ad council content analysis
TRANSCRIPT
ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNatureJTC614:PublicCommunicationCampaigns
HayleyEveThompson
ABSTRACT
ThiscontentanalysisinvestigateshowtheDiscoveringNaturecampaignfromtheAdCouncilandtheU.S.ForestServicecultivatedsimilaritywithtargetaudiences.Themessageswerecodedforthecharacterdemographicsofrace,gender,andageforeachtargetsegment.Thesettingandactivityframeswerealsocoded.ThecontentanalysisfoundthatMaterialstargetedforAfricanAmericansfeaturedBlackcharactersandSpanishLanguagematerialsfeaturedHispaniccharacters.Theseresultssupportthetheorythatmessengersaremorelikelytobepersuasiveiftheyaresimilartothetargetaudience.
2 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature
TableofContentsSourceFactorsforPersuasion.............................................................................................................................................3TargetAudienceAnalysis......................................................................................................................................................5AdCouncilandDiscoveringNature..................................................................................................................................6Methods.......................................................................................................................................................................................10Hypothesis..................................................................................................................................................................................12Results..........................................................................................................................................................................................13Discussion...................................................................................................................................................................................19ListofFiguresFigure1 14Figure2 14Figure3 14Figure4 15Figure5 16Figure6 16Figure7 18Figure8 18
ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 3
Videogames.Television.Internet.Cellphones.Beyondthisshortlist,childrenare
stayinginsideformanyreasons.In2014theAdCouncillaunchedaDiscoveringNature
campaigntocombatthegrowingtendencyofchildrentostayinratherthanexplorenature.
Thecampaignwasdirectedatthreedistinctaudiences:AfricanAmericans,Spanish
speakers,andthegeneralpopulation(apresumedwhite,middleclassgroup…butthe
implicationsofthisisforarhetoricalscholartodiscuss).TheAdCouncildeveloped
campaignmaterialswithculturallyrelevantsymbolsandcharactersforeachofthespecific
audiences.
Theprincipleofsimilarity,orappealingtoatargetaudiencethroughlikeness,isan
importanttopicwhencampaignmanagerscreatethemessageandmaterials.Thiscontent
analysisoftheDiscoveringNaturecampaignswillcomparevisualcampaignmaterialsto
understandhowtherepresentationsofcharacters,activities,andsettingchangeforeach
targetaudience.Thisreportwillthendiscusshowthesourcefactorsforpersuasionwere
utilizedinselectingthemessengersforeachtargetaudience.Thefindingswillbeusefulto
connecthowaudiencesegmentationishelpfulwhencreatingcampaignmaterialsthatare
mostlikelytopersuadeatargetaudience.
SourceFactorsforPersuasionThepurposeofanymarketingcampaignistopersuadethetargetaudiencetodo
something.Insocialmarketing,thepurposeisnarrowedfurthertoinfluencingbehaviors
thatbenefittheindividualandsociety(Lee&Kotler,2016,8).Inordertoinfluence
audiencebehaviors,socialcampaignsutilizepersuasivetechniqueswithatargetaudience
inmind.Increasingsourcecredibilityandattractivenessisimportantforanycampaignto
besuccessful;eventhebestmessagestrategywillbehurtifthewrongcommunicator
4 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNaturedeliversit.Sourcecredibilityisthe“attitudetowardasourceofcommunicationheldata
giventimebyareceiver”whilesourceattractivenessreferstohow“likeable,similartothe
messagerecipients,andphysicallyappealing”thesourceis(Perloff,2014,237and250).
Theperceivedcredibilityandattractivenessofthesourcecandirectlyimpactthe
persuasivenessofthecampaign,thusimpactingtheinfluenceonbehaviors.Bothmustbe
consideredtodevelopmentthemoststrategiccampaignmaterials.
Credibilityiscultivatedthroughthreemajorfactors:expertise,trustworthiness,and
goodwill(Perloff,2014,242).Expertiseistheperceivedknowledgebasethatthesource
holdstowardasubject(Perloff,2014,242).Highlightingtheexpertiseofthecommunicator
isbestwhenthemessagereliesonfactsandlogictopersuadethereceivers.Tomany
receivers,trustworthinesscanoutweightheexpertiseofthesource.Trustworthiness
compriseshowobjectiveandhonestthesourceisperceivedtobe(Lee&Kotler,2016,
352).Sourceswillnotbeperceivedastrustworthy,orhavegoodwill,iftheaudiencedoes
notbelievethatthesourcehastheirbestinterestsinmind.Havinggoodwillincreasesthe
charismaofsourcesbecausehumanshaveasenseofempathy(Perloff,2014,242).
