Obey You Campaign by Sprite - Case Study Example

Promotional Communication Name Course Lecture Date Executive summary Public communication campaigns are termed as purposive attempts that are made to influence and inform the behaviours of large audiences within a period and this is done through the use of an organised set of activities. It features a broad range of mediated messages in a number of channels with the aim of offering non-commercial advantages to the society and individuals. The campaigns carried out urges teens and the young people to stay true to their thirst. The purpose of this report is to offer a critique of a campaign and, in this case, the critique will be about the "Obey You" campaign by Sprite. The resources to be used include books and journals. The recommendations are as follows: Use of the various communication medium Relying on accurate and reliable information at all times Make lively adverts and adverts being aired for some time, for example, various weeks or months and, Develop better and detailed campaigns to their previous ones. Contents Executive summary 2 Contents 3 Introduction 4 Critique of the “Obey You” campaign 4 Communication and Perception 4 Message context 5 Public opinion formation 6 Agenda setting and framing 7 Content Analysis 7 Audience analysis 8 Cultural influences 9 Conclusion 9 Recommendations 10 References 12 Introduction Public communication campaigns are termed as purposive attempts that are made to influence and inform the behaviours of large audiences within a period and this is done through the use of an organised set of activities. It features a broad range of mediated messages in a number of channels with the aim of offering non-commercial advantages to the society and individuals (Rice & Atkin 2009, Rogers & Storey 1987). Sprite is a brand that in the past has been mostly associated with NBA players who have played an essential role in the development of amusing adverts. Recently, sprite launched a confusingly weird and new campaign that has a tagline "Obey You". The campaign is composed of 20 series short videos. Each of the video urges the teens to always stay true to themselves and they does this in a somewhat unconventional way in that; it features a narrator who praises the bottles of sprite in different kind of situations and the drink itself does the job of quenching the thirst and refreshing the individuals. The purpose of this report is to offer a critique of a campaign and, in this case, the critique will be about the "Obey You" campaign by Sprite. The resources to be used include books and journals. Critique of the “Obey You” campaign Communication and Perception Social perception plays an essential role in the public opinion formation. Fields and Schuman further supports the argument made by other authors that, the actions of people are mainly influenced by their perceptions of the values, opinions and expectations (1976, p. 427). The campaign has been effective in ensuring that a significant number of people are of the same opinion as that of the campaign. This is a clear indication of the fact that, attitude and perception are constructed through the use of public communication (Salwen &Dupagne 1999). Sprite has also been effective in their communication, and they are now developing campaigns that are not entirely athletics and amateurs since over time, people have stopped adoring them as in the earlier days. In the new ads, they have focused on people playing while others are watching movies in a theater. Thus, future campaigns ought to concentrate on other aspects and people to shun away from the notion that people can only take sprite after sporting events. Message context Communication seems to be critical; when it comes to defining the operations of an organization and creating the climate and culture in it. At the same time, social, personal and communicative needs play an essential role in message interpretation and selection. Preferences, attitudes and predispositions of an individual towards situations and topics plan an important role in receiving the information. In relation to these concepts, sprite is a brand that has been around for a long period. With time, people have placed more value on Sprite as a brand and this influences their interpretation, selection and retention of the target group and in this case, the main target groups are the teen and the young people (Ruben 1992, PP. 129-130). It is further argued that, the medium that is used in delivering messages and the environment in which the messages are received have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the communication. The media extend the human communication by enhancing the production and distribution of the message, improving reception of information, storage as well as retrieval (Ruben 1992, pp. 145-148). By making use of the video as the medium of communication, the Sprite campaign ensures that the message they want to deliver reaches a broad range of audience. With the growth in the use of technology, people are more likely to share the video with each other irrespective of their location, and this plays an essential role in communicating the message further. At the same time, the message would have been delivered in a more prompt manner if they applied a broad range of communication mediums. Though the target audience for the campaign may be similar in terms of ages, the same target group may be in favor of different media format. In relation to this, Sprite needs to make use of social media sites and another print medium to enhance the delivery of their messages. The campaign