Exercise 12.1

For more information contact
Andrea L. Johnson
Mountain East Medical Center
(754) 324-9884
aljohnson@memc.com

For release after 7:40 a.m.
Thursday, Nov. 21

DEPARTMENT HEAD LEAVES

Due to recent tension between the board of directors and the purchasing department, the department head of purchasing at Mountain East Medical Center (MEMC) is resigning and will be replaced by the assistant head of the department.

Bob Wilkinson, current department head, has chosen to resign after disputes involving cost-cutting arose. Johnny Toler, the assistant head who has worked at MEMC for 13 years, is set to take Wilkinson's place. 

"Bob's abilities will be greatly missed at this hospital, but I know that Johnny Toler is a person we can all depend on to do whatever is necessary to keep his department going. I have great faith in him and in this hospital," Harry Illscott, hospital administrator, said.

Toler began working at the hospital as an assistant druggist in the pharmacy and was moved to his position as assistant head in the purchasing department after the pharmacy closed in 1978. Toler’s wife is also on staff at the hospital.

“This hospital means a great deal to me and my family, and I will give my best efforts to making our purchasing department the best. I learned from a fine man – Bob Wilkinson – and I hope I can continue to build on the foundation he established,” Toler said.

Wilkinson plans on taking a job as a purchasing agent at the City Memorial Hospital. Wilkinson graduated from the University of Virginia’s school of hospital administration in 1972. He started at MEMC in 1975 after working as a purchasing chief for a small rural community.

For more information about Wilkinson’s departure and Toler’s new position,  go to MEMC’s web site at www.mcme.com/purchasing.

Exercise 11.5

Liberty offers a first class education in a first class environment

Liberty is academically challenging and aesthetically pleasaing

On the campus of Liberty University, you will find modern classrooms, up-to-date technology, and the study tools you'll need to succeed. To top it off, Liberty is housed on a mountain in the heart of Virginia, facing the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Choosing to study at Liberty University is like choosing to study inside a work of art.

Liberty offers a vast array of majors and minors, a multitude of recreational facilities, different student activities every month, several on-campus dining options, and four different choices for on-campus housing. The classes at Liberty are designed to foster, shape, and challenge students toward having a Biblical worldview. Professors from all around have come together to teach students in a way that shows them a Biblical perspective on life, so students are able to go out and live for Christ.

As mentioned earlier, not only does Liberty offer many great courses and activities, but it is also surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation. Every season of the year brings a new, beautiful look to the campus. Whether it is a rosy sunset, a warm spring breeze, snow on the mountains, or the vast array of fall colors on the trees, every season looks good on Liberty. 

Exercise 11.3

• What visual effects are used to define location?

There's a table, a lamp, a centerpiece, some cabinets, and some shelving. There is also an island. All of this is showing a normal, American kitchen.

• What sound effects are used to define action?

There are twins speaking, some parts in unison and some parts individually. There is also a ding from the ovens, a jiggle-y noise from the pans hitting the racks inside the ovens, the sounds of the doors shutting, and some music at the very end playing under the narrator.

• What type of format is used?

It is a slice of life format. It shows two girls disliking their new ovens, and it also shows their mother, who likes the oven. It also promotes the oven because it shows it in action, and making food "perfect[ly]."

• Write a brief synopsis of the ad (three or four sentences at most).

There are twin girls sassing an oven, which is actually two ovens. Then, their mom comes in and takes the "perfect" food out. She expresses her love of the ovens, then leaves. After that, the two girls glare at the oven, flip their hair, and walk out.

• What is the target market of the ad?

The target market is most likely busy mothers. The mother portrayed is only part of the ad for a few seconds. She is shown rushing in and then rushing back out, which implies that she's in a hurry.

• What benefits are offered by the ad?

The benefits offered are that the oven can "do two things at once" and that it can do it well. It seems to be helpful, especially to the rushing mother.

• Is there a call to action in the ad?

There is not a definite call to action, but the ad mentions Ikea at the end. It also flashes the Ikea website, which seems to suggest that viewers should check that out.

The commercial can be found here.

Exercise 11.1

• What is the promise offered by this headline?

The headline promises a type of tire spats that help to “suck” the spyder to the ground. It boasts of better control at high speeds. It is certainly not an average type of headline, but it definitely makes for an attention-grabbing advertisement.

• How does the illustration demonstrate the product? How does this illustration attract attention?

The illustration shows where the front tire spats are located on the car, informing viewers and helping to explain what the purpose of them is. There is also a smaller image showing the car itself. They are not super eye-grabbing but they do serve well as means of communicating information.

• What proofs of the promise of benefit in the headline are offered by the body copy?

The body copy mostly just serves as an explanation of what the headline is saying. It does not exactly offer proofs, but it does help to inform readers of what “front tire spats” are and why they are important for the car. It does, however, promise that it will help control the car at high speeds.

• What action does this ad tell readers to take?

It tells readers to do more research at the website. This is a good tactic. The ad, if readers respond correctly, is meant to interest the readers enough to get them to go onto the website of the car and look up more information. Once there is an audience on the website, the company can potentially advertise a whole lot more and get some good attention.

MR2 Spyder

"The Persuaders" -- Response Post

I watched “The Persuaders” in its entirety. Things I learned from it are: advertising that appeals to emotions must be done carefully, it is a popular trend in advertising to appeal to emotions, and collecting data for what consumers want is an interesting and in-depth process.

