Audience Feedback for the Radio Advertisement

The feedback I received from my target audience about my radio advert was mostly positive. They responded well to the choice of soundtrack and the cheerful tone of the magazine. Once I had got feedback from my target audience as a collective, I specifically played my radio advert to the people who had previously given me more in depth suggestions for the radio advert as part as my audience research.  They also liked the content of the advertisement and the way it flowed from one topic to the other.  However, they suggested to re adjust the volume of the soundtrack as the beginning where there is no volume is too loud and doesn't match the volume of the voices.

GarageBand Settings

I have used the 'bright vocal' for the voiceover and this will enhance the tone of the speech to create a joyful sound.  Also, I have looped the first 5 seconds of the soundtrack for the duration of the radio advertisement because the tempo of the whole song increases and decreases and doesn't fit the pace of the speech.  As well, the listeners may be more attentive to the song rather than the information being shared in the advert.

The Radio Script

The first four seconds of the radio advert will just be the soundtrack to draw the attention of listeners and introduce them to the joyful and energetic mode of address of my brand.  After the four seconds the volume of the soundtrack will be lowered so it doesn't cloud the dialogue.

From the feedback I received from my audience, they would understand that my magazine is aimed towards a unisex, teenage demographic if the radio advert used a male and a female speaker.  The radio advert begins with the male and female speakers simultaneously addressing the listeners to indicate the advert is aimed towards both sexes.  From this point, the speakers only simultaneously talk during important pieces of information to exaggerate the point. For example, the name of the magazine.  

The audience suggested that the radio advert should promote stories that are in the magazine, which I have, such as top food and drink places to go.  Also I have mentioned the soup kitchen article because it is the first double page spread of the magazine. 

The radio advert concludes by informing the listeners on: where they can buy the magazine, the price of the magazine and platforms they can interact with the magazine, for example; Twitter. 

The Soundtrack

I have chosen the music for my advertisement before I have written the script for the advertisement so I write something joyful to go with the tone of the song. 

The music track for my radio advertisement will be the instrumental for  'Fossils' by Circa Waves. This song is upbeat and light hearted which will set the tone of the radio advertisement.  Also, this band is recognisable amongst young people and so as the song will appeal to them and when they hear the song it will remind them of my advertisement. Furthermore, I have decided to mute the vocals of the song so that the lyrics didn't overshadow the speaker in my advertisement.

Original song 

To use the song, I have emailed the band's record company, Virgin EMI Records, to avoid copyright infringement. 

Audience Research for the Radio Advertisement

The target gender demographic for my magazine is non specific and I'm creating something that will appeal to both sexes.

The options for the gender of the speaker in my radio advertisement were; male, female or both. A few of the males that answered my questionnaire preferred to hear a female voice but admitted that it would make the magazine seem like it is aimed more towards females. However, the majority of male and females voted for a radio advertisement with both a female and a male speaker. 

I shared a draft of the front cover of my magazine so the people taking my questionnaire had an idea of the mode of address of the magazine that I will portray in my radio advertisement. Because of the bright colours and the 'catchy' name, both genders would like to hear something upbeat and joyful.  This will be represented by the up beat soundtrack and by the voices being up tone.  This can also be emphasised with the pitch and tone adjustment features go Garageband.

Collectively, my demographic are most interested to hear about the articles that are featured in the magazine and where they can buy it in my advertisement rather than a role play.  The reasoning for this is because they tend to get confused about the central idea of the advertisement and sometimes don't understand the wit or humour. 

The airtime when the audience are most likely to listen is in the morning during their commute to school and work.

Producing a Radio Advertisement

The software I have chosen to use to produce my radio advertisement is Garageband.

The reasons for this are:

• I will be able to adjust the score, notes, pitch, and velocity of your recording. With this I can authenticate the soundtrack to avoid copyright and also to manipulate the tune so it will match the speakers' voice.

• Garageband allows sharing onto iTunes. iTunes is popular amongst youths to buy and share; music, podcasts, TV programmes etc. and so will be good to share my radio advertisement on here for free as another platform to hear the advert and increasing my listeners.

• The ability to choose and access any bar of the song/track. This is particularly useful when choosing the most appealing rhythms in the song as they tend to peak and fall. Also this is practical because my advertisement will be only 30 seconds where as the song is over 3 minutes so I won't be using it all.

