Advertising Agencies Research Articles

Sexual Harassment in Media Agencies in the Gambia- Individual and Organizational Response

This descriptive study on Sexual harassment (SH) in media agencies in The Gambia investigated the prevalence of the practice, the situations that drive the practice and individual as well as organizational mode of response to the issue. The research design adopted was survey using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Survey questionnaires were administered on 109 respondents drawn from 24 media organizations and freelancing journalists. The organisations were purposively selected while respondents within each organisation were randomly sampled. To collect qualitative data, one male and female Focus Group Discussion (FGD) respectively were conducted while 5 Key Informant Interviews (KII’s) were held with veteran journalists. Online platforms were used for the collection of the qualitative data. Findings show that sexual harassment (SH) is prevalent among the study population. 22% of the respondents have heard rumours of SH in the workplace, 40% of this have heard it more than twice, 23.9% are aware of someone being sexually harassed and 13.7% have had personal experience of sexual harassment.

Co-Designing with AI in Sight

AbstractArtificial Intelligence offers a wide variety of capabilities that can potentially address people's needs and desires in their specific contexts. This pilot study presents a collaborative method using a deck of AI cards tested with 58 production, AI, and information science students, and experts from an accessible media agency. The results suggest that, with the support of the method and AI cards, participants can ideate and reach conceptual AI solutions. Such conceptualisations can contribute to a more inclusive integration of AI solutions in society.

It Takes Two to Tango: How the COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign in Israel Was Framed by the Health Ministry vs. the Television News

BackgroundThe internet has become a major resource in information transfer during COVID-19, and traditional means of communication are digitized and accessible online to the public at large.ObjectivesThis study seeks to examine how Israel's two main television news channels (Channel 12 and Channel 13) covered the Covid-19 vaccination campaign, compared to how the Ministry of Health ran the campaign.MethodsA qualitative study based on triangulation of online content analyses from three different sources: advertising campaigns, social media posts and reports on television news channels. The research sample included 252 reports from the newsrooms of Channel 13 (n = 151) and Channel N12 (n = 101), Israel's two leading news channels, all broadcast between December 1, 2020 and November 30, 2021. The sample also included posts from Israel Ministry of Health Facebook page and advertising campaigns from the Facebook page of the Israel Government Advertising Agency (LAPAM), which constructs advertising campaigns for the MOH (113 items).ResultsThe research findings reveal congruence between the way the MOH framed its vaccination campaign and news coverage of the vaccination issue. The vaccination campaign used three primary framing strategies: (1) positive framing (emphasizing the vaccine's advantages and stressing that the vaccine is safe and effective based on cost-benefit calculations and public health perspectives); (2) fear appeal strategy (conveying persuasive messages that seek to arouse fear through threats of impending danger or harm); (3) attribution of responsibility strategy (blaming the unvaccinated and targeting all those who criticized Israel's generic vaccination policy).ConclusionAs the watchdog of democracy, the news should function as a professional and objective source that criticizes government systems if necessary and strives to uncover the truth throughout the crisis. Public trust, which is so essential during such a crisis, can be achieved only if the news channels provide reports and meaningful journalistic investigations that challenge the system. By doing so, they can help fight conflicts of interest that divert management of the crisis from the professional health field to the political-economic arena.

HABITS OF SHARING AND FOLLOWING CURRENT NEWS IN SOCIAL MEDIA

People have always eager to learn what is going on around them, share, and follow information they obtain with others. Considering historical process, communication, started with primitive techniques such as figures drawn on cave walls, tablets, papyrus have left their place to devices, allowing internet-based instant communication provided by digital technologies. Devices, used with internet have made interactive audio, motion picture, text, picture, video mobile instead of conventional communication. Becoming popular as of 1995, internet has taken its place in social life as important and complementary element in media. Thus, communication has become simultaneously realizable with video and audio records. Popularization of internet-based communication methods causes changes in structures of media agencies. 
 Social media platforms have become important tools in terms of sharing and following current news. In this study, role of social media sharing about news and developments in society will be studied. In this context, behaviors of people, regularly using Facebook and Twitter are to examine. Interviews will be conducted with 17 people, 8 women and 9 men. In the study, in which semi-structured interviews wil be used, frequency, reasons and importance of follow-up and use of social media in receiving news will be investigated on voluntary basis.
 
