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- Creators: School of Social Transformation
My thesis aims to uncover the ultimate strategy behind short form visual stories, otherwise known as the digital advertisment. In this thesis, I analyze traditional storytelling, visual storytelling, and short-form visual storytelling in order to uncover the best practices advertisers should use when crafting a digital advertisement.
Storytelling “reveals elements and images of a story while also catalyzing the imagination of the listener” (National Storytelling Network, 2017). This tradition has two purposes for society: a neurological structure, and a social mechanism (for historic preservation, human interaction, and a vehicle for connecting with others) (Gottshcall, 2012; Scott, 2012; Paul, 2012; Woodside, 2008).
Visual Storytelling is “using photography, illustration, video, (usually with a musical enhancement) to guide” the human brain along a plotline, and has an unlimited timeframe (Ron, 2017). There are seven key elements to effective visual storytelling: A listener/audience, an element of realism coupled with escapism, a focus on the dread of life, an element of the unknown, emotion, simplicity, and a three-part plot structure (Andrews, 2010; ProQuest, 2012; Zak, 2014; Stanton, 2014; Reagan, 2016; Jarvis, 2014; Petrick, 2014)
In the words of Sholmi Ron, from a marketing perspective, “Visual [short hand] Storytelling is a marketing strategy that communicates powerful ideas through a compelling story arc, with your customer at the heart of the story, and delivered through interactive and immersive visual media – in order to create profitable customer engagements" (Ron, 2017). This advertising strategy has four best practices: non-obvious logo placement, a comedic emotion, multiple emotional arcs, and a relevant message (Golan, 2017; Teixeira, 2015; Graves, 2017, Teixeira, 2017). These are important to understand because, in 2017, online consumers can be described as skeptical, conscious of content, individualistic, and drawn to authenticity (Teixeira, 2014).
To supplement my findings, I conducted primary research by analyzing the 2017 Super Bowl videos against a criteria created using the best practices previously identified (in Part 1 and Part 2). Through the data collection of the 66 videos, I uncovered the most popular plotline is "fall than rise," the most popular emotions are humor, inspiration, and empathy and people tend to have a preference towards videos that are more realistic and simplistic in nature.
In the end, I recommend that advertisers identify an authentic yet relevant message, while employing a comedic, inspirational, or empathic tone, and that they place their ads exclusively for their target market. Additionally, producers should use a fall then rise plotline (with multiple mini plot peaks and valleys), a "logo-pulsing" strategy, and a minimal amount of characters and settings to keep the audience's focus on the ad’s message.
Change within the cannabis industry could lead to drastic improvements in social justice. Ever since marijuana was first regulated in the United States in the early 1900s, it has been used as the justification for the excessive incarceration and disenfranchisement of targeted groups, specifically, Black and Latino populations. Now, the growing popularity of marijuana, from both the recreational and entrepreneurial perspective, has led to the legalization of recreational cannabis in 15 states. <br/>Although this enterprise is highly profitable and alluring for consumers and business owners, the problem of underrepresentation of minority owned businesses within the industry still remains. This underrepresentation symbolizes the unjust ability for this enterprise to capitalize on those victimized by past drug regulations and on a larger scale, how it perpetuates institutionalized racism. The criminalization of marijuana not only allows for certain groups to remain successful in this booming billion-dollar operation, but also ensures that others remain unseen and left behind. <br/>This thesis aims to show the ways in which the legal cannabis industry can expand and encourage minority-owned businesses to venture into the sector. In this paper, I will attempt to outline the history of cannabis regulation and anti-drug campaigns, and illustrate the lack of diversity within the cannabis industry. I will also touch upon the remedies and reparations for racial inequality and how public policy can address entrepreneur’s demands in future policy considerations and industry practices.
For this thesis, I analyzed the discourse and content of Proposition 22, a California law which defined all workers utilizing gig-based apps to sell services as independent contractors meaning they were not legally entitled to certain protections such as minimum wage. The law was overturned in court in 2020, however, the advertisements in favor of and discourse behind the law has had a continued impact on all workers. Because of this it is important to examine and conceptualize the ideologies behind the law in order to understand how it was able to pass in a state which tends to vote in favor of increasing employee rights and regulation of industries. To do so, I utilized two methods of analysis, a discourse analysis of legal documents and a content analysis of advertisements. The former revolves around analyzing the discourse and ideologies around two versions of the legislation which were shown to the public, while the latter analysis categorizes and examines the implications of various advertisements utilized by companies to support the proposition. Ultimately, gig companies created an effective campaign that was able to repackage neoliberal deregulation for the general public while actively misrepresenting information around the law leading to long lasting effects that continue to harm workers while lining the pockets of investors despite its overturning.
My thesis is an autoethnography considering the ways to be a respectful and effective ally and advocate for racial justice issues as a White person. I have written my paper as a love letter to my Indigenous sister, synthesizing the lessons I learned throughout my justice studies courses and applying them to the very personal experience of my relationship with my sister.
My thesis is an autoethnography considering the ways to be a respectful and effective ally and advocate for racial justice issues as a White person. I have written my paper as a love letter to my Indigenous sister, synthesizing the lessons I learned throughout my justice studies courses and applying them to the very personal experience of my relationship with my sister.