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.
Proposal Writing
About Me
- Jin Liu (Jessica) junl@clemson.edu
- Office Hours: MW 2:20-4:20pm Office: Daniel 317
1 comment:
You've already justified your selection of six brands for this study, and focusing on three industries is a very systematic approach to this topic; however, for your selections of brands, does the country of origin factor into the cultural context of the commercial? In other words, I would like more detail about how you will select the 50-100 ads, (a large number in itself, particularly if you plan on modifying them), and how you know they reflect the cultures of high-context or low-context cultures.
I think you've identified some key points in your research instrument section, and by elaborating on these through you literature review, you might answer my question above. Once I understand more of what you are looking for, I might understand how it distinguishes the cultural values.
For your experiment set up, how do you plan on modifying the ads, selecting participants, and conducting the experiment? Will you try to conduct a true experiment or a quasi-experiment? Either way, your project plan will result in a very thorough research project, and your thoughts on the steps and the details at this point will help ensure the validity and reliability of your results.
Overall, I think you've accomplished a lot with the plan of the overall experiment and the project, but I would suggest explanation about the analysis of the commercials and the modification of them.
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