 Keywords: Society, Daily Life, Sharing and following of News, Community Communication, Social Media

Assessing the Impact of Advertising Agencies on Effective Advertising Campaigns

Advertising agencies are key players in any advertising campaign. They have several roles in the initiation, production and dissemination of commercial messages through a suitable medium. Advertising campaigns are undoubtedly very crucial and require being handled and executed by experts to avoid wasting human and material resources. As such, advertisers engage the services of advertising agencies to help them realize their commercial goals. This paper specifically examines the impact of advertising agencies on successful advertising campaigns. Empirically, this paper adopted a survey method to gather resourceful data from 250 respondents who were accidentally selected among media practitioners, including a certain class of residents of Osun State, for their in-depth knowledge of advertising. Asymmetric Theory and Persuasion Theory, that are relevant to this study, were adopted. In the end, analysis of data collected with the aid of descriptive statistics of frequency, percentage and pie chart, as well as inferential statistics of Chi-square, proved to the fact that the role of advertising agencies on successful advertising campaigns cannot be overemphasized. The study recommends that advertising agencies should put more effort in discharging their duty to clients and should step up and take their place in the present globalization revolution.

How did the media cover the 2021 conflict in the Vorukh exclave?

Vorukh exclave is a small piece of land in Tajikistan, surrounded by the territory of Kyrgyzstan. Over the past 10 years only, there have been more than 150 conflicts with victims from both sides. This article describes how Kyrgyz and Tajik media covered the conflict, which occurred in the Vorukh exclave from April 28 to May 1, 2021. For this purpose, the researchers analyzed the media reports from April 28 to May 1 of three Kyrgyz media, which are “Kaktus.media”, “Turmush”, “24.kg”, and three Tajik media, which are “Asia-Plus”, “Khovar”, and “Avesta”. The analysis of collected data demonstrated that the tendency for unilateral coverage of the conflict from both sides existed. Moreover, the Kyrgyz media agencies were more open and tried to cover the incident in detail, while some Tajik media agencies limited publications regarding the incidents. The results contribute to a better understanding of processes that needs to be considered to find solution for the annual conflicts on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.

Gen Z and TV: An Analysis of Traditional Advertising Medium and Perception

Abstract Television as a medium of marketing communication has a decreasing exposure rate among generation Z due to the increasing patronage on Internet-based communication. However, marketers could not fully shift into online platforms because of television’s high market reach attribute especially in the Philippines. Establishing awareness is a crucial work for unknown brands but repetition does not guarantee familiarity. A comparative analysis on the impact of energetic commercials on deactivating audiences was performed while this research aimed to identify the factors affecting Gen Z’s consumer perception towards television as an advertising medium. Data collection was done through survey questionnaires distributed to 385 respondents. Data were treated with statistical tools such as measures of central tendency, measures of variability and partial least square - structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results revealed that Perceived Ease of Use is an insignificant variable to consumer perception. It was discovered that watching TV news, movies, series, and more is not usually preferred by consumers; they would rather stream online. However, Information Gratification is found to significantly influence consumer perception on TV as an advertising medium. Consumers get to know new products and brands when watching TV. The results of this study will mostly benefit advertising agencies because they will further understand the current perception of the generation on television advertising. Thus, more effective strategies concerning television advertising will be implemented. Keywords: TV, advertising, gen Z, consumer perception, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, information gratification

Gen Z and TV: An Analysis of Traditional Advertising Medium and Perception

Television as a medium of marketing communication has a decreasing exposure rate among generation Z due to the increasing patronage on Internet-based communication. However, marketers could not fully shift into online platforms because of television’s high market reach attribute especially in the Philippines. Establishing awareness is a crucial work for unknown brands but repetition does not guarantee familiarity. A comparative analysis on the impact of energetic commercials on deactivating audiences was performed while this research aimed to identify the factors affecting Gen Z’s consumer perception towards television as an advertising medium. Data collection was done through survey questionnaires distributed to 385 respondents. Data were treated with statistical tools such as measures of central tendency, measures of variability and partial least square - structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results revealed that Perceived Ease of Use is an insignificant variable to consumer perception. It was discovered that watching TV news, movies, series, and more is not usually preferred by consumers; they would rather stream online. However, Information Gratification is found to significantly influence consumer perception on TV as an advertising medium. Consumers get to know new products and brands when watching TV. The results of this study will mostly benefit advertising agencies because they will further understand the current perception of the generation on television advertising. Thus, more effective strategies concerning television advertising will be implemented. Keywords: TV, advertising, gen Z, consumer perception, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, information gratification

TikTok as an Information Hodgepodge: Evaluation of the Quality and Reliability of Genitourinary Cancers Related Content.

