Keywords:

Statistics - numbers, numericals, units, measures, percentage

Audience awareness - notice, acknowledge
Audience opinion - liked, views, concenses, preference, compressions

Q1. Describe the two main forms of research undertaken by the media industries.

Due to the media marketplace being very competitive, one of the most important steps effective
and successful media producers would take is to do detailed research for information about the
market they are in - this could also be done through commissioning other companies to
undertake the research on their behalf. In order to know who your audience is and communicate
with them effectively you would need to undertake market research:
- This is simply statistical data about the size of the audience and its composition for
particular media products. Some examples of this could be the readers of The Sun
newspaper, we can see what sort of people they are and how many people read them,
which we can find out through numerical data.
- Market research allows communication with an audience, therefore we can find out a lot
of information. For example, we can find out how many people are aware of the new
digital radio channels that are available, - which can also be measured through figures
and numbers.
- Through this form of research we are also able to see the audience's awareness, this
helps the producers understand what they need to do in order to catch the audience's
attention and make work produced more effective.
- Information about peoples thoughts and opinions about certain products and their
behaviour patterns. For example, having information about what people think of
broadband internet technology and why they may choose to use it.
- Market competitors who compete for audience and revenue share with similar products
would also undertake market research. For example, a company who would want to
launch a lifestyle magazine would need to have information about other similar
magazines.

The other form of research undertaken by media industries - this is done when making the
programme/film/magazine etc - is production research:
- This is the actual process of the production, planning and doing secondary research -
the content rather than material. For example, I had to do secondary research about my
brand Monster Munch, I had to look at previous adverts, see what they had done and
how I could change to make it better.
- I also carried out planning such as location recces in order to come up with the right idea
and plan for my advert.
- I came up with 3 ideas and compared them to each other in order to decide which would
have been better for my advert. I thought of these ideas by looking at the previous
adverts and looking at what they have done well and not so well, and changed my idea
 to come up with something that will have a good impact on the audience and persuade
them.
- I then had to do research on the costs of the actual production, to come up with my
budget along with the commercial viability. I had to research the skills and experience I
needed in order to see if I was going to be capable of making the product and to see
how viable it actually was.
- Production research is useful to analyse commercial viability

Q2.
a) State the full name of the following research organisations: NRS, ABC, BARB,
RAJAR.
- NRS - National Readership Survey
- ABC - Audit Bureau of Circulation
- BARB - Broadcasters Audience Research Board
- RAJAR - Radio Joint Audience Research Limited

b) Explain what each organisation does and include an example of the research data
produced.

NRS
- The National Readership Survey is a non-profit making organisation which provides the
industry with estimates of who reads what publication. Some of these estimates could be
things such as how many people read different newspapers and magazines and what
type of people they may be. They make these estimates based on interviews with a
representative sample of the population. The National Readership Survey provides
breakdowns of the readership of each title according to demographic factors such as
gender, age, social class. Information like this is invaluable to publishers and advertising
agencies planning, buying and selling advertising in the print medium, due to this data
allowing them to select the titles that reach a given target market in a more effective way.
The NRS also publishes data for over 250 newspapers, newspaper supplements and
consumer magazines. Data is available to NRS subscribers for detailed analysis via
specialised computer bureaux.
- The NRS carries out 36,000 interviews throughout the year, which is a small sample,
compared to the figure of 18.9 million households in the UK. This could therefore
suggest that the data collected is only valuable to a certain extent or for a particular part
of the population. This could also be seen as a con of how the NRS collects their data.
- A good thing about the way NRS collects its data is that these informations are available
according to demographic factors and therefore allows easy access to companies who
want the specific information. Another good thing is that they publish data for over 250
newspapers (supplements) and consumer magazines.
- A con to the collection of the data is that it is a survey and therefore some answers may
not necessarily be accurate. Another con is that the data is based on estimates and
therefore the information isnt accurate.
 - As some people may buy a particular magazine or newspaper and then pass it on to
other family members or friends, the data collected could also be inaccurate. As this data
could show who buys magazines or who reads a magazine - which either way would be
inaccurate.

ABC
- The Audit Bureau of Circulation also provides circulation information to the newspaper
and magazine industry. They include directories, leaflets, exhibitions and websites in its
range of products researched. The ABC was launched in 1931 in response to demands
from the advertising industry for independent verification of the circulation and
readership claims which has been made by the sales teams of newspapers and
magazines.
- The ABC provide an independent verification of circulation data in order to facilitate the
buying and selling space within the UK. Once the ABC collects the information, the
marketers then use the data to plan advertising campaigns. Before investing their money
into an advertising, most advertisers want to find out how many people read or buy the
publication. The ABC provides these statistics to these members - every 6 months - and
they are then carried out in detail to provide accuracy and factual information. The ABC
does not however, provide information based on opinions or claims.
 - The ABC and the NRS are similar as they both provide the advertisers and agencies
with particular information that could affect the way the produce their work. Therefore
they are both useful in terms of providing us with information.