Socialattractivenessofthesource,althoughseeminglysuperficial,hasahugerole
onthepersuasion.Sourcesthatarelikeable,similartothemessagerecipient,and
physicallyappealingareperceivedasmoresociallyattractive,butthetargetaudience
heavilyinfluencesthesevariables(Perloff,2014,250).Itisunclearwhatexactfactors
enhancelikeability,yetthereisevidencethatlikeablecommunicatorscanchangeattitudes.
Likeablesourcescanfosterpositivethoughtsaboutthemessageastheymaketheaudience
feelgood.Likeablesourcesarealsosuccessfulatconveyinggoodwilltotheaudience
(Perloff,2014,250).Similaritybetweenthesourceandtheaudiencecanincreasethe
ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 5persuasiveaffectofthemessage.ResearchonHIVtestinginAfrican-Americanwomen
foundthattheaudiencewasmorelikelytofeelpositivelytowardthedesiredbehavior
whenthemessagewasdeliveredbyanAfrican-Americanfemale(Perloff,2014,250).
Similarityworksbecausepeoplecomparethemselvestoothers;ifsomeonewhoissimilar
endorsesaposition,thenthatpositionismorelikelytobeaccepted(Perloff,2014,252).
Lastly,physicallyattractivecommunicatorsareoftenmoreeffectivebecauseaudiencesare
morelikelytopaycloserattentiontothemessage.Physicalattractivenesshasbeenusedin
advertisingbecauseofthepositiveassociationbeautycreateswiththeproducts(Perloff,
2014,254).Thisfosterstheidiomthat“sexsells.”
Thiscontentanalysisismostinterestedintheelementsofsimilaritytothetarget
audienceforcampaignmessages.AsmentionedbyPerloff(2014),socialcampaignshave
foundincreasedsuccesswhenthemessengerwasrelatabletothetargetaudience.
Similarityisstrongestwhenheuristic,orquickvisualcues,aremorelikelytobeusedinthe
attitudeformationprocess(Perloff,2014,188-93).TheDiscoveringNaturecampaigndoes
notrequirealargecognitiveinvestmentbytheaudiencebecausetheprimarybehavior
objectiveisvisitingawebsite,sotheperipheralrouteofprocessingmaybetaken.The
communicator’ssocialattractivenessisakeyfactorwhentheaudienceisprocessing
informationintheperipheralroute(Perloff,2014,190).Socialattractivenessincludesthe
physicalappeal.Thiscontentanalysiswillinvestigatehowphysicalcharacteristics,race,
gender,andageofthepersonsvisibleinthemessage,changeforeachaudiencesegment.
TargetAudienceAnalysisTheAdCouncildividedtheDiscoveringNaturematerialsintothreedistinct
demographictargetaudiences.ThekeyvariablefordemographicsegmentationbytheAd
6 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNatureCouncilistherace,andthusassumedculture,ofthetargetaudience(i.e.African-American
andHispanic).Toadequatelydiscussthefindingsofthecontentanalysis,eachclearly
identifiedaudiencesegmentmustbeunderstood.AshortsummaryofAfrican-Americans
andHispanicsisprovided.
African-Americans:African-American,orBlackAmericans,accountfor13-14%of
thetotalpopulationasofthe2014census.ThisisanethnicgroupwithancestryfromBlack
racialgroupsofAfrica.Theinstitutionofslaverycreatedlastingsocio-economicbarriers
forthisgroupincludinghigherpovertyrates,higherincarcerationrates,andalowerlevel
ofeducation.ThepovertyrateforBlackwas26.2%in2014with19%receivinga
bachelor’sdegreeorhigher.Thedensityofthisgroupisalsomoreprevalentininnercity
andurbanareas(U.S.CensusBureau).TheAdCouncilfoundthat37%ofAfricanAmerican
childrenparticipatedinoutdoorrecreationin2011ascomparedto67%forCaucasian
children.
Hispanics:Hispanicscompose17%ofthetotalpopulationasofthe2014censusand
arethelargestminorityintheUnitedStates.Thisisanethnicgroupwithancestryfrom
LatinAmericaorothertraditionallySpanishspeakingcares.Thepovertyrateforthisgroup
23%and14%ofHispanicshaveabachelor’sdegreeorhigher.55%oftheHispanic
populationresidesinCalifornia,Texas,orFlorida.56%ofmarriedHispanicshavechildren
under18,whichisabovethenationalaverageof40%(U.S.CensusBureau).TheAdCouncil
foundthat50%ofHispanicyouthparticipateinoutdoorrecreation.