has also been effective since it is repetitive. Message consistency and repetition influence the acceptance levels and attitudes for long periods of times. Thus, the sprite campaign and videos need to be aired more often and within an extended period of time. This is more likely to create a lasting effect on the mind of the consumers. Public opinion formation System theory studies indicate that, one activity of a communication system, for instance, the media used can have a significant effect on another area in the system, for instance, the individual’s perceptions. System theory states that, organizations cannot be able to function separately from the marketplace or from the wider environment (Eisenberg & Goodall 2004, pp. 99). The sprite advertising campaigns tends to adopt the open system approach. This means that, it in a way responds to and is influenced by external factors or other factors that are in the environment. For instance, the main reason as to why Sprite is engaging in the numerous campaigns is to ensure that there is an increase in the sales levels that seem to be on the decline as people opt to take real fruit drinks that have lower chemical levels. In their corporate website, Sprite does not offer adequate information of the components that makes up its drinks and people prefer purchasing from companies that are more open and sincere in their dealings (Shoemaker & Reese 1996). Thus, for their campaign to be more efficient, Sprite can ensure they indicate the components and ingredients of their drinks and this coupled with the campaigns can be essential to increasing the sales of their products worldwide. Agenda setting and framing The agenda setting theory upholds the fact that, the media can be able to influence public interest and opinions selectively. Theorists in this area further argue that, the media decides on the issues that will gain public prominence by making use of the selective coverage. This view is further supported by Shaw 1979, p. 96 who further argues that the media is persuasive when it comes to focusing the attention of the public towards certain issues, events and persons and also in the determination of the importance that people place on public matters. The theory states that, due to the various media channels such as television, newspapers and other forms of news media, individuals become aware of or are not aware of, pay attention to or lose interest in, downgrade or play up certain features in the public scene (Shaw 1979). Thus in relation to this concept, a great number of people who are likely to view the ads by Sprite will be in favor of the brand since individuals tend to make their opinions based on what have been covered in the media. To further create a favourable opinion from the consumer, Sprite can always include their adverts in a wide range of media and this will ensure that people view the ads and thus they will always make their opinions in favor of the brand. Content Analysis Content analysis is mostly used as a means to categories and assesses media representation thus enabling the characterization of findings (Bertrand & Hughes 2005). Content analysis also plays an essential role in helping people to indicate the recurring or significant themes as well as the presence of various messages that have hidden inferences. The methodology of content analysis is very limited in application in instances when there is a small sample size since it does not offer statistical validity (Bertrand & Hughes 2005). Fairclough 1995 p. 63 further asserts that, the public through the media is mainly influenced by the ideological norms and discourse of those who are in power in the society. When different forms of media report the same issue in a similar way, it reinforces the influences in public opinion. In relation to this idea, the advert seems to have failed. Sprite campaigns ought to be reported by various forms of media, with the various media reporting in a similar manner so as to reinforce people’s opinion. The campaigns carried out by Sprite in their different video ads depict the themes of obeying your thirst irrespective of the activity and place that one is in. This is clearly illustrated when people seem to have taken the drink when watching movies, before going to sleep and after playing just to mention a few of the instances. This will eventually make the campaigns newsworthy. This will be supported by the idea that has been widely held by journalists of what is worthy reporting (Shaw 1979, p. 103). The numerous campaigns carried out by Sprite are likely to have an effect on the choice of drinks that consumers will purchase and in this case they will be more liable to buy Sprite as their preferred drink. Audience analysis There are two major models that are applied in trying to understand the manner in which consumers respond to and process promotional communication. The first is the consumer processing model which assumes that all consumer in one way or another make use of systematic reasoned behavior and also arrive at rational decisions based on their functional needs (Chitty, Barker, and Shimp 2015). The hedonic experimental model, on the other hand, enhances this making use of spontaneous and emotional responses. Sprite seems to have carried out an effective audience and customer analysis. The themes appear to be in line with the activities that the target group who are the young people and the activities that they mostly engage in. For instance, when they depict someone taking a sprite while watching a movie they can associate well with the teen and thej young people. Cultural influences