• Specifically target and control any instrument/track (adjust the volume, set the track pan position, mute/un mute track, lock it so it can’t be edited, view/hide the automation and enable/disable the recording).

Examples of Radio Advertisements Aimed at My Target Audience

The radio advertisement for 'Local Biz Durham' is the only regional magazine radio advert I can find. Also, I listen to the radio in the mornings during my drive to school and have been attentively listening to the radio through out the day for an advertisement for a regional magazine and did not hear any.  Because of this, I have decided to do analyse radio advertisements that are targeting my young demographic.  The examples include small and local businesses to see how they attract their regional clients.  

OK! Magazine 
By analysing this magazine, it will give me an insight of the conventions of a radio advertisement for a magazine in general.

The opening introduces the name of the magazine so the listener instantly knows the brand and the what the advert is going to be about. Also, the name of the brand is repeated again at the end of the advertisement for listeners who have tuned in late and to remind the listener of the purpose of the advertisement. The target audience for this magazine is specifically young women which is insinuated with the speaker being a woman and the pop culture themes of the magazine.  The speaker also sounds energetic and lively to get the listener excited enough  about the content of the magazine for them to then want to buy it. With this the advertisement shares information on 4 of their exclusive articles.  The backing track is up beat and as the speaker begins to speak about a story featured in the magazine, it is introduced with a flash sound.

Plymouth University
I have decided to analyse the advertisement for Plymouth University because it is aimed for a young unisex audience like my magazine. With this I will learn how to address my demographic in an appealing way to get them to listen.  Also, this advertisement is essentially promoting the Plymouth regional area.
This Plymouth is in Sri Lanka and is clearly indicated with the regional accent which the citizens of the area will be identify with.  This advertisement addresses the listeners in a different approach compared to the other two advertisements. This advertisement is a role play rather than one speaker addressing the listeners with a backing track.  The role play is quite comedic and witty that relates the benefits of attending this university to real life issues such as the need for earning a lot of money. There is no backing track during the role play but there is during the monologue which will make the listener more alert to the important company details. After the role play a more formal speaker introduces the main ideas of the university and shares their website and telephone information as a way for their interested listeners to get in touch.

Radio Advertising Strategies to sell a Regional Magazine

In an attempt to out weigh the disadvantages of radio advertising I need to know strategies that will assure me a listening audience to convince to buy my regional magazine.

Timing

Having the advertisement air during AM will catch consumers as they are on their way to work. My magazine audience is youths, so also producing a PM ad that will catch them as they are on their way back from education or about to go out when they are most attentive. I think a minimum of 30 seconds for our advertisement would be the best to keep our listeners interested.

Clear Messaging

Because of the limited amount of time to catch listeners' attention I have to use this time efficiently to effectively communicate our message. To ensure that the listeners are left with an understanding of the message about the regional magazine I need to make our point succinct. 

Creative Edge

To make the advert creative I will select an uncommon concept or individual method of message delivery. By doing so it will set the advert apart from the other adverts that fill the airwaves.

Repetition

The name of the regional magazine will be repeated numerous times throughout the advert.  If I were to state the product name one time, there maybe a risk of listeners not hearing it and, as a result, missing the point of the advert. However, if we are too repetitive, the advert might sound forced and fake.

Example of a regional magazine radio advert- 'Local Biz Duhram'

The joyful tone of the backing track plays an important part in soothing and attaining the attention of the listener. This joyful sound reflects the positivity of the regional magazine and Durham in America.  The male voice over has a distinctive regional accent which is identifiable to the people living in the regional area.  The voice sounded like a middle aged man which would appeal to this listening audience and would direct them to buy the magazine.  However, I think the content is a bit wordy and loses the idea of the advertisement. Also there was no 'stand out' techniques to make the advert or the name of the magazine memorable as it was just a man speaking all the way through and only mentioning the name of the magazine at the end. This radio advertisement was over a minute long where as generally radio adverts last approximately 30 seconds, so listening to this got a bit tiresome and the listener would zone out, missing the purpose of the advertisement.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Billboard and Radio Advertising

As the sales for regional magazines in general are quite discrete because they are not a mainstream buy, I wanted to see the difference billboard and radio advertising could make by looking at the advantages and disadvantages of both of these strategies.