AdCouncilandDiscoveringNature TheAdCouncilwasestablishedin1942withthemissionto“produce,distribute,
andpromotecampaignstoimproveeverydaylives.”Sinceitscreation,theAdCouncilhas
ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 7becometheleadingproducerofpublicserviceannouncements.Themodelfortheprivate,
non-profitorganizationisbuiltondonationsandvolunteerwork.Corporatesponsors,
federalgrants,advertisingandmarketingfirms,andmedianetworkshavedonatedbillions
ofdollarstotheorganizationtobenefitsociety.
TheAdCouncilconductsextensiveresearchintotheintendedaudienceforeachand
everycampaignthatitdevelops.Theresearchisbothqualitativeandquantitativetobegin
allcampaigns.Firstly,aliteraturereviewisconductedtoestablishthenatureandscopeof
theissue,understandpublicopinionsonthetopic,andtoanalyzeanysimilarcampaigns
alreadyinuse.ThentheAdCouncilwillconductabuzzmeasurementtogagehowthe
audienceconnectswiththetopicthroughsocialmediaplatforms.Anexploratoryphaseof
researchisessentialforanycampaigntothrive.Theexploratoryresearchincludesprimary
qualitativemethodssuchasfocusgroups,interviews,andobservationacrosstwotothree
marketstounderstandthecausesandcompletepictureoftheissue.Surveydata,statistics,
andotherquantitativemethodscompletethemarketanalysis.TheAdCouncilmeasuresits
impactofcampaignsthoughmediaexposure,consumerresponsesurveys,webanalytics,
andmeasurableshiftsinthetargetbehaviors.
TheDiscoveringNaturecampaign,sponsoredbytheU.S.ForestService,was
launchedinJuneof2014tocomplementtheDiscovertheForesteffortsalreadyinplace.
DiscovertheForestwasfirstlaunchedin2009toencouragetheuseofnationalparks.
DiscoveringNaturecampaign’spurposewasto“togetkidsandfamiliesouttoenjoythe
wondersofournation’sforests”becauseofthemental,physical,andspiritualbenefitsthat
naturecanoffer.Thetargetaudienceforthiscampaignwasparentsandcaregiversofteens
becausetheyhavetheabilitytotaketheirchildrenintonature.Thesecondarytarget
8 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNatureaudiencewasteensandchildren.Throughsurveyresearchitwasfoundthat245million
Americanlivewithin100milesofanationalpark,yettheydonotvisitthenatural
resources.TheTVspots,radioannouncements,andimagesdirecttheaudiencetothe
website,www.discovertheforest.org.AllmarketversionsoftheDiscoveringNature
materialsdirecttheconsumertothesamewebsite.Onthesiteusersareprovidedtoolsand
knowledgeaboutnationalparksavailabletothem.Thiswebsiteisthemainproductforthis
campaignandservesasthegatewayintothetargetbehavior.Allofthematerialswant
userstovisitthissite;inordertounderstandthecampaignmessages,thewebsitemustbe
discussed.
Onarrivaltothesite,theuserismetwithachangingheader.Theheadercontains
variousimagesofnaturallandscapesthatchangeevery5seconds.Thephotographs
includedesertmountains;highlandmountains;twoversionsofurbanparkswithlarge
skyscrapersinthebackground,onewithasmallbridgeoveracreekfeaturingachildand
manonthebankandonewithtreescoveringtheforeground;twowaterfallscenes;arocky
plateau;athickforestwithbrightgreenfoliage;afemalebackpackeroverlookinga
grassland;andaforestpathwithamanandawomanholdinghands.The“Discoverthe
Forest”logoisdisplayedintheupperlefthandcorneroftheheadingimage.Alongthe
bottomstates“RECONNECTYOURFAMILYWITHNATURE.DISCOVERAFORESTORPARK
NEARYOU!”Thenavigationbarisoverlaidinthetoprightcorner.
