CCT356+Online+Ad+Critique

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//Don't like reading reflections? Scroll down to go straight to the actual project.//
 * ABOUT THIS PROJECT **

This project gave me the chance to ** become familiar with already existing online campaigns **, giving me some idea on what kind of concepts I would have to consider if I were to create one of my own. By critically analyzing the development and effectiveness of these campaigns, I had the opportunity to **make observations about what advertising tactics work**, which don't, and why or why not.

If I had to pinpoint something I found challenging about this project, it would be simply the process of choosing two specific campaigns to find out more information about. There were so many great campaigns to choose from - both successful and not-so-succesful ones, that **my indecisive nature made it kind of hard to choose just two**. Through that process however, I had the chance to **discover several innovative campaigns**, and the story behind them; many of which I was not aware of before. Not only that, but by googling about online ad campaigns, I also stumbled upon **informative articles** on the process of creating them (such as the one [|over here], and another one here).

The innovation and creativity of quite a few of these campaigns **inspired me to expand my skills in design** and coding, as well as **expand the way that I think -- that is, practice thinking "outside of the box"** more often. The Wilderness Downtown project - one of the campaigns which I did a critique on - did a great job of showcasing the capabilities of HTML5 and other new technologies. Seeing this project inspired me to **learn more about these new technologies** and play around them a bit myself. One particular site that I stumbled upon during one of my googling (about online ad campaigns) sessions was the portfolio of a campaign designer Liem Nguyen (a.k.a. Limb). His campaigns were **both creative and straightforward** (e.g. the one for NYC taxi), and I decided I would try to go for that same effect in my future work -- create something that would be creative enough to grab the target audience's attention, yet be simple and to the point.

Speaking of keeping things short and to the point, I'd like to wrap up this reflection by stating that the main thing that I found beneficial about the project was being able to **discover new things, increase my familiarity with online advertising and marketing in general, and gaining the inspiration to expand my skills and creativity** so that I will be able to create innovative campaigns myself in the future.

Now, let's get to the actual projec t:


 * AD CAMPAIGN CRITIQUE #1 : ARCADE FIRE - THE WILDERNESS DOWNTOWN **

media type="youtube" key="SYdJAi-BBrs" height="273" width="448" align="right" **what (is this about)?** Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band. In August 2010, the band worked together with Google Chrome and HTML5 to create an interactive music video directed by Chris Milk, featuring their song, "We Used to Wait". This video is available on the website "http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com". The interactive element of the video is, before playing the video, the user is asked to enter the address of their childhood home. The video then uses Google Maps and Google Earth to locate this address and incorporate pictures of the area into the video, giving each user a personalized experience of the featured song.

**how (was it done)?** The techniques used to create the site were meant to showcase the capabilities of HTML5 and Google Chrome, both fairlynew web technologies. The website uses HTML5 video, audio, and canvas to do things such as play video clips in custom sizes, keep track of time code while playing audio, and use canvas blending modes for colour correction and other enhancements. Some other technologies which the website features are the use of Google Maps API to detect dynamic routes and detect streets, and the use of 3D Sky Dome to render Street View. Procedural drawing tools, an SVG path reader, and individual canvas compositing for each letter, are used when generating a typeface that responds to keys pressed by the user.

**who (is the target audience)?** The purpose of advertising using this technique was to attract attention from fans both new and old, through web technologies and social media. The target audience for thevideo is most likely those in their late-teens and older. The new technologies used to create the video will be most appreciated by late-teens, and younger adults, who are fairly familiar with the web and have computers new enough to run the video in its full capacity. The concept of the song revolves around the idea of remembering childhood, and reminiscing about a childhood home, which makes it targeted more toward a slightly older audience than teenagers. The theme of nostalgia will have a more powerful impact on adults, since their childhood years are farther behind.

This website was presented during a lecture in a course on "Web Culture and Design" at Sheridan College in Fall 2010.
 * when/where (did you see this campaign)?**

The Wilderness Project, due to their innovative use of new technologies has attracted much attention from web users, as you can see from the following few articles: [|an article from ABC News], [|an article from Mashable]and [|an article from Independent.co.uk]. The site was also awarded by FWA (Favourite Website Awards) as [|Site of the Year (2010)]. Personally, I was impressed by the creative use of HTML5 and Google technologies in the video. After seeing it during lecture, I visited the site myself to get the full experience of watching a personalized video where I could see myself depicted as running back to a childhood home. The same video can be viewed multiple times but with different addresses to create completely different atmospheres, which can increase the site's traffic as it can be often revisited. To take advantage of the power of social media advertising, at the end of the video, the site asks you to send a postcard to yourself, or post the card on Facebook. Interactivity and creativity are significant elements in gaining success through online advertising, according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt (Vascellaro, 2010). The Wilderness Project is a great example of such a success.
 * was it effective? why, why not?**

//SOURCES//

Boris, Cynthia. "Google Says Interactivity & Creativity Are the Keys to Increasing Online Ad Success." Marketing Pilgrim. 13 July 2010. Web. Jan. 2011. .

