MORE OPPORTUNITIES, REAL EQUALITIES! 2016-2-RO01-KA105-024900
PROIECT FINANTAT DE UNIUNEA EUROPEANA
CONTENT: 1.Summary 2.Volunteers 3.Media Campaign. 4.Study Case.
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Introductory Word Our project „More opportunities real equity!” is a follow up of another voluntary project- „Young volunteers for rural entrepreneurship” RO-21-169-2013-R3, project financed by Youth in Action program – Action 2 (https://yvreevs.wordpress.com/page/4/). The specific objectives of the project are: – promoting transnational mobility through voluntary participation of a total number of 6 young people in voluntary activities in support of Roma communities in Valcea County. – reducing the school abandon and increasing the interest for the educational act in Roma communities where the voluntary activities will be implemented. – increasing the spirit of tolerance and the fighting against any form of discrimination and xenophobia against Roma communities. – promoting non-formal education as a way of acquiring new knowledge and skills both by volunteers and by beneficiaries of voluntary activities. – increasing youth interest in participating in the project for sports and outdoor activities. – promoting the European values such as respect for human dignity, democracy, freedom, respect for law and respect for human rights, including respect for minority rights. We are 6 volunteers, young people with fewer opportunities, with ages between 22 and 30 years.
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The main activities of the project are: • organizing workshops on themes of painting, drawing, photography, film and communication for students and young people from six rural communities of Roma in Valcea County. • organizing sport and outdoor activities for students and young people from six rural communities of Roma in Valcea county. • organizing a media campaign on European values in six rural communities of Roma in Valcea county. • Performances of labyrinth theatre in 6 rural Roma rural communities from Valcea County. The project activities will be implemented by using different non formal education methods as: role plays, labyrinth-theatre, workshops, public debates, photo-voice, living library, open space. The results of the project will be: • innovative stage of voluntary in support of rroma rural communities • webpage of the project • brochure in english and the languages of the partners regarding the set up of a media campaign for voluntary activities • media campaign In this book we will describe our media campaigns „Non-free Hugs” and „Treasure hunting”.
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VOLUNTEERS:
ONUR MUSTAFA GUMUS-TURKEY Hello, I’m Onur from Turkey. I’m 24 years old. I living Tekirdag and i finished the Department of Local Governments of Canakkale 18 Mart University. I have been in many business fields. I also made the university comunity presidency. I did 8 years of theater and folk drama. My second job is optician. I also worked in many sales stores. I chose this project to love children and to touch the lives of „Roma Community” children. Also i wanted to meet people from all over the world and travel and EVS is perfect chance for this.
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ALI TUNC DURSUN-TURKEY. My name Ali. I am from Turkey Istanbul.I studied Turkish Language and Literature in Istanbul University. Before I come Romania I was working in high school as Turkish teacher. I like to get new experiences friends travel and history. In my free times I prefer to read book or develop my cook skills. Now In Romania I started to learn new skills. I am really happy about it. Thanks
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TAMTA MTIBELASHVILI-GEORGIA Hello, i’m Tamta from Georgia. I’m 26 years old. I graduated Cultural tourism faculty of Shota rustaveli Theater and Film University. I worked many sphere in Georgia. I was assistant of casting manager, director of project, which one was about Georgian people, who is 100 or more years old and also i was operator in this project:), i was organizing team member of Theater and Film International festivals and the last work was, in Monitoring center-in television department. I tried myself in many sphere and now i want to try everything in EVS. I choose EVS and this project, because of Romma community. I always interests the communities traditions ans cultures, different from mine. Also i wanted to meet people from all over the world and travel and EVS is perfect chance for this. 7
OLENA ZAMULINA-BELARUS Hello! I’m Lena Zamulina from Belarus. I love Romania, I know Romanian language and I came here to do good things for my favourite country. I’m 30 years old, graduated from Belarusian Pedagogical University, psychology faculty. In my country I worked as a teacher of English.