Astheeyetravelsdownthepagetherearethreemainsections.Theleftsidebar
featurestoolsfortheusertolocatenearbyparks.Theuserscaninputtheirlocation,select
theactivitiestheyareinterestedin,andchoosefromthetypeofsitetheyarelookingfor.A
mapisthengeneratedbasedontheprovidedinformation.Therightpanelcontainsthree
ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 9contentboxes.“EveryKidinAPark”isatthetopandprovidesinformationontheparkpass
programfor4thgraders.“DiscovertheUrbanForest”encouragesbeingoutdoorswithinthe
neighborhood.ItisinterestingtonotethattheonlyAfricanAmericanpersonrepresented
onthewebsiteisassociatedwiththe“urban”environment.AfricanAmericansaremore
denselypopulatedinurbanareasofthecountry.“AbouttheForest”roundsoutthe
featuredcontentwithanimageofthevividgreenforestandinformationaboutnatural
lands.Thebottomcontentboxcontainsthevariouswaysthatuserscanconnectwiththe
campaignviaFacebook,Instagram,andTwitter.Themostrecentpostsareshowcasedhere.
Thenavigationbarwilltaketheusersdeeperintothewebsitetoexploreother
dimensionsofthecampaign.“BeforeYouGo”isalinkforpreparation-basedresources.
Usersareprovidedpackingchecklists,parkrules,andcosts.Theonlyimagesarecartoon
diagramsofabackpack,aclipboard,atrashcan(fortheleavenotrashguidelines),and
money.“WhattoDo”providesgamesandactivitiesthatcanbeprintedandtakenintothe
foresttocomplete.Thereare16activitiestochoose(e.g.,leafrubbings,aforestsnapshot
game,andanimaltracks)andallfeaturecartoonimagestoaccompanythetext.“Sharethe
Forest”containsthePSAmaterialsthatuserscanwatchandshareviasocialmedia.There
isalsoinformationonallofthecampaignpartners.“MoretoExplore”featuresinformation
onhowtobecomemoreinvolvedwithpubliclands.Therearesixwaysthatthewebsite
liststobecomeinvolved;alloftheresourcesarepairedwithasmallcartoon.“Aboutthe
Forest”providesfunfactsabouttheecosystem,conservationefforts,andbenefitsofbeing
outdoors.Nomatterwhatwebpagetheuserison,aturquoise“FindtheForestNearYou”
tabisalwaysinview.Webdesignresearchhasdeterminedthatuserslookatasiteinan“F”
10 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNatureshape,andthisimportanttabfollowsthetoplineofthe“F”formaximumvisibility.Thelink
takestheuserbacktothemapofparksintheirarea.
Again,thegoalofthiscampaignistoincreasenationalparkattendanceby
increasingparents’knowledgeaboutthelocationofparksandtohelpthemtaketheir
childrenintonature.Everythingaboutthiswebsitedirectstheusersbacktonationalparks.
ThewebsiteisavailableinSpanishtoaddresstheneedsoftheSpanishLanguagemarket,
butthesitedoesnotfeatureanyvariationforthecontent.
TheAdCouncilhaspreviouslypairedwiththeU.S.ForestServiceonahighly
successfulcampaign:WildfirePrevention.ThiscampaignwasthebirthplaceofSmokeythe
Bear,andthemessageof“onlyyoucanpreventforestfires”has70%recollection.This
partnershipbeganin1944andtheresultsareclear.Forestfireburnacreshavedropped
from22millionto6.7millionayearoverthecourseofthiscampaign.TheWildfire
PreventioncampaignisthemostcomparabletotheDiscoveringNaturecampaignasituses
imagesofnature,forests,andrespectfullyenjoyingtheoutsideworld.Bothcampaignsuse
eachothertopromotetheother.SmokeytheBearappearsontheDiscovertheForest
websitemanytimesinanefforttoencouragebeingoutdoorwhileprotectingthe
environment.
MethodsAfterthoroughlynavigatingthecornerstoneofthecampaign,
www.discovertheforest.org,myattentionturnstothePSAmaterialthatdirectsuserstothe
website.ThisstudyisfocusedonthevisualvarietybetweenthePSAmaterialstodetermine
theextentthatsimilaritywasconsideredacrosstargetmarkets.Theuniverseforthisstudy
isvisualmessagesoftheDiscoveringNaturecampaigndevelopedbytheAdCouncil
ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 11availableontheAdCouncilwebsite.TheDiscoveringNaturecampaignincludesthree
versions:DiscoveringNature,DiscoveringNature(AfricanAmericanmarket),and
DiscoveringNature(SpanishLanguage).Thesampleincludesallofthevideosandimages
producedforeachofthethreecampaignvariationsasdistributedthroughthewebsite,
www.adcouncil.org.Thereare10totalunitsofanalysisforthissample;twoprintimages
andeightvideomessagesfrom30secondsto60secondslong.
