CAROLINA PERFORMING ARTS

The Rite of Spring at 100: Reaching the Student Demographic

Marketing Portfolio

Sydney Stegall

Revised: December 11, 2012

Table of Contents
Meme Identification........................................3 Market Analysis........................................5 Executive Summary........................................8 Memes........................................10

Meme Identification
What is a meme? Memes, a single image with header and/or footer text that transmits a message by playing on cultural events and stereotypes, can be used to target student audiences through social media. Memes and advertising? Memes are a widely adaptable, relatable means for transmitting an idea; therefore, make excellent rhetorical spaces for advertising. Success Kid, specifically, has traction with audiences. With over 66,000 instances of the meme on Quickmeme alone, the meme is currently in widespread use among many audiences, and particularly in the 18-24 age group (See Market Analysis, page X).

Rhetorical Agency of Memes The visual, iconic, meaning of the meme is the most evident mode of meaning construction. Take Success Kid for example (top); the expression on the childs face and the hand gesture are iconic signs within the meme that can signify either satisfaction or possibly frustration. Both meanings have been implied by the meme in its online usage, but the former interpretation is the more widely accepted meaning of the childs gesture. For those unfamiliar with how this might appear as satisfaction, see the Star Trek meme (bottom), which displays a similar gesture. Originally, the Success Kid meme was often captioned with, I Hate Sandcastles, referring to the initial context of the photograph - a frustrated-looking baby on a beach. However, the meme took root as an expression of unexpected satisfaction when coupled with its background color wheel.

Adding symbolic and indexical meaning to iconic meaning, the childs gesture develops meaning in content with memes. The indexical meaning of the Success Kid meme is related to both the backdrop (alternating triangular regions of similar colors) and the text that accompanies the image. The patterned color blocking in the background identifies the meme as part of a meme index called Advice Animals, a group of memes usually displaying an animals head as the central image. Most often these memes give words of advice, using the animal as a mouthpiece for certain cultural beliefs or humorous remarks. Other examples of Advice animals include Philosoraptor and Advice Dog (top).

Success Kid Works with Audiences Though Success Kid features an abbreviated image of a head on the color wheel background, the meme does not imply the giving advice to anyone. So how does Success Kid work for audiences despite this lack of connection between its symbolic and indexical meaning and its iconic meaning? While Success Kid visually fits into the Advice Animals index of memes, its meaning is determined by the connection between its iconic gesture and the lines of text that accompany the image. For the meme to work, the text must demonstrate a specific instance of a situation turning out better than expected, and therefore matching the babys iconic gesture to its message. While this meaning is true for all Success Kid memes, audiences of the meme vary widely from very large cultural groups to much smaller groups. For example, the following Success Kid instance would most likely be understood by people who work a nine to five job (middle). The second instance of the meme may only be understood by members of the university community who are familiar with recent allegations of NCAA violations at UNC (bottom). As you can see, the meaning of the meme is indexical to its audience and local context. Through Internet culture, memes - and Success Kid specifically - are ubiquitously recognizable. Its positivity and universal applicability makes it an excellent meme for promotional purposes. Using the Success Kid, promoters of The Rite of Spring at 100 could create excitement about attending performances. Students will identify with that speaker and align their expectations of the event. Using the Success Kid meme to promote The Rite of Spring at 100 could prove a very successful marketing strategy to promote performances.

Market Analysis Report

The Rite of Spring brings fifteen different performances to Carolina Performing Arts in the 2012-2013 season. Because not all students currently attend professional performances regularly, they are an important and easy-to-reach group of potential performance attendees. Though alumni and other members of the UNC community likely bring in more donations, students should be encouraged to take advantage of world-renowned performances sponsored by UNC while they are still in attendance. Encouraging appreciation for the performance on campus will generate lifelong support so key to continuing our tradition of arts at Carolina. Target Audience Among the student demographic immersed in online culture, an Internet meme campaign could drastically increase attendance (see page X for detailed explanation of memes and their effective application). The UNC Memes Facebook page (right) is the mostly widely used tool for sharing memes related to UNC culture. With 12,626 total Likes (number of people who view the page in their News Feed), UNC Memes has a huge audience. Analytics tools confirm the most popular age as 18-24 years old. The number of people who have propagated the UNC Memes page total 1,738. Strategic Communication Opportunities Clearly, UNC Memes has huge distribution; however, not all memes are equally appreciated. Using Salingaross eight factors of meme propagation (simplicity, novelty, utility, formality, authority, publicity, conformity, encapsulation) we can begin to understand why certain memes succeed in garnering Likes while other fade into obscurity. Combinations of these factors usually result in the greatest propagation of these memes. The table on the next page shows two examples of recently popular memes from August 2012 and their corresponding propagation factors. Though not listed in the table, both memes use Publicity as a propagation factor. As memes gain popularity, they are shared and Liked by an increasing number of people, who then redistribute the content to more users.

