Generally, I learned how to write a proposal. I didn't expect there would be so many complicated items to consider before, such as the audience analysis, rhetorical situation, ethos, pathos and logos. From this class, I learned not only how to do, but also why to do.
Though we have a lot of work to do for this class, I barely noticed that. I think that's primarily because we are actually working on the final project throughout the semester, brainstorming on the topic selection, collecting literature and revising the draft as the textbook day by day. And at the end of the class, we are able to present the final version. It may need further revisions, but it has been much more than what I can do in a month by myself.
And for the first time, I made a video presentation for my proposal. I was a little worried in the beginning, but once I got started things went pretty well. And I was able to reconsider my proposal narrative when making the video. I tried to imagine what the viewers need to know first in order to understand the latter part. And I also tried to use shorter sentence and active voice in the video, which inspired me a lot when revising the text proposal.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Chapter 12 Final Touches
The final touches to the proposal are more than grammar check or add a cover page. It's the final chance to reinforce your ethos, through inventing front matter (Letter of transmittal, cover page, executive summary, table of contents), Back Matter (Personnel's resumes, glossary of terms and symbols, bibliography, formulas and Calculations, related reports, prior proposal, FYI information), and reconsidering the rhetorical situation, the problem or opportunity, the rhetorical elements.
Sometimes we may be worn out after writing the draft, but it's important to keep working on the draft at that point, because revisions make perfect. Probably, go to bed early at night, get up with an energetic mind in the next morning, bring up the proposal draft after a nice breakfast, and think everything you've thought when you first wrote it:
"What's (are) your point(s) now? Does the proposal make you point(s)?"
"Who is your reader now? Will they be satisfied with the current work?"
"How is the current physical and political situation? Does the current version fit into that situation?"
After all the work, your points may have a little change based on your research. You may have found a better approach to address the issue. Thus, the purpose statement will need to be revised to some extent. On the other hand, after working on that proposal for 1-2 months or even longer, the physical or political situation may have changed, which need to be taken into your consideration during the revision process.
Besides, it is also important to rethink about some rhetorical details, such as content, organization, style and design. Details matter. The point of refining is to make it "feel right." Make things as good as you can, letting the readers feel yours is the right choice.
Sometimes we may be worn out after writing the draft, but it's important to keep working on the draft at that point, because revisions make perfect. Probably, go to bed early at night, get up with an energetic mind in the next morning, bring up the proposal draft after a nice breakfast, and think everything you've thought when you first wrote it:
"What's (are) your point(s) now? Does the proposal make you point(s)?"
"Who is your reader now? Will they be satisfied with the current work?"
"How is the current physical and political situation? Does the current version fit into that situation?"
After all the work, your points may have a little change based on your research. You may have found a better approach to address the issue. Thus, the purpose statement will need to be revised to some extent. On the other hand, after working on that proposal for 1-2 months or even longer, the physical or political situation may have changed, which need to be taken into your consideration during the revision process.
Besides, it is also important to rethink about some rhetorical details, such as content, organization, style and design. Details matter. The point of refining is to make it "feel right." Make things as good as you can, letting the readers feel yours is the right choice.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Chapter 11 Graphics
Again, this chapter emphasizes the importance of visual representation of proposal writing. As it says, "graphics not only enhance the story you are trying to relate in your proposal or grant, but they also tell a large part of the story itself." A good choice of graphics will help attracting, informing and convincing the readers. So we should try to convert some core content into graphics, and make sure to label and place them properly.
It mentions when photographing people, photographs taken outdoors are better than those taken in the office, because the former "tends to look dark, depressing, and dreary, and the latter "implies a personality of openness and free thinking." I think that is important for us to know especially when writing the qualification part. It work better to put the photos taken outdoors than indoors of the people you appointed to be the working on your project. However, we tend to use those photos taken in the workplace. For instance, most of the faculty's photos on website are taken their office, usually in front of their bookshelves or desks. Perhaps, they want to give the readers the impression that they are serious scholars?
The chapter also says the ethics of graphic use. Since readers are likely to believe what they see, the utilization of graphics can convince them more effectively. But it is very important not to fool the readers by manipulating data to support the hypotheses. Perhaps most of the readers won't bother to check the data, but once if they find out, there is no chance to make up the author's ethos for a long time.
It mentions when photographing people, photographs taken outdoors are better than those taken in the office, because the former "tends to look dark, depressing, and dreary, and the latter "implies a personality of openness and free thinking." I think that is important for us to know especially when writing the qualification part. It work better to put the photos taken outdoors than indoors of the people you appointed to be the working on your project. However, we tend to use those photos taken in the workplace. For instance, most of the faculty's photos on website are taken their office, usually in front of their bookshelves or desks. Perhaps, they want to give the readers the impression that they are serious scholars?