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HAYASTAN SARGSYAN-ARMENIA Something that is not included in my resume is that currently I am doing practices at school working with pupils at sixth grade. Also I have been privately teaching beginners and intermediates with no age restriction, since 2013.I am willing to volunteer in another country as it is very challenging and horizon broadening. Working with a diversity of people belonging to the same culture is really entertaining , but when you get the chance to do it with people belonging to a different culture, it gets more intriguing and much more rewarding. My organisation and sports skills would also play a considerable role in this journey. 9
JOSE TOMAS MORROBEL-SPAIN My name is Jose Tomas, im 20 years old. I was born in Spain, Madrid my mother is from Dominican Republic and my father is from Spain, so im half Spanish half Dominican.During my life I been living always in Madrid, my native town.All my life I been interested in technology and everything relational with them so I graduated in Microcomputer and networking systems.Now I want to do something different so I decided go to a EVS to grow as person and to gain experience in other fields.
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GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN-ARMENIA Gohar is my name and surname Abrahamyan! I’m from Planet Earth:) MORE detailed from Yerevan which is the capital of Republic of Armenia: magnificence country of history and glorious ppl! I’ve graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Laws from the Eurasia International University in 2015. I did 1 year exchange in Italy, Viterbo: una citta belissima! I’ve been worked in Transparency International Anti-corruption center as an citizen-observer for 2 years, then later as a Local Coordinator for 2 years! 11
For now I plan to do LLM in UK. Why am I here in Romania?! I think this EVS program is a unique chance to broaden one’s focus and to dive into interdisciplinary research.I want to get a chance to grow both personally and academically, be provided with new insights and approaches, and get an opportunity to widen my horizons about the world.My ultimate goal is to work with research in order to improve human resource capacity building through training. I want to change the world to better, by being the change that I want to see in the world!) I think this type of networking is very important for integration of different ideas and perspectives pertaining to diverse global issues. I believe that this EVS project would not only empower my career development, but would give me the framework to utilize my full potentials. I’m a happy person, love sarcasm and deep thoughts with red dry wine! My free time I like to to travel,read, cook etc I love all kind of sport, mostly: swimming, cycling, hiking, I like intelectual games such as chess, mafia etc I like international law so I’m also interested in world global politics, environmental issues such as global warming and nuclear war and ofc globalization! I like to learn new things, to meet new ppl and experience different cultures. Thanks for your time! ..and be careful with your time remember this quote „Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana!”
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What is a Media Campaign? Definition: A media campaign is a coordinated managing effort to reinforce or assist with a goals using one or more social media platforms. Campaigns differ from everyday social media efforts because of their increased focus, targeting and measurability. The steps to make a success media campaign are: 1. Define the problem. Establish the campaign objectives within the organizational framework. 2. Assess the impact of the problem on the public and on the organization and clearly define the 1. components of this problem. 2. Develop an organizational strategy in relation to the mission of the organization. 3. Determine a communication strategy to achieve the objectives. 4. Plan activities, topics and calls for the public. In order to develop a functional plan, decide on 5. what the emphasis will be laid: on advertisements, informing the public and/or promotion. 6. Devise a plan of organizational responsibilities, budgets and schedules. 7. Decide which are the best tactics to accomplish the established strategy and 8. how each aspect will be monitored. 9. Assess the results and effectiveness of the program Basic questions 1. What is the situation that the organisation is facing? 2. Where does this situation stem from? 3. Which is the significance or importance of the situation? Circumstantial questions Questions regarding the context of the problem: 1. Is it the first occurrence of the problem or is it an older problem, which entails changes in the existent communication programme? 2. What has caused this situation? 3. Might the cause have to do with a given conflict? 4. What is the background of this situation? 5. Which are the main aspects related to this situation? 6. Does this situation concern the relationship between the organisation and another group? Questions regarding the consequences of the problem: 1. How important is this situation for the mission of the organisation? Important 2. How does the situation relate to the mission and the overall perspective of the organisation? 13
In what extent is a reaction towards the situation justified? Which is the probable duration of the situation? Who or what is affected by this situation ? What predictions or trends could be associated with this situation? (They could concern organisational, industrial, national or community matters.) 7. Which is the potential impact of the situation on the mission of the organisation? 8. Is this situation an opportunity (positive) or a menace (negative) for your organisation? Why? If you consider it a menace, how can you convert it into an opportunity? Question for finding solutions: 1. Could information (its quantity or quality) have an influence on solving this situation? 2. How could this situation be solved for the benefit of all the factors involved? Which is the PR or communication priority for employees related to this situation? 3. And for the management? 4. How determined is the organisation to solve this situation? 3. 4. 5. 6.
