What is the purpose of advertising?

Advertisers use media products to try and sell something to an audience e.g. printed advert, TV advert, radio advert, website banner.

What is the purpose of promoting?

Promotion is subtly different to advertising and may attempt to change habits / behaviour e.g. healthy eating campaign by a government

What is the purpose of educating?

Media products might be used to increase a person’s knowledge, skills or understanding of a particular subject eg YouTube video tutorials, audio podcasts, educational apps, eBooks for a particular qualification

What is the purpose of entertaining?

Media products that are enjoyable ways to pass some time eg watching TV, listening to the radio, reading a comic, going to the cinema, playing a computer gam

What is the purpose of informing?

Media products provide information on something based on facts and guidance eg a government information film on preventing Covid spreading or a poster with location and opening times of a museum

What is the purpose of influencing?

Media products used to change or strengthen a person’s thoughts and opinions on something e.g. posts on social media, propaganda, leaflets and TV broadcasts for a political party. Can have a positive or negative influence depending on the aim of the author/creator.

When thinking of style, content and layout what are 3 main considerations?

1 What is the type of product?

2 What is the intended purpose of the product?

3 Who are the intended audience?

How is colour important?

Different colours have different meanings see 2.5 They should suit the target audience and intended message. Text and background colours must also contrast effectively eg dark text colour on a light background colour

How is conventions of genre important?

Genre, and sub-genres, provide audiences with a specific set of uses and gratifications; if a media producer wants to gain an audience for a particular genre

How is formal/informal language important?

if purpose is to entertain language may be informal but if to inform an older audience would use formal language, important to appeal to target market

How is tone of language important?

important to have an awareness of the target audience and how you want them to engage with the content

How is positioning of elements important?

consider how to position elements in order to catch peoples’ attention and promote the product effectively

How is style of audio representation important?

important to know what the key message(s) you want to get across eg in a radio advert / podcast etc

How is style of visual representation important?

links to conventions of the genre chosen – video adverts often have a 3 part structure