TheDiscoveringNaturecampaignwasselectedforthisstudybecauseofits
comparativequalities.TheAdCouncilandtheU.S.ForestServiceoriginallydevelopeda
campaign,basedona2009andeffort,andthenadapteditforuniquetargetaudiences.The
consistentunderlyingpurposeandnarrativelineeliminatesthe“applestooranges”nature
ofcomparingcampaignswithdissimilargoalsandobjectives.Thiscampaignlentitselffor
theanalysisofcharacters,activities,andsettingswithoutthelimitationsofothervariables.
Twocodersviewedthecompletesampleandcompletedthecodingsheet(See
Appendix1).Thecodersevaluatedthedemographicsofthecharacters,thenatureofthe
activities,andthecharacteristicsoftheenvironment.Thedemographicvariablesof
interestweretheethnicity/race,theage,andthegenderofeachcharacterpresented.
Ethnic/RacialcategorieswereWhite/Caucasian,Black/AfricanAmerican,Hispanic,Other,
andUnknown.Thecategorieswereselectedtoencompassthethreemostlikelyandmost
prominentethnicity/raceswithinthecampaigntargetaudienceandallowspaceforthe
variousotherpossibleethnicities/races.Raceismostassociatedwithbiological
componentsandethnicitywithculturalgroupings;bothidentifiersmayinfluencethe
similarityofthecharacterstothetargetaudienceandraceremainsasignalforcultural
associations,sothetwowerenotdistinguishedinthisstudy.Theactivityvariablewas
12 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNaturecategorizedintoPassiveLeisure,SportingLeisure,ActiveLeisure,andOther.Theaerobic
potentialoftheactivitywasthemainsignalforcategorization.Activitiesthatdorequirean
increaseinaerobicfunctionwerecodedaspassive.Activitiesthatrequiredmoreaerobic
functionwereactive.Activitiesassociatedwithrecognizedsportingeventswerecodedas
sporting.Anyactivitythatdidnotfitintooneofthecategorieswascodedasotherwitha
descriptionoftheactivityprovidedbythecoder.Forest,Urban,Rural,Beach,Desert,and
Othercomprisedtheenvironment.Thefoliageandnaturalfeatureswerethemain
identifyingfeaturesforthecoders.Urbanwascodedbasedonthelackofnaturalfoliage
andtheabundancepresenceofcityelements(e.g.,cementandbuildings).SeeAppendix2,
theCodingBook,forextendeddescriptionsofeachvariable.
Hypothesis Basedontheliteratureaboutsimilarity,theresearchintoeachtargetaudience,and
theanalysisofdiscovertheforest.orgIhaveseveralhypotheses.Overall,Ibelievethateach
ofthemarketspecificcampaignmaterialswillreflectthemajorcustomsandracesofthe
targetaudiencetoenhancethesimilarity,thusthesocialattractivenessandpersuasive
natureofthematerials.
H1:ThemostfrequentagegroupacrossalltargetmarketswillbeChildren.
H2:ThemostfrequentsettingacrossalltargetmarketswillbeForests.
H3:Theraceofthecharacterswillbeconsistentwiththetargetmarketforeachcampaign.
H4:TheDiscoveringNatureAfricanAmericanmaterialswillfeaturegreaterthan75%
Blackcharacters.
H5:TheDiscoveringNatureAfricanAmericanmaterialswillfeaturemoreUrbansettings
thananyothertargetmarketcategory.
ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 13H6:TheDiscoveringNatureSpanishLanguagematerialswillfeaturegreaterthan75%
Hispaniccharacters.
ResultsEachcoderviewedthe10unitsofanalysisandcodedforcharacterrace,age,and
gender;activity;andthesetting.Therewere40totalcharactersacrossthesamplewithone
unitofanalysis,DiscoveringNature#3,notincludinganyhumanpersons.Thisparticular
unitfeaturedonlyadeerasthecentralcharacterandwasexcludedfromthecharacter
analysis.Therewere11activitiesand13settingscodedasseveralunitsfeaturedmore
thanone.IntercoderreliabilitywascalculatedusingtheHolstimethod(Wimmer&
Dominick,2014,175).Thecodersagreedon38decisionswitheachmaking41total.Based
on𝑅 = !!!!!!!
theintercoderreliabilitywas92%.Thispercentageisabovethe
recommended90%reportedfromforHolsti’sformula(Wimmer&Dominick,2014,180).