Tips for Prepare an Encounter with the Media 1. Find out background information about the reporters you are going to meet 2. Do not assume that reporters know everything about the organisation or product (frequent mistake among managers); prepare a presentation on the organisation or the product; it is recommendable that a portfolio be offered beforehand; 3. Some topics must not be brought forward owing to legal or safety concerns. Specify them beforehand and provide a sensible explanation; 4. Make sure you have prepared replies for awkward situations; 5. Assist reporters in writing down or remembering information; 6. Present the information briefly; always speak to the point; 7. Make sure to include contact data for eventual inquiries; 8. Avoid jokes, stick to the point, less rambling the better; 9. Do not go beyond your area of expertise; 10. Use statistic data, graphics, and verified information offered by specialised institutions; 11. Pay attention to body language; 12. Avoid saying “No comment�; 13. Visualise your speech, be loud in your speech using rhetorical art of talking, make sure you look a person straight in the eyes while carrying on a conversation sends a few clear messages to your interlocutor: 14. No talking off the record;
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Steps to make a success media campaign 1. Determine the problem to resolve. In this case, we will use as problem ‘’School abandon of children from Roma communities in Romania’’ . What it is? : It is a complex problem that includes the differences of Roma traditions and the traditions of modern Romanian community, the economical status of Roma people, lack of home education. 2. Assess the impact of the problem on the public and clearly define the components of this problem. What are the social consequences if we do not begin to implement good practices of non-formal education within Roma communities? -Roma children will remain not enough educated and they will not have wellpaid jobs in the future and continue depending on other people, ask them for money, steal and so on. -Families, industries, businesses, and the state spend money to support Roma people like the poor, vulnerable part of the society. -The problem of non-acceptance of Roma people will continue to exist in Romania and it is not corresponding with the policy of the European state.. 3. Develop an organizational strategy in relation to the mission of the organization. In this part we have to develop the strategy to implement the main objectives of the organization, we should think about the activities that can promote the main ideas. The organizational strategy is not only a set of certain actions, in is a well planned system of actions, that has time limits, certain order and aims. 4. Determine a communication strategy to achieve the objectives. Here we try to “find the common language” taking in account our cultural differences. In our project this step was very important from the beginning. And it was not only because of the English level of some of us and more because of our personal differences. But we tried to understand each other and to do activities together. It was not always a success. 5. Plan activities, topics and calls for the public. In order to develop a functional plan, decide on what the emphasis will be laid: on advertisements, informing the public and/or promotion.If you put the emphasis on advertisement the best channels will be internet, radio, TV. You can create banners and put them in the places where your potential territory can see them. If you want to emphasize informing the people you also can use these channels, but say more not about your main aim, but about the related issues. For example, you want to increase the number of Roma students in schools. You don’t say about it, you say about the importance of the education, about the talents of Roma people and so on. 6. Devise a plan of organizational responsibilities, budgets and schedules. Here you decide who responds for every aspect or action in your campaign, how the money will be spread and what is your schedule. These points are extremely important and 15
it is better to write down them and to consult them during the realization period. 7. Decide which are the best tactics to accomplish the established strategy and how each aspect will be monitored. 8. Here you should take in account the resources, the opportunities, links and so on. In voluntary environment you should also pay attention on motivation of all the participants. Doing the media campaign should bring satisfaction, not only practical results. 9. Assess the results and effectiveness of the program. To decide if the program was successful remember what objectives you had in the beginning. Maybe you wanted to increase the number of followers on your web-page, maybe you wanted to make some social actions in several places and your objective was just the number of people seeing it. Here we do the analysis and think about our future steps – either we continue to promote our ideas, or we receive new followers. Ideas that ask us to change our strategy.
