For the past semester I sold my soul to Nissan and TCU's NSAC Campaigns competition team. There were definitely some times I stopped and asked myself "what were you thinking?!"But in the end it turned out to be a rewarding and great learning experience.
What does this have to do with media ethics, you ask? Well, I think it is important as a student who is about to enter the working world to understand the inner-workings of a true, start to finish, advertising (or anything that falls into your expertise) campaign. And I learned just that through this experience!
One of the most important things I learned, which sort of involves ethical thinking, is how a group operates. I have never fully grasped how integral the success of a project is on the positive energy of a group. Transparency is key. This seems obvious considering the field we are in, but when working with people you have to be upfront even if it could potentially hurt people's feelings. If someone's idea is not good, let them know. If someone did something wrong, let them know. If you can't contribute in the best capacity, let people know. There is always a solution and if you aren't upfront, it becomes apparent later on when negative situations present themselves.
Looking at a situation from start to finish, not jumping the gun and making decisions without being fully informed is another key thing to remember when taking something like this on. We were constantly reminded about what is going on with competitors. You can't just focus on the client at hand rather you must have a grasp of what is going on in the ever changing market place. This will effect the success of your campaign up until the moment you launch it.
This only scratches the surface of the lessons learned. But, to me, these are the most important aspects of a successful campaign and success in your professional path. I have much more to learn and huge hurdles ahead of me but I am thankful of the knowledge gained through this experience.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
More Kony 2012 Responses: Uganda Speaks
As I've outlines before, there are various responses to the whole Kony 2012 movement. From an unknown student blogger becoming the head of the anti-Kony 2012 movement, to the founder of Invisible Children being arrested for disorderly conduct and public indecency, the Kony 2012 video is the perfect example of "no good deed goes unpunished".
While what the Kony movement by Invisible Children was approached with good will, there are a lot of fundamental issues with it. As previously discussed, it is a trendy thing to be apart of the cause for Africa. Wearing something to show off how involved and selfless you are is a cool thing to do-how selfless is it? A large majority of the negative feedback for Kony is that it was an Americanized, simplified version of the real issue and a lot of the problems associated with Kony have been solved. Not only do people not know where Joseph Kony is right now, but they don't want to wake a sleeping giant.
The video, made by Ugandans that feature Ugandans, is a short, documentary that has little frills and, unlike the original Kony video, is from the Ugandan point of view. What is more commendable is that it shows students, journalists, their twitter feeds and how involved, educated and aware they are. We Americans have this skewed view that Ugandans are helpless when they are in fact aware of what is going on and the current events of the county. This video was strategically debuted on April 20th, the night supporters of the Make Kony Famous movement were called to "cover the night" and put up photos and posters of Joseph Kony to make him infamous. This case and the ongoing opposition and second views is a prime example of how mob-mentality, especially when cause based, can be misleading. Mass communication and viral videos have a huge impact, we just have to be sure to check our facts before we jump to conclusions.
Check out this Huffington Post article for the video and more information on Uganda Speaks.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/20/uganda-speaks-kony-2012_n_1441889.html?ref=impact
While what the Kony movement by Invisible Children was approached with good will, there are a lot of fundamental issues with it. As previously discussed, it is a trendy thing to be apart of the cause for Africa. Wearing something to show off how involved and selfless you are is a cool thing to do-how selfless is it? A large majority of the negative feedback for Kony is that it was an Americanized, simplified version of the real issue and a lot of the problems associated with Kony have been solved. Not only do people not know where Joseph Kony is right now, but they don't want to wake a sleeping giant.
The video, made by Ugandans that feature Ugandans, is a short, documentary that has little frills and, unlike the original Kony video, is from the Ugandan point of view. What is more commendable is that it shows students, journalists, their twitter feeds and how involved, educated and aware they are. We Americans have this skewed view that Ugandans are helpless when they are in fact aware of what is going on and the current events of the county. This video was strategically debuted on April 20th, the night supporters of the Make Kony Famous movement were called to "cover the night" and put up photos and posters of Joseph Kony to make him infamous. This case and the ongoing opposition and second views is a prime example of how mob-mentality, especially when cause based, can be misleading. Mass communication and viral videos have a huge impact, we just have to be sure to check our facts before we jump to conclusions.
