2/23/16: Question 1 (Creative Critical Reflection)

1. How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

           Our media product titled, "South Florida EXCURSION" is a magazine that challenges and utilizes conventions concerning the world of print media. In one sense, the conventional sense, we use a uniform font and a traditional magazine-like graphic using wordle.net. which is positioned at the top of our cover. Our chosen magazine title is also fairly conventional and it did not come from research my partner and I had conducted. 

We simply put our heads together and cane up with it independently. In an alternate sense, the non-conventional sense, the whole layout is not geared to resemble any periodical. Rather, it is meant to simulate a traveler's log with its 'rings' bordering the pages and its dull brown background. The font (other than what is on the magazine's cover page) is meant to mimic handwriting and the photos are enveloped in a white border to mimic old fashioned polaroid pictures that any tourist or local could take single-handedly without having to use a professional's camera. There is even 'tape' placed on two corners of every picture to simulate someone taping these photos by hand into a travel log or journal. All of these non-conventional techniques are geared towards broadcasting an authentic meaning to our readers because in order to persuade potential travelers to journey to a place they may have not visited before, they must feel that the information they are being presented with is valid. This authentic-looking format helps fulfill this purpose since it doesn't look like a "business" type layout that screams profit over consumers.
          It represents and caters to the social group of middle-upper class adults with the means and willingness to travel to South Florida. The issue (as well as the intended meaning for this travel magazine) itself happens to be that of authenticity. This is because this magazine's articles are meant to inform readers about south Florida travel. This information has to be authentic, valid so that people can trust it. If they don't, they won't be persuaded to vacation there.

2/19/16: Further Revision

More revisions:

Added page numbers to our article pages! A new, original photograph was also added to page four in order to cover up any blank space. Pictures have been widened and shifted in order to additionally satisfy this demand.

2/16/16: Further Distribution and Marketing Research- For a Digital Age

These are notes I took after watching a documentary in class titled, "New York Times Transitioning to a Digital Age." I used these notes so that I could better understand how recent advances in technology has affected media (other than what is digital) in terms of marketing and distribution. This will help me on the AICE exam and as well as allow me to see whether my marketing/distribution blog post needs further revisions.

2/10/16: American Super Bowl Commercials for Advertising Techniques

Recently in class, we watched commercials from the annual American Super bowl in an effort to take a look at the advertising techniques used to attract consumers.

This way, we could see which advertising techniques could potentially work well in terms of marketing our product, which in our case, happens to be a magazine.

Here are three examples of commercials and their advertising techniques:

1) Mountain Dew Soda (Product)
     Ages 16-34  (Target Audience)
     Techniques: hashtags, humour, repetition of the number three to emphasize the three elements of their new soda variety: dew, juice, caffeine)

2) Doritos (Product)
     Ages 30-50 (Target Audience)
     Techniques: real life scenario to be relatable, people aged as old as 50, humour

3) Audi R8 (Product)
    Ages 45-75 (Target Audience)
    Techniques: Aged music for an aged man who used to be an astronaut, no price mentioned- only maximum mph, no humour