I created an advert to
promote the mint Polo made by the company Rowntree. This product was chosen
because I enjoy this product and has also not had an advert for in a long time.
The target audience that was chosen to promote this product to was people between
the ages of 16 and 20 and this was because it was this age range that we felt
would be the most likely to purchase the product. This was thought because it
is this group of people that are busy and usually very social so would want to
have minty breathe when going out. For an advert there has to be a reason why
you are creating the advert in that specific way to get the product sold. For
this advert the selling point was the mystery and humour of the
advert that shows the mint is not a mint just for the older generation.
Once all of the filming and editing for the advert had been completed the next step was to get some comments and feedback about the advert to see what had been done well and also what could have been improved. To collect this information a few methods had to be done in order to get a few questions answered by people to get this information. The two methods that were used was a focus group which was done so that the questions could be asked personally and could also push for more information which cannot be done on a survey. The other method that was used for the feedback collection was a survey and this allowed many more people to answer the questions as it was on the internet and therefore could just send people a link and can get people who do not know us to answer. The surveys that were created were made using an online site called survey monkey. Two methods were used so that there would be more variety in the types of answers that are received and could be compared.
In the survey we asked two types of questions: qualitative and quantitative which gave us two different forms of information to evaluate once completed. In the qualitative survey, open questions were asked which mean more detailed answers are needed and we get more of an opinion for the person filling out the survey in the survey. An example of a question that was asked in the survey was 'Could you briefly describe the story line?' This question was asked because it meant we could see if people were able to understand the plot of the advert and how much they understood. If people could not describe the story then this meant we would have needed to make the certain part more clear so that there was no confusion if the advert was to be created again. In the quantitative survey it was closed questions that were asked which means there are a set list of answers that the person is able to answer. In these surveys the answers are able to be shown in graphs and tables of what was answered. An example of a quantitative question that was asked in the survey is ’Do you feel that the soundtrack throughout the advertisement was suitable?' This question was asked because with an advert the music that is played can heavily influence the feeling of the advert and the emotions that should be felt at certain points. For this advert I wanted a tense feeling throughout and that is what influenced the choice of music for the final edit. If the responses were negative then this means that the soundtrack was not effective in doing its main goal by setting the right mood.
The method of feedback was the focus group and this was conducted with people who were not the target audience for the advert because after looking at the surveys these were answered by the target audience so to see if the advert appealed to other age groups rather than just the target audience which we could do by making a focus group for this other group. When doing a focus group we were able to ask the same questions that were on the surveys but the advantage of doing it in a focus group is that if the person does not understand the question then I can explain it to avoid confusion. One the person has answered the question; follow up questions can be asked and can also be probed to get more detailed answers. The reason why this was not the only method used was because it is not very time efficient and also we would only be able ask people close by and therefore not get an accurate representation of the whole target audience and other audiences.
From the audience feedback through the surveys and focus groups the results were analysed. Looking at the results there was a mix of answers some with some positive and some negative about the advert. Although there was mix of answers the majority of the answers were good pointers about the advert and what was done correctly. One person that answered the survey said that they thought the shots used in the advert made the advert look very smooth. This response was good because if the advert was to be redone I would know that the editing is a part that was done well and therefore not need changing. When getting feedback it is good to receive pointers on what could be improved because then the advert is able to be improved upon. For the editing and the acting there was very good feedback with almost everyone saying that both worked very well. This shows that these were parts what the majority of the audience liked. In the feedback parts which the audience and the people answering the surveys and focus group did not like or thought could be improved was the story line and the clarity of it as it was confusing to the audience. This was seen as something that could be complicated and slightly hard to fix as the advert only lasted seconds so therefore is hard to create and set up a story to the audience watching.
From the information we received there were a few surprises that came especially from the focus group of the older generation of audience. The surprise of this was that even though the target audience for this advert was 16-20 years old it also seemed to appeal to 40-50 years old This is seen from when previously asked if they would buy a Polo the focus group said no but then after said that they would. It was not this response that was the surprise but instead the reason for why he changed his mind and it was that after seeing the Polo in a natural environment it appeared to come across a more healthy mint. Another surprise was after he was asked if he thought the music went well with the advert and he replied that it was and also he thought that parts of the advert were taken from a feature film and it reminded him of one. Another response that was surprising was that some people did not understand the advert as we tried to make it as clear as possible for the audience to understand.
In the surveys and focus groups overall I think that the questions asked were very useful and gave us the most feedback that we could have received to a high standard. However there were a few exceptions to this which did not make as much sense as they could have and could have been reworded so that it was easier for the participants to understand. An example of one of these questions is 'Which did you prefer the story line or the shots? and why?' The reason that this question is one that I have pointed out as an example is because it does not make sense and is a difficult one to answer. The question above also does not give us a real piece of feedback on which we could make improvements as a result of. However this question could have been improved by re wording it so it asked' Do you think the technical details of the advert made the story better and why?' This question is different as it asks if the way the advert was edited help to contribute towards the story telling.