The video used an example of a new airline called “Song” that was all about appealing to women of a specific financial status. Though the overall concept of creating a brand identity did not seem like a bad idea, it seemed as though “Song” did not market that identity in a very clear way. By seeing their example and how long it took for consumers to not only recognize it as a company but also as an airline, it shows that emotional appeals in marketing can be risky. It also shows that actual appearance of a product is good for consumer recognition.

“The Persuaders” talked a lot about how emotional advertising works. It also made it seem like, since the 90s, this has been a popular form of advertising. The emotional appeal is marketers attempts to cut through the “clutter” of all of the advertising around, and it seems to be effective only maybe half of the time. It was also interesting to note that some advertisers attempt to market through entertainment, which proves good for getting their name out there, but not necessarily for getting consumers to want to use the product/service being advertised.

Along with this, the process of collecting data from focus groups is interesting, if not a little weird. Some of the questions seemed pretty out there, but the overall process seemed to turn back decent results most of the time.

Exercises 8.2, 8.3, & 8.4

8.2 Writing an Audio News Story
Faculty Death

Professor Elizabeth Billson passed away in her sleep around three in the morning. She suffered from cancer for ten years. During her 36 years of instructing at Liberty University, Professor Billson taught approximately ten thousand prospective teachers. She was the recipient of Liberty University’s “Outstanding Professor” award last year. The students and faculty will grieve this recent loss through a prayer vigil held at DeMoss Hall around six o’clock this evening.

Wreck

Last night a two-truck collision occurred on 1-95. Both drivers are without injury. The roadways were blocked on both sides for about 45 minutes and traffic was jammed. There was also an oil slick caused by fuel that spilled from both trucks. The accident happened on the part of 1-95 that is currently undergoing repairs. The lanes narrow into two at that spot and the trucks hit head on. Both drivers claim to have braked but they still ended up colliding. They each have histories of speeding and reckless driving.

8.3 Writing an Audio News Story with Actuality

The recently repaired, 75 year old bridge that sits over Roaring Creek has finally re-opened for use. It was washed out by a flood last year and the county has spent the past 11 months trying to repair it. According to Roland Lively, the department head of the County Department of Transportation, the county was already setting aside some funds to repair the bridge. (actuality) Those funds, however, were not enough to cover the seven hundred thousand dollar replacement fee. The county was able to afford replacing it after the state and the U.S. Department of Transportation chipped in. While the bridge was out, residents in the Oak Grove neighborhood had to drive farther up Roaring Creek Road to connect onto Highway 19. With the bridge back in order, they now only have to drive about a mile to get to the highway.

8.4 Writing an audio News Story with Actuality

Last year's record of 3 wins and 22 losses for the Harbrace University women's basketball team brought them their third losing season. Coach Jess Storey resigned at the end of the season, and Harbrace announced her replacement earlier today. Pam Neubaugher (NEW-bow-er), the assistant coach for three years at Staley Colley in Pennsylvania, accepted the position. Neubaugher feels a lot of potential for Harbrace this season and she is determined to find some good recruits to help secure that feeling. (actuality) Neubaugher played basketball at the University of California, Long Beach, and made the all-conference team her senior year. She is also six feet two inches tall.

ABC 13: An Analysis

Audio/Visual Impact:

Tonight's 6 pm broadcast used a variety of images and video clips to help communicate information to the audience. Some of those visuals included: photographs of criminals, bullet points of important information, moving images displaying weather forecasts, interviews with neighbors and family members effected by different crimes or accidents reported on, a list of forecasted temperatures in the local areas, etc. Some of the pictures and interviews could definitely trigger certain emotions, which gives those news stories greater impact on the audience. There were also some interviews which helped to provide more information on the topics being presented. For example, an interview with the woman who heads up a food donation program that provides children with backpacks full of meals and snacks explained that they try very hard to help fill a need rather than just “putting a band aid” on the problem. Her interview was a good addition because it not only allowed viewers the chance to put a face with the program but also to see what the backpacks  and meals looked like, along with how they are stuffed. Overall, the use of different visual and audio aids provided a much greater impact than just reading the story would.

Timeliness:

The timeliness of the broadcast was on point. There were a large number of stories considering the half-hour block of time that the whole broadcast filled. Each story was at least 30 seconds long and at most about a minute. There were no transitions, which added to the quick timing. Overall, the whole thing almost seemed disorienting because it was so quick-paced, but it was like most news broadcasts, so it was probably good that it moved so fast. The audio and visual aids mentioned above helped to speed things along. Also, the reporters were able to quickly read the stories, which were written in such a way as to provide only the bare bones facts that viewers would care about. Along with the incredible speed of the stories, there was a large variety in what was reported on. The broadcast was able to cover local news, college sports, local racing news, weather, and a special on how to protect one’s plants through the predicted frost of this coming weekend. If the reporters were not reading such briefly written stories, or if the visual aids were not included with the stories, there is no way the broadcast would have been able to report so much.

Information, not Explanation

 The broadcast did a very good job on spending more time presenting information and less time explaining it. An example of one story that explained more than most was a special they did on how to keep plants alive during the upcoming predicted frost. It included some background information on plants, along with a series of tips supplied by a local gardening expert. The extra explanation made sense, though, because it was a how-to piece rather than just a normal news story. An example of when the reporters did not over-explain was when they were reporting on a man who is under charges for possessing child pornography. This story is an ongoing story that has been unfolding for the past few months and the reporters simply stated the new facts that have been released, but they did not waste time on giving lots of background information. There was enough to fill in any viewers who are new to this story, but there was also enough new information to satisfy those who are already aware of the background pieces of information. Overall, the stories were brief, to-the-point, and just what was happening. There was not any fluff or added, unnecessary information.