Blog Post 7: Research Into Existing TV Commercials In Other Forms (e.g. Online, Print, Billboard)

This research further expanded my horizons on advertising, and by researching other forms of advertising, I got an idea of how big overarching aspects such as branding, logo and colour scheme are depicted, as well as more ideas on how representation is used.

London Buses

Certainly very in-your-face, but Chiquitita's London buses cleverly utilise advertising by making their logo and banana yellow to create a bright, colourful design or 'skin' for buses. This made me think about integrating my logo into different designs and the importance of finding a good colour scheme.

Fragrance Print Ads

A lot of male fragrance ads sell a similar idea - that if you wear this perfume, you will get ladies. Therefore there are often women in the focal image, looking longingly at the male, while they look straight into the camera, connoting their confidence and pride. Another ad shows a young man at a party surrounded by women, looking into the camera knowingly while he is enjoying himself.

Conducting this research has made me realise that a strong sense of colour is extremely helpful in branding and connoting brand values, something I will keep in mind when designing the logo. I also plan to subvert the trope of the alpha male at a party surrounded by women in one of my adverts. Instead, I plan to have a female protagonist looking into the camera while she mingles with her group of multicultural and mixed gender friends.



Sources Used:
-Google Images

Blog Post 6: Research Into Existing TV Commercials (Other Genres)

Researching existing TV commercials from genres other than food delivery gave me a broader understanding of TV advertising in general. I wanted to see what genre and representation techniques are effective for conveying certain messages, which in turn I might like to try in my own adverts. 

Car Adverts

Shots such as this are seen throughout many car commercials. Dynamic, low angle, tracking shots that show off the speed and power of the car.

McDonald's Adverts

Heartwarming stories big on emotional appeal. Stories often have a "slice of life" sensibility to them, swiftly establishing characters and backstory; characters that feel incomplete in some way; That is, until they go to McDonald's and subsequently form a bond - The message is clear: McDonald's brings people together.

Exploring these different techniques in storytelling has been very helpful in creating my own adverts. I figured I could use the dynamic editing and camerawork of car adverts to show the speedy delivery and the idea that food brings people together I felt was a strong emotional and relatable way to appeal to youth audiences.

Sources Used:
-YouTube

Blog Post 5: Research Into Existing TV Commercials For Take-Away Food Delivery Services

In researching existing food delivery services, I hoped to expand my knowledge on the codes and conventions of this particular genre of advertising and therefore, knowing what the audience expectations are, I can use or break these conventions in my own adverts. It also allowed me to develop and practise my analytical skills, so I had to think about things such as media language, connotations and representation.

I analysed a total of 10 adverts, which you can see in the embedded playlist:


From these, conventions I have noticed include:
-The brand's logo on backpacks, shirts, caps
-An intertitle at the end with the logo and a call-to-action asking you to download the app
-Humour, usually slapstick or absurdist (e.g. giant floating food in the city - Deliveroo)

In-Depth Analysis of One Advert - Just Eat "Magic is Real":

One advert that I analysed in detail is the "Magic Is Real" Just Eat advert. An entire song and jingle were composed for the advert, which is sung-through by the actors. The advert starts off in a domestic, relatable setting - a living room - showing someone ordering from the app, and then depicts a range of different cuisines of food from independent takeaways and restaurants along one high street in London - Myddleton Road - giving the advert a regional feel.

From this advert, I could tell that the brand values/USP is that ordering from Just Eat is like magic, food will 'appear' at your door with just a few taps of the app. There is on-screen text at the end saying "Download the app or order online now" and the colour palette is warm, vibrant and summery. Multicultural London is faithfully represented in this advert, where the range of cuisines shown allows for people from those cultures to be featured, and many ethnicities and even social groups (e.g. businessman in a suit, hipster in colourful clothes) are seen singing and dancing together. Therefore a strong sense of community spirit is instilled in this advert.

The advert is strongly intertextual with the musical film La La Land, as it borrows the editing and camera style of sweeping long takes or "oners" prevalent through the film. The song and music used is explosive and jazzy and the dancing is kinetic and synchronised, evoking the campy, fun 'Hollywood Musical' atmosphere of the film, but on a London high street, further reinforcing local appeal.