BackgroundTikTok is the world’s fastest-growing video application, with 1.6 billion users in 2021. More and more patients are searching for information on genitourinary cancers via TikTok. We aim to evaluate the functional quality and reliability of genitourinary cancer-related videos on it and share our thoughts based on the results for better public health promotion.Materials and MethodsWe retrieved 167 videos on bladder, prostate, and kidney cancer from TikTok. Only 61 videos (36.53%) met the inclusion criteria and were eventually regarded as sample videos. Each video’s length and descriptions, hashtags, number of views/likes/comments, forms of expression, and the uploader’s profile were included. Three validated assessment instruments: the Hexagonal Radar Schema, the Health on the Net Code scale, and the DISCERN instrument, were used for evaluating the quality and reliability of the information. All misinformation was counted and categorized. Univariate analysis of variance was performed for analyzing the results. The Post-Hoc least significant difference test was conducted to explore further explanation.ResultsAmongst 61 sample videos, healthcare practitioners contributed the most content (n = 29, 47.54%). However, 22 posts (36.07%) were misinformative, and the most common type was using outdated data. More than half of the videos could provide good (> 1 point) content on the diseases’ symptoms and examinations. However, the definition and outcomes were less addressed (tied at 21%). The HONcode scale and the DISCERN instrument revealed a consistent conclusion that most videos (n = 59, 96.72%) on TikTok were of poor to mediocre quality. Videos published by media agencies were statistically better in terms of reliability and overall score (P = 0.003 and 0.008, respectively). Fifty-three videos (86.89%) had at least two unexplained medical terms. Healthcare professionals tend to use professional terms most (mean = 5.28 words).ConclusionsMost videos on genitourinary cancers on TikTok are of poor to medium quality and reliability. However, videos posted by media agencies enjoyed great public attention and interaction. Medical practitioners could improve the video quality by cooperating with media agencies and avoiding unexplained terminologies.

Media attention and agency costs: Evidence from listed companies in China

This paper analyzes the effects of media attention on agency costs based on data on Chinese listed companies. We find that in China, media with a higher degree of independence tend to cover more negative corporate news. In addition, negative media coverage better captures the intensity of media attention, and significantly reduces agency costs in Chinese firms. We further demonstrate that negative media coverage plays an important role in improving the quality of information disclosure and inducing the intervention of regulatory authorities, thereby mitigating agency conflicts in listed companies. However, negative media coverage cannot effectively push corporate managers to correct their behaviors by affecting their reputation. Finally, compared with non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), SOEs receiving negative news reports are less likely to improve the quality of their information disclosure, more likely to be punished by regulatory authorities, and less likely to be influenced by managerial reputation concerns.

Using Sina-Weibo microblogs to inform the development and dissemination of health awareness material about Zika virus transmission, China, 2016-17.

