WEEK TWO

WEEK TWO

Subject: Report on lectures held at the board room Of AUCC On Thursday, 17^th November, 2011 between eight and ten (08:00-10:00) hours in the fore noon

Instructor: Michelle Newlands

WHAT IS PUBLICITY?

Publicity refers to method(s) use to create or bring awareness, interest and education to a certain demo-graphic about a particular issue, cause, event, programme etc. ideas were exchanged between students and instructor with regards to what the students’ idea about publicity is. The discussion on the topic focused mainly on making your ideas well known to the masses creating the necessary awareness about what one want to put out in the public domain. It also focuses on creating awareness with the goal of influencing one’s mindset. In other words, the masses are informed through publicity methods bearing in mind the clear distinction between publicity and advertising. The idea of publicity sets in when one has an idea or agenda to put out in the public domain.

Advertising And Publicity Differentiated:

In spite of the fact that publicity and advertising are both marketing tools, the major difference between the two is that for advertising, you pay for your message, your spot (which is the segment and time) you want it to be aired. In advertising, you can have your message played any number of times you want provided you can afford it whereas in publicity you don’t necessarily pay for your message nor decide the particular time or spot for which your message is use. The media may choose to disseminate your message at their own cost. In publicity, once the message gets out of your hands, you have little or no control over how your message is used. It could even end up in the dust bin.

PREPARATION FOR A CAMPAIGN:

Discussion centered on how to get on board your activities once it comes to mind that you have a project to embark on. First one has to consider his/her purpose of undertaking the project, what the target audience are and how best to reach them. These factors will inform the medium to be used to be able to reach out to the audience. For instance, what is the age limit of your target group? What is their sex? Which medium could be best use to grab their attention? Which publicity method can best catch their attention. Answering all these questions will help you choose the best method for your project. However, it should be noted that no single publicity method can reach all the audience in a target group.

MEDIUM:

To be able to reach the target audience, the pros and cons of the following were discussed.

· Newspapers

· Radio

· Television

· Flyers

· Billboards

· T-shirts/merchandise

THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON I LEANRT FOR THE DAY:

In preparing for publicity, one need to be mindful of what the ultimate aim of that campaign is, Choose the medium most appropriate for the campaign to be able to reach the audience intended to be reached out to.

WHY I FOUND THAT TO BE THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON OF THE DAY

Ideally, the type of message you have will determine your audience, medium, method or technique to be used in other to reach the audience. Understanding this will also help you secure the most appropriate partnership for your campaign if the need be.

HOW I WILL APPLY THAT IN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION

With this knowledge in mind, I will plan adequately and put my aspirations and objectives of carrying out a campaign into properly written form since it will help me to choose the most appropriate medium and partner for my work.