Before looking at the advert I formed an opinion of how the advert looked and how it worked towards its goal of promoting the product. In my opinion I thought that the advert was very successful in promoting the product and also entertaining the audience. There is a possibility that I am being biased in my opinion as it was my advert and therefore think that it was very good but some of the feedback supports my thoughts on how successful the advert was with people saying that they would consider buying Polo's after watching the advert. Even though I think the advert was successful I still think that improvements could be made to increase the effectiveness.
One of these improvements is the story of the advert and making it clearer to the audience. These improvements would be made in the initial stages of the pre-production when creating the storyboard and the script. The improvements to the story I feel would not need to be a major re think but instead just making sure that the clarity of the plot is emphasized to its most. From the survey someone said that they were not sure people would understand the Marco/Polo aspect of the advert at the end so another improvement would be to create more of a back story to the advert which would explain it and could be done by introducing some characters at the start and getting them to be playing the game which would put it this into context for the audience. I agree with the audience feedback as the points that I felt could be improved are similar to the ones that are found in the surveys and from the focus group.
I feel like the advert was technically good and this is because throughout the camera was steady because of the use of a tripod. There were parts of the advert which were shaking but this was done on purpose during parts where the feet were being track on the Robin Hood character. This shakiness was done to add to the effect of fast paced and frantic event about to happen to contrast the steady slow paced shots of the other character. It is very clear what the product which was being advertised was as it was shown in the advert so that people could see the product and knows what it was. The advert does successfully sell the product which is supported by the feedback. The idea of the advert was good as it was different to adverts that are currently being shown because it is set in the past and also corresponds with people’s current interests in television with shows like Merlin and Game of Thrones being popular.
The things that could be improved in the advert if it was to be done again would be to make the plot of the advert clearer to the audience so that they are not confused on what this advert is showing and also so that the audience would be able to actually enjoy the advert throughout rather than thinking of too much about what the story is. This would be improved coming up with a clearer script which will have more detail and more shots which will mean there is more footage to let the audience know what is happening. The other improvement is the idea behind the Marco/Polo joke towards the end which is how the inventor comes up with the name of it. This would be done by either having an opening section where it shows people playing the game so that the audience understands the context in which it is being said or by adding lines from some characters to somehow make it clearer.
After looking at the advert and all of the feedback that was received I think the advert did achieve the aim of promoting the advert to the audience for more sales. The other aim which was to make the advert entertaining was also done as people said they found it entertaining. On a scale of one to ten with ten being very happy I feel that the advert achieved an eight. The reason for this is because although the advert was very entertaining and promoted the product I still think that there could have been a few improvements to be made which if done would definitely take in up to a ten.
Once all of the filming and editing for the advert had been completed the next step was to get some comments and feedback about the advert to see what had been done well and also what could have been improved. To collect this information a few methods had to be done in order to get a few questions answered by people to get this information. The two methods that were used was a focus group which was done so that the questions could be asked personally and could also push for more information which cannot be done on a survey. The other method that was used for the feedback collection was a survey and this allowed many more people to answer the questions as it was on the internet and therefore could just send people a link and can get people who do not know us to answer. The surveys that were created were made using an online site called survey monkey. Two methods were used so that there would be more variety in the types of answers that are received and could be compared.
In the survey we asked two types of questions: qualitative and quantitative which gave us two different forms of information to evaluate once completed. In the qualitative survey, open questions were asked which mean more detailed answers are needed and we get more of an opinion for the person filling out the survey in the survey. An example of a question that was asked in the survey was 'Could you briefly describe the story line?' This question was asked because it meant we could see if people were able to understand the plot of the advert and how much they understood. If people could not describe the story then this meant we would have needed to make the certain part more clear so that there was no confusion if the advert was to be created again. In the quantitative survey it was closed questions that were asked which means there are a set list of answers that the person is able to answer. In these surveys the answers are able to be shown in graphs and tables of what was answered. An example of a quantitative question that was asked in the survey is ’Do you feel that the soundtrack throughout the advertisement was suitable?' This question was asked because with an advert the music that is played can heavily influence the feeling of the advert and the emotions that should be felt at certain points. For this advert I wanted a tense feeling throughout and that is what influenced the choice of music for the final edit. If the responses were negative then this means that the soundtrack was not effective in doing its main goal by setting the right mood.
The method of feedback was the focus group and this was conducted with people who were not the target audience for the advert because after looking at the surveys these were answered by the target audience so to see if the advert appealed to other age groups rather than just the target audience which we could do by making a focus group for this other group. When doing a focus group we were able to ask the same questions that were on the surveys but the advantage of doing it in a focus group is that if the person does not understand the question then I can explain it to avoid confusion. One the person has answered the question; follow up questions can be asked and can also be probed to get more detailed answers. The reason why this was not the only method used was because it is not very time efficient and also we would only be able ask people close by and therefore not get an accurate representation of the whole target audience and other audiences.