Chrome Experiments. "Arcade Fire." Chrome Experiments. Web. Jan. 2011. .

FWA. "FWA Site Of The Year." The FWA. 2010. Web. Feb. 2011. .

Vascellaro, Jessica E. "Tech Firms Tout New Online-Ad Formats." Business News & Financial News - The Wall Street Journal. 12 July 2010. Web. Jan. 2011. .

= = "Tag Your Green" is a campaign organized by General Electric, to spread awareness about the company's commitment to the environment. It is a part of their Ecomagination initiative launched on 2005, aimed to come up with innovative solutions for environmental issues. The purpose of "Tag Your Green" is to raise awareness of environmental challenges by sharing new ideas on how to "be green" through social media such as Youtube videos and Flickr photos. For each uploaded video or photo, GE made a donation to three environmental organizations: [|Practical Action], [|Charity: Water] and the [|d.light Lighting Oecusse Project].
 * AD CAMPAIGN CRITIQUE #2 : GE - TAG YOUR GREEN **
 * what (is this about)?**

media type="youtube" key="_yxCFNxmnZI" height="207" width="340" align="right" This campaign took great advantage of social media tools by allowing people to participate in the campaign through a Flickr photo project, a Youtube video challenge and a Youtube Filmmaker project. The ecomagination project can be followed on Foursquare, or receive environmental tips on their Twitter account. GE also teamed up with Howcast to create how-to videos on helping the environment, as well as some Youtube celebrities such WongFuProductions (see below) and Smosh, to create videos that spread the concept of "being green" somehow.
 * how (was it done)?**

The campaign is targeted toward those who use social media tools most often, mainly teenagers and young adults. By establishing a presence for "Tag Your Green" within several social networks - such as Flickr, Youtube, Foursquare, and Twitter - GE aimed to reach as many Internet users as possible. The involvement of individual influencers within social networks - such as popular Youtube stars - in the promotion of their campaign was a good way to affect the targeted audience. According to Judy Hu, GE director of advertising and branding: "While traditionally, GE has targeted business executives and influentials, with Ecomagination we're broadening our target audience to include younger consumers. They are our future investors, customers, and employees, and we want them to know what GE stands for and engage with our brand." (Stone 2010)
 * who (is the target audience)?**

The first time I learned about this was from Michelle Phan's "Tag Your Green" video -- "Eco-Friendly Beauty" -- uploaded on October, 2010. There was a link to Ecomagination's "Tag Your Green" website at the end of the video, and I visited the link to get more information about the initiative. I liked the concept of "Tag Your Green" and the way it promotes and helps raise donations for a good cause using creativity and sharing through media.
 * when/where (did you see this campaign)?**

GE's goal for the "Tag Your Green" Youtube video campaign was to reach 10 million views from October 2010 - when it was first launched - through December 2010. According to Howcast's blog entry from October 27th 2010, "Tag Your Green" videos had already surpassed this goal within less than a month. Also by this time, there had been over 200,000 video ratings and 120,000 comments (Kaufman 2010). The campaign also placed first on the Visible Measures Top 10 Viral Video Ad Campaigns Chart, in late-October (Stone 2010). This campaign was a success since it caught people's attention, effectively used social media tools to spread their message to a a target audience, and, according to Green Rankings by Newsweek, helped GE improve their corporation's image as a "green company", as was their goal (Newsweek 2010).
 * was it effective? why, why not?**

media type="youtube" key="kvQ_mqui2Bc" height="272" width="640" align="center"

//SOURCES//

General Electric. "Tag Your Green." Ecomagination. Web. Feb. 2011. .

Kaufman, Jeffrey. "Tag Your Green: 10 million video views and going strong!" Howcast: Blog. Oct 27, 2010. Web. Feb. 2011. 

Marcus, Stephanie. "GE Campaign Turns YouTube Videos and Flickr Photos into Clean Energy." Mashable. 21 Oct. 2010. Web. Feb. 2011. .

Newsweek. "Green Rankings: U.S. Companies." Newsweek. 2010. Web. Feb. 2011. 