Theonlydiscrepanciesbetweencodersweretheagesandthesettingsoftwounits.The
resultsarelistedinthebelowtables.Figures1through6reflectthedemographic
informationofthe39charactersidentifiedinthesample.Figure7istheactivityframing;
Figure8isthesettings.
14 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature
7%
42%
0%
48%
3%
AgeDispersionCoder1Infant Child Teen Adult SeniorAdult
Figure1
7%
37%
5%
48%
3%
AgeDispersionCoder2Infant Child Teen Adult SeniorAdult
Figure2
02468101214161820
Infant Child Teen Adult SeniorAdult
Frequency
AgeCategory
Age
Coder1
Coder2
Figure3
ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 15
Theagedispersionwassplitbetweenadultsandchildrenasthemostfrequent.
TherewasaslightdiscrepancyinDiscoveringNatureUnit1fortheageofthetwo
characters.Coder1perceivedthemtoelementaryagedwhileCoder2perceivedthemtobe
highschoolaged.Therewerethreeinfantsfeaturedandonesenioradultwithinthe
sample.TheinfantsandthesenioradultswererepresentedintheDiscoveringNature
SpanishLanguagematerials.Themajorityofthecharacterswerechildrenandadults.The
identifiedtargetaudienceforthegeneralcampaignisthecaretakersofchildren.Theyoung
childrendisplayedcouldnotgettonaturewithouttheassistanceoftheircaretakers.Adults
werepresentwithallthechildren.TheDiscoveringNaturecampaignfeaturedthefewest
numberofcharacterstotal.Mostofmyhypothesisfortheageofthecharacterswas
rejected.
H1:ThemostfrequentagegroupacrossalltargetmarketswillbeChildren.
Childrenandadultswerethemostfrequentagegroup,butadultswererepresented
ataslightlyhigherrate.Thishypothesisisrejected.
Male,19,47%Female,21,53%
Gender
Figure4
16 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature
Thesampleincludedmorefemalesthanmalesbytwoindividuals.Discovering
NatureAfricanAmericanmaterialsfeaturedmoremalesthanfemales,whileDiscovering
NatureSpanishLanguagefeaturedmorefemalesthananyothertargetmarketmaterials
with16.DiscoveringNatureSpanishLanguagerepresented40%ofthefemaledistribution.
DiscoveringNaturewasequalinitsdistributionofgender.Imadenohypothesisaboutthe
genderdistribution.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Black White Hispanic Unknown
Frequeency
Race
RaceofCharacter
Coder1
Coder2
Figure5
17%
7%
68%
8%
RaceofCharactersBlack White Hispanic Unknown
Figure6
ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 17
ThemajorityofcharacterswereHispanic,followedbyBlack,andthenUnknown.
Whitecharactersrepresentedtheleastamountofrepresentations.TheDiscoveringNature
SpanishLanguagematerialsalsofeaturedthemostnumberofcharacterstotal.
TheUnkowncharacterswerefeaturedintheDiscoveringNaturematerials,andallthe
othercampaignswereinclusionarytothetargetmarkets(Blackswerefeaturedinthe
AfricanAmericanmarket,ect.).
H3:Theraceofthecharacterswillbeconsistentwiththetargetmarketforeach
campaign.
TheBlackcharacterswerefeaturedatthehighestrateintheAfricanAmerican
campaign;HispaniccharacterswerefeaturedatthehighestrateintheSpanishLanguage
materials.TheUnknownandWhitecharacterswerefeaturedintheunspecifiedcampaign
materials.
H4:TheDiscoveringNatureAfricanAmericanmaterialswillfeaturegreaterthan
75%Blackcharacters.
100%ofthecharactersfortheseunitswereBlack;thereforethishypothesisis
accepted,as100%isgreaterthan75%.
100%ofthecharactersfortheseunitswereHispanic;thereforethishypothesisis
accepted,as100%isgreaterthan75%.
H6:TheDiscoveringNatureSpanishLanguagematerialswillfeaturegreaterthan
75%Hispaniccharacters.
