The Profile Or Advertorial Feature
In this section, we will revisit the assignment's expectations and the steps necessary to complete the assignment effectively.
● Apply professional writing disciplines such as accuracy, style, relevance for the advertorial.
● Adapt your writing to accommodate different audiences.
● Produce fundamental documents for use in media and communication.
● Requirement: Develop an editorial article according to your brief to promote the product/service to the target audience/relevant stakeholder.
● Format: an editorial article containing 700-1,000 words, pictures, figures and other contents
● Objectives:
- Your article must have a word count ranging from 700 to 1,000 words.
- It must also have accompanying features such as illustrative images or designs, key figures or statistics and any other element that you think works best in delivering the message to your desired audience.
- The article must be suitable for publication based on a target mass media or social media.
- Apply storytelling technique, feature, news values as well as alternative angles/hooks.
- Achieve a harmonious balance between textual (paragraphs, sentences, words, etc.) and visual components (images, illustrations, figures, etc.) in order to attract attention.
● Suggested tools: Canva and Adobe InDesign are recommended tools to design the layout of your article
● Suggested assignment structure:
- Title
- Subtitle
- Byline
- Introduction
- Body paragraphs (1-4)
- Conclusion
In this segment, we will take another look at the terminology associated with assignment that is discussed within the context of the course.
|
Term |
Definition |
|
News value |
A news value is considered a criteria used by journalists and reporters in assessing the newsworthiness of stories and streams of information. Here are all of them: timeliness, proximity, significance, prominence, conflict, human interest, oddity, currency (relevance), consequence, trend, social justice. |
|
News hook/angle |
This is a nuance of a story that renders it appealing, interesting or newsworthy to a certain audience. They are pivotal as they can attract the reader’s attention by tackling the same story that could be irrelevant in one aspect to being hugely relevant in another. |
|
Editorial article |
This type of article often intends to project the author’s perspective and opinion on a specific issue. For this assignment, your task is to compose an opinionated article regarding the matter described in your brief in a positive, favorable light. |
In this step, we will discuss in detail each component and its requirements within the assignment.
Within the project summary section, pay more attention to any standout feature and key message the brand highlights. Your task is to deliver these values in your article in a subtle, intimate manner.
For the target audience segment, your priority should always be the primary class of audience. You are recommended to think of the secondary audience with the thought: “it’d be nice to be able to include them, but if that feels forced, then don’t”. In addition, despite the fact that several key information regarding the audience has been provided, you should broaden your target audience research with the following directions:
● “What” questions: What is their online identity? What social media platforms do they use? What activities do they often do, virtually and in real life, that might be connected to your brand values? What are the ways your article can reach them?
● “How” questions: How do they utilize their spare time, virtually and in real life? How often do they read online newspapers? How do they access the internet and their social media (computer, laptop, phone, etc.)?
● “Why” questions: Why should they read your article? Or easier, why can they locate your article? Why are your brand values believable?
Note that you don’t actually have to perform or cite any research results in this assignment. However, the understanding you get after answering these questions will help you decide the format, platform and approach your article takes on.
Example: your client is GrabFood and your target audience is generation Z (born 1996 - 2010). From your research, you know that they are digital native, familiar with multiple digital platforms, enjoy good cuisine and are diverse diners. They often turn to online ordering to save time and effort while also being able to enjoy a restaurant-made meal.
Another example takes on the form of Manwah’s commercial advertising video. Aimed at a younger audience, the Taiwanese hotpot chain delivers the message of family reunion at the end of the year by redefining what it means to be a “family”. Instead of being rigidly dictated by traditions, Manwah believes that a year-end family bonding session can extend beyond blood ties, emphasizing that with enough love, we can come together as a complete and harmonious unit without the need for shared lineage.
More details on this narrative can be viewed here.
(Disclaimer: This is only a guide to choosing and adopting a narrative, you should develop your own approach to promote the brand values suggested by the brief)
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