Final Main Product

Front cover 

The white masthead separates the title from the main image, so the identity of the magazine is clear to potential buyers and clearly shows the issue date and price.  The title of my magazine is 'Kick-Back Wolverhampton'.  The term 'kick-back' encourages readers to relax with the magazine in a catchy and powerful way. The logo represents the idea to 'kick back' by being a boot print in the position of a kick. The title colours being orange and black, conveys Wolverhampton colours and suggests the regionality of the magazine.  The font for Kick Back is in orange, 'phosphate' which is bold and eye catching and 'Wolverhampton' is in a smaller, black, 'britannic bold' font to highlight the fact the magazine is about the regional area.  The masthead also contains the price and the issue date.  Before the price is the issue date, which is January, because that was when I began planning and production for the magazine. From audience research prior to producing the magazine the mass majority my target audience are willing to pay £2 for the magazine.

The main image has been taken from inside cafe of the The Way Youth Zone. The Way Youth Zone is a recently opened youth centre and because my target audience is young people this would be fitting for them to get involved with.  However, from audience research having a building as my main image didn't sound attractive to my demographic so decided to find an element of the youth centre that is funky, bright and will stand out on a shelf full of competing magazines.  The picture contains the centre's yellow logo so people will recognise that the image is associated with the youth centre but also the anchorage text indicates this also.  The yellow highlight not only represents the youth zone's brand but also the colours of Wolverhampton. As well, the highlight brings attention to the matter.

The puffs I have used are hints to the content of some of the articles in my magazine.  The reason I have chosen these puffs is because they are gender neutral and so will attract both sexes.  This gender neutral information is again replicated in the feature at the bottom which promotes other stories in the magazine. The first image of a collection of home grown tomatoes with one ripened,  is quite funny and relatable as it shows the difficulties people may face being eco friendly.  In this feature there is a puffs staying, 'free guide to Wolverhampton' in a 3D square to emphasising the idea that the magazine has all the information of the regional area.

New Flash from the Editor page

The editors commentary is to welcome readers to the magazine and summarises the content in a way that makes each article relatable in the reader's lives. 

The main heading is in two different fonts - 'News Flash' is in 'phosphate' and 'from the editor' is in 'britannic bold', which are the two conventional fonts for this magazine. I have used phosphate in this instance because it is a 'funky' font which matches the fun, catchy phrase 'News Flash'.  Also, the orange font doesn't just connote Wolverhampton colours in this instance but the brightness connotes a 'flash' and it will catch the readers attention so that they don't just turn to read the contents page. Furthermore, 'From the Editor' is in black, britannic bold to create a some formality to associate with the editor.  As well, 'From the Editor' is in a larger font than 'News Flash' to highlight how the editor cares to personally address the readers, showing the effort from the editor to please the readers. Also, the end of the commentary is a signed from the editor to make it personal.  

   

The image is of the editor looking at a wall full of plans for the magazine.  This shows the how involved the editor is to make a magazine that the readers will enjoy.  Also, the editor is young, and the young demographic will be able to identify with her. Furthermore, the editor is wearing an orange and black top representing the brand identity and typical Wolverhampton colours. The casualness of the outfit represents the informal mode of address of the magazine and promotes the readers to 'kick back' as if to relax,with the magazine.  I have used a spotlight to create a relaxed ambience and to highlight the plans on the wall and the editor.  

The very bottom of the page in line with the page number is the name of the magazine to establish the brand and on the following page in the same position is the website address. This pattern continues throughout the magazine and is useful when people are reading an article and they want to find more information on the website they don't have to turn back to the contents. 

Contents page

The articles on the contents page are alphabetically ordered and separated into 3 sub headings; lifestyle, music arts and culture and Fashion. This makes the magazine more structured so that the reader is reading thematically rather than just random array articles. Also, these sub headings help the readers locate the topics that they are most interested in, this maybe an article promoted on the front cover.  The sub headings are in different bright colours to define the categories. 

