Imagine that you are a PR practitioner hired to promote a new TV show. What steps would you use and why?

If I was the PR practitioner hired to promote a new TV show, the first thing I would do is identify the target market age group. Secondly, when I know what age group this show is being targeted at I would make sure it airs on TV at a suitable time that the specific age category would view be able to view it. There is no point airing a comedy show for college students at 8am in the morning as they would either be in class or sleeping. Then once that is sorted out, we would then need to decide what channel is the most popular for students to watch shows of a similar genre. Once these issues have been resolved, then the show needs to be advertised to our target market and really get the word out. We will use TV commercials, magazines/newspapers, social websites and blogs to attract our audience to watch the show. Once the show is being successfully aired, we would need to find out how well our show is doing. We would do this through social media, for example set up a fan account on Facebook and get feedback from viewers of the show by asking questions that allow for feedback to be generated and from there we can monitor what viewers of the show like or dislike.

What target markets do you belong to, and how do advertisers reach each of your aspects?

When asked what target market I belong to, it provokes more than a simple answer. A target market is a demographic segment of the market a which a particular product is marketed to. I believe my age target market is 18-24 and which the is the typical age category for college students. Other than the college student target market, I also belong to sports athletes market.

I think the new and one of the best way marketers are advertising is through new media. Im especially talking about social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter. It is a powerful way for national brands and small businesses to reach their customers, with advertisers being being able to target multiple states, cities, and countries with a single marketing campaign. There are many ways to segment the market based on certain criteria such as relationship, age, birthday, education, sex, workplace, and language. Also when marketers use Facebook, they target keywords to reach target audiences based on interests, activities, movies, and TV shows and many other things that users may list in their Facebook profiles.

Rupert Murdoch Plans to hide his sites from Google

An interesting interview with with media mogul Rupert Murdoch talks about how he plans to hide his news sites from Google. This will mean that when you search Google for news, you will not be able to see Murdoch's News Corp sites such as Sky, FOX News, and The Wall Street Journal. In effect this is a plan to stop other media sources from "stealing" news from their articles. Also Murdoch plans on making readers pay for the news they read. Already you are only able to read the first paragraph of the of articles on the Wall Street Journal site, but if you wish to read further on then you have to pay for it. Murdoch believes that if people buy newspapers then why cant they buy news online. He states that he would much prefer to have fewer visitors to the sites willing to pay for their news, which he believes would make a quality audience.

The problem with Murdoch's theory is that you need to have an audience and constantly have masses of people flooding the website so by hiding those site from Google, it is really a bite in the foot. Ask yourself one thing... whenever you search for something, anything what do you use to search for it, answer: Google? so clearly by severing the connection between the source of the information and the end user, you are limiting yourself in a bad way. Secondly, I think they should do a survey on how many people would actually pay for news on a website they can easily get for free elsewhere. Ill take an educated guess and say that not many people would pay for it, especially the younger generation.

Source: http://mashable.com/2009/11/09/rupert-murdoch-google/

Reactions to Guest Speaker Tim Athans

Our guest speaker Tim Athans is a media buyer for Annheuser-Busch Inbev, and he came to talk to us in particular about how Annheuser-Busch Inbev advertises and targets certain markets for the beer market. Annheuser-Busch Inbev is the largest brewing company in the United States, operating 12 breweries in the United States and about 15 in other countries. Annheuser-Busch joined with Inbev in the summer of 2008 and are headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Annheuser-Busch Inbev has a huge advertising presence, and probably the biggest is the sports marketing division which creates commercials for the Super Bowl and other sporting events, such as horse racing and motor sports like NASCAR. When Annheuser Busch needs to launch it's new brew, it would buy national ads for a certain time and channel depending on what audience it is targeting. For example they bought about 11 commercials for the show "Saturday Night Live" to launch their new brew Bud Light Golden Wheat. Music and entertainment has been used to promote the wheat flavored version of the Bud light brand and it's also sponsoring the musical segment on ABC talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live". Annheuser-Busch is banking on the success of different versions of the top selling Bud Light brand, which normally have a higher price. So far beer sales have been flat this year as customers cut back on spending.