BARB
- The Broadcasters Audience Research Board is responsible to deliver the UKs TV
audience measurements system and is used by the BBC and independent broadcasters,
in order to provide estimates of the number of people watching their programmes. There
are recruited representative sample of homes - only 5100 households are selected from
out of a total 27.1bn households in the UK in 2016 - selected by: the household type; the
demographics; the TV platform; and the geography, to measure what is watched by who
and when. The information is obtained from a metre thats attached to each TV set in
these panel homes, which all individuals in a panel home use a handset (like a remote)
to register themselves in and out when they are watching TV and when they have left
the room. Once the panel member and the content being watch is worked out and
collected, the information is then delivered to clients, which allow them to judge the
success of their products (such as programmes, advertising campaigns etc). This data
includes which channels and programmes are being watched, at what specific time and
the type of people who are watching the particular programmes etc, representing the
viewing behaviour of 27.1bn households within the UK.
RAJAR
- The Radio Joint Audience Research Limited was established in 1992 to operate a single
audience measurement system for the radio industry, including all BBC, UK-licensed and
other commercial stations. The company is owned by the RadioCentre and BBC. They
provide estimates of the number of people listening to radio programmes. To operate a
single audience measurements system for the radio industry. They also find radio
audience figures. The process of how they collect their data:

Sample and the sample procedure:

- There is an overall adult sample (15+) of 10,000/year, where each respondent only
participates for one week.
- The sampling is organised so that each station is representing the area theyre covering.
The smallest sample for each station is 500 adults over 12 months, however for stations
with a TSA (Total Survey Area) it is under 300,000.
- There are an approximate 25,000 adults reported on a quarterly sample by the National
stations.
- Firstly, the stations decide the area they will be surveying by selecting a list of postcode
districts, where each segment is attributed to a recruitment target for each quarter and
then the sampling points are allocated accordingly.
- A sampling point is decided by the list of addresses which the interviewers recruit, the list
is then drawn at random using the Postal Address File.
- It is not permitted to accept self selection respondents, so for example people who come
to RAJAR and ask to be surveyed are not allowed.

The interviewing process:

- A listening diary for one week is asked to be completed from the participants. Theyre
asked to start recording their listening as it happens for the week ahead and are not
allowed to complete the task for the week before the placement - there is usually one
respondent recruited for each household.
 - This diary placement is continuous for 50 weeks of the year, with the exclusion of the
Christmas/New Year holiday period.
- Quotas must ensure they have the best representation of demographics in the area.

The listenership questions:

- Firstly, the participants are asked a set of questions about the demographic details,
household tenure, number of radio stations and the access to digital platforms such as
TV, internet DAB etc.
- The respondent must keep a listening diary for the week (by recording it online, paper or
via a mobile app), detailing for each quarter hours, which stations theyre listening to,
where and on which platform - this includes only live listening.
- The respondents diaries are personalised through the process of each respondent
sorting a set of cards with the name of the radio stations that are available in the area.
- There is also a self completion questionnaire within the diary which covers media
consumption including TV viewing, newspaper readership, listening to podcasts and via
mobile phone etc.
- At the end of each diary week the interviewers come back to the respondents home to
collect the diaries.

The data processing and reporting:

- After the diaries are collected they are scanned and the data is then quality checked.
- The data is then weighted to check the representation of each demographic group is
restored to the correct proportion in the area.
- The results collected for each station is then published on their TSA every quarter, along
with a sample based on the latest 3, 6 or 12 months of data, depending on the rise of the
stations TSA.

Example page of the diary given to the participants:

Q3. Describe the different ways in which a media audience can be segmented.

Media audiences are usually segmented according to their demographic profile (e.g.
C.A.R.G.E.L). This makes it easier for media producers to identify and target specific groups of
people with the things they may need and want.