The all of the images except the 2nd and 5th use natural lighting to show the natural beauty of the different aspects of Wolverhampton. However, the I have brightened the 2nd and 5th images and used a 'chrome' filter that makes the colours more vibrant.  

To emphasise the importance of reader input and how the magazine encourages readers from the regional area to get involved with the magazine, the magazine details are presented in an eye catching orange circle that correlates with the brand identity. 'Join In!' is again highlighted in yellow like the anchorage text on the front cover to focus attention on the purpose of the information.  The details advertised are the contact details of the editor and the advertising team so readers can communicate their ideas straight to the production team.

Below the magazine details, there is a bright blue Twitter feature advertising another way to interact with the magazine.  I have chosen Twitter because it is widely popular platform for teenagers to express themselves.  Also, the hashtags and ability for users to reply to tweets my magazine will share, will tell me what they are most interested in reading about and what they aren't.   

Next to the list of articles are images related to 5 articles with the page number layered over to visually entice the consumers to read the articles. 

Christmas at the soup kitchen page

The magazine is a January issue because that was when I started production so Christmas and winter is still relevant. The soup kitchen article was to praise efforts from the soup kitchen to make Christmas especially memorable for the less fortunate and encourage readers to carry the good spirit into the new year.  Also, young people are very interested in volunteering for experience and to volunteer in order to complete qualifications, so this article would give them help finding places to volunteer.

The font for 'Christmas' is the traditional font that is associated with the festival. However, the rest of the main heading is in the conventional font for the magazine britannic bold which highlights 'Christmas' more.

The images were taken at the particular soup kitchen to establish the setting with two long shots and show the efforts the volunteers went through to create a joyful experience for the people who attended.  As well, the images shows the great reception the volunteers received.  I decided on a mid shot for the image of the volunteers because its shows the happiness on their faces whilst doing their job as well as their uniform.

On the following page is a full page advertisement of the soup kitchen to encourage readers to join. I recreated the advertisement from the original, but I left features of it such as the imagery and font so that it is recognisable as the same soup kitchen if readers happen to see the original leaflet.

The magazine is printed in gloss paper format to seem professional. As well, the first impression of my magazine to a consumer is extremely important and so the quality of the paper will reflect the quality of my magazine.

Addition to the Front Cover

I have decided to add a feature at the bottom of the front cover which promotes stories in the magazine that are currently popular in youths sphere. My choice to advertise articles in this form is because the main image is very detailed and colourful so some puffs and text will not stand out.

The stories in the feature include; 'everyone's keen on being green' and 'Tis the season to buy festival tickets'.  The first story will attract teenagers because of the popularity of being eco friendly and the second article about festival tickets will attract to teenagers because festival tickets usually go on sale in January, February, March and April and they would want to know the best festival to go to in the summer.  

Even though the feature is promoting articles in the magazine, the font is smaller than the puffs because they are the first thing the reader will read from looking at the main image. The square highlighting 'free guide to the City of Wolverhampton' is in 3D so it isn't disregarded on the front cover and implying the magazine contains all the information on the best places to visit.

Changes to front cover

To indicate that the main image is related to The Way Youth Zone I have highlighted the anchorage text to make it stand out.  Also the highlight is in yellow to further connote the Wolverhampton colours and to make the magazine look colourful and 'fun' to attract a younger audience.  The font for the anchorage text is the same 'phosphate' font as the the magazine in the masthead to emphasise that this is the main article.  

Changes to the contents page

I have changed a few of the images on the contents page that were too seasonal for example; the ice skating image and baubles. I have replaced these images with an appetising dish to entice the readers to look at a feature article about the top restaurants in Wolverhampton and an image of The Way Youth Zone as further promotion of the article and where to read about it, since the main image of the front cover.  However, I haven't used this The Way Youth Zone as my first article because I want the readers to work their way through the magazine to then eventually reach the prime article.

Another change to the contents page I have made is, rather just informing the readers how my magazine is on social networks at the bottom of the page in the conventional font, I have created the iconic blue Twitter bird with a speech bubble informing the readers of the magazines Twitter address.

Furthermore, I have categorised the articles under subheadings of; lifestyle, music, arts and culture and Fashion to make the magazine more structured and easier for the reader to locate the article they want to read.  Also to ensure this, under each sub heading the articles are ordered alphabetical.