They are constantly looking for ways to reach consumers, and if consumers think they are watching a commercial they just wont buy it. Since Tim Athans came in I have paid close attention to the Bud Light commercials and other advertising and what I have noticed is they try to make it as authentic as possible, not letting it look like they are selling something. However, shortly after when I made a trip to the store or the bar, I at least thought about purchasing a Bud Light even if I did stick with my preferred brand. It really is fascinating the hidden power of psychology that goes behind the commercials and all the rest of the advertising.

LINK

Reactions to Matt Noble

Matt Noble was our guest speaker that came in to the class to talk to us about the music industry in general and answer questions we had in response to our discussion. Matt is a multi platinum recording engineer and producer. His engineering credits include Rihanna, Shontelle, and Rod Stewart. Matt also writes, produces, arranges songs, and also plays guitar and keyboard. He works at The Loft in Bronxville, NY. We discussed numerous topics abut the music industry, but the two that I thought were the most interesting were about songwriting and copyright.

Songwriters can perform the songs they write themselves or they may choose to write a song for someone else to perform. No doubt to be a song writer it requires time, patience and a lot of hard work. People who sing their own songs are called singer-writers/composers, however it might be more common for songwriters to record their songs by a variety of artists and then deciding who is most suitable for a that particular piece. Another big thing that Matt spoke to us about was how most songwriters these days are becoming their own music publishers and owning their own record label in a way of maximizing profits from their work instead of letting it go to an outside record label. He also explained how staff writers are directly employed by by the music publisher to write songs for them, and mostly common on pop music. Although he said most country music artists are singer-composers in their own right.

When it comes to copyright, legally speaking, songs can only be copied or performed with permission of the authors. It is governed by copyright law, however the legal power to buy or grant permission, may be bought, sold or otherwise transferred. Matt discussed how publishing and songwriting royalties can be a considerably large source of income, particularly if a song becomes a big hit.

"Warner On Demand" - Online Video Store In Japan

Warner Entertainment Japan Inc. announced last week the launch of "Warner On Demand", a website where Japanese consumers can rent or buy Warner Bros. films and TV series for the first time ever directly from the Studio via VOD (video-on-demand) and download to own on their PCs and mobile phones. With the new launch of "Warner On Demand" scheduled for release in november 2009, Warner Bros. aims to better their understanding consumers' movie and TV series preferences, building a relationship with them. Warner On Demand customers will receive regular news and updates from the Studio on new movie releases and be able to take part in special promotions and sweepstakes.

To buy content through "Warner On Demand", consumers will need to purchase a series of points, which will be exchanged per transaction for Warner Bros. films or TV content. Consumers will have a wide range of Warner Bros. content, both Film an TV series, from classic catalogue titles through to the latest features, including titles never before released before on DVD.

Warner On Demand will be the only website that offers Warner Bros. content on a download to own basis. Another key feature is the world's first ever "seamless re-screening" function between mobile phones and PCs. Consumers will be able to purchase a film on the Video On Demand basis and if they stop the film in the middle on their PC, they can carry on watching from the same point on their mobile phone, and the reverse is also possible.

Warner Bros. is partnering with Japanese software company Skillup Japan to make this service available.

It is clear that with the huge incursion of downloadable and/or streaming content from service providers such as Netflix, Hulu, and Vudu, Hollywood Studios are suffering for revenue from DVD sales, but Warner Bros may have come up with a viable solution.

Netflix - Cutting Edge of Media

Online video rental service Netflix is hoping to bring its video-streaming service to Sony's PlayStation 3, Nintendo's Wii, and Apple's iphone. Netflix hopes that it's streaming service will eventually be on all game consoles, all Blue-ray players, and all the internet T.V.s. However, Netflix has signed a deal with Microsoft to deliver streaming exclusively to the Xbox 360 in the video game space.

Xbox 360 is the only game console that lets you instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix. This movie-watching innovation is available to Xbox LIVE members who are also Netflix members and allows them to instantly watch movies for no additional monthly fee.

How did advertising come to support radio economics?