Meme Information
Date Posted: 8/17/12 Current Likes: 335 Shares: 35 Comments: 3

Factors Affection Meme Propagation

Simplicity: The arrival of first-year students widely understood, non-controversial topic; therefore, it is Liked by many, but commented on by few. Formality: It formally (and without deviation) adapts a popular meme and slogan to a UNC context. Authority: The meme evokes the authority of Lord Stark from the TV series Game of Thrones, a respected and wise figure. The implied speaker is an upperclassman that looks on the incoming first-years with trepidation and an authoritative tone. Encapsulation: By referring to the popular Brace Yourselves meme, the message takes on a well-established tone.

Image

Date Posted: 8/21/12 Current Likes: 2,143 Shares: 564 Comments: 30

Novelty: The image is not a widely used meme image, but it is a singular image that resonates with UNC students and fans of UNC basketball. Formality: The slogan, Once a team, Always a team, formally establishes the idea that is communicated - a undiminished community surrounding UNC basketball, despite that last years star players have left the team and no longer play together. Conformity: The idea expressed here not only identifies the former UNC basketball players as part of an ongoing tradition of UNC basketball, it suggests that all UNC supporters and students are a part of the UNC community, despite that members of the team fluctuate. Encapsulation: This meme is embedded in a sub-culture of memes surrounding UNC basketball. These memes are widely distributed and understood in the UNC community.

Recomendations Students at UNC communicate online constantly in social networks. They also value peer approval that stems from successful social interaction. They also value low cost opportunities to interact with peers on and off campus. Using memes to advertise online, The Rite of Spring performances could be cast as an inexpensive opportunity for students to enjoy a cultural event with friends. In conclusion, the UNC Memes Facebook page serves as a venue for some of the most widely shared media material among UNC students; however, the memes must be tactfully created to appeal to take advantage of the factors of meme propagation. I recommend that The Rite of Spring strategically incorporate memes into promotional material.

Executive Summary
Goals & Target Demographic Lower ticket prices and venue proximity give students the best access to Carolina Performing Arts events; however, attending professional performances is not an emphatic part of undergraduate culture. While undergraduates readily attend amateur student performances such as those of acapella and dance groups, professional performances rarely achieve the same buzz. My marketing campaign targets this group with the hope that its increased attendance will promote artistic endeavors at Carolina and encourage donations from future alumni. The target undergraduate group can be subdivided into two groups: those that already know about and plan to attend a Rite of Spring performance and those that do not have prior knowledge. Students most likely to already know about or plan to attend might study music, theatre, or dance and frequent buildings on campus in which these subjects are taught. Their professors have possibly announced these performances. Targeting students who do not have prior knowledge of the Rite of Spring celebration is the primary goal of this campaign. Media Selection Strategy Internet memes, more accurately described as image macros, will generate buzz about The Rite of Spring among the undergraduate demographic. Memes are widely recognizable to students immersed daily in Internet culture. I have used Salingaross eight factors of meme propagation, as described in my Market Analysis report, to create memes that will circulate widely and appeal to a maximum number of undergraduate students. The memes I have developed are simple, widely recognizable, and appropriate to both the audience and rhetor. All promotional materials must have appropriate content for use in conjunction with UNC institutions. Therefore, these memes do not use adult language or themes. Additionally, the memes I have designed use positive, rather than negative motivation. Often Internet memes play on viewers guilt or points of insecurity. While these memes do play on cultural tropes such as bad luck or forgetfulness, to avoid alienating viewers, their messages do not criticize or insult. A hashtag or url is a crucial part of each memes content. These links will encourage students to seek out more information online on Twitter or via the Carolina Performing Artss website.

UNC Memorial Hall Photo by http://www.carolinaperformingarts.org.