C.A.R.G.E.L:
- The first way is by social class and income (C), advertisers would need to target a
particular social class and income group in order to be successful. If advertisers
advertised a top-of-the-range sports car to households that have a low disposable
income, then the advertisement would not be successful. Most organisations therefore
use the socio-economic groups A, B, C1, C2, D and E in order to be able to identify and
describe the different audience groups according to their social class and income.
- Another popular way that a media audience is segmented is by age (A), the most
significant and often-used categories within the media. The most common division used
by media researchers is:
 - 15 years or younger,
- 16-24 years,
- 25-44 years,
- 45-64 years,
- 65 years and over.
However, some individual pieces of research will use age divisions that are most appropriate
and suitable for the task. For example, advertising on young children will need to subdivide the
15 years or younger category in order to target the right audience.
- Other ways of segmenting audience is by religion (R), culture and ethnicity (E). The
advertisers would need to know the religion and ethnic background of the audience in
order to be able to advertise successfully. Once they have a correct religion or ethnicity
audience, they can then advertise to communicate with them. For example, if they are
advertising a product based on islam they would need to target the islamically religious
audiences who will be more likely to buy the product.
- Advertisers also use gender (G) to segment the audience, they use the female and male
gender to target the particular audience. If a product is a female product for example, the
advertisers can then base their advert on the female gender and target them, which will
allow them communicate much more effectively.
- One final way of segmenting the audience is by geographical location (L). There would
be no point in advertising to an audience in the UK about a product in Spain for example.

Q4. Explain the importance of advertising to media production.

Advertising is important to the media productions as advertising is one of the best ways to
communicate with the audience and is an important source of income for many of the media
products that are advertised. Advertising could also provide the media productions with a wider
range of audiences, therefore advertising could also help the media production increase sales.
Simply looking into a magazine such as Marie Claire for example, we can see the amount of
pages that are dedicated and based on advertising. This suggests to us the importance of
advertising. Advertising covers costs of magazine production and keeps the cover cost of the
magazine down - advertises the existence of magazine to the world so the audiences can buy it.
For example, there are many commercial channels on TV which are used to fund TV industry, if
there werent commercial channels then they would not have enough money to produce
programmes.

The value chain

After the shift to digital we can see that there are also shifts across the value chain - causing a
more complex ecosystem due to the companies being forced to view to capture value and
revenue share. This was also to produce new distribution platforms, to make it accessible to
audiences whenever, wherever and in whatever format they desire. The advertising industry
develops intellectual property and creative outputs, however, within the value chain of the
creative industries it also clearly:
 - Acts as a catalyst for the distribution and consumption of creative outputs developed by
others,
- Commissions the production of expressive value works for campaigns (including art,
design, music etc),
- Provides content for a range of creative industries business models reliant on
advertising, such as free-to-air TV, newspapers etc.

Media products (newspapers, magazines, broadcast programmes and websites) attract the
advertisers as they deliver a ready made audience to them. For example, a popular programme
Coronation Street is being viewed by 12 million people, which would therefore attract
companies such as Cadburys, who has sponsored the programme for over 10 years. However,
as sponsors are very sensitive to public opinion, if it is believed that the media product is
unsuitable they will withdraw their money and support. Companies who spend money buying
advertising space and time within the programmes/products, would need to predict and know
how many viewers and listeners a particular programme is going to attract and knowing how
many actually did view/listen. This is similar for magazines, newspapers, comics, websites and
other commercial media products that may rely on advertising. For example, Big Brothers
sponsorship by Carphone Warehouse had dropped due to the Celeb BB racism accusations.

Overall advertising is a very important source of income for media products that are involved in
our everyday life, due to the amount of advertisements there are. Many websites even use
advertising within them, which are called pop-ups that seems to be increasing.

The role in the economy

In addition to its role in the value chain of the creative industries, the advertising industry also
plays a role in the wider economy. Effects of this role are a source of much debate among
economists, as well as policy makers and regulators. In a major study of the economic value of
advertising for the World Federation of Advertisers in 2006, researcher Dr Maximilien
Nayaradou summarised the key mechanisms (both positive and negative) through which
advertising can be supposed to affect economies. For example:
Proposed positive impacts of advertising on economies:
- Stimulation greater competition
- Operates as a more cost-effective and timely mechanism
- Leads to lower prices, and less variation in prices
- Increases consumption
- Drives a reduction in production costs
- Allows new competitors offering innovative products to reach new consumers
- Increases the pace of introduction of new technologies.

Proposed negative impacts of advertising on economies:

- It costs a lot to advertise (therefore may entail an increase in consumer prices)
- It tends to favour the current dominant companies who can most afford to advertise
- It encourages superfluous investments to the detriment of genuinely productive
investments
- It promotes a proliferation of falsely differentiated products.

The changing face of the advertising industry

In the last three decades we can see major changes to the structure and operations of the
advertising industry, including radical changes to the range of services advertising provides.
One of the key changes has been the expansion and inclusion of so-called non-traditional
advertising within and around the broader traditional media campaigns.

This table shows the range of these traditional and non-traditional channels.

Q5. Summarise the role of a researcher.

