Elem.Assess. 3 (video)

Dear MAR 6336 Students:

I’ve been grading your Element Assessment assignments and although I will provide each of you

with individual feedback, I want to provide some general observations that I’ve made regarding

your collective performance on this assignment series. I suggest that you do not submit your

Element Assessments 3 and 4 until you have received your individual feedback on at least

Element Assessment 1. (You can start them early if you’d like, but don’t submit them until you

have feedback on at least one of the first two assessments.)

Remember, these are general observations that may or may not apply directly to you individually

with respect to your performance on Assessments 1 and 2, but keep these in mind for your

subsequent assessments.

1. Focus your descriptions, evaluations, and recommendations on *design elements* only. The design elements must in some way relate to the communication format being assessed for

that particular assignment: music for Assessment 3 and static text for Assessment 4. Do not

discuss higher-level conceptual ideas, but instead focus instead on base-level, detailed design

elements. If the discussion of this concept or idea would have occurred prior to giving it to the

creative team, it's potentially a higher-level concept or idea that does not belong in your element

assessment assignment.

Know the difference between a design element and an ad component. The car in the ad is a

component of the design, but it’s not a basic design element. The direction or flow or implied

motion, etc. would be design elements. The car could be replaced with a motorcycle or a runner

or a gazelle, etc., but the design element of implied motion and direction would still be present.

Remember that you can be “creative” in using design elements that wouldn’t normally be used

for that particular communication format. In addition to discussing the tempo of the music,

perhaps you’ll discuss the music in terms of “background/foreground” (Krause, p. 24), “pointing

elements” (Krause, p. 60), or “minimalism” (Krause, p. 44). In addition to discussing the font

size of the static text or the phrasing or tone for what is said in the text, perhaps you’ll discuss

the text/writing in terms of “value and conveyance” (Krause, p. 92), “restraint and punch”

(Krause, p. 138), or “framing” (Krause, p. 54). Maybe you’ll discuss the music or the static text

in terms of the “flavor” (a taste element) or “brittle nature” (a touch element) or “pungency” (a

smell element). Note that the majority of your selected elements should clearly pertain to the

focal communication format, but it’s okay to select one or two that move you outside the design

critic’s comfort zone.

2. Make sure to state what you feel are the Target Audiences, Marketing Goals, and

Communication Objectives of the examined communication piece. This is an essential part

of the element-focused evaluation. How can you say that the element is portrayed in a helpful or

hurtful manner if you don't do it within the context of what you feel are the objectives of the ad?

Don't just state the purpose as a simple inform, remind, persuade, or connect. Discuss more

specifically what you think the advertiser is trying to accomplish with this ad. The advertiser is

trying to “inform” the audience of what? “Persuade” them to do what?

For the marketing goals, consider the business side of the efforts. Do they seem to want more

sales volume? More sales revenue? More market share? Are they trying to move into a new

geographic or demographic or psychographic marketspace? Do they want to build more brand

equity so they can charge higher prices?

For the communication goals, be more specific to this ad moment. What will they achieve from

this ad with respect to the brand hierarchy or the AIDA model or the marketing/communication

funnel? It doesn’t matter that you weren’t there in the planning meeting for the advertising brand

(they may not have thought this through either). But it’s crucial that you have context for your

evaluations. (And remember that the target audience is another part of that context.)

3. Write at least several sentences to a full paragraph for each cell entry. Single words

and/or one-liners are not A, B, or C grade work. It states CLEARLY at the top of the template in

bold and underlined words: “NOTE: although there are no limitations to how much you can

write, you should write at least several sentences to a full paragraph for each cell entry.”

4. Keep your description sections focused ONLY on describing the ad from the perspective

of the focal communication format. If you’re focusing on music, don’t discuss the visuals. If

you’re focusing on static text, don’t discuss the rest of the visual imagery (unless it’s to make a

contrast or with respect to placement, etc.).

5. Keep your descriptions, evaluations, and recommendations separate with no overlap. Do

NOT start evaluating in the description sections. Save any evaluation, assessments, judgments,

etc. for the evaluation sections. Also, don’t place evaluations in your recommendations sections.

You need to use the evaluation section to discuss any concerns so that you can set yourself up to

provide the recommendations in the proper section.

Think of it this way. You describe to the creative team your take on how a particular design

element is used/portrayed in the ad. The creative team members feel good that you recognize the

use of these design elements and can talk their language (to some degree). Then, you tell them

how this particular usage/portrayal of the design element influences the general communication

in a particular way, which (you tell them) is counter to the communication and marketing goals

for the campaign. Now they’re worried because they’re not getting the job done to your

satisfaction. But you then offer your solution to the concerns by recommending changes that you

state clearly are backed up by the rationale that the changes will indeed help to reach the

marketing and communication goals. Now the design team goes to work on what they know will

be a better ad design. Describe. Evaluate. Recommend. Keep them separate. Keep the first

isolated to only a non-judgmental description. Keep the evaluations and recommendations in

context to the goals. Justify the recommendation with respect to those same goals.

6. Evaluate your design elements and make your recommendations with respect to the

proposed target markets and your stated marketing goals and communication objectives. Yes, you can discuss how the usage/portrayal of the element impacts general communication, but

in the end, the assessment has to have context. Does the manner in which the design element is

constructed, used, or portrayed help the ad reach its communication and marketing goals? Or

does it hurt the chances of reaching those goals? All evaluations must be made in context.

Recommendations must have context as well. How will your proposed changes help reach the

proposed communication and marketing goals? The more justification and rationale you have

for your recommendations, the more likely key people in the organization will listen to what you

have to say.

7. If you think your examined ad is perfect and needs no recommendations, then either

you're not looking/thinking hard enough or you're not being bold enough. Part of becoming

a "master" of marketing is building the confidence to make recommendations even when you're

not feeling like the ultimate expert in that area. Give us something. Be bold. If you truly feel

that a particular element was used/portrayed/designed perfectly for the given objectives and

audience, then tell how you would change it if a different audience or objective were the case.

(In other words, you can't get out of this part of the assignment by claiming ad perfection.) Also,

you’re “required” to give recommendations for at least two of your chosen design elements.

Doing only what is “required” is not necessarily sufficient to garner the accolades of

“outstanding” (i.e., A-quality) work.

8. Proofread for typos/errors in your writing. Whether English is your first language or your

fifth (or anywhere in between), it's critical in a marketing program (and particularly an Integrated

Marketing Communications course) to use proper spelling and grammar. We suggest

Grammarly (there's a free version) and/or having a friend read through for both meaning and

grammar. Don't lose points here when you don't need to. But… content is still more important

than perfect grammar.

9. Read through the modules in Week 4 that pertain to the Music and Static Text formats. They might provide some insights in how to evaluate (if you're looking for those insights).

Remember, although you should get started now, please wait for your individual feedback before

submitting the final versions of Element Assessments 3 and 4.

One more thing... You're in Week 4, which means that your first term is pretty much at the

halfway mark! Congratulations!

Best regards,

Prof. Miyazaki