From the audience feedback through the surveys and focus groups the results were analysed. Looking at the results there was a mix of answers some with some positive and some negative about the advert. Although there was mix of answers the majority of the answers were good pointers about the advert and what was done correctly. One person that answered the survey said that they thought the shots used in the advert made the advert look very smooth. This response was good because if the advert was to be redone I would know that the editing is a part that was done well and therefore not need changing. When getting feedback it is good to receive pointers on what could be improved because then the advert is able to be improved upon. For the editing and the acting there was very good feedback with almost everyone saying that both worked very well. This shows that these were parts what the majority of the audience liked. In the feedback parts which the audience and the people answering the surveys and focus group did not like or thought could be improved was the story line and the clarity of it as it was confusing to the audience. This was seen as something that could be complicated and slightly hard to fix as the advert only lasted seconds so therefore is hard to create and set up a story to the audience watching.
From the information we received there were a few surprises that came especially from the focus group of the older generation of audience. The surprise of this was that even though the target audience for this advert was 16-20 years old it also seemed to appeal to 40-50 years old This is seen from when previously asked if they would buy a Polo the focus group said no but then after said that they would. It was not this response that was the surprise but instead the reason for why he changed his mind and it was that after seeing the Polo in a natural environment it appeared to come across a more healthy mint. Another surprise was after he was asked if he thought the music went well with the advert and he replied that it was and also he thought that parts of the advert were taken from a feature film and it reminded him of one. Another response that was surprising was that some people did not understand the advert as we tried to make it as clear as possible for the audience to understand.
In the surveys and focus groups overall I think that the questions asked were very useful and gave us the most feedback that we could have received to a high standard. However there were a few exceptions to this which did not make as much sense as they could have and could have been reworded so that it was easier for the participants to understand. An example of one of these questions is 'Which did you prefer the story line or the shots? and why?' The reason that this question is one that I have pointed out as an example is because it does not make sense and is a difficult one to answer. The question above also does not give us a real piece of feedback on which we could make improvements as a result of. However this question could have been improved by re wording it so it asked' Do you think the technical details of the advert made the story better and why?' This question is different as it asks if the way the advert was edited help to contribute towards the story telling.
Before looking at the advert I formed an opinion of how the advert looked and how it worked towards its goal of promoting the product. In my opinion I thought that the advert was very successful in promoting the product and also entertaining the audience. There is a possibility that I am being biased in my opinion as it was my advert and therefore think that it was very good but some of the feedback supports my thoughts on how successful the advert was with people saying that they would consider buying Polo's after watching the advert. Even though I think the advert was successful I still think that improvements could be made to increase the effectiveness.
One of these improvements is the story of the advert and making it clearer to the audience. These improvements would be made in the initial stages of the pre-production when creating the storyboard and the script. The improvements to the story I feel would not need to be a major re think but instead just making sure that the clarity of the plot is emphasized to its most. From the survey someone said that they were not sure people would understand the Marco/Polo aspect of the advert at the end so another improvement would be to create more of a back story to the advert which would explain it and could be done by introducing some characters at the start and getting them to be playing the game which would put it this into context for the audience. I agree with the audience feedback as the points that I felt could be improved are similar to the ones that are found in the surveys and from the focus group.
I feel like the advert was technically good and this is because throughout the camera was steady because of the use of a tripod. There were parts of the advert which were shaking but this was done on purpose during parts where the feet were being track on the Robin Hood character. This shakiness was done to add to the effect of fast paced and frantic event about to happen to contrast the steady slow paced shots of the other character. It is very clear what the product which was being advertised was as it was shown in the advert so that people could see the product and knows what it was. The advert does successfully sell the product which is supported by the feedback. The idea of the advert was good as it was different to adverts that are currently being shown because it is set in the past and also corresponds with people’s current interests in television with shows like Merlin and Game of Thrones being popular.
The things that could be improved in the advert if it was to be done again would be to make the plot of the advert clearer to the audience so that they are not confused on what this advert is showing and also so that the audience would be able to actually enjoy the advert throughout rather than thinking of too much about what the story is. This would be improved coming up with a clearer script which will have more detail and more shots which will mean there is more footage to let the audience know what is happening. The other improvement is the idea behind the Marco/Polo joke towards the end which is how the inventor comes up with the name of it. This would be done by either having an opening section where it shows people playing the game so that the audience understands the context in which it is being said or by adding lines from some characters to somehow make it clearer.
After looking at the advert and all of the feedback that was received I think the advert did achieve the aim of promoting the advert to the audience for more sales. The other aim which was to make the advert entertaining was also done as people said they found it entertaining. On a scale of one to ten with ten being very happy I feel that the advert achieved an eight. The reason for this is because although the advert was very entertaining and promoted the product I still think that there could have been a few improvements to be made which if done would definitely take in up to a ten.