BILLBOARD UPDATE

It has been a few weeks now since I tried to get in contact with a few regional newspapers in order to see whether they used billboards for advetisement, what conventions they followed, if they could send me samples of what they looked like, etc.etc. and I have still not heard back. Because of this I am now going to have to create a completely original piece, perhaps looking at billboards advertising other things to gain inspiration.

GENERAL BILLBOARD RESEARCH

 The two notorious brand drinks billboards shown here portrays complete simplicity when advertising on a large scale. There is no confusion or questions of what they are as both are very clear which is a great benefit as people who see billboards tend to be driving and will go past very fast. If a billboard is too busy then the majority of it will be ignored as people do not have the time to look at it in depth and the billboard will be unable to do its job efficiently.

For the coke advert, all they need is the bold red brand colour and the traditional bottle with the slogan going across for people to recognise it and make them want it, the goal for the company that pays for the billboard. The straw and the bottle has a shadowing effect which makes it look three dimensional, as if you could actually lift it right out. This makes the advertisement look more interesting and intriguing, perhaps causing people to make a double take to see if it actually is two dimensional leading to further interest.
 The Budweiser's billboard is same as the label that actually covers the beer, which regular drinkers of this beer would know and recognise the logo instantly. Its branded as the 'King of Beers', enticing the audience to buy it and challenge its title. Like the coca cola advert, this is not too busy and is straight to the point which leads to no misinterpretations.

BILLBOARD RESEARCH

This is the only billboard I could find for a newspaper, or at least something that looks like it could be a billboard, and I intend to use the advertising of e-editions for my own piece.

WEBSITE RESEARCH: SPORT PAGES

WEBSITES: 'WHAT'S ON'/'EVENTS' PAGE

This Prezi shows my research for four different websites and their 'What's On'/'Events' pages, which I have found are quite common on local newspaper websites.

WEBSITES: HOME PAGE

I have looked at a range of regional newspaper websites such as:

1- Metro

2- Kent Messenger 

3- The Thanet Gazette
4- The Canterbury Times
5- Ealing Times
6- Clacton and Frinton Gazette 
7- Streatham Guardian

Through this research I have found that there are many similarities in structure and content, some being almost exactly the same as they are from the same distributors -Ealing Times and Streatham Guardian, and The Thanet Gazette and The Canterbury Times.

The use of the segments on all websites also allows the users to go straight to their desired segments to fulfill their needs, whether it be that they are looking for an article on their local football team, an event that has happened/will be happening in their location, local travesty, etc. Each website also has a search box which means that the consumers can be more specific in what they are looking for, fulfilling their cognitive needs for information even quicker and easier.

BILLBOARD RESEARCH

I have struggled to find any online evidence of billboards for regional newspapers, so I have contacted a few companies, emailing metro, kentonline and leaving a message with This Is Kent,  asking if they advertise through billboards and what they include on the advertisements.
I am currently waiting to be emailed back with some information.

METRO FIRST TWO PAGES: THREE EDITIONS ANALYSIS

LONDON EVENING STANDARD: FIRST TWO PAGES

FOCUS GROUP: FRONT PAGE LAYOUT

I have asked my focus group what they prefer between my favoured newspapers, The Metro and KM newspapers, in order to figure out which I should take inspiration and codes and conventions from when making my front page.

I showed them these two front pages, and then my simplified layouts of how I would adapt and make my own:

The Feedback:

Although the KM has more advertisements, the majority of my focus group said that they preferred the KM.
Some of those who preferred the KM said:

"The Metro has too many headlines on it, makes it look crowded"
"It looks more traditional"
"I don't like how the pictures look and are placed on the Metro"

Overall, it was a 7:3 vote in favour of the KM and therefore what I will base my newspaper on.

FRONT PAGE LAYOUT OPTIONS

I am currently choosing whether to go with Metro's conventions and layout or  KM's, and will take it to my focus group for my final decision. I have done a rough draft of what my front page would look like for each one:

METRO

Metro's front pages are generally quite crowded, advertising quite a few of the articles the edition is reporting on. However, it is the main headline that dominates the page. There is only one/two large advertisement/s at the bottom of the page, not drawing any attention from the newspaper content itself. The lack of advertisements on the front page is quite strange considering that this is a free newspaper and advertisements are where they get some, if not the majority, of their funding from.The layout is in grid made up of columns and blocks for its content, leading to easy and clear navigation. 

















KM:

 Unlike Metro, KM's front page is dominated by advertisements, most likely for funding reasons. KM tends to only advertise their main story on their front page, meaning that the consumers will have to look through and buy the newspaper to read further and find out what else the edition is reporting on. The article image, headline and short article summary does vary in its layout, but the majority I found are laid out this way. 

FRONT PAGE: TABLOID VS. BROADSHEET IN TERMS OF CONTENT (AND TARGET AUDIENCES)

THE METRO: Follows some of the conventions of a tabloid

- Reports on Celebrities/Gossip
- Short Articles
- Uses slang
- Short headlines using puns, alliteration, etc.
- Coloured boxed-in Masthead
- Lower aged target audience attracted by gossip
- Inexpensive (Free)
- Manipulated images
Also follows broadsheet conventions
- Does report on regional news, crime, events, etc. as well as celebrities

KM Newspapers: Follow conventions of a broadsheet

- In-depth coverage in articles
- Formal, articulate language
- Factual
- Focuses on news, crime, events, etc. in the region
- Expensive (65p, which is 45p more expensive than a well established national newspaper such as The Independent which retails at 20p)
- Images are candid/naturalistic on scene/normal people (not celebrities) that corresponds with the articles.
- Maturer target audience attracted by formal, articulate articles.

This Is Kent editions: Follows conventions of broadsheets 

- Informed headlines
- Concentrates on regional news
- Factual and articulate articles
- In-depth lengthy articles
- Naturalistic/on scene images
- Maturer target audience attracted by their formal, serious news reports.
- Advertisements for for costly things, not what young people would be looking to buy (house appliances, care homes, services, etc.)

FOCUS GROUP: TABLOID VS. BROADSHEET

I asked my focus group generally what type of newspaper they preferred to read, a tabloid or a broadsheet.

My focus group is aged 24 to 67, and the majority ruled for broadsheet newspapers appealing to them over tabloids as they "prefer to keep update with the news than a celebrity's new boyfriend".

2 out of 10 voted tabloid, 8 voting broadsheet.

Interestingly, the 2 who voted tabloid were the youngest out of the group aging at 24 and 26.

This information has given me an deeper insight to target audiences, showing that a more mature audience interest is in broadsheets (which most regional newspapers have followed in terms of their content, not conventions like size)

THIS IS KENT NEWSPAPERS: FRONT PAGE CODES AND CONVENTIONS

THANET EXTRA FRONT PAGE

TUTORIAL

I used this tutorial to teach myself how to use prezi to present my research

METRO CODES AND CONVENTIONS (FRONT PAGE)