The chapter also says the ethics of graphic use. Since readers are likely to believe what they see, the utilization of graphics can convince them more effectively. But it is very important not to fool the readers by manipulating data to support the hypotheses. Perhaps most of the readers won't bother to check the data, but once if they find out, there is no chance to make up the author's ethos for a long time.
Friday, June 13, 2008
US Coke Ads
US Coke Ads:
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/presscenter/av_advertising.html
http://www.coca-cola.com/template1/index.jsp?locale=en_US&site=../downloads/downloads.html
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/presscenter/av_advertising.html
http://www.coca-cola.com/template1/index.jsp?locale=en_US&site=../downloads/downloads.html
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Chinese v.s. US commercials
Coca-Cola:
US (Christmas)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7DdtuiYZlk&feature=related
Chinese (Spring Festival) (Bring me home):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73PiJKNI6fM
McDonald:US:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eN9KP6lOZs
Chinese:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEVBb_icz_Q
OLAY (Body Wash):US:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bajBQXNMeY
Chinese:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ICLCg7lx5Ds
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Chapter 10 Design
Finally, it talks about the page design of proposal. That is another way to establish your echos, since "a proposal's design signals the attitude, the competence, and the quality of people submitting the proposal or grant" (182).
Well, my problem was that I'm used to being concentrated on the design as I first started writing. I paid so much attention to the font, alignment and heading levels that I can barely keep on working on the content. However, as it says in the chapter, design goes after the content, because "even the best design will never hide a weak understanding of the current situation or a flawed plan" (182). So an additional principle for me is not to worry about the design until the content is almost done.
In the chapter, it states four principles of design, that is, balance (by using grids, pullouts, margin comments and sidebars), alignment, grouping (by using headings of different levels and borders) and consistency (by unifying headers, footers, typefaces, labeling of graphics, sequential and nosequential lists). By following those principles, you will be able to write a seemingly professional proposal. Addtionally, we have to follow the formatting requirement, if there is any.
Lastly, practice makes perfect. As the author says, "good design is not something to be learned in a day" (183). On the other hand, it is very possible to read as much good design samples as possible, in order to gain others' experience.
Well, my problem was that I'm used to being concentrated on the design as I first started writing. I paid so much attention to the font, alignment and heading levels that I can barely keep on working on the content. However, as it says in the chapter, design goes after the content, because "even the best design will never hide a weak understanding of the current situation or a flawed plan" (182). So an additional principle for me is not to worry about the design until the content is almost done.
In the chapter, it states four principles of design, that is, balance (by using grids, pullouts, margin comments and sidebars), alignment, grouping (by using headings of different levels and borders) and consistency (by unifying headers, footers, typefaces, labeling of graphics, sequential and nosequential lists). By following those principles, you will be able to write a seemingly professional proposal. Addtionally, we have to follow the formatting requirement, if there is any.
Lastly, practice makes perfect. As the author says, "good design is not something to be learned in a day" (183). On the other hand, it is very possible to read as much good design samples as possible, in order to gain others' experience.
Progress Report 3
Date: 06/11/2008
To: Dr. Holmevik
From: Jin Liu
Introduction
This research is going to answer two questions:1) whether the high-/low-context culture of China and U. S. influences the visual strategies of their commercials; 2) whether the Chinese and U. S. audience appreciate the commercials customized according to their culture.
Work Completed
I made a big step forward last week while writing the first draft. First, I know better what I'm going to do. Second, I reduced the brands from 6 Asian and U. S. brands to be 3 U. S. brands. Third, I identified two kinds of important variables, including high-/low-context cultural characteristics and the related visual strategies. Forth, I raised seven specific hypotheses to examine.
Next Steps
The multimodal presentation for the proposal is due next Thursday, and the storyboard is due next Monday. So I will be working on the video this and next week. And I need to contact the instructor of ENG 103 summer class, and pick up 2-3 Chinese commercials for them to watch. Besides, I will continue the literature review, and keep on looking for the commercial samples.
On the other hand, I will try to find fundings for this research, which requires me to research the application process, and calculate my budget.
Conclusion
Things work much better than I expected this week. And thanks to Barbara, I will probably be able to conduct a preliminary experiment this or next week among the students in ENG 103. And it will be awesome if I can get funding for my research, and for the flying home this Christmas break! Now that gives me another reason for harder work.
To: Dr. Holmevik
From: Jin Liu
Introduction
This research is going to answer two questions:1) whether the high-/low-context culture of China and U. S. influences the visual strategies of their commercials; 2) whether the Chinese and U. S. audience appreciate the commercials customized according to their culture.
Work Completed
I made a big step forward last week while writing the first draft. First, I know better what I'm going to do. Second, I reduced the brands from 6 Asian and U. S. brands to be 3 U. S. brands. Third, I identified two kinds of important variables, including high-/low-context cultural characteristics and the related visual strategies. Forth, I raised seven specific hypotheses to examine.