IMPLEMENTATION OF MEDIA CAMPAIGN Choosing a theme. Success or failure of a media campaign depends largely on creativity. Creativity consists in an riginal approach for each target audience through words and symbols (and images where applicable). Therefore, an original topic is likely to entice the public. However, a good topic will not save a bad campaign. To avoid this situation, a careful choice of channels and messages to be used is recommended. The message will be chosen based on the target audience (for each category of audience) and the communication channel will correspond to each type of audience. Therefore, it is imperative to establish or know what we want to convey to the target audience. What do we want the audience to keep in mind? Only by answering these questions, can we correctly elaborate the message to be sent. The whole media campaign will focus on a certain message, representative for the campaign. This is referred to as „axis” or central theme, that is, a reference point around which the entire media campaign is built. All the future messages will be elaborated starting from this reference point. The central theme is the central idea from which all PR actions develop. The axis is also the linking idea, the unifying element of the message, the bedrock of the campaign, which ensures greater consistency and uniformity of messages; it is the central idea out of which all PR actions stem from. In order to provide an accurate definition for the theme, several steps have to be followed7: • The objective of the campaign: it is very important that both the theme and the entire media campaign be defined, elaborated and implemented starting from this objective. For example, in the case of a new product that is to be launched, emphasis will be laid on the product itself, on its merits and features, on the very novelty. If by promoting a given product, we intend to change opinions or behaviours, the focus will be on the benefits the product provides for the public. 16
• Target audience: knowing the target audience is highly important as the entire campaign must be tailored to its very needs. A significant advantage of choosing the theme refers to the fact that it favours mediation between different audiences, thus a product can be described as modern and avant-garde, to attract young people love, but also as conservative for the elderly and useful for practical people. For instance, Danone’s central theme is usefulness. As such, Danone has as many different campaigns as many audiences; nevertheless, the common theme is the usefulness of the product: 1. The product is useful for children because it contains calcium and vitamins (Danonino) 2. The product is useful for the elderly and pensioners, whose income is not very high, because it is not expensive (Danone House Good) 3. The product is useful for women because it helps solve some health related problems (Danone Activia) Thus, through a common theme, different types of consumers can be reached. Once the theme has been established, the next step of the campaign will be addressed: the slogan
Choosing a slogan The slogan is a key phrase that accompanies each message. It should be clear, concise and easy to remember. The theme of the campaign is conveyed through the slogan. Therefore, the slogan stems from the theme. 17
Examples: ▪ Novelty: The public has always wanted to keep up with changes and novelty. We live in a dynamic world, which is constantly changing, a world characterised by the new. Thus, many campaigns have novelty as their theme, the slogan emphasising the very novelty. ▪ Health: The society has become ever more interested in the products and services it uses. The public wants only healthy products, which are not a threat to their health. Consequently, more and more campaigns have chosen health related themes as the slogan presented the features of the „healthy” product. ▪ Humour: Numerous campaigns have chosen humour as their central theme, the slogan being elaborated so that it amuses the public. Creating a message (a slogan) entails a great deal of attention. In this stage of the campaign, we aim at capturing attention, stirring imagination. Therefore, messages have to be original, and the techniques and strategies used should draw attention.
Communication techniques The techniques used to draw people’s attention are universally valid. Nevertheless, it is important to bear in mind the budget and establish the most appropriate techniques according to it: some techniques require bigger budgets. In PR, a great budget does not necessarily guarantee the success of a campaign. Conversely, there have been some interesting campaigns conducted with small budgets. However, big budgets provide the advantage of choosing among several available 18
techniques, out of which some might require large amounts of money. It is nevertheless true that small budgets can beget interesting campaigns when the focus is laid on creativity. Thus, based on the budget, a smaller or greater number of techniques may be used, some of which may be simpler or more elaborate. Campaigns for which big budgets are available will resort to vast media campaigns by dint of audio-visual channels, such as television, radio, internet, intensive promotion campaigns, press conferences, meetings with representatives of the printed media; campaigns benefiting from smaller budgets will draw attention through a simple, yet ingenious tactic or strategy. Regardless of the budget, each strategy will be directly linked to a certain objective in order to facilitate the latter’s achievement. Strategies will also be directly linked to the target audience. There are two main techniques described in literature: mass communication and specialised communication Mass communication aims at a large, undifferentiated audience, that is large groups of people. The main types of mass communication are: public relations, media relations, lobbying, propaganda, advertising, direct communication and sponsorship. Specialised communication aims at well defined target audiences. This type of communication entails that both parties communicate directly, without any intermediary. It is also called “proximity communication,” the distance between the organization and the audience being minimized. This category includes the following techniques: direct meetings, phone, product promotion, exhibitions, meetings, conferences and events. Another category is added to the previous two and this is internal communication, which addresses the internal audience of the organisation. This category includes: internal newspaper, the organisation’s training program, billboards, indoor events on various occasions (Christmas, Easter). As a conclusion to the above mentioned, choosing the most appropriate technique is a matter of knowing the objectives, the target audience, the available budget and elaborating the message so that it meets the audience’s needs.
