magazine, and each part of the navigation highlights in its own individual colour when it is hovered over, bringing up a drop down menu beneath it. The links that are part of the navigation are in a bold font and are written in capital letters, making them stand out more.
The images used are all of celebrities, this would be easy to do in my own website, but this would probably involve infringing copyright so it's best if I don't. I could however use pictures that I take of friends etc. and use them as the stars of the programmes on my channel.
The website provides a link or advertisement to the magazine on every page.
Some elements of the layout that I found interesting were the opinion poll of a question about a celebrity on the right hand side, and the 'most viewed' links beneath it. I found the opinion poll interesting because I thought it was a good way of increasing interactivity in the site and involving the audience in discussion. I found the 'most viewed' links interesting because I hadn't thought before of what effect calling attention to the most popular aspects of the site would have. I liked it because it made the most popular things on the website more easy to find.

A2 Advanced Portfolio Research

13/09/10

Research for the website launching a new Teen TV Channel for my Advanced Portfolio.

I have considered several TV channels that teens watch in the form of a mind-map as part of this research. There are very few specified teen TV channels, but channels which have programming aimed at or attractive to teenagers include BBC Three, Channel 4, and E4. Other channels include music channels such as Scuzz, Kerrang, and MTV.
Some children's TV channels are also appropriate for younger teens, such as Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, which provide programmes which are often popular amongst some teens such as High School Musical.
Programmes on E4 and Channel 4 for teenagers include Smallville, Skins and the Inbetweeners.
BBC Three shows programmes popular amongst teens such as Family Guy and Young, dumb and living off mum.

I will need to research several websites in order to be well prepared to create my own websites. I think that it would be best if I researched websites connected with teenagers or with TV channels. I could perhaps analyse websites connected to teenage TV channels, or channels which appeal to younger people. I could maybe analyse the E4 website or a music website like Kerrang.