Conclusion
Researching these adverts were essential in inspiring me to come up with my own ideas for adverts. I used the element of choice along a high street in "Magic is Real" and made it my brand's USP ("YourFood. Your Choice.). I was also influenced by the action-adventure genre hybridity of the "Just Eat Delivery Intro 2016", where there was a montage of a delivery driver gearing up, and subsequently planned an Edgar Wright-esque montage of my delivery cyclist gearing up to go.


Sources Used:
-YouTube

Blog Post 4: The Target Audience (Males and Females Aged 16-25)

Researching the target audience is essential for any company, as you can use the information to tailor your product(s) to appeal to that audience, thus increasing business. My target audience according to the brief is age "16-25, mass market, male and female demographic in London". This also crosses over with Channel 4's target youth audience.

I conducted my research through a survey on Google Forms, sharing a link, which a total of 27 young people completed. Here are some results:

Fast Delivery and Local Support are both very high ranking,

as well as Easy-To-Use App. Therefore I intend to include all these

as selling points in my advert

The majority of the TA order from Just Eat.

Their adverts are usually quite over-the-top and humorous

Humour, Good Music and Visually Appealing are the top three
aspects. I shall try to include them all in my adverts.

This information can be used to decide
the best scheduling for my adverts

Conducting this survey has benefited me as I now have a good idea of what appeals to my target audience and what they value in an online food delivery service. This means I can select selling points and highlight them in my advert(s) according to this information, such as fast delivery and supporting local restaurants, as well as including humour making the adverts visually appealing.

Sources used:

-Google Forms

Blog Post 3: The ASA BCAP Code

My research into the ASA BCAP Code allowed me to gain an understanding of what was appropriate to be broadcast on TV and what wasn't, thus allowing me to carefully plan my adverts so they were appropriate.

"The UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code) applies to all advertisements (including teleshopping, content on self-promotional television channels, television text and interactive TV ads) and programme sponsorship credits on radio and television services licensed by Ofcom."
- From the ASA Website

There are a total of 31 Codes, 7 of which I picked out as relevant for this project:

1. Compliance
Adverts should not mislead or cause serious or widespread offence or harm, especially to children or the vulnerable.

2. Recognition of Advertising
Adverts must be obviously distinguishable from editorial content. The audience should quickly recognise the message as an advertisement.
Special care should be taken when using a format or elements in the advert that may lead to the audience believing it is not an advert e.g. NEWS FLASH.

3. Misleading Advertising
Adverts cannot give misleading information or omit important information that the consumer would need in order to make an informed decision about whether or not to buy a product or service.

4. Harm and Offence
Adverts must not be harmful or offensive. Advertisements must take account of generally accepted standards to minimise the risk of causing harm or serious or widespread offence against moral, social or cultural standards.

5. Children
Children must be protected from advertisements that could cause physical, mental or moral harm. A child is classified as someone under the age of 16.

6. Environmental Claims
Any environmental claims must have a clear basis. All terms used should be clear to consumers.

7. Food, Food Supplements and Associated Health or Nutrition Claims
Adverts must not feature, imply, condone or encourage irresponsible or immoderate drinking. That applies to both the amount of drink and the way drinking is portrayed.
Adverts must neither imply that alcohol can contribute to an individual's popularity or confidence nor imply that alcohol can enhance personal qualities.
Adverts must not imply that drinking alcohol is a key component of social success or acceptance or that refusal is a sign of weakness.

A Still from the #GiffGaffGuts Advert

An example of an advert that failed to uphold the code was the "#GiffGaffGuts" advert, which featured a large group of people in an empty swimming pool throwing blood and guts around. 15 complaints were received and as a result, the ad was upheld as it was "likely to cause revulsion or distress to viewers".

My research into the ASA BCAP Code has benefited me as I now know what I need to keep in mind when planning my adverts, so they both abide by the code and can, therefore, be broadcast.


Sources Used:
-ASA Website
-BCAP Code Document

Blog Post 2: Channel 4

My goal in researching Channel 4 is to understand the platform that my adverts will be broadcast on, particularly their values and target audience. Additionally, by researching the channel's programming I can decide when I'd like to schedule my ads and around which shows.

Background
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster that began transmission on 2nd November 1982. It is owned by the Channel Four Television Corporation and is self-funded through commercials. There are many subsidiaries of Channel 4 which are more niche, such as Film4, 4Music and E4 (the main youth channel)

Brand Values
The public service remit for Channel 4 is the provision of a broad range of high quality and diverse programming. Channel 4 aims to:

• Be innovative and distinctive
• Stimulate public debate on contemporary issues
• Reflect cultural diversity of the UK
• Champion alternative points of view
• Inspire change in people's lives
• Nurture new and existing talent.