Placement Strategy Two primary locations are targeted by this campaign: the UNC Memes Facebook page and high-traffic locations on campus. These locations are frequented by a variety of students, thereby exposing the memes to students who do not yet know about The Rite of Spring. These locations have been chosen in opposition to more specific locations like academic buildings where subjects such as music or theatre are taught. Students frequenting these locations are most likely to have prior knowledge. Most undergraduate students spend much time online, visiting social spaces and participating in conversations about UNC. The UNC Memes Facebook page receives the most traffic of these spaces, as described in my Market Analysis Report. Memes promoted by this page are seen by thousands of students, as you can see in the screenshot (bottom). These statistics also demonstrate the undergraduates (ages 18-22) are the primary audience for the UNC Memes page. Undergraduates congregate on campus in the Pit and Polk Place Quad (see top photo of the Pit). Several interns within our cohort have suggested innovative ways of displaying memes in these crowded areas. I suggested using sandwich-style boards to display the memes (middle). Disrupting students expectations for signboard material will attract their interest. Other interns suggested using the flagpole as a location for a meme. I suggested creating a fake flagpole on which to fly a meme banner. Such an advertisement would be visible lofted above the crowd and attention-grabbing. The placement strategy capitalizes on maximum viewing, rather than in-depth engagement. The more people talking about The Rite of Spring, the more people who will venture online to gain more information and subsequently attend performances that interest them. Timeline Four of the following memes can be used anytime during the year to promote The Rite of Spring. The other four are designed to capitalize on certain periods of time. The last meme can be provisionally used, depending on the popularity and successful distribution of the other previous memes. See meme pages for details on their appropriate usage.
UNC Memes Facebook page statistics, archived September 24, 2012

Photo by Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2008-07-21_The_Pit.jpg

Meme 1
Meme 1 takes a general approach to address a viewer that has no prior knowledge of the Rite of Spring. In fact, it poses the rhetor (the baby) as a person who only recently discovered the Rite of Spring, creating identification with the viewer. It also references a popular event of the Rite of Spring Yo-yo Mas peformances. Though these performances occur in October, the events will be remembered throughout the year, allowing the meme to stay relevant.

Meme 2
Similar to the first meme, Meme 2 addresses a viewer without prior knowledge by gesturing to world-renowned performers generally. It also contains a major selling point for student audiences the inexpensive ticket price.

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Meme 3
Meme 3 uses Bad Luck Brian to inform students about the Rite of Spring and caution them against missing such a distinguished event. Students are not alienated from this meme, however, because they will have many chances throughout the year to attend performances.

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Meme 4
Meme 4, like Meme 2, promotes the inexpensive student ticket price, but it also creates positive associations with students. The Most Interesting man is a very popular meme on the UNC Memes page, usually referencing points of pride in UNC. These meme connects to and propagates that tradition while promoting The Rite of Spring.

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Meme 5
Meme 5 should be used anytime after Yo-yo Mas performance. The Slowpoke meme plays on being behind the curve; everything Slowpoke references has already happened. This meme will remind students of the prestigious performance and encourage them to seek out more information on future performances via the hashtag.

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Meme 6
Meme 6 should be used in the spring semester when students are looking forward to the change of seasons. As we near the actual 100th anniversary of the Rite of Spring on April 13, this meme becomes more relevant to student audiences.

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Meme 7
Meme 7 suggests that a good friend, a Good Guy Greg, would encourage his friends to attend Rite of Spring events. In this example, he actually buys someone a ticket to an event.

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Meme 8
Meme 8 is unique in that it can only be used if the previously-released memes have garnered student attention. As more students learn about Rite of Spring through the memes, they will gain popularity as parts of UNC social culture online and on campus. If students do not share or talk about the memes in a recognizable way, this particular meme does not make sense. However, if the memes are successful, this meme contributes to the trend.

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Project Evolution & Concluding Thoughts

As the meme project developed, I took into account the ideas of my fellow interns. My marketing strategy (including placement locations and the timeline) have evolved as a results of these interactions to be both more general and less critical. Many interns had innovative placement strategies and ideas for circulation, but the primary challenge for many among my cohort seemed to be creating memes that were understandable to a general audience. Many of their memes included references to the riots that occured at the original 1913 performance or to Stravinsky; however, most potential viewers in my target group do not have the cultural knowledge to get these references. To diverge from my fellow interns strategies, I have attempted to exclude all references to The Rite of Spring that require extensive prior knowledge. For this reason, I have not included the names of performers other than Yo-yo Ma, possibly the most widely-known performer in attendance. While the details included in other memes increase interest and humor, if students do not understand the meme quickly, they will not give it a second thought. To use Salingaross terms, novelty does not propagate as well as simplicity. I also made the careful decision not to include memes that alienated viewers. Many memes mock viewers who do not abide by certain cultural ideals. For example, the Musically Oblivious 8th Grader meme might be appropriate to the Rite of Spring because it addresses music; however, if the girl is mocked for her lack of knowledge of the Rite of Spring, more viewers may identify with the oblivious 8th grader than with the implied rhetor, the musically-aware. Viewers that identify with the mocked individual might feel antagonized and alienated from The Rite of Spring. In conclusion, my memes provide a positive, motivating introduction to The Rite of Spring for viewers without prior knowledge of the events.

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