Next Steps
The multimodal presentation for the proposal is due next Thursday, and the storyboard is due next Monday. So I will be working on the video this and next week. And I need to contact the instructor of ENG 103 summer class, and pick up 2-3 Chinese commercials for them to watch. Besides, I will continue the literature review, and keep on looking for the commercial samples.
On the other hand, I will try to find fundings for this research, which requires me to research the application process, and calculate my budget.
Conclusion
Things work much better than I expected this week. And thanks to Barbara, I will probably be able to conduct a preliminary experiment this or next week among the students in ENG 103. And it will be awesome if I can get funding for my research, and for the flying home this Christmas break! Now that gives me another reason for harder work.
Comments for Katie's proposal
Hi Katie,
After reading your proposal, I know that you have done much work for the research. You've already diagnose the problems with the OSP website, and you've clarified which specific theories will be adopted. So you got those weapons, and the proposal was to explain how to use the weapons. That's good.
I think you also did well in the research design part, which explained the specific steps of usuability testing. And I was impressed by your tight time schedule. It's good to finish things ahead of time. And I will suggest you take more time to refine your paper since you will have several months before May.
And here I have a suggestion for the current situation part, which begins with the introduction to some scholars' research. I think it may be more attractive to the readers, if you exhibit the connection between their theories and your research topic immediately in that part. Otherwise, the readers might be a little confused about what those theories have to do with this study. Though you've know the logic behind the argument, but the readers need easier and clearer explanation.
After reading your proposal, I know that you have done much work for the research. You've already diagnose the problems with the OSP website, and you've clarified which specific theories will be adopted. So you got those weapons, and the proposal was to explain how to use the weapons. That's good.
I think you also did well in the research design part, which explained the specific steps of usuability testing. And I was impressed by your tight time schedule. It's good to finish things ahead of time. And I will suggest you take more time to refine your paper since you will have several months before May.
And here I have a suggestion for the current situation part, which begins with the introduction to some scholars' research. I think it may be more attractive to the readers, if you exhibit the connection between their theories and your research topic immediately in that part. Otherwise, the readers might be a little confused about what those theories have to do with this study. Though you've know the logic behind the argument, but the readers need easier and clearer explanation.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Chapter 9 Style
Here, the "style" is an important approach to establish echos. It is a chance to represent the author's commitment and confidence in the project, by writing plain sentences and paragraphs. Different from academic writing or literature, proposal is a practical genre. Its main purpose is to inform, to convince, and to persuade. Therefore, the ideas must be expressed clearly and considerately to make sure the readers will interpret it correctly and favorably.
To write plain sentences, it recommends to use active voice in proposal writing--"make the Doer the subject" (164). And in class, Dr. Holmevik mentioned that it worked better to use active voice in proposal. However, I was actually taught it made the writing more objective and professional when using passive voice since I started learning English. (I don't know why. Probably they wanted to teach us academic English.) So I was a little confused.
But now I understand. The proposal is supposed to explain things as clear as possible. So it is important to clarify who is going to that, for instance, who will move the coffee maker, followed by the explanations like why he/she is uniquely qualified, how he/she will make it, and so forth.
On the other hand, if it is hard to predict who, it will be appropriate to use passive voice. And the author may be considered as a considerate and honest person at that point.
To write plain sentences, it recommends to use active voice in proposal writing--"make the Doer the subject" (164). And in class, Dr. Holmevik mentioned that it worked better to use active voice in proposal. However, I was actually taught it made the writing more objective and professional when using passive voice since I started learning English. (I don't know why. Probably they wanted to teach us academic English.) So I was a little confused.
But now I understand. The proposal is supposed to explain things as clear as possible. So it is important to clarify who is going to that, for instance, who will move the coffee maker, followed by the explanations like why he/she is uniquely qualified, how he/she will make it, and so forth.
On the other hand, if it is hard to predict who, it will be appropriate to use passive voice. And the author may be considered as a considerate and honest person at that point.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Introduction
It is believed by many researchers that the power of advertising is conveyed in visuals which are more concise and more easily and quickly processed than verbal language (Berger 1998; Lester 2000). On the other hand, it has been proven by psychological studies (Nisbett, 2003) that the way people interpret images is impacted by their cultural background (high-context verse low-context culture). Therefore, properly designed visuals are especially significant to the success of advertising campaigns. Moreover, the culturally localized commercials have been proven to be more effective than those “generalized” (Mueller 1994; Taylor, Miracle & Wilson 1997)
This research will take the TV commercials of three US brands aired in China as the research subject, to examine whether their visual strategies have been customized according to the Chinese society’s high-context cultural characteristics in comparison with the US versions.