- Some radio and television productions employ researchers as part of their

pre-production team. A television programme - such as the talk show Trisha -
researcher's job is to find out background information about the themes that are going to
be covered in a particular show and to contact and interview potential guests to find out
 what their stories are. Then to also decide whether they would be suitable for the show
or not.
- The reality programme Big Brother for example, employed a team of researchers and
research assistants to sift through and interview potential housemates.
- Researchers are also employed on radio programmes - such as Today on Radio 4 and
Newsbeat on Radio 1 - to find out information about the stories of the day, make
contact with potential sources of information and arrange interviews.

Q6. Explain, using clear examples, how the viability of a media product can be assessed.

Viability is one of the other important purposes of production research. In order to be able to
decide if your media product is reliable you would need to be able to test your product at a
number of different levels:
- Is the product financially viable?
- Do you have the necessary skills to undertake the production process?
- Do you have the right equipment and technology available to you?
- What help and support will you require?
- Have you got enough time to produce the product?

Financial Viability
- In terms of financial viability it is important to explore the different ways in which the
income is found or generated from the product.
- Then balance the amount of income that is likely to generate against other costs of
production and distribution.
- This provides information about to what extent the proposed product will be viable if it
was to be launched into the competitive media market.

Costs
Costs is a very important level in order to be able to see if your product is viable. Therefore, the
costs of producing your product would need careful researching. Some different sources of
expenditure will depend on the product you are making, however many are common to all forms
of media production. For example, if you were going to launch a new media product onto the
market, whether a newspaper, magazine, television programme, audio product, game or
website you would need to employ people to get your product off the ground and up and
running.

Staff
- Creative people would be needed to help research and develop ideas, technical
expertise to assist in the production stages, and then you would need marketing people
to help sell your product and generate income from advertising, sales and
merchandising.
- Staffing is only one of the costs of course, any media product will require the use of
some form of production equipment.
Production Equipment
- Various types of recording and editing equipment are required and needed with audio
and moving image products. A range of hardware and software options are available for
print and multimedia production.

Skills audit:
- As well as having access to the right equipment it is also important to have the
necessary skills to be able to use the equipment effectively. One of the important first
steps is to assess your initial skill level. Then the planning of what skills you need to
develop further and how you will be able to do this will be seen. Through this process
you can also help identify any skills gaps you have and those areas in which you might
require extra help and support from other people.

Marketing and Promotion

- The money you will need for marketing and promoting your product will also need to be
included in your budget. This may often be overlooked by students who are costing a
production, however it is no use having a really good product if you then have no money
to promote and market it.

Copyright
- Copyright material costs would also need to be included in the planning of a budget.
Although most materials will be originally produced, any copyright materials (featured
film, clips or songs) would need to be paid for after the process of asking for permission
to use it from the owner.

Timescale
- There would be a specific timescale and deadline set for each piece of work needed
completing. These deadlines are likely to be longer than those faced with, if you are
employed in the media industry. For example, the team who put BBC six oclock News
together, must have had all the news items ready by a particular time every day, in order
to make the work doable.

Distribution Costs
- Along with production costs, there will be distribution costs which will also have to be
researched. Researching the costs of buying space and air time within a specific media
form is a lot different to paying for the production of radio/TV/print based adverts.
- The budget available is a guide to what can and cannot be done. For example, buying a
30 second slot within a drive time local commercial radio show would cost roughly 20 -
therefore a solid campaign could be undertaken for relevantly cheap amount per week.
However with a larger regional and national station, this cost could be more expensive
(1500-2000/week).
Advertising is only one aspect of what is called the marketing mix - these things may also want
to be considered:
- Sponsorship of an event at which your target audience will be present,
- Organising a publicity stunt to get your product in the news,
- Using a celebrity to endorse and promote your product,
- Producing merchandising items such as badges, T-shirts, pens and hats.

The reason why I did my planning and research in this order was because this allowed me
decide which of my 3 advert ideas would be viable to create. When I carried out planning I
realised that one of my advert ideas - which was to make a claymation advert - was not very
viable in terms of timescale. I tried planning out how long it would take me to make the advert,
however realised that if I had set myself a 2 week time frame and deadline, I may have not been
able to complete it. This would have been due to the fact that I was inexperienced with clay and
the making of the products may have taken me a very long time to successfully complete. My
other idea was to make an animation of many monsters and characters however, after some
research I realised that this may not turn out very successful or professional due to the lack of
experience and the programmes I have to use. I would need to have good experience with the
programmes and therefore produce a professional animation. These all therefore led me to my
final idea which was to make a digital cut out animation which was much more viable for me to
make.

Q7. What is SWOT analysis?

