Name: Sophie Baker

*Social Action Research

Product research:

Product research:With the reading campaigns and posters their key word was ‘Read’ to get their point across very quickly and clearly. To accompany this is an illustration, most likely to match illustrations in children’s books, to go along with the word. Because the main target audience for reading is children to encourage them away from technology and to develop more long-term skills with reading the illustrations on reading posters are more aimed at children. Usually with animals or characters on them from children’s books. The colour scheme tends to be very warm and bright or warm and neutral to be more appealing rather than harsh. Especially given that they are trying to appeal to children more than adults and the message is a positive one which means the colours need to match this positive outlook. Overall the colour scheme is meant to be The fonts used for reading campaigns and posters tend to be in serif fonts because the vast majority of books tend to be in serif fonts to match the link between the posters and books. There also tends not to be any factual information but on a poster by the National Reading Campaign in Toronto they made a poster of a child reading a book with the text displayed in different styles and positions saying, ‘First it helps you to get to sleep. Then it helps them realise their dreams’. That piece of text is the key element to the poster but there is a larger piece of text that states, ‘Reading gives our kids better opportunities. It’s time we did something for reading. Join us at nationalreadingcampaign.ca’. The posters for the campaigns could be more informative but they are more in need of encouragement and educational matters rather than informative and factual.

Product research:

Product research:Posters and campaigns to promote people to stop using their phones tends to use imagery more than words and statics to show their audience what they’re trying to say. This is most likely because the issue of people using the phones so frequently nowadays we know what it looks like more than anything so the message is easy to portray through imagery because a vast majority of people know what a smart phone looks like and a lot of people feel about the negative connotations of using their phone too much. The imagery in these posters can be photography of people using their phones but the use of illustrations and graphic designs allows a more creative outlook of the message to be portrayed. Such as the phone growing roots around the users hand The colour scheme with these posters tends to be dark and cold because the message that they’re trying to get across is a negative one. Due to the use of smart phones being the key element to the campaigns the main source of bright colouring in these posters is the glow of the smart phones on people’s faces. With these dark colours and the connotations of a negative message the purpose of the campaigns is to raise awareness by informing and to promote people to stop using their phones so much and socialise with the people in front of them rather than online.

The client:With reading there aren’t many campaigns that are out there. For the most part there are many organisations that work towards people reading more but rather than being there in a permanent position they come once a year or twice a year as an encouragement and a set challenges for people to do to get them reading. Such as ‘Hay Festival’ in Wales which is huge event held in the Summer to showcase global writers, poets, scientists, comedians, etc. to a large audience of people founded in 1987. Because this is an event held once a year this encourages more people to come to share for their love of reading, literature, entertainment, etc. in one area making the experience as a whole much more special. And due to the festival being so large there are many shows and stalls that keep people engaged and interested in reading. Other forms of gaining attention to an audience is through the access of the media with headlining stories. Such as the article published in 2016 on ‘theDoDo.com’ about, ‘Something Really Amazing Is Happening At This Animal Shelter’. This showed an organisation called, ‘Humane Society of Missouri’ where they found that dogs in shelters who are shy and anxious can be calmed by children reading to them. This not only showed that the dogs became more relaxed to hearing the children read to them and approaching them but this also allowed the children to be free with their reading without being ridiculed or graded because they could tell the story in their own time to a partner, the dog, who showed an interest in a very gentle manner.

The issues:The main issue with organisations such as ‘Hay Festival’ and these not very frequent articles is that they aren’t circulating as much media attention as they could have with a campaign that can be accessed throughout the whole year. Festivals like ‘Hay Festival Wales’ sparks a lot of attention every year because of how it becomes a special event. However, once it’s ended and the rest of the year carries on the spark for reading dies down. As well as with these ‘every-once-in-a-while’ articles get a fair amount of discussion but whether or not they gather enough interest for people to read more is unknown. Having a campaign that is more frequent about the topics of reading may be more effective that once a year festivals. Although, with reading organizations/ campaigns there has been evidence of there being a rise in people reading whether that be as a group discussions online or showing how many people go towards these events yearly. The popularity of the shows and festival overall shows the popularity of an keen audience who want to see and be involved with an event based around reading, books, science, etc. Many reading campaigns and organizations work along side schools to bring children's authors in to read to the students and have them read their books. This is a better solution because in a school it’s a controlled environment which is easier to encourage people to read more. However, outside of an environment where you have an authority figure telling you to read can be harder to encourage, especially for adults in work who are more busy.

The client:The ‘Stop Phubbing’ campaign was originally a Facebook page founded on the 29th May 2012 by an Australian college student called Alex Haigh who worked at the agency McCann. Why this campaign was made was to stop people using their phones unnecessarily in social situations. The word originated by a group of authors, a lexicologist, a poet, and a cruciverbalist came together in the University of Sydney to create a new word that describes the rude act of someone using their phone in front of you to go on social media or other activates instead of interacting with you or the other people around them in social situations for the Macquarie Dictionary of Australia. In 2013 a short film called, ‘A Word Is Born’ was created describing the word as well as the campaign as a whole to make the issue more well know. As the word became more well known media outlets in the UK, Mexico, Germany, etc. began to work with the ‘Stop Phubbing’ campaign to gather statistics through survey's to back-up the campaign even further to help people see that it is a factual issue at hand nowadays. This is how the campaign is funded, they aren’t funded through money but media and word-of-mouth so that they stay relevant. And because the issue is about phones and the heavy consumption of social media in replacement for social interaction with the people in front of you it helps keep relevant for a relevant topic.