Generally, this research will address this question: “Have those commercials aired in China been impacted by the high-context cultural characteristics in comparison with the US versions?” and “Does the audience prefer the commercials adopting culturally localized visual strategies?”
The first question will be further explored by justifying these 7 hypotheses associated with 6 high-context verse low-context cultural characteristics. I will conduct two experiments among Chinese and U. S. audience by showing them 6 most ads from the samples which most typically present the local cultural characteristics. And then the participants will report their feedback during the interviews and questionnaire. By doing so, I want to justify whether the culture matters to the audience when perceiving the commercials. If so, which cultural characteristics are most appreciated by the audience? Based on those findings, the research is expected to generate a model of visual representation for culturally based advertising campaign targeted at Chinese market.
This research will take the TV commercials of three US brands aired in China as the research subject, to examine whether their visual strategies have been customized according to the Chinese society’s high-context cultural characteristics in comparison with the US versions.
Generally, this research will address this question: “Have those commercials aired in China been impacted by the high-context cultural characteristics in comparison with the US versions?” and “Does the audience prefer the commercials adopting culturally localized visual strategies?”
The first question will be further explored by justifying these 7 hypotheses associated with 6 high-context verse low-context cultural characteristics. I will conduct two experiments among Chinese and U. S. audience by showing them 6 most ads from the samples which most typically present the local cultural characteristics. And then the participants will report their feedback during the interviews and questionnaire. By doing so, I want to justify whether the culture matters to the audience when perceiving the commercials. If so, which cultural characteristics are most appreciated by the audience? Based on those findings, the research is expected to generate a model of visual representation for culturally based advertising campaign targeted at Chinese market.
Chapter 8 Budget
After convincing the significance and feasibility of your project plan, it finally comes down to the money. In this part, the point is to clarify the use of most of the dollars (except for the unitemized budget), and convince the readers that your plan is reasonable and desirable.
For those who are doing unfunded research, like us, it may not be necessary to talk about budget right now. But for the people conducting long-term studies, like the PhD research of Dr. Holmevik, it is important to ask money to recruiting participants, or purchase technological equipment.
If I conduct the experiment for my research in China, I may apply for the funds from agenda supporting international studies. The budget I could think of now generally includes my flight tickets, visa application fees, the gifts for the participants, the rental for the research room and equipment, like TV, CD/DVD player, video camera, eye-tracking equipment and software, and the software for data analysis, and lastly, the expense of printing questionnaires.
For those who are doing unfunded research, like us, it may not be necessary to talk about budget right now. But for the people conducting long-term studies, like the PhD research of Dr. Holmevik, it is important to ask money to recruiting participants, or purchase technological equipment.
If I conduct the experiment for my research in China, I may apply for the funds from agenda supporting international studies. The budget I could think of now generally includes my flight tickets, visa application fees, the gifts for the participants, the rental for the research room and equipment, like TV, CD/DVD player, video camera, eye-tracking equipment and software, and the software for data analysis, and lastly, the expense of printing questionnaires.
Progress Report 2
Date: 06/05/2008
To: Dr. Holmevik
From: Jin Liu
Introduction
There are rare literature directly addressing the functions of the cinematography of commercials, since the previous ad cultural studies mainly focus on the message strategies. And I need to decide on which brands to take as the search samples.
Work Completed
Following Dr. Holmevik's advice, I took 6 brands across 3 industries as the research sample. They are picked up based on a ranking of the most influential brands across the world. And the brands are from countries more than China and US, which was actually the thing I tried to avoid. I expect to stick with China and US. If there is few Chinese brands influential in US, perhaps the sample will be focused on just US brands. And the marketing purpose would be one-way: from US to China.
And plus, I may cut off the experiment part, since it is time-consuming, and probably controversial when it comes to the copyright.
Next Steps
A literature on film editing is the next step I will do, from which the visual variables as instruments are expected. And I will keep reminding myself to connect film editing and cultural values throughout the review.
Conclusion
By now, things turn to be more complicated and less exciting. I have to sit down and consider the feasibility and specific project plan. But I believe everything will work out, if I put more time in it.
To: Dr. Holmevik
From: Jin Liu
Introduction
There are rare literature directly addressing the functions of the cinematography of commercials, since the previous ad cultural studies mainly focus on the message strategies. And I need to decide on which brands to take as the search samples.
Work Completed
Following Dr. Holmevik's advice, I took 6 brands across 3 industries as the research sample. They are picked up based on a ranking of the most influential brands across the world. And the brands are from countries more than China and US, which was actually the thing I tried to avoid. I expect to stick with China and US. If there is few Chinese brands influential in US, perhaps the sample will be focused on just US brands. And the marketing purpose would be one-way: from US to China.
And plus, I may cut off the experiment part, since it is time-consuming, and probably controversial when it comes to the copyright.