Check out this Huffington Post article for the video and more information on Uganda Speaks.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/20/uganda-speaks-kony-2012_n_1441889.html?ref=impact
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
African Movement, Hipsters and Kony
I found a particularly interesting article today that really put into nice terms the whole "Kony Thing". Now, I'm not even going to touch the fact that the man behind the Kony 2012 movement was arrested for public indecency (among other things..) but while people's hearts seem to be in the right place, there is an interesting connection in the culture we are experiencing today. Toms, Kony, volunteering in Africa; they are all more than just a chance to do something good. There is a "cool factor" to these things. You are seen as an individual and hip but these represent a greater issue of how we over-simplify the issues in our world.
I'll go ahead and let you know, I am traveling to Africa in June. I want to be upfront and transparent, I chose to go to Africa because my parents were willing to send me, a friend was going through a good program, and the likely hood of me having the opportunity to travel in Eastern Africa in my imminent adult life is very low. I decided to take this chance and while I am doing some volunteer work, I am also traveling and seeing the landscape so many people talk about.
I am not saying, that going to Africa to chill with orphans, buying a pair of shoes, or getting a Kony call to action kit is a bad thing. In fact, I think it is great to get involved! But, the issue lies in blindly buying into a marketing scheme when there are more complex issues facing our world today. What our generation is wanting to do is to help while being an individual and impacting the world-all great intentions. But we have to look at the marketing behind these to understand that it is, in some cases, buying into a corporate machine.
What the Kony movement did, however, was show us how a conversation is possible through all of this. The world was rocked with the 30 minute video getting millions of views in one night. But then the wold has a discussion weighing the pro's and con's of buying an action box, a bracelet, accessorizing your mission. Our world is so much smaller that is was ten years ago with the internet making everything at our fingertips. We, as a generation, are able to look into what the world is doing and truly decide if it is a cause worth pursuing, looking at the bigger picture. It's amazing the power marketing has on cause related companies. Toms has their shoes, Kony has the bracelet, it's not just about giving back. It is about buying into the identity of the company and adopting it as part of yours. This article has a very interesting take on it, I suggest you read up. Maybe there is some changes we need to make in how we think we can solve the world's problems.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-kalan/saying-goodbye-to-hipster_b_1394729.html
I'll go ahead and let you know, I am traveling to Africa in June. I want to be upfront and transparent, I chose to go to Africa because my parents were willing to send me, a friend was going through a good program, and the likely hood of me having the opportunity to travel in Eastern Africa in my imminent adult life is very low. I decided to take this chance and while I am doing some volunteer work, I am also traveling and seeing the landscape so many people talk about.
I am not saying, that going to Africa to chill with orphans, buying a pair of shoes, or getting a Kony call to action kit is a bad thing. In fact, I think it is great to get involved! But, the issue lies in blindly buying into a marketing scheme when there are more complex issues facing our world today. What our generation is wanting to do is to help while being an individual and impacting the world-all great intentions. But we have to look at the marketing behind these to understand that it is, in some cases, buying into a corporate machine.
What the Kony movement did, however, was show us how a conversation is possible through all of this. The world was rocked with the 30 minute video getting millions of views in one night. But then the wold has a discussion weighing the pro's and con's of buying an action box, a bracelet, accessorizing your mission. Our world is so much smaller that is was ten years ago with the internet making everything at our fingertips. We, as a generation, are able to look into what the world is doing and truly decide if it is a cause worth pursuing, looking at the bigger picture. It's amazing the power marketing has on cause related companies. Toms has their shoes, Kony has the bracelet, it's not just about giving back. It is about buying into the identity of the company and adopting it as part of yours. This article has a very interesting take on it, I suggest you read up. Maybe there is some changes we need to make in how we think we can solve the world's problems.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-kalan/saying-goodbye-to-hipster_b_1394729.html
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