There exists a link between public perception and media reporting seems to be central to this critique. Based on Meirick's research that deals with the main messages, media effects and perception also considers how individuals are vulnerable to media influence. He further argues that, though people believe that the media is powerful, they also believe that, other individuals are more likely to be influenced by media messages than the way they are influenced (Gunther 1998). The message relied on by the videos seems to be applicable in almost all cultures all over the globe. People who view the ads are likely to form their perception based on a wide range of inputs such as speeches made by influential people, opinions of friends and acquaintances as well as by the values and actions of prominent individuals. The films that were first debuted in Canada will over time, offer markets this setting stage for additional work such as the inclusion of various outdoor creative. Conclusion Based on the above critique, public communication campaigns are termed as purposive attempts that are made to influence and inform the behaviours of large audiences within a period and this is done through the use of an organised set of activities and it features a wide range of mediated messages in a number of channels with the aim of offering non-commercial advantages to the society and individuals. The “Obey You” campaign carried out by sprite has some strong points and some weak points, and it is a good example of such a campaign. The campaign has mainly focused on the use of one medium of communication that is the use of video to relay on the messages to the target audience. Additionally, in their corporate website, Sprite does not offer adequate information of the components that makes up the drinks and people prefer purchasing from companies that are more open and sincere in their dealings. The media have also been found to play an essential role in forming the perception of individuals of certain brands, issues and events. Recommendations A major recommendation that Sprite can take into consideration is the use of various communication mediums. Though people are now making use of the internet, there are others who may not view the video adverts. In response to this, Sprite needs to make use of other communications channels to relay on their message. For instance, they can make proper use of social media sites such as facebook, twitter and Whatsapp. Additionally, they can make use of print media such as newspapers and print and online magazines. With the use of the wide range of communication mediums, they are more likely to reach a broader group of people. The other recommendation relates to the media personnel. Since these groups of people tend to play an essential role in forming the perception of people, they need always to rely on accurate and reliable messages to the public. This will enable people in making more informed decisions about brands that they will purchase or events that they can take part in or sponsor. Another recommendation that Sprite need to take note of is to ensure that, they always make their adverts lively and advertise for extended periods of time. Researchers have argued that, most brands are embedded in the consumers mind if numerous adverts are made about them. Even consumers who may be loyal to other products may eventually decide to try the products. Thus, the campaigns need to create a lasting impression on the consumers mind. The last recommendation relates to coming up with different approaches for the various groups of consumers and by previous campaigns can inform this. Sprite should always strive to develop better and detailed campaigns to their previous ones so as to make the consumers eager in viewing and trying out their product. References Betrand, I. and Hughes, P., 2005, Media Research Methods Audiences, Institutions, Texts, Palgrave MacMillan, New York. Chitty, W., Barker, N., and Shimp, T., 2015, Integrated Marketing Communications, 4thedn., Melbourne, Australia. Eisenberg, E.M. and Goodall Jr., H.L., 2004, Organisational communication: Balancing creativity and constraint, 4thedn, Bedford/St.Martin’s, Boston. Fairclough, N., 1995, Critical Discourse Analysis The Critical Study of Language, Pearson Education Limited, England. Fields, J., and Schuman, H., 1976, Public beliefs about the beliefs of the public, Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 40, pp.427-448, American Association for Public Opinion Research. Gunther, A.,1998, The Persuasive Press Inference: Effects of Mass Media on Perceived Public Opinion, Communication Research Vol.25 No.5, Sage Publications Inc, n.p. Rice, R. E., & Atkin, C. K. (2009). Public communication campaigns: Theoretical principles and practical applications. In J. Bryant & M. Oliver (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (3rd ed., pp. 436–468). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Rogers, E. M., & Storey, J. D. (1987). Communication campaigns. In C. Berger & S. Chaffee (Eds.),Handbook of communication science (pp. 817–846). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Ruben, B.D. 1992, Communication and human behaviour, 3rdedn, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs. Salwen, M.B., &Dupagne, M., 1999, The TPE: Perceptions of the media’s influence and immoral consequences, Communication Research, Vol. 26, pp. 523-550. Shaw, E. F., 1979, Agenda-Setting and Mass Communication Theory, International Communication Gazette, pp.25-96. Shoemaker, P. J. and Reese, S. D., 1996, Mediating the message (2nd ed,), Longman New York Read More