Next Steps
A literature on film editing is the next step I will do, from which the visual variables as instruments are expected. And I will keep reminding myself to connect film editing and cultural values throughout the review.
Conclusion
By now, things turn to be more complicated and less exciting. I have to sit down and consider the feasibility and specific project plan. But I believe everything will work out, if I put more time in it.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Chapter 6 Qualification
This chapter says that the qualification part should clarify "who should do the project, why they are uniquely qualified for the project, and what kinds of resources will be used" (101). And it is especially important to convince the readers that your team has related experience or skills which enables them to accomplish the project successfully.
However, in the case of thesis proposal, there is no teammates to write about, let alone qualifying their abilities and potentials. I think here the teammates can be considered as the theories, instruments and the methodology you will apply to the research. And in the qualification part, we need to convince the committee and other readers that those theories and instruments will work for your study, because they have worked for many other similar studies before. Show them the logics of your specific research design.
In that sense, the qualification overlaps with literature review to some extent. I think the point of the qualification part is to show the reasonableness of your research methodology in the light of previous research.
And it is also important to persuade the readers that your design is "uniquely qualified"--it don't has to be the best way, but an intriguing way, a different way. No one is perfect, and no research design is perfect. There may be various shortage and limitations in the research, but it makes a difference for the academia or industry. Just clarify that it is creative, it is unique, it is different.
In fact, we will always have some points of that kind to make, since the research is designed to fill out the gaps left by previous researchers. And it will be an opportunity to excite your committee, for those who are doing fairly exploratory studies, like Mike's sound rhetorics, Sean's machinima, and my ad cinematography.
However, in the case of thesis proposal, there is no teammates to write about, let alone qualifying their abilities and potentials. I think here the teammates can be considered as the theories, instruments and the methodology you will apply to the research. And in the qualification part, we need to convince the committee and other readers that those theories and instruments will work for your study, because they have worked for many other similar studies before. Show them the logics of your specific research design.
In that sense, the qualification overlaps with literature review to some extent. I think the point of the qualification part is to show the reasonableness of your research methodology in the light of previous research.
And it is also important to persuade the readers that your design is "uniquely qualified"--it don't has to be the best way, but an intriguing way, a different way. No one is perfect, and no research design is perfect. There may be various shortage and limitations in the research, but it makes a difference for the academia or industry. Just clarify that it is creative, it is unique, it is different.
In fact, we will always have some points of that kind to make, since the research is designed to fill out the gaps left by previous researchers. And it will be an opportunity to excite your committee, for those who are doing fairly exploratory studies, like Mike's sound rhetorics, Sean's machinima, and my ad cinematography.
Project Plan
In order to find out which film editing strategies are culturally effective to the audience in Chinese and US markets, this research will look into the implications of certain visual strategies adapted by 6 transnational brands associated with cultural values of High-Context and Low-Context cultures. And the conclusion of the implication will be examined by showing the ads modified against the visual strategies.
Methodology
Selecting Research Samples
Six transnational brands will be picked up as the research subjects, and the samples will 50-100 TV commercials of those brands published in Asian and US markets. The brands come from 3 main transnational industries, electronic, automobile and catering industry.
Electronic industry:
Apple of US：
According to the ranking of the most influential brands across the world by brandchannel.com, Apple tops the ranking over Google.
SONY of Japan:
SONY is also on the list of the top 10 influential brands across the world.
Automobile:
BMW of Germany:
BMW ranks top 10 as well. And Germany is also considered as a representative of low-context culture, even more typical than US.
Toyota of Japan:
Toyota is also on the list of top 10. As an Asian brand, Toyota plays a significant role in both Asian and US markets.
Catering industry
Coca-Cola of US:
Though not listed on the top 10, Coca-Cola has occupied 48% of the drink market throughout the world. It sells in over 200 countries and areas, and it is consumed more than 1 billion cups everyday.
McDonald of US:
Similar with Coca-Cola, McDonald is also a giant in the world catering industry. It spread to 121 countries and areas, and it has over 31,000 restaurants around the world.
The TV commercials for Asian and US markets will be collected as the samples for the next part.
Research Instruments
More literature review will be done for this part. The instruments will be established based on the previous studies and the preliminary research on the samples. Basically, it includes the visual strategies, such as the use of long shots and middle shots, the shots of group scene, the pacing, the use of subjective camera images and direct-address images, and so on.
And up to 10 hypotheses will be established as reviewing the literature on intercultural research and cinematography. Those hypotheses will be able the use and the frequency of the use of certain visual strategies. The ads will be observed and examined against those hypotheses by applying the research instruments to them.