Programming
- Channel 4 is a publisher-broadcaster, so buys all of its programming from companies independent of itself.
- The Big Bang Theory is broadcast frequently on E4 from Monday to Friday, usually back-to-back around 5pm to 8:30pm, which is the time period that Channel 4 "holds" audiences for the longest, and from as early as 3pm on weekends.
- Channel 4 was the first to air Big Brother, which was a massive impact on the reality genre and TV in general
- Channel 4 often airs programs and ads with an alternative edge to them.
- Other popular programming includes The Simpsons, Hollyoaks, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Friday Night Dinner, The Circle and Rude(ish) Tube, all programmes geared towards youth.



By knowing the types of ads and programming Channel 4 broadcasts - more youth-oriented and 'edgier' content - I can use this information in planning my adverts so they would appeal to the typical Channel 4 audience. It also helps in deciding when to schedule my adverts so they could fit around shows which are watched by my target audience. As a result of my research into Channel 4 I have decided to schedule my adverts on Monday 8:30pm, Tuesday 6:40pm,  Wednesday 6:30pm, Thursday 6:30pm and Friday 7:30pm, between back-to-back episodes of The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon on E4.


Sources Used:
-Channel 4 Website
-Wikipedia

Blog Post 1: Existing Take-Away Food Delivery Services/Industry

By researching already existing take-away food delivery services, I was able to learn about my competition; what makes them successful, how they work and how I can use this information to create a successful brand of my own.

Online food delivery services are a relatively new and modern industry that's thriving, with £9.9 billion spent in 2017 on takeaway food. In addition, these services have created 41,000 new jobs, acting as a middle man between restaurants and their customers, providing delivery for places which don't traditionally deliver or have a delivery system in place. For example, you can order McDonald's on UberEats.

In my research I looked into two services in detail: Just Eat and Deliveroo (the top 2 best food delivery apps in the UK according to BusinessMatters), in particular their websites.

Just Eat
Founded by 5 Danish entrepreneurs in 2000 in Denmark, the company moved to the UK in 2000. In 2011, a joint venture was established in India. As of August 2018, Just Eat operates in 13 countries all across the globe. Their focus is on being informative and catering to a wider target audience. By sponsoring typically "British" things such as local football clubs, the company garners a regional feel, as well as loyalty from locals. For a restaurant to join Just Eat, they must have a license, and it costs £699 initially, with 13%-14% commission from orders. Just Eat currently have around 87,000 restaurant partners.

Upon opening the website, one would immediately notice the bright, bold colours in striking geometric shapes that are eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing. This colour scheme of red, green, blue and orange is consistent throughout all of Just Eat's adverts. The focal image is that of a pizza laid out on a table with various utensils and herbs around, certainly fitting with the "rustic charm" Just Eat has been praised for having. Overall, the website connotes a playful, exciting brand that provides good food and a great atmosphere.

In terms of how the service works, you enter your postcode and restaurants near that postcode come up, which you can then further filter with parameters such as cuisine, distance and ratings.

Star ratings are clearly displayed under each restaurant, as well as offers, delivery price, cuisine and the company logo. After picking a restaurant, it's a straightforward process of picking from the menu, paying for the order and choosing your preferred delivery time.

Deliveroo
For comparison, I will briefly examine Deliveroo's website, to showcase a company that is also very successful, but caters for a slightly different audience.

The website design is more minimalist and streamlined than Just Eat's, with a large focal image of a burger on a plain, minimalist colour background. Categories of food have also been created, with extreme close ups of food as the background bars and a title in a simple font.

The aesthetic is more "clean" and modern, with birds eye photos of laid-out food instead of company logos on the restaurant page. Deliveroo focuses more on providing delivery for upmarket or premium restaurants and takeaways.

This research has benefited me I learned about the history and growth of online food delivery services and what makes them so attractive to customers, in particular, the use of colour and design, and how this can inform the USP of a brand and establish its target audience. I also learned about the usefulness of creating a regional identity for a brand,so as to attract loyal local customers. By learning about how the whole process of ordering and delivery works, I can then depict that accurately in my adverts.

Sources Used:
-Just Eat Website
-Deliveroo Website
-Wikipedia
-Business Matters article
-LinkedIn article