Digital Communication - Assignment 4 (PETA)

Source 1: 

Douw&Koren – crowdfunding consultancy

http://www.douwenkoren.nl/en/

Douw&Koren is based in the Netherlands and offers a crowdfunding consultancy service to a wide variety of clients, including artists, entrepreneurs, non-profit organisations, financial institutions and governments. Douw&Koren executes (market) research, develops strategies and campaigns to support organisations in reaching their crowdfunding ambitions. We do this by combining creativity with experience and expertise in the field of crowdfunding.

I chose this online device as it is based in the Netherlands. As it is a local online platform that aims on providing a place that people can fund projects and communicate with 'like-minded' people having similar opinions on a certain topic. This would be ideal for PETA, that want to raise money and awareness for local protests etc. Douw&Koren would allow PETA to gather people that would be interesting in helping.

Source 2:

PETA – App

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eqmcdF5bq4

As you can see form the video, this iPhone app, is a handy and quick solution for spreading the word and raising awareness on the treatment of animals or on any unique and shocking stories. The app in a good innovation as PETA’s main aim is to get people’s attention and make people aware and this is why they have such a high online presence. With the addition of the app, they can now reach an even larger target audience and much easier. It is common knowledge that a large majority of people now have a smart phone, and therefore have access to a wide variety of apps. So by introducing the app, PETA have created yet another strong and effective communication channel. It also makes it a lot easier for individuals to actually ‘take action’ against the treatment of animals.

Source 3:

Built in ads on apps

http://www.avocarrot.com/?gclid=COmwyIHR_MwCFdZAGwodQzUJ7g

This link is just an example, but the idea is that is PETA could incorporate images or videos etc or just general information about PETA within ads. It would be unrealistic to think that they could get approval to show these ads on such websites or apps like Prada or other high-end designs that have a reputation for using animal skin, but even if it was lower end retailers it would still be useful. As long as the message is articulated towards shoppers or people that like those types of product, then it will act accordingly.  These type of ads may seem annoying and can be irritating to a consumer, but the point is that the these type of ads are also impossible to ignore and that is exactly what PETA need to apply – a message that cannot be unseen or unheard.

Digital Writing Skills - Assignment Week 4

I have chosen to focus on the environmental elements of Apple. I want to produce messages that provide information about the environmental advantages of using Apple and their ethics behind their products, packaging and emissions etc. I have chosen this subject because I feel that it is a topic that people feel strongly about and the information available, but not necessarily known is interesting and would appeal to the public greatly.

Twitter:

Goal: To provide short but informative information that can be read and consumed quickly. Almost like ‘fun facts’ if you like…

Tweet #1: Did you know that 93% of our energy comes from renewable energy sources? One day we will reach 100%.

Tweet #2: Every wondered what powers your iMessages, your responses form Siri’s and your downloads form iTunes? The answer – 100% clean energy!

Tweet #3:  “Over 99% of the paper in our packaging is recycled or sustainable. It’s good, but not good enough.”

Tweet #4: 1,000,000. That is the number of acres of sustainable forest we are working to protect. 1,000,000 is the number of acres of sustainable forest we ARE protecting. 

Tweet #5: Mercury doesn’t belong on your wrist, on your desk, or in your pocket. We pride ourselves on using safe materials. #NoMercury #NoArsenic #NoLead #AppleIsSafe

Instagram:

Goal: To present information about the environment and the way Apple are helping as much as they possibly can, but if possible to show this message through pictures (or even short video clips). This is because the type of audience on Instagram are of a younger generation and therefore have different expectation on how they want to see the messages. Pictures are a simple and effective way of communicating something quickly that also successfully captures an audience’s attention.

    

Facebook:

Goal: To showcase the message of being environmentally friendly on a more personal level, as it is proven that people on Facebook respond better to messages that they feel are more personalised and written directly to them. However I must be sure to target the message and keep it to minimal words, as the optimal word count is less than 80 words.

For example…

“Why would you buy a product that would harm the environment to such an extreme extent, when you could buy a product that used 93% renewable energy to build it. Apple prides itself on using clean energy, so if you’re reading this on your iPhone, iPad, iPad-Mini or AppleMac Desktop, then you should be proud too.”