Experiment Examination
Several ad samples will be modified against the visual strategy conclusions generate by last part. And the remix will be shown to about 20-50 Chinese student volunteers, and 20-50 American student volunteers. Their reaction to the remix will be videotaped, and they will be asked to fill out a questionnaire about their feedback to the remix ads. Some of them will be interviewed due to their extraordinary reactions.
This experiment part will serve as the examination and evaluation of the visual strategy conclusions. Alternative explanations other than previous theories towards the differences of the visual strategies are expected from the experiments.
By following the procedures above, this research will summarize, examine and explain the correlation between ad visual strategies and cultural values of high-context and low-context cultures, which will contribute to the culturally based marketing campaigns of transnational brands.
Methodology
Selecting Research Samples
Six transnational brands will be picked up as the research subjects, and the samples will 50-100 TV commercials of those brands published in Asian and US markets. The brands come from 3 main transnational industries, electronic, automobile and catering industry.
Electronic industry:
Apple of US：
According to the ranking of the most influential brands across the world by brandchannel.com, Apple tops the ranking over Google.
SONY of Japan:
SONY is also on the list of the top 10 influential brands across the world.
Automobile:
BMW of Germany:
BMW ranks top 10 as well. And Germany is also considered as a representative of low-context culture, even more typical than US.
Toyota of Japan:
Toyota is also on the list of top 10. As an Asian brand, Toyota plays a significant role in both Asian and US markets.
Catering industry
Coca-Cola of US:
Though not listed on the top 10, Coca-Cola has occupied 48% of the drink market throughout the world. It sells in over 200 countries and areas, and it is consumed more than 1 billion cups everyday.
McDonald of US:
Similar with Coca-Cola, McDonald is also a giant in the world catering industry. It spread to 121 countries and areas, and it has over 31,000 restaurants around the world.
The TV commercials for Asian and US markets will be collected as the samples for the next part.
Research Instruments
More literature review will be done for this part. The instruments will be established based on the previous studies and the preliminary research on the samples. Basically, it includes the visual strategies, such as the use of long shots and middle shots, the shots of group scene, the pacing, the use of subjective camera images and direct-address images, and so on.
And up to 10 hypotheses will be established as reviewing the literature on intercultural research and cinematography. Those hypotheses will be able the use and the frequency of the use of certain visual strategies. The ads will be observed and examined against those hypotheses by applying the research instruments to them.
Experiment Examination
Several ad samples will be modified against the visual strategy conclusions generate by last part. And the remix will be shown to about 20-50 Chinese student volunteers, and 20-50 American student volunteers. Their reaction to the remix will be videotaped, and they will be asked to fill out a questionnaire about their feedback to the remix ads. Some of them will be interviewed due to their extraordinary reactions.
This experiment part will serve as the examination and evaluation of the visual strategy conclusions. Alternative explanations other than previous theories towards the differences of the visual strategies are expected from the experiments.
By following the procedures above, this research will summarize, examine and explain the correlation between ad visual strategies and cultural values of high-context and low-context cultures, which will contribute to the culturally based marketing campaigns of transnational brands.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Project Steps-2nd Draft
o Step1:
o To pick up the Chinese and US version TV commercials of the most influential 6 US transnational brands according to the survey The Most Influential Brands across the World by brandchannel.com.
Electronic product: SONY, Apple
Food & Drinks: Coca-Cola, McDonald
Automobile： BMW， Toyota
o Step 2:
o To establish research instruments (the visual variables reflecting cultural values)
§ To do more literature review
On cultural values of high-context and low-context cultures
On visual strategies from film editing literature (visual storytelling, cinematography
o Step 3:
o To establish several hypotheses about the visual strategies employed by Chinese and US ads to examine against
Needs more research on the literature
Needs a preliminary study on the ad sample
o Step 4:
o To examine the hypotheses to generate more precise conclusion on the visual strategy preferences of each culture
§ Which hypotheses are supported or not supported and why
§ To refer to lit on non-comm theories like advertising and psychology
§ To refer to intercultural comm theories
o Step 5:
o To justify the revised conclusions by showing ad remix to the audience from each culture
o Modify some of the ads against the summary of visual strategies
To remix the ads against the visual strategies
To show the remixed ads to HC and LC audience separately
o To collect audience's responses to the modified ads
To observe and videotape their reactions
To collect their comments through questionnair
To collect their perceptions through in-person interviews
Timeline
June 16, 2008 - Thesis Proposal
December 18, 2008 - Final GS2 Form (Enrolled Services)
December 22, 2008-Chapter 1
January 12, 2009 - Chapter 2
January 26, 2009 - Chapter 3
February 9, 2009 - Chapter 4
February 23, 2009 - Chapter 5
March 9, 2009 - Chapter 6
March 20, 2009 – Thesis Completed
April 10, 2009 - Thesis Defense (committee)
April 24, 2009 - GS7 Form (Enrolled Services)
April 24, 2009 - Complete thesis (Manuscript Review Office)
May 2, 2009 - Format revisions (Manuscript Review Office)
Monday, June 2, 2008
Project Plan
In order to find out which film editing strategies are culturally effective to the audience in Chinese and US markets, this research is going to look into the implications of certain visual strategies associated with cultural values of High-Context and Low-Context cultures.