18 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature
Passivewasthemostcommontypeofactivityframe.Withinthepassivecategory,
mostcampaignsfeaturedeatingorstandingwhileobservingnature.Activeframeswere
alsocommonwithhikingbeingthemostviewedactivitywithinthatframe.Therewereno
teamsports.Manyofthecampaignsfeaturedmorethanoneactivityasthecharacterswent
frompassiveactivitiestoactive.Thismulti-framingoccurredprimarilyintheDiscovering
NatureSpanishLanguagecampaign.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Passive Team Active
Frequency
ActivityType
ActivityFrame
Coder1
Coder2
Figure7
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Forest Beach Desert Urban Rural Other
Frequency
Setting
SettingFrame
Coder1
Coder2
Figure8
ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 19
Themostcommonsettingwastheforest.Everyunitofanalysisfeaturedaforest
setting,whileotherincludedbothaforestandanadditionalsetting.Urban,rural,andother
werethenextmostcommonframesrepresented.Otherwasentirelyhouseholdsettings
andthenthecharactersmovedoutdoors.Therewerenobeachordesertsettingsfeatured
inthesample.Onehypothesisaboutthesettingwasacceptedwhiletheotherwasrejected.
H2:Themostfrequentsettingacrossallthree-targetmarketswillbeForests.
Forestswerefeaturedin100%oftheunitsandforestoccurredatahigher
frequencythananyothersetting.
H5:TheDiscoveringNatureAfricanAmericanmaterialswillfeaturemoreUrban
settingsthananyothertargetmarketcategory.
Thishypothesiswasrejected.Anurbansettingonlyoccurredonetimeanditwas
notintheAfricanAmericanmaterials.TheSpanishLanguagematerialsfeaturedtheurban
environment.
DiscussionCampaignmaterialsaredevelopedtomaximizepersuasivefactors.Discovering
Natureutilizedsourcecredibilityandsourceattractivenesstocreateanimpactful
campaign.Credibility,throughtrustworthiness,goodwill,andexpertise,wasalready
cultivatedforthiscampaign.TheAdCouncilandtheNationalForestServicearewell-
knownsourcesthathaveahistoryofpositiveassociations.Thegoodwilland
trustworthinesswerenotbarriersastheaudiencecanrelyonpastcampaignsasevidence
ofthesequalities.TheAdCouncilhasahistoryofsupportingcausesthatbenefitthe
community.TheNationalParkService,althoughagovernmentagency,supportsand
protectsnaturalareas,whichmostpeoplethinkofpositively.TheexpertiseoftheNational
20 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNatureParkServiceisapparentandassumedbytheaudienceasagovernmentagency.Because
thecredibilityisnotalargebarriertomessagepersuasiveness,theAdCouncilfocusedon
sourceattractivenessforthemessengers.
Likeableness,physicalattractiveness,andsimilaritycontributetothesocial
attractivenessofmessengers.Childrenaregenerallylikeablecharactersandfamilyunits
havepositiveassociations.Allofthefamiliesappearedhappyandveryclose.Thephysical
attractivenessofthecharacterswasnotexploredthroughthecontentanalysis,butnoneof
thecharactersstoodoutatunattractive.Theresultsclearlyindicatethatthecampaign
materialsweredevelopedtoincreasesimilaritywiththetargetaudience.Theraceand
familialcharacteristicsrepresentedbythecharactersaresimilartothecharacteristicsof
thetargetaudience.
DiscoveringNature(AfricanAmericanMarket)andDiscoveringNature(Spanish
Language)onlyfeaturedactorsthatmatchedtheraceofthatdemographictargeted.Perloff
(2014)discussedhowaudiencesfeltmorepositivelytowardamessagewhenamessenger
thatappearedsimilarpresentedthemessage.AllofthematerialsdirectedatAfrican
AmericansincludedBlackactorsinfamilyunits.AllofthematerialsinSpanishincluded
Hispanicactorsinfamilyunits.Iftheaudiencecanrecognizeandrelatetothecharacters
performingthebehavior,theymaybemorelikelytoemulatethatbehavior.Thematerials
fortheundefinedaudienceincludedcharactersthatweremostlyWhite,butafewwere
codedas“Unknown.”TherewasnodistinctracepresentinDN1,exceptforaWhitemale.
Thescenewasatnight,whichfurthermadeitdifficulttodistinguisharace.Thegeneral
campaignmaterialsaredirectedateveryone,socreatingsimilarityismuchmoredifficult
andmaynotbeasimportant.Theundefinedmarketalsoincludedadeerasthesole
ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 21characterinaunit.Eliminatingthehumanelementmakesthematerialrelevanttoany
viewer.