LinkedIn:

Goal: Like other social media goals I want to portray a similar type of message, however for LinkedIn I want it to have a more professional structure. Therefore I thought a good review would be an ‘official report’. I feel that this would be the best presentation of the information for this type of ‘expertise’ networking.

http://images.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Responsibility_Report_2016.pdf

PETA - Persuasion Techniques

What I want PETA to do?

I have decided to focus on PETA contacting higher organisations that in turn hold more power. 

At the moment, PETA does well in getting their message across to a wide range and a large audience. However this targeted audience has minimal actual impact. PETA focus on petitions and protests that is effective in raising awareness and railing people and getting a reaction, what they fail to do is reach the attention of higher and more dominant companies that actually may be able to may a change. So what I want PETA to start doing – is raise awareness and even make partnerships with organisations that deal with animal cruelty (such  as companies that are known for testing on animals etc). This may seem like a bold and slightly ‘strange’ or even ‘risky’ move by associating themselves with companies that have a reputation that is exactly the opposite of what PETA represents. 

PETA have recently decided to become a shareholder with Prada, who are openly known for using animal skins for their products and their reason for this: ‘PETA has become a Prada shareholder in order to attend the company’s annual meetings and officially call for an end to all exotic-skins sales’. Their method is to target major organisations from the inside. By having a seat within meetings held, they can voice their opinions to Prada and actually be heard. You cant avoid someone when they are sitting right in front of you...

Persuasion Techniques:

My first persuasion technique can be found in Andrews, Van Leeuwen & Van Baaren’s Hidden Persuasion book, which discusses 33 different psychological influence techniques used in advertising. This technique is known as ‘Foot-In-The-Door’. This is when someone or an organization begins with a small request that then paves the way for compliance to a bigger request.

This is a great techniques for PETA to adopt, as it is partially what they have already done with Prada, they have started with a small step and in this case have literally got their foot in the door of the company, but Prada are probably unaware of what to expect, they are not to know that through this they have allowed them to be present in major decisions meaning that Prada have ultimately given PETA a lot more power than they realise.

It is simple how this can be implemented, as they have already proven it is possible. It is not yet been confirmed how effective this strategy is as PETA have not had a chance to meet with Prada yet, but there first board meeting is waiting promptly. So the results will be visible soon and we can see for ourselves if this is a successful strategy.

Other slight differentiations/alternatives of this technique are the ‘Rationalisation Trap’, ‘Bait-and-Switch’, ‘Ben-Franklin Effect’ and the ‘Low-Ball Technique’.

My second persuasion technique is ‘social proof’. This is where people have an innate drive to copy others’ decisions and behaviour. This can also be found in the same book as previously mentioned.

In our modern day, Western culture is extraordinarily individualistic. We believe that our actions are out own and that our decisions are driven by private needs. However humans are social animals: Across the ages we have depended on groups to survive and other people’s behavior is highly informative for successfully choosing our own course of action. Given this firmly held belief that we are our own masters, it may seem paradoxical that social proof is particularly powerful as an influence technique. However it is due to this belief that we are less prepared to defend ourselves against social pressures.

It is common knowledge that PETA has a high online following and their close attention to there many social platforms is exactly how they become so popular and built their reputation. Social media is a key communication technique and PETA have definitely used it to their advantage in the past and are still using it in an effective way. When people see their friends or celebrities or people they may consider role models liking or supporting PETA then they will feel more inclined to do so too. It is in our nature to copy other peoples desired behaviour.

This can be implemented in many ways. It can be used on all of the social media platforms that PETA uses; Facebook, Twitter, blogs and Instagram etc. They are already good with their social media and their following, it just needs to be reinforced and continued.

Other concepts that are related to social proof are ‘Asch Line Length Experiments’, ‘Autokinetic Effect’, ‘Bandwagon Effect’, ‘Bystander Effect’, ‘Copycat Suicides’ and ‘Information Cascade”.

Other techniques that could have potential to work for PETA are:

• ·      Acknowledge Resistance
• ·      Attractiveness
• ·      Scarcity
• ·      Fleeting Attraction
• ·      Mere Exposure
• ·      Astroturfing
• ·      Anthropomorphism
• ·      Implementation Intentions
• ·      Authority
• ·      Loss vs Gain Framing
• ·      Fear Appeals
• ·      Projection
• ·      Door-in-the-Face
• ·      Subliminal Messaging