- Step1:
- To pick up 50-100 ads of the most influential 4-6 transnational brands
- To research the evaluation literature of transnational brands
- To find the ads used in Chinese and US markets
- from library?
- from Internet
- Step 2:
- To establish research instruments
- Visual variables reflecting cultural values
- To do more literature review
- On cultural values of high-context and low-context cultures
- On visual strategies from film editing literature
- Visual storytelling
- Cinematography
- Step 3:
- To establish several hypotheses about the visual strategies employed by Chinese and US ads to examine against
- Step 3:
- To summarize and compare the visual strategies used by the ads
- The total number of times they are used
- The frequency of every visual variable
- Step 4:
- To examine the hypotheses
- which hypotheses are supported
- which hypotheses are not supported
- Step 5:
- To analyze the reasons of those justified or unsupported hypotheses about the visual characteristics
- To refer to lit on non-comm theories like advertising and psychology
- To refer to intercultural comm theories
- Step 6:
- To summarize the ads' visual strategies to examine in the experiment part
- Step 7:
- To modify some of the ads against the summary of visual strategies
- To remix the ads against the visual strategies
- To show the remixed ads to HC and LC audience separately
- Step 8:
- To collect audience's responses to the modified ads
- To observe and record their reactions
- To collect their comments through questionnaire
- To collect their perceptions through in-person interviews
- Step 9:
- To summarize the visual strategies culturally effective to HC and LC audience
- Step 10:
- To generate a series film editing recommendations for culturally based advertising campaigns.
Chapter 5 Project Plan
1. Refining objectives for the project plan section
In the chapter, it says we should sharpen the top rank objective and secondary objectives according to the clients and POC. Nevertheless the refinement of the thesis objective was made based a further study on the literature.
The research subject was narrowed down to Chinese and US TV commercials, because I found most of the previous research used countries as the research unit instead of areas. On the other hand, the amount of the commercials within two countries is pretty much to study already.
Meanwhile, to reduce the uncertainty of the length and categories of the commercials, the subject was focused on the commercials of some certain transnational brands, such as Coca Cola, Pepsi, McDonald and KFC and so on. That is the four brands I currently have in my mind, and it may change as the research goes on.
2. Identify a possible solution to the problem
One possible solution to identify the visual characteristics of transnational commercials would be to observe and count the number of times some certain visual strategies, such as long shots, direct addresses, subjective camera images, and the use of group images and so on. Currently, it requires more literature review to refine the research instruments and hypotheses.
On the other hand, it will justify the conclusions on the visual strategies’ functions through the observational experiment on the audience’s reaction to the counterpart commercials. The participants might be selected from Peking University and Clemson University.
3. Answering the Why questions
While reviewing this research design, there are several why questions suspending to be answered. For instance, why do you choose Coca Cola, Pepsi, McDonald and KFC as the transnational brands to study? I think perhaps they are among the most popular American brands in China? Well, here I will do some research to identify the most popular US brands first, and then pick up 4-6 from them.
Another why question: why is it necessary to conduct an experiment about the audience’s responses to the commercials from the counterpart cultures? Well, I just read that recommendation for future research from Zhou et al’s articles. They think that would be “especially interesting,” and on the other hand, it will prevent the study to be “descriptive” (Zhou et al 2005, 117). In my opinion, that step serves to justify the conclusion of the commercial strategy analysis part.
Again, it is also an area no one has done research before. I’m getting more and more excited about it now!
Current Situation
Literature Review
Opening: (introduction to the lit review)
Research on commercials’ visual strategies remains an unexplored area. Previous studies mainly focus on the narrative styles conveyed TV commercials and their application in different cultural markets. However, little research has been to investigate the visual strategies, such as visual storytelling and cinematography in the commercials of some certain transnational brands in cultural contexts. This research aims to fill that gap by conducting a comparative study on the visual characteristics of 4 transnational TV commercials published in Chinese and American markets.
Body (the reasoning, to back up the main point (Another body to back up another point) (Don’t combine too many things together) clarification, breaking things down)
Visual is believed to be more powerful than verbal presentations, especially in international markets where the consumers share not verbal but visual languages to a great extent. Moreover, the power of advertising is considered as “more concise and more easily and quickly processed than verbal language” by many researchers. (Zhou, Zhou & Xue 2005, 111; Berger 1998; Lester 2000)
On the other hand, it has also been argued that people from different cultural backgrounds obtain different image reading references. For instance, Nisbett (2003) pointed out that people from high-context culture, like some Asian countries, tended to pay more attention to the background information of a picture. He explained that: “easterners live in a more socially complicated world and have to pay more attention to the context of a situation" (Frith 2007)
For the first time, Zhou and other scholars conducted an exploratory study on the specific storytelling and cinematographic techniques employed in the commercials randomly selected from 3 Chinese channels and 3 US channels from May to July, 2001. They identified some visual variables associated with high-context, low-context cultural values. And they confirmed some of the hypotheses about the general visual differences between Chinese and US TV commercials.