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Identifying the communication strategy Strategy can be understood as a determination of long-term objectives, as a system defining the course of action and allocating the necessary resources to perform these actions. It is therefore an action plan that provides guidelines and major themes of the campaign. In devising the media campaign plan, the best strategy (strategies) to achieve the objective should be chosen. To this end, a list of possible strategies will be elaborated. The list should be rather comprehensive and should include even unfeasable ideas (as far as the financial and staff costs are concerned), thus offering a wide range of suggestions and allowing the choice of the ideal solution. These lists can be made either by a single specialist or a group of specialists; the latter is recommended for it allows the technique called brainstorming. There are several types of strategies, depending on the purpose of the media campaign: • Strategic inactivity; there are certain circumstances when the best strategy is to ignore and restrain from any action (for instance, when dealing with an organisation that has a bad reputation); • Information dissemination activities aim at presenting the organisation from its own standpoint: programmes for raising public awareness, press conferences, lobbying, public appearances of certain personalities or going on tours, correcting erroneous or malicious information. • Organising events entails sending information through spontaneous events, that is fairly unexpected events (discoveries, merges, lider changes), ceremonies (anniversaries, inaugurations), publicised staged events (charities, action launches) or through contests and competitions. • Promotional activities aim at asserting the organisation’s image through marketing tools (fairs, launches of new products, product demonstrations and testing), fund-raising (collecting money for disadvantaged people), scientific discoveries or civic activities. • Organisational activities aim to promote the organisation within its own „habitat” by building coalitions, organising conferences, conventions, seminars or through negotiation in order to resolve clashes among groups.
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Regardless of its type, strategy can be built from a series of coordinated events or only one. The purpose of any strategy is to achieve public awareness and recognition. To this end, current communication activities or special events can be organised. Choosing a certain strategy also depends on the organisation’s resources, the degree of audience accessibility, the campaign’s purpose, the actual circumstances, and last but not least, on the specialists’ skills and expertise. Building a strategy entails the following elements: a) Choosing a strategy: the most appropriate actions to achieve the established objective are chosen from the list; b) Researching and testing the strategy; c) Setting the communication plan: the communication elements which will buttress the strategy before, during or after each activity will be established; d) Specifying the schedule for the entire strategy; e) Setting the budget for each activity; f) Presenting the plan to the management of the organisation. Public relations therefore identify the organisation’s politics and procedures towards the public interest and elaborate and carry out a programme in order to gain public awareness and acceptance.
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Communication channels The following step in conducting a media campaign is choosing a communication channel to convey the message to the target audience. Most of the time, traditional channels such as media channels:television, radio, printed media, posting (outdoor or indoor) and internet will be used. The term massmedia comes from the Latin „medium” (plural media) and refers to „ technical supports which serve to transmit messages to a group of separate individuals. To some extent, it refers to communication machines and devices which reproduce handwriting .