I conducted a SWOT analysis for the Monster Munch advert I had made. I did this in order to
further research and understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and any threats
about my product. This made me more aware of the successful and unsuccessful things about
my product, which then allowed me create a better advert to persuade the audience. For
example, I found out that the size was an important factor - a success - for my product, therefore
I decided to include it towards the end of my advert with a voiceover, Monster Munch, as big as
before. Therefore, a SWOT analysis is helpful in order to be more familiar with your product, to
then make a successful advert afterwards.

An example of my SWOT analysis

Q8. Explain what the term Copyright means and why it is an important factor in media
production.

Copyright is a type of intellectual property that cannot normally be used without the permission
of the owner. Copyright can be bought and sold, and copyright owners can choose to licence
others to use their work while retaining copyright over the rights themselves.
You would need to also take account of the potential costs of using copyright material while
planning your product and drawing up the budget. Although most of the material will be original
which means it will have been produced by the producer and the team, they may also want to
use some copyrighted material, such as still from a feature film, or a clip from a song.

One of the main ways of using material that is under copyright is by getting into contact with the
copyright owner and asking for permission to use the material. A payment would need to be
paid most of the time in order to have the right to use the material.

The UK Patent Office website also provides more information about copyright:
www.patent.gov.uk

Copyright on Youtube:

If someone has uploaded a video that breaches copyright laws, Youtube has the right to remove
and take down these videos. Videos can still be taken down even if you give credit to the owner,
if the video is not monetised, if the content is purchased from iTunes by yourself and also
recording the content, such as recording your own TV etc.

If a video is an infringement of copyright laws, Youtube also by law has to take the video down,
Youtube cannot determine copyright ownership. Youtube will receive complaints or DMCA
takedown notices from rights holders, where it will then remove the video.

If someone uses copyrighted material they will receive a copyright strike on their account and
they will have to take a session in its online copyright school. If copyright material is continued
to be used and 3 strikes have been received on their account Youtube has the right to remove
all accounts that you are associated with - this includes videos being removed from the account
and you not being allowed to return into the account/make a new account.

When making our adverts, legally we would need to consider copyright when using any
soundtracks and ask the owner whether we could have permission to use the particular
soundtrack for example. If we do not we could legally get in trouble in the professional world.

Second set of Questions:

Q1. Explain the four main methods of research.

Primary Research:
Primary research is original research involving the use of a range of different techniques to
obtain new data, carried out for a specific purpose. Primary research is carried out through the
use of methods such as interviews, questionnaires, focus groups etc.

When undertaking primary research one of the important factors is to plan your research well in
advance. When planning primary research it is important to:
- Think carefully about what you are trying to find out,
- Choose an appropriate sample from; random sample (particular group from a wider
population - chosen by chance/randomly), stratified sample (division of characteristics)
or specified samples
- Decided upon an appropriate research technique,
- Be aware of the size, scope and timescale of the task.

Some examples of techniques I used for my primary research was making a questionnaire for
audiences to fill out, which was about my product Monster Munch for my advert. There were
questions such as What is your age? and What gender are you? in order for me to get a
wider understanding of the target audience and the main consumers of my product. Other
questions I asked within my questionnaire was What brand crisps do you eat? and What is
your favourite brand? which made me aware of any rivals and competitors for Monster Munch,
as I was unsuccessful with finding them out online.

My Monster Munch questionnaire

Secondary Research:
Secondary research is the use of pre-existing data and information, which has already been
gathered by other people or organisations - these can come in many forms such as written or
spoken. Some examples of secondary research are looking into books, journals and on the
internet for information that already exist. In order to add support and sometimes even to
replace their own primary research, many media organisations use data and information that
has already been gathered and analysed by other companies.

I have also collected secondary research for my work, including the research I carried out for
the planning of my Monster Munch advert. Through this secondary research I found how more
information about previous Monster Munch adverts, who it was launched/taken over by and
some further information about the target audience for the product.

Link to my secondary research for Monster Munch

Quantitative Research:
Quantitative research is based on measurable and quantifiable facts and information. These
datas are usually represented numerically and are often presented in the form of tables, charts
and diagrams (numerical and statistical data).
Quantitative data can be produced by both primary and secondary research techniques such as
ratings, circulation figures and market analysis.

When making my Monster Munch advert I had to produce and send out a questionnaire, which
gave me quantitative results of how many people may consume the product and how often it
may be consumed.