However, that study is only “a first step that examines the overall differences between the ads of two different societies” (Zhou, Zhou & Xue 2005, 117). It needs further research on the visual strategies adapted by the commercials of specific transnational brands to achieve more precision.
On the other hand, the commercials’ implication will be more quantitative if viewers’ responses to those visual variables are provided. Therefore, it may lead to more pragmatic findings to examine how viewers in a low-context country respond to the visual images from a high-context country, and vice versa.
Closing (one cause and effect map for each problem)
It will generate visual manipulation strategies for culturally based advertising campaigns, by conducting the research on the visual characteristics associated with cultural values of some specific transnational brands within Chinese and US markets. And it will justify those conclusions through the investigation on the viewers’ responses to the commercials from the counterpart cultures.
References:
Frith, Katherine. Karan, Kavita (2007). Global Visuals: Is A Picture Worth A Thousand Words? Conference Papers -- International Communication Association; 2007 Annual Meeting, p1-22, 22p
Nisbett, R. E. (2003). The geography of thought: How Asians and Westerners think differently…and why. NY: Free Press
Zhou, Shuhua. Zhou, Peiqin. Xue, Fei. Visual Differences in U.S. and Chinese Television Commercials. Journal of Advertising; Spring2005, Vol. 34 Issue 1, p111-119, 9p, 2 charts, 1 graph
Opening: (introduction to the lit review)
Research on commercials’ visual strategies remains an unexplored area. Previous studies mainly focus on the narrative styles conveyed TV commercials and their application in different cultural markets. However, little research has been to investigate the visual strategies, such as visual storytelling and cinematography in the commercials of some certain transnational brands in cultural contexts. This research aims to fill that gap by conducting a comparative study on the visual characteristics of 4 transnational TV commercials published in Chinese and American markets.
Body (the reasoning, to back up the main point (Another body to back up another point) (Don’t combine too many things together) clarification, breaking things down)
Visual is believed to be more powerful than verbal presentations, especially in international markets where the consumers share not verbal but visual languages to a great extent. Moreover, the power of advertising is considered as “more concise and more easily and quickly processed than verbal language” by many researchers. (Zhou, Zhou & Xue 2005, 111; Berger 1998; Lester 2000)
On the other hand, it has also been argued that people from different cultural backgrounds obtain different image reading references. For instance, Nisbett (2003) pointed out that people from high-context culture, like some Asian countries, tended to pay more attention to the background information of a picture. He explained that: “easterners live in a more socially complicated world and have to pay more attention to the context of a situation" (Frith 2007)
For the first time, Zhou and other scholars conducted an exploratory study on the specific storytelling and cinematographic techniques employed in the commercials randomly selected from 3 Chinese channels and 3 US channels from May to July, 2001. They identified some visual variables associated with high-context, low-context cultural values. And they confirmed some of the hypotheses about the general visual differences between Chinese and US TV commercials.
However, that study is only “a first step that examines the overall differences between the ads of two different societies” (Zhou, Zhou & Xue 2005, 117). It needs further research on the visual strategies adapted by the commercials of specific transnational brands to achieve more precision.
On the other hand, the commercials’ implication will be more quantitative if viewers’ responses to those visual variables are provided. Therefore, it may lead to more pragmatic findings to examine how viewers in a low-context country respond to the visual images from a high-context country, and vice versa.
Closing (one cause and effect map for each problem)
It will generate visual manipulation strategies for culturally based advertising campaigns, by conducting the research on the visual characteristics associated with cultural values of some specific transnational brands within Chinese and US markets. And it will justify those conclusions through the investigation on the viewers’ responses to the commercials from the counterpart cultures.
References:
Frith, Katherine. Karan, Kavita (2007). Global Visuals: Is A Picture Worth A Thousand Words? Conference Papers -- International Communication Association; 2007 Annual Meeting, p1-22, 22p
Nisbett, R. E. (2003). The geography of thought: How Asians and Westerners think differently…and why. NY: Free Press
Zhou, Shuhua. Zhou, Peiqin. Xue, Fei. Visual Differences in U.S. and Chinese Television Commercials. Journal of Advertising; Spring2005, Vol. 34 Issue 1, p111-119, 9p, 2 charts, 1 graph
Sunday, June 1, 2008
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