Television Television is one of the most complex and amazing channels, combining the visual with movement and sound, thereby associating image, sound, text and movement. It is a channel that can convey not only messages in terms of information, but also sensations and feelings. Television can be defined as a set of principles, methods and techniques used for powered transmission of moving images on a communication channel. It is one of the most important technologies of communication. The word television is composed of a Greek word meaning “far” and a Latin word meaning “to see”11. 22
Television has three functions: information, entertainment and advertising. There are even some specialized TV stations on a particular function: eg. information function: news channels such as Euronews, CNN, Skynews. Characteristics ▪ Television is an art, which allures through novelty and simplicity. It should be intelligible to all. ▪ Nearly any media consumer owns a television set; the coverage is maxim. ▪ Television conveys both audio and visual messages; any type of event can be analysed in the slightest detail, through words and images. ▪ The effort is minimal, both on the side of the moderator, who uses images as a tool, and on the side of the viewer, who receives both information and image. ▪ Television can broadcast an event in real time (LIVE); the impact on the public is more significant that that of the printed media. ▪ It provides a wide range of programmes, information: TV programmes and shows for all ages and tastes. ▪ The theme is firstly conceived in images, and afterwards in words; the public is allured by images; the words only add meaning to the images. There is even a saying that goes, „An image is worth a thousand words”. Essentially, an image says it all. Let’s take for example the TV broadcast No Comment, which only includes images and no words. Radio is a more particular media channel. Its particularity is also a weakness: each broadcast is addressed to a limited number of listeners. Nonetheless, radio has become ever more popular, and thus, many radio stations addressing a larger audience have appeared for all ages and preferences. Characteristics • Radio, just like television, has the advantage of instantaneous communication for it conveys information in real time. • Radio is also a dynamic source unlike television. Thus, although less enticing than television for it lacks images, radio accompanies the audience everywhere: when travelling by car, or other means of transport, from home to work and back. Radio is therefore a ubiquitous information source, being used by all categories of people. • Radio is an excellent means of conveying messages to well defined segments of population. As a rule, people have their own preferences for a radio station or another and remain loyal to it. As such, radio stations benefit from loyal, well determined audiences. • Radio broadcasts entail lower costs than other communication channels (television for instance) • Sometimes, radio stations buttress campaigns with the help of television, by associating sounds with images viewed on TV.
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Disadvantages • Radio risks to become background noise when the audience does not pay attention to the information being sent. • Reduced impact for it lacks the visual. In determining the number of radio listeners, only those who have been listening to a radio broadcast for at least five minutes will be taken into account. Printed media Printed media is found in two forms: newspapers and magazines. They can be issued monthly, weekly or daily. The audience is established according to these criteria. Thus, daily newspapers address a wide audience, while magazines have a well determined audience. Both newspapers and magazines can sell advertising. Newspapers • Time flexibility. The public has access to newspapers seven days a week. Another advantage is that they are easier to make as compared to magazines, being available in 24 hours. • Space flexibility. Unlike television and radio, which are rigid channels in terms of structure, content and schedule, newspapers can alter their form and content according to a given problem as it arises. • Cost flexibility. From the point of view of advertising, newspaper provide the advantage of lower costs. Advertisements can be modified and even renewed daily. Television have higher advertising costs as advertisements are broadcasted several times a day, 24
which can lead to boredom among the public. • Geographic flexibility. This also holds true for radio and television. Messages can be adapted for each geographic region. There are regional newspapers, as well as local TV and radio • Visual effect. Like television, newspapers have the advantage of image. Therefore, as far as advertisements are concerned, the impact is rather high. Newspapers also provide the advantage of accessibility, being a storable source of information. Thus, the audience controls what amount of time will be allotted to reading or advertisements. As far as radio and television are concerned, everything takes places hurriedly, which explains message repetition. • A significant disadvantage, however, is the limited audience, unlike that of TV and radio stations.
Magazines: • Well determined audience. There are magazines for women, men or teenagers, magazines which address a certain field of activity such as medicine or sciences and magazines for entertainment and leisure: decorating, gardening, etc. This is why magazines have a well determined audience. • High quality. Magazines are superior to newspapers in terms of image quality, colours, neat page setup. • Detailed information. Daily papers offer immediate information. Magazines can provide a variety of opinions since they are elaborated in a different manner than newspapers. Newspapers,however, provide the advantage of fresh information. Posting (outdoor and indoor) Posting (outdoor and indoor) is a new communication channel unlike television, printed media and radio. Yet, shortly after it appeared, posting asserted itself like a significant media channel for conveying information. This category includes: billboards, posting inside or outside subways and other 25
means of transport. Nevertheless, posting should not be mistaken for logo (e.g. branded cars as property of a company have the name and logo of the company written on them.) As a rule, posting involves paying a fee. However, when talking about social and cultural events, posting can be free of charge Posters, just like television, have the advantage of being visual, which entices the viewer. Posters come in various formats and make large use of colour, lights and even sound and movement.