Link to my questionnaire responses

Qualitative Research:
Qualitative research is based on opinions, attitudes, views and preferences about things rather
than hard facts. Qualitative data is also produced by primary and secondary research
techniques, and is also often very important within the media industry, due to it being used to
find out what individuals and groups think/feel about a particular media product e.g.
advertisement, film etc. One way I carried out qualitative research was by showing my advert to
my focus group, in order to get their opinions and thoughts about what I had produced. After
taking notes of these, I was then able to further improve my advert with the ideas my peers had
given me.

My focus group notes

Q2. Explain, using specific examples from your own work, what factors need to be
considered when planning, designing and carrying out a survey using a questionnaire.
One of the main methods used in primary research is asking questions. When undertaking this
form of primary research some may decide to:
- Conduct one-to-one interviews with a selected number of people,
- Produce a questionnaire to survey a larger group,
- Organise a focus group.

In order to get a more reliable, qualitative data from selected individuals, the most effective
method is to undertake a series of one-to-one interviews. However, this can also be very time
consuming. Another problem that may occur during this process is if the individuals are asked
very personal or sensitive questions, the respondents may not feel happy to disclose such
information in a face-to-face situation.

Although a questionnaire is the most popular form of primary research, it also needs careful
consideration if the results that you obtain are going to be both reliable and valid. The
presentation and the form and structure of the questions need to be deeply thought through.

In a questionnaire, it is important to include both open questions (the respondent having the
opportunity to give their own view/opinion) and closed questions (more limited answers
provided, often yes, no or dont know answers). As a general rule, questionnaires should
start with straightforward closed questions that are easy to answer. These could be questions
about their age, sex and occupation, this would get the respondents into the process of
completing the questionnaire. This will also provide the producer with some basic demographic
information when analysing your results, which will also help you check that you have covered a
representational sample of people - in this case the producer may decide to choose any of
specified, stratified or random samples. It is often easier to include potential answers with a
tick-box selection when using closed questions - if this method is used, it is important that all
potential answers are included. Closed questions provide quantifiable data which can be
represented in forms of graphs, charts and diagrams.

However, open questions - where the respondent may be asked to write down a personal
response to something - often provides more qualitative data which can give a more meaningful
insight. Grouping questions and using separate headings for example, may also make the
questionnaire look more attractive and appealing.

Scales:
Scales are also a way to find out whether the respondents agree or disagree with a particular
statement, or to find out the degree of their feelings on a subject. Some of the different types of
scales are:
- A Likert scale: This asks the respondent how strongly they agree or disagree with the
statements.
 - Rank order scales: ask the respondent to indicate the order of preference from a list of
given answers, usually through numbers.

- Semantic differential scales: use a sliding scale between two opposing words and ask
respondents to indicate where on the scale their opinion lies.

Pre-testing:
Pre-testing your questionnaire on a small sample of your targeted audience before conducting
the full survey is a good way to identify any potential problems with questions. It will also allow
to identify any issues with the design and layout of the questionnaire itself, giving you time to
make any changes. It gives the opportunity to re read your questionnaire in order to check the
spelling, grammar and punctuation are correct, as this and the time it takes to complete a
questionnaire is very important. It may also help to identify some responses under the Other
option that may be better to include as one of the specified options.

Here is an example of my questionnaire, which I had to produce when planning my advert:

An example of my questionnaire

Q3. Explain what a focus group is.

A focus group is a group of people who have come together in order to be part of a discussion
about a product before the launch of it, or to provide feedback to the producer about the
product.

For example, when I made my advert for my product Monster Munch, my class friends and I all
came together to watch the product, and then had a discussion about it. My class friends gave
me their opinions and feedback about what was good about my product and what could have
been done better. After taking notes of the feedback from my peers (link below), I was then able
to further improve my final advert.

Here is a link to the feedback I received from my peers about my draft advert:

Link to feedback from peers

Q4. Explain clearly what issues you would need to consider when undertaking your own
secondary research.

Secondary research is any research that is not done by yourself and is found on the internet, in
books, journals, magazines, newspapers etc. In terms of any findings you discover, it is
important that you know what the original purpose of the research is, who commissioned it and
when it was conducted - it is also important to show who the information was produced by in
order to use them as a reference or source the information otherwise this could be seen as
plagarism. It is important to also remember that you would need to clearly reference any work
that you may use in your secondary research - which could be done through placing a link into
your research - and take account of any copyright issues that may apply.

When doing my secondary research for my adverts product Monster Munch, I searched the
internet for any background information, product history, any rivals that may be competing with
my product and much more. I came across many websites and information that was not
needed, therefore I picked out what I needed and kept a note of the link/name of each website.
However, I was unable to find all information there, so I had to look through books and
newspapers in order to find further information about the product, but also about advertising and
the research itself, in order to have a wider understanding about the work as a whole. I took
photocopies of the books etc, and kept a note of their details in a bibliography. I was able to
make my bibliography online as there are now websites which you can simply search and add in
the name of the source, and the online website organises it all for you. It then provides you with
further space for any annotations or informations you would like to add.