Radio advertising is affordable and has proven to be the most effective medium for delivery of advertisements to a target market. There are many reasons for the radio being an effective source of advertising and make sure that the widest range of people can be exposed to it. People wake up to the radio in the morning, listen to it to and from work, hear it at the workplace, and stay up to listen to late night talk shows. Radio spots can require a smaller a smaller budget than advertising in newspapers and magazines. While T.V. pulls the big audience, it's still radio thats there everywhere all day and all night. Maybe the most beneficial use of radio advertising is is the effectiveness of ads on listeners. Radio is perceived as the most intimate of advertising mediums, because people are often alone when listening to the radio, either from work or when they are just bored at home. Maybe the reason why people are more accepting of radio advertising as opposed to other forms is because people tend to develop a personal relationship with radio stations, shows, or presenters, more so than than with television.

Why should we care about the concentration of radio ownership?

We should be deeply concerned about the concentration of radio ownership otherwise known as media consolidation. What is happening is that few huge corporations are expanding by taking over our local radio stations and by that local and independent owners are pushed of the airwaves and out of the market. This means fewer voices and viewpoints, less diversity in ownership and programming, less coverage of local issues that matter to communities, and simply more biased journalism that abuses power. This is clearly a danger for our world democracy. The reason for this change to less individual ownership is mostly due to the fact that The Telecommunications Act of 1996 lifted ownership limits for radio stations leading to radio consolidation. An example is how Clear Channel In owns about 12,000 radio stations across the country. Before the change a company couldn't own more than 40 stations nationwide.

Watch link below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilNLeXefmNw

Advantages and disadvantages of satellite radio

One of the greatest advantages of satellite radio is that the shows are not interrupted by commercials as the provider's income comes from listeners and not from advertisers. Satellite radio offers many more channels which gives greater variety of choice, compared with terrestrial radio. Also as satellite radio is digital, you do not get static no matter where you go, instead giving a perfect sound. This also means that if for example you are traveling from east coast to west coast, you can listen to the same station without interruptions, whereas with traditional radio you will eventually lose signal along the way.

The disadvantages of satellite radio is the fact that you have to pay for it, where you can get radio simply for free. Also satellite radio does not offer local radio channels, therefore you cannot find out the news in your area. Another disadvantage of satellite radio is that there are only two providers of satellite radio service in the United States (XM and Sirius) and one worldwide provider (Worldspace). This then means that there are limited satellite radio service offerings.

Reactions to Ned Sublette

Our guest speaker Ned Sublette was an amusing and interesting character. He discussed many things, for one was the the origin of radio, internet and television and how they progressed and how depending on each country they are controlled to limit on what information is accessible to the public.

I didn't think about it is the cheapest form of media out there, all you need is a microphone and a transmitter and you can create your very own radio station!

A very interesting point that Ned talked about was the fact that people who actually lived in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina did not know it was coming and nor the ferocity of it. To the contrast, Cuba are well prepared for the hurricanes each year and the people know how to react and evacuate the area. Hard to believe when you hear about all the bad things about the Cuban government through the media when they can protect their people better than Americans can.

Describe what convergence has meant in your life and how it effects you.

Convergence has defiantly changed my life and how I do things and for many other people too. For example, by using one simple device like the ipone, we can watch movies, listen to music, read the latest news, shop, oh and make phone calls, and many more things!

Today, we are a world where speed is of the essence and information is readily available at the click of a mouse. As people we are becoming more and more demanding and are continuously looking for ways that will make our lives more convenient and in many ways better, such as not go out looking for a travel agency instead being able to book online.

However, since social websites such as Myspace and Facebook have been established we are more connected with people in a way that was not possible before although there is even more disconnection in the fact that some people are obsessed with those websites and prefer to communicate through them rather than socializing in person.

What is your favorite medium, and how does it make money from you?

My favorite medium is television. Television today has become a fundamental part of almost every household. It used to be considered as a luxury but nowadays has become somewhat of a necessity, and emerged to be an important source of knowledge and entertainment. Even with other types of communication such as the internet and the mobile phone, the television still has its dominance of media communication.

The television still remains the oldest and most popular form of communication amongst the majority of people, young or old, even with the internet threatening to be a new leader. This is because of the ease of using a television and being able to watch many different channels from around the world. Secondly, it is the most relaxing, being able to watch it at a distance while sitting on a sofa in the living room. Also, it is the most socially form of communication meaning you can watch it together with your family or a group of people while remaining in comfort. Television service providers make their money through advertising and commercials. Indirectly, audience viewers help broadcasting companies make their money through airtime depending on ratings of their shows.