Internet The development of information technology worldwide in recent years is owing to Internet development first and foremost. Internet is an international means of conveying data connecting thousands of computer networks.15 Internet is said to be a huge and universal database, which can be easily accessed from anywhere. Internet is a part of mass media and unlike other media channels, it has the advantage of interactivity.16 Lately, Internet has become a more and more frequently used channel for sending messages. Thus, smaller or larger organisations have resorted to Internet as a means of direct contact with the public, through web pages, which promote organisations. Likewise, Internet has become an important way to advertise, more and more sites displaying advertisements. Internet has also provided a new way to do business: online sales. The influence of mass media on the public Mass media has a great influence on the public for it is a part of daily life. Its universal nature has determined specialists to analyse the way mass media influences society. Mass media effects can be felt in different areas of the society D. McQuail17 asserted that mass media influences all the sectors of the society, institutions, groups and individu26
als. It has an impact on people at different levels: cognitive (it changes people’s awareness of the world), emotional (it alters or creates feelings and attitudes) or behavioural (it alters the way individuals act, begets social mobilisation). Seen from a different perspective, mass media can sometimes have a short-term influence or it may need a longer period of time to become effective. Likewise, changes can be both desired or undesired, they can result out of a controlled process, such as media conferences, or out of the unexpected. Nowadays public seeks information from ever younger ages. Information sources come in a wide range, mass media being the leading source. Considerable attention should be paid to information conveyed by television, radio or internet. These are valuable information springs, nevertheless, not seldom do we witness aggressive news, portraying violence or delicate topics. Many times, children are the victims of the bad influence of mass media. Nowadays children begin to watch TV from an early age. Most of the stories they know have not been told to them by parents or teachers, but by „a handful of industrial groups that have to sell their products”18. Among the negative effects of television, the following are worth mentioning19: • Hypnotic effects; Neuropsychiatrists show that television, regardless of the programme being watched, has as first effect a state of semi-hypnose on the viewer’s cortex (alpha brain waves). This explains the alluring effect of mass media on anyone, especially children. It is virtually.
Evaluation of a media campaign Evaluation is a systematic analysis of the way the media campaign was conducted as well as an analysis of its results, which allows PR professionals and the organisation to determine whether the objectives have been achieved and progress has been made and last but not least, what needs to be improved. Evaluation should be seen as a continuous process conducted in all the phases of 27
media campaign: preparing the plan, applying the plan, assessing the impact of the campaign on different audiences and the organization. Thus, any gaps or errors could be readily noticed and corrected, with minimal losses. MEDIA CAMPAIGN FROM STUDY CASE INTO THE PRACTICE NON-FREE HUG CAMPAIGN!!! Our media-campaign was called „Non-free Hugs”. We received all the necessary permissions of the city authorities, we created the banner and went out to the city center doing hugs for 1 leu (Romanian currency). The idea was to collect money for buying clothes, toys, pens and excercise-books for Roma children from Colonie Nuci. It was new experience for us, we had to be open, communicative and active. People participated very enthusiastically, some of them gave more money that we asked for, because they wanted to help children. There were also some people who were negative, they didn’t believe that we will give money to children. They wanted to get a receipt from us. But we didn’t prepare it, we didn’t know that something like this exists. Language barrier was not very big. People understood the message seeing us hugging As a result we collected 470 lei,
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it is almost 120 dollars. We have bought intellectual games (Rubic cubes), books („The Little Prince�), pens and excersise books. 29
We think that our first media campaign was quite succeful and we wish these activities were spread all over the world. As advice for future REMEMBER that if your media campaign deals with money you schould get all the necessary permissions and documents and do exactly what is written on them. Success! Monthly reports make us think about life... We try to remember what activities we did and we see that we did much - some of them we even don’t remember. Personal activities are brighter in our memories.. And it’s ok. But we really do something, we are not passive. We change at least our lifes for the best. (Volunteer team)
www.more.fcasec.ro https://www.facebook.com/EVS-MORE-Rom%C3%A2nia-201718-1917624185182925/
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