Link to my online bibliography

Separating:
Once all research is done, you would need to collate it, then evaluate and summarise the
findings. One of the most important stages is to decide what is the most important and useful
information in all of the secondary research and separate it. It is the methods and techniques
you have employed in your research and the way you have used and analysed the results
rather than the size and quantity of the research that matters.

Storing:
Once all of the information is organised and separated, it is then important that the information
is carefully logged, organised and stored to guarantee it is secured, also allowing easy access.
Annotating and highlighting is also helpful in order to show the viewer what you have picked out
from the whole information what is important. Having some sort of written commentary would
also be helpful in order to explain to the viewer (teacher/moderator) what is in there, how it has
been obtained, why it has been included and how it may be used.

During the advertising unit work, I had to research information about my product Monster
Munch, here are some examples of the secondary research I completed:
Brand history of my product
Book and article research
Bibliography

Third set of questions

Q1. Explain what key areas a presentation of your research should cover.

Once all research is done it is important to be able to present it. The content of the presentation
needs to include:
- An introduction to your research in which you outline purpose and aims,
- An explanation of the methods and techniques that you have used,
- The research data itself, presented in a suitable form (such as tables, charts, graphs or
diagrams),
- A summary of your main findings (the results),
 - The conclusions that you can make from these findings,
- Any proposals that you are making based on these conclusions.

The written presentation can be presented in a several forms such as a written report - it is
important to consider the structure, content and the language included - as an oral presentation,
which would need to be recorded so that the mark can be checked by a moderator later on.
Another way is by the combination of the two, having a presentation to the class with supportive
notes, logs or data. It is important that the planning of the presentation is done beforehand so
that you have a professional and successful outcome. It is also crucial that you have some
practices and run-throughs to be confident in what you will say and how you will do so.

When planning my pitch and producing my presentation, I firstly made sure that I had minimal
writing on my actual presentation (link below). Minimal writing on my presentation with more
images would make it more interesting for the audience to look at, this would also provide me
with the opportunity to be able to provide the listener with all the information they would need to
know. Giving me the opportunity to speak more and look more professional, as well as making
the presentation more interesting for the audience to look at - preventing them from reading a
bunch of text. Although this allowed me talk more, it meant that I had to make sure I included all
information needed, because if I had missed it then I wouldnt have the opportunity to add it in
later on - I used images as a representation of the information I provided, which gave me a head
start on what I had to talk about next.

Once I placed all images on my presentation I made myself a script of what I will talk about on
each slide.

Link to my Monster Munch pitch presentation

Link to the script for my pitch presentation

Q2. Explain fully what the following terms mean:

a) Intrapersonal communication - refers to communication within you, and includes all of
the thoughts, fears and anxieties that you may have about your presentation. If these are
controlled, the presentation is more likely to go well.
b) Interpersonal communication - face-to-face communication between two or more
people, includes aspects of spoken and nonverbal communication.
c) NVC (Non-Verbal Communication) - refers to all of the features of body language that
occur during interpersonal communication. It includes such features as the clothes you
wear, your posture, facial expression and hand and arm movements.
d) Paralanguage - the way you say something rather than what you say. Includes features
such as pitch, tone, pace and volume, as well as the fillers and hesitations that are used
in everyday language, e.g. ummm and yknow.
 e) Visual aids - the props, objects and examples included in the presentation. Also
includes slides, images and posters that can help structure what you say.

Nonverbal communication
As they say first impressions count. Therefore there are important aspects you would need to
consider such as:
- you present yourself to the audience,
- how you dress,
- your posture,
- orientation,
- hand and arm movements,
- facial expressions.
In order to make your presentation look more professional and more effective, you would need
to pay careful attention to these aspects of your nonverbal communication listed above. This will
also provide confidence.

Dress and appearance

In order to impress the audience while presenting you will need to dress smart and professional.
This will then help what you say and do look more authoritative as well as professional. For
example I myself tried my best to dress smart, therefore for my presentation I wore a shirt
combined with a jumper. The jumper may give the idea of being too casual/sporty however, the
fact that it was a dark greyish colour with some black inside, combined with the shirt provided
me with a much smarter and formal look. I wore black trousers and long black, slightly heeled
boots. Although I may have looked more professional with my hair in a ponytail, I decided to let
it down. I believe overall I gave a smart and formal look, which helped me look more
professional in the eyes of the audience.