The issues:There is only one issue that is associated with this campaign which is to inform and eventually stop using their phones in social situations because to many it is seen as rude because of the anti-social and almost as a way of interrupting them and not wanting to interact with them either because being on their phone is their main source of attention at that moment. Some of the impacts that they have managed to achieve through their campaign is gaining statistics with other countries to gain factual information that ‘phubbing’ is a genuine thing and needs to be stopped. When the word had been created it sparked a lot of attention and as the statics came in it gather more notice through people online, on talk shows, by celebrities, etc. as a topic which is now known in 180 countries. Their goals weren’t like many others such as earning money for a cause and gathering members but rather to keep relevance worldwide to get people on board with the issue. Because they have a social issue they need to make sure that people are talking about it which is what is still going on. Back in 2012 when the word was created talk show hosts talked a lot about it but once the short film was created more countries had access to the term and campaign. The latest article about the term was in November 2016 talking about, ‘Is your partner ‘phubbing’ you? Researchers say phone snubbing is killing relationships’ proving the campaign isn’t out of people knowledge in recent dates. This is their main goal to keep achieving because with the power of word-of-mouth and the Internet talking about ‘phubbing’ people will become more aware and will hopefully take it on board so that ‘phubbing’ becomes non-existent in social situations.

Facts and figures:

Facts and figures:

Audience research:

There was a tie in results between the 13 people who answered this question between ‘Yes’ they liked reading and ‘Very rarely. It depends on the book I find’. No one answered that they disliked reading. This showed me that people enjoy reading but find it difficult because they need to get a book that peeks their interest. Whereas others find it easier to find a book to read and enjoy. I already knew that people would find it hard to enjoy reading if they can’t find something that matches what they enjoy even in a genre of film they like. Such a horror or comedy, they can’t find the same level of entertainment depending on the character.

Audience research:

5 of the 13 people who answered this question said that they read every night. However, 4 of the people said that they read a few days a week or they used to read a lot but don’t anymore because it’s depends on the book or time management. Although the 3 most popular question shows that 3 of the participants read once a month. Whether that means they read one book a month or they find time to read a few chapters a month I’m unsure of because I didn’t ask them to specify.

Audience research:

People in this survey read quite frequently between a few months. There are only two people who finished a book a few days ago but that doesn’t show the last time they read a book before that. There was only one person who said that the last book they read was a year ago which shows that people don’t read as less in the majority.

Audience research:

All of the people who answered this question explained that they go on their phone everyday for a number of reasons. Social media, gaming, the news, communications, etc. Someone mentioned how they use their phone, ‘If I’m not busy or bored I’ll check my social media’.

Audience research:

Quite a lot of the people in this question answered that they like technology and reading equally but for different reasons and it’s hard to differentiate the two. However, more than not said that they preferred technology, like the use of their phone, out of habit and how convenient it is (because it’s so fast). Although there were a few that did prefer reading. Particularly reading with a physical book not on a tablet, smartphone or eBook.

Audience research:

For this question the vast majority said that they liked to do both dependent on which comes out first. There were only a few who said that they preferred to watch the film and a few that preferred to read the book. But people enjoy doing both and comparing the two.

Audience research:

A lot of the participants who answered this question were those who enjoy reading so they agreed that they could read 20 minutes before bed. However, those who didn’t enjoy reading as much either didn’t answer the question or answered with a, ‘Maybe’. But one said that, ‘Used to do this years ago, read before bed, always struggles to sleep afterwards’. This could be because the books they were reading were too stimulating. Whereas someone else said that’d it would have to depend on the book, that they’d need one that was interesting.

Audience research:

The vast majority of those who answered this question said that they see the benefits of reading. Such as, ‘Benefits: improved vocabulary. Increased confidence in spelling and recognizing words. Develops imagination. Builds awareness of wider issues.’ Others said, ‘Learning. Growing’ but even though they saw the benefits of reading some found that they still couldn’t get on top of reading because they get bored with reading.

Audience research:

Nearly everyone said that they think that it’s important for all ages to read because it develops their love of reading and education. Basically explaining how learning doesn’t need to stop with children but it’s important for everyone of all ages to keep learning and books is a key part of that development. There were only 3 people who didn’t mention all ages but focused on the importance of children reading. ‘Yes because it gives them the option to continue, children need to be introduced to reading’.

Audience research:

The majority of people that answered this question said that they think that there is a crisis on reading because of technology and that they’ve seen on the news that there are many libraries are closing. Many brought up that a lot of teenagers may think that reading is ‘uncool’ and find the internet more stimulating. ‘Yes, so many people don’t read anymore. People are beginning to get obsessed with social media. But there were a fair few who said that it’s pretty even. Phones are used more but the people using them love reading. ‘Reading is still thieving but people now use their phones to read’.

Audience research:

Nearly everyone agreed that technology is defiantly overpowering reading. Many said how technology is good for many things but reading is still important. ‘Technology is overpowering reading, mainly because it’s easier because the device is smaller. And you don’t have to spend as much time on it (because when I start reading I would want to at least finish the chapter and not just the page).’

Audience research:

The majority of those who answered this question said they don’t think it’s bad that children are reading books off of a tablet because they’re reading anyone. However, there were a few who said that it’s not as immersive and damaging for the eyes which is what I was looking for in answers but got a the opposite which na help add to my primary research to what people think nowadays. ‘Yes because it’s damaging for eyes, e-readers are fine’. ‘I think tablets have made it possible for everyone to have a certain book, nothing wore than going to a library and you can’t get a book as they are all out’.

Audience research:

This question showed more diversification. It was pretty half-and-half with people thinking that it’s not a problem or a big deal because a phone can be used for emergences and can provide entertainment. Whereas the opposing side found it to be a problem because there is a lot of danger that can come from the internet and becoming reliant on a screen.