M1 Cross Media Channels

 

Cross Media Channels

Introduction

In this report I will discuss two cross media advertisement campaigns and go in depth about the details of my chosen campaigns and discuss why they were effective and successful. I will provide information about the campaigns themselves, the message of the campaigns and the consistency of the campaigns.

Red Bull Stratos Campaign

The Red Bull Stratos campaign is arguably one of the most eccentric and unique advertising campaigns to exist in the modern day. It was extremely innovative and is still one of the most memorable campaigns to exist even 11 years after it was live. The Red Bull Stratos campaign was launched in October of 2012 and was advertised on billboards and online in an extremely viral livestream on Red Bull’s YouTube channel which shattered the record for the most traffic to one livestream proving how successful this cross media campaign was. Not only was the Stratos campaign for advertising, it also doubled as a breakthrough in science, this is because the campaign was a jump from the stratosphere, hence the ‘Stratos’ name. Felix Baumgartner jumped out of a capsule (RZT-8054) and people watched him freefall for 4 minutes and 20 seconds. Red Bull is famous for their stunts but a jump from the stratosphere was unheard of and that is why it became such a talking point across the world bringing in a lot of attention to the Austrian energy drink brand. 

This is a shot on the livestream right as Baumgartner jumped out of the capsule and made history not only in the marketing world, but in science as well. 

The Message of the Campaign 

The campaign was split into two sections during advertising, the first part was the advertisement for the livestream and the second part was the livestream itself. Before the livestream occurred, it was advertised on the internet and all over billboards around the world. This created conversations about the campaign as nothing like this had happened before so many people were talking about the campaign and it was spreading across the world. A lot of excitement surrounded the campaign as the public became invested in this major stunt. The message of the first half of this campaign was simply to advertise the main aspect of it, the livestream; and this was done very effectively with simple billboards and advertisements that connoted to the public what the livestream was about without ruining the excitement of the jump itself. Simple designed billboards yet they portrayed the uniqueness of the campaign. 

Consistency of the Campaign 

Overall, I believe the campaign was very successful and consistent throughout the advertising. However, the consistency in the advertisements do vary unlike most advertising campaigns, although I believe it amplifies the impact of the campaign instead of reducing the impact. This is because it is an abnormal advertising campaign and doesn't even include the Red Bull product in the campaign at all. I believe the consistency varies due to the difference in the billboard advertisements and the livestream on YouTube, the livestream was much more impactful and made scientific history while also breaking world records for livestream views however the billboards are simple billboards which advertise the livestream. It is clear to see that Red Bull put more emphasis into the livestream and that was their main focus for the campaign and the billboards were primarily for bringing in more attention towards the livestream itself. The billboards are not bad in any sense and are effective billboards, they have an interesting and unique graphic and provide context on what the campaign is about in an intriguing way however they pale in comparison to the livestream due to how ground breaking the livestream was. A livestream of someone jumping out of the stratosphere is something so fascinating that almost everybody would want to see regardless of where they are from or their demographic, meaning the livestream had a very wide target audience and wasn't catered towards anyone although it may interest people who like astronomy or science. 

Dove Real Beauty Campaign 

The Dove Real Beauty Campaign was launched in 2004 to feature and celebrate women. The Dove Real Beauty Campaign was the first of it's kind and was a pioneer for female empowerment advertising campaigns. It was a cross media campaign advertised on billboards across the world and on online streaming websites like YouTube. The Real Beauty film was uploaded in 25 languages to 46 Dove YouTube channels. Dove prides itself on the fact that their advertisements featured 'real women' instead of using models because Dove believe models reflect a narrow view of beauty and that the public should see women similar to them on the billboard instead of famous models who are above the beauty standard. With the rise of the internet in the 2000s came a rise of insecurity in women and that is why Dove started the Real Beauty campaign: to battle the insecurities of women and struggles with self esteem and beauty.  

This is an ad which would've been featured on billboards while the campaign was active. This is a successful advertisement for the message Dove was trying to portray because it features women that are several different races with different hair types. Back in 2004, this was a very progressive advertisement because it included multiple women all from different ethnic backgrounds with different features and all of them are normal women and not models, so it makes all women feel included. However, the only flaw of the advertisement is that it does not include women of different body types and all the women are of a similar shape. 

The Message of the Campaign 

The message of the campaign is female empowerment and trying to combat the rise of issues with self esteem in women. Dove try to be as inclusive as possible in the Real Beauty campaign and include many normal women from different backgrounds in the advertisements to try to make as many women as possible feel represented and seen. The message Dove tried to connote was that women's unique experiences should be celebrated, rather than ignored, and that physical appearance should be transformed from a source of anxiety to a source of confidence and self empowerment. Dove believe that women were bombarded by unattainable standards of beauty - in magazines, TV, adverts, on social media and all over the world - that women undervalue the true beauty in themselves. Dove believes that our perception of ourselves is far less positive than what it should be and that is why Dove created a campaign to battle these beliefs and try to help women feel more confident in themselves and be proud of their bodies regardless of age, race or weight. 

This is a billboard for the Dove Real Beauty campaign. I believe that this billboard captures the essence and the message of the campaign due to the fact it features ordinary women of different age groups, ethnicities, and weight groups; therefore making it an inclusive and forward campaign at the time of the campaign. 

Consistency of the Campaign

Overall, I believe that the Dove Real Beauty campaign was an effective campaign for the time it was released. There has been plenty of women empowerment advertisement campaigns since this campaign and it is arguably the face of women empowerment campaigns and was a pivotal part of  the movement to become more body positive and embrace your own body and be proud of it. In my opinion, I think that this campaign was needed due to the rise of the internet in the 2000s, this rise in technology also created a rise in insecurities and people being negative about their own body image due to how easy it is to compare yourself to a model because model's bodies were plastered across the internet. This campaign made women feel more confident at a time where insecurities were on the rise and for that reason I believe it made the campaign a success as the campaign clearly conveyed the desired messaged to the desired target audience. The campaign was consistent because the advertisements were similar on each billboard or print ad however they featured different women each time. However, one way the campaign could of been more consistent is if  Dove ensured that each advert they released to the public contained women of all body types since some of the adverts they published did not include all different types of bodies which could result in some people feeling excluded which is undoubtedly not the message this campaign wants to portray. 

Conclusion

Overall, both the Red Bull Stratos campaign and the Dove Real Beauty campaign were effective campaigns in their own right. The campaigns were very different in how they were made and presented. One similarity between the campaigns is that they both advertised on billboards to make the public aware of their adverts. Another similarity is that both of the campaigns were distinct and unique at the time of the campaigns. The Red Bull Stratos campaign is still unique and distinct to this day however the Dove Real Beauty campaign was the first of many.