Posture and orientation

In order to also provide a professional and confident presentation to the audience, I made sure
that I did not turn my back to the audience throughout the presentation. As this would make the
audience think you are unprofessional and unable to get into any form of contact/communication
with them. Therefore facing to the front at all times is key. It will also be helpful to at times refer
to the actual presentation on screen. Being able to stand in a tall, relaxed and open way, will
make you seem engaging and approachable.

Hand and arm movements

One other thing I made sure I did not do was to stand as still as a statue and simply throw words
at the audience. This will bore the audience and once again give an unprofessional look.
Therefore I made sure that I was interactive with the audience, what was on screen and on my
slides. For example, if I was talking about the different flavour packets of Monster Munch, I
would with my hand and arms point to the particular packet and also refer to it with my words.
Such as, This red packet on the left while pointing to the left side of the screen.
Facial expressions and eye contact
Facial expressions is one of the hardest parts of NVC to control, therefore can be the reason
you look nervous. In order to hide my nervousness and to prevent negative impressions when
presenting my idea I made sure I always had a smile on my face, this helped keep a positive
environment and make the audience feel happy. This also helped me look confident and
therefore professional in what I was presenting. I also tried my best to always keep eye contact
with the audience - at the right times and not for too long, otherwise the audience may feel
uncomfortable - therefore while explaining particular things and throughout my talk I made sure
I had constant eye contact with the audience. This also helped me be aware of the possible
thoughts and feelings of the audience that may be seen through their facial expressions, having
an idea of their feelings and thoughts I will know how to communicate better.

Q3. What should you do to try to make your oral presentation as professional as
possible?

Spoken communication
Before my presentation I had to make sure I had practised and had a few run throughs of the
presentation and what I would be saying as a whole. One of the most important things I needed
to get ready for was what I was going to say. Obviously reading from the screen or a paper
would have been really unprofessional, therefore I had to try to memorise the most important
lines/information of the sections. Once I had all the important bits in mind I would be able to
extend and add further information by looking at what I have on screen and reminding myself. I
had done a few practises as for me I am very unconfident when talking to a group or whilst
presenting, especially in such a professional way. Therefore practising beforehand was key and
very helpful for me.

Register
Before practising what I had to say, I had to make sure the choice of words were suitable to the
register I had to use. I had to have a professional and smart register in order to look and give a
professional and smart impression and ensure that register included appropriate terms for
audience, advertising and moving image as I was pitching a TV commercial for Monster Munch
based on my research into the product and the snack market. One of the first things I made sure
was that I had a suitable introduction such as Welcome to my presentation today. This
helped my audience feel welcome and provided me with a confident and professional start.

Script for pitch presentation

Paralanguage
Paralanguage is the way in which you speak rather than what you say. For this I made sure that
I didnt speak too fast, as this would sound like I am rushing into things and that I want to just
get it over and done with carelessly, which would make the audience really uncomfortable as
well. Therefore, I tried speaking slightly slowly but not too slow to bore the audience, and clearly
rather than mumbling in my mouth. This helped my audience understand what I was saying and
take it in, in a much calmer way. Although I struggled to keep this calmness, the average speed
and the clear talking sometimes - due to being very nervous and excited - I managed to keep
this professional tone for the majority of the time. My voice was average, not too loud as if I am
screaming at the audience, but not so low so they struggle to hear me. I also tried my best to
prevent myself from using fillers and hedges however, at times was unable to remember things
due to the excitement and being very nervous so of course I used the odd one or two.

Visual aids
I used google slides for my presentation, which I believe was a great way to section the things I
had to say and also a good way to present. I didnt use any sound or visual effects as I wanted
to keep it simple and professional. I decided I didnt want to use text on my slides as there
would be no point in presenting if the audience could read from paragraphs, this would also
bore the audience. I had diagrams, images and charts to support my points and research, and a
few videos in order to allow the audience to view the points I had made themselves. It was well
structured and consistent in terms of design - which is also important.

Link to my presentation slide

Q4. What should you do to make your written report as professional as possible?

Just like I had to make sure everything was fluent, in a good register and professional in my
presentation, I also had to make sure my written report was the same. Therefore I had to check
over my spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Some other checks I had to make sure I had within my written report:
- An introduction to my research where I outline clearly the purposes and the aims
- An explanation of the methods and techniques that I have/will be using
- The research data I have collected, presenting it in a suitable form (tables, charts,
graphs or diagrams)
- Having a summary of my main findings/results
- The conclusions that I can make from these findings/results
- Any proposals that I am making based on these conclusions I have made

Having clear headings and subheadings throughout would also make my work more
professional and produce a more formal register. Citing references was also important to do as
it shows clearly where I have received the information from.