Hispanichouseholdsaremorelikelythanthenationalaveragetoincludechildren
under18.ThetendencytohavelargerfamilyunitsisalsoreflectedinDiscoveringNature
(SpanishLanguage).Themostcharacterswererepresentedinthosematerialswithalarger
agerange.TheSpanishLanguagematerialsweretheonlymessagesthatincludedasenior
adultandaninfant.Hispaniccultureismorelikelytohavemultigenerationalhouseholds,
soagrandmotherwasrepresentedasenjoyingtheoutdoorswithherassumedchildren
andgrandchildren.
Thesettingwasmostlyforestenvironments.Thesponsorforthiscampaignisthe
NationalForestServiceandtheobjectiveistohavethetargetaudiencevisit
www.discovertheforest.org,sothissettingmakessense.AlthoughtheUnitedStatesdoes
havebeachesanddeserts,mostofthenationalparklandisinforestedareas.Similarity
maybecultivatediftheaudienceassociateswoodlandswithnature.Astudytounderstand
theassociationshouldbeconductedtounderstandthiselement.
IhypothesizedthattheAfricanAmericanmarketwouldincludemoreurban
environmentsbecauseAfricanAmericansaremorelikelytoliveintheinnercityandthe
campaignwebsitefeaturedaBlackgirlastheimageforthe“DiscovertheUrbanForest”
information.TheAfricanAmericanmaterialsonlyfeaturedfamiliesalreadyoutsideina
forestsetting,whiletheSpanishLanguagematerialsincludedtheonlyvaryingsettings.
TheSpanishLanguagematerialsportrayedfamiliestransitioningfromworkingto
exploringtheforest.Thesematerialswerethemostreflectiveoflifestylesratherthanthe
desiredsecondarybehavior(beingoutdoors,theprimarybehaviorobjectivewasvisiting
22 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNaturethewebsite).Hispanicculture,beingmorefamilyfocused,incorporatesfoodandactivities
intodailylife.ThecampaignmaterialsfeaturedHispanicfamiliespackingapicnicand
eatingintheoutdoorsasareoccurringthemeacrossmaterials.Additionalresearchintothe
attitudestowardfoodshouldbeconductedtocomplementthiscontentanalysis,butit
appearsthattheAdCouncilreflectedculturalvalues.
Alloftheactivityframesreflectedsimilaractivitiesacrossmarkets.Withthe
exceptionofHispanicfamilieseating,allofthecharacterswerehikingorlookingat
animals.Therewaslittlevariationbetweenthesegmentedmaterials.Theprimary
objectiveforallthecampaignsistovisitwww.discovertheforest.orgtolearnaboutnational
parksnearthem.Becausethebehaviorobjectivewasconsistent,thecharacterscouldenjoy
natureinequalways.
Overall,theAdCounciltailoredcampaignmaterialstothespecificaudiencethat
theyweretargeting.Theyadaptedthematerialsthroughtheactivitiesthatwere
representedandtheraceofthecharacters.AfricanAmericansweretargetedwithBlack
familyrepresents.SpanishspeakersweretargetedthroughlanguageandHispanic
characters.Similaritywasachievedandthemessagemayhavebeenmorepersuasive
becauseofthis.Additionalstudiesonaudienceattitudesshouldbeconductedto
complementthiscontentanalysisbeforecorrelationscanbemadebetweensimilarityand
persuasiveaffect.Intheend,theAdCouncildoesconductresearchonthesegmented
audienceandstrivestoreflectthecharacteristicsofthatsegmentwithinthecampaign
materials.ThroughtheDiscoveringNature,DiscoveringNature(AfricanAmerican),and
DiscoveringNature(SpanishLanguage)morepeopleinAmericanwereencouragedto
DiscovertheForest.
ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 23
References
AdCouncil.(2016).AboutUs.Web.http://www.adcouncil.org/About-Us
AdCouncilandU.S.ForestService.(2016).DiscovertheForest.Web.
http://www.discovertheforest.org/
Lee,NandKotler,L.(2016).SocialMarketing:ChangingBehaviorsforGood(5thEdition).
ThousandOaks,CA:SagePublications.
Perloff,R.(2013).TheDynamicsofPersuasion:CommunicationandAttitudesinthe21st
Century(5thEdition).NewYork,NY:Routledge.
UnitedStatesCensusBureau.(2014).QuickFacts.Census.gov.AccessedMay10,2016.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/00.