BackgroundOn 1 February 2016, the World Health Organization declared Zika transmission a public health emergency of international concern. Monitoring and responding to community awareness, concern, and possible knowledge gaps are critical during public health emergencies. Here, we describe the review and analysis of micro-blogs posted on Sina-Weibo, China’s largest social media platform, to develop and disseminate a Zika virus education campaign.MethodsWe used CYYUN Voice Express’ Weibo Spider tool and the search terms of "Zhaika" OR "Zika" OR "Zikv” to capture microblogs about Zika virus retrospectively from February 1 to December 31, 2016 and prospectively from June 1 to November 15, 2017. We described microblogs meeting our inclusion criteria by month and Zika virus outbreaks in Asia and by source (e.g., government agency, individual, or other). We identified common misleading or inaccurate content authored by individual micro-bloggers (i.e., not supported by available scientific evidence) through a qualitative review. We used this information to develop and disseminate health awareness material about the Zika virus through China CDC’s 12320 Health Hotline Weibo account. An online survey was conducted to obtain feedback on the material.ResultsWe captured 15,888 microblogs meeting our inclusion criteria. Zika-related microblogs peaked in September 2016, corresponding to news reports about the Zika outbreak in Singapore (August to November 2016). Most microblogs (12,994 [82%]) were authored by individual users, followed by media agencies (842 [5%]), businesses (829 [5%]), international organizations (370 [2%]), and Chinese government agencies (235 [1%]). Relevant microblogs primarily focused on clinical symptoms and health risks, modes of transmission, and actions taken by individuals to prevent infection and seek health care. Incorrect and/or mis-leading information from individual users concentrated on modes of transmission and possible treatments. The microblog "#Zika is that far and this close" health campaign was posted on Sina-Weibo and Baidu (Internet search engine in China) on September 18, 2016. Younger respondents (p-value = 0.01), and those with at least a college education (p-value = 0.03), were more likely than other respondents to consider the online campaign reliable and trustworthy.ConclusionRoutine review of Sina-Weibo and other social media platforms could enhance the ability of public health staff to effectively respond to community concerns and awareness during public health emergencies. Advancements of social media monitoring tools and staff training could help to promote health awareness during emergencies by directly addressing public perceptions and concerns. Various approaches may be needed to reach different at-risk populations, particularly older and less educated populations who may prefer more traditional modes of communication.

Impact of Work-life Balanceon Employees’ Performance; Special Reference toABC Advertising Company in Sri Lanka

In the present scenario, Work-life Balance (WLB) has become one of the leading matters many employees face worldwide. It is widely acknowledged that maintaining WLB would bring benefits to both firms and employees. This study examines the impact that WLB has on employee performance among the employees in ABC Advertising company in Sri Lanka. The study adopted a quantitative research method, collecting the data from 184 staff respondents through survey method. The data analysis was done using SPSS 25.0. The underlying theoretical foundation consists of three main theories i.e. spillover theory, compensation theory, and Work/Family Border Theory. According to the theoretical framework, the researchers have identified two dimensions of WLB, namely Work Interference with Personal Life (WIPL) and Personal Life Interference with Work (PLIW). Regression analysis found that WIPL has a significant positive impact on Employee Performance. The research findings indicated that Employees’ Performance would increase when increasing the WIPL. Therefore, the researcher recommends conducting training programs for managers to improve the WLB of their staff through time management, personal efficiency, and effective role management.

STRATEGIES OF MARKETING ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS OF UKRAINIAN CINEMAS: THE BEST ADVERTISING CASES

Introduction. Modern marketing communications are the basis of promising business and promotion of its services. Along with the development of technology and the digitalization of society, advertising on the Internet is in great demand. Especially now, with the martial law in the country, advertising using offline communications is impossible, so companies are forced to master new platforms to promote their products and implement online communications to attract audiences. Purpose. The purpose of the study is to determine marketing approaches to the promotion of Ukrainian cinema chains through online communications, analysis of advertising in social networks, the selection of tools and channels of promotion, taking into account the factors of external and internal environment. Materials and methods. The research materials are 1) works of foreign and domestic scientists who conducted research in the field of marketing, imageology and brand management; 2) use of Internet resources, in particular the official websites of creative and media agencies; 3) statistics of the annual report on the number of Internet users, in particular in Ukraine. The following scientific methods were used in the research process: system approach (definition of a cinema chain as a system, all objects of which are interconnected); method of analysis and synthesis (study of all individual tools of promotion, which together constitute a common system of marketing communications of the cinema); case method (for a detailed analysis of the advertising activities of individual cinemas in wartime); generalization (formation of research results). Results. The article fully covers the theoretical, methodological and practical aspects of the process of promoting cinema chains through online communications in the media space. The main channels and tools for promoting online communications are identified, marketing strategies for communication activities of cinema chains in social networks are analyzed. Discussion. In the following scientific researches the analysis of the general system of marketing communications of cinema chains, development of the differentiated strategy of marketing communications, definition of target landmarks of advancement is offered. This will provide an opportunity to improve the promotion strategy, increase the effectiveness of advertising, expand the audience and establish communication with it.

Evidence-Aware Multilingual Fake News Detection

Due to the rapid growth of the Internet and the subsequent rise of social media users, sharing information has become more flexible than ever before. This unrestricted freedom has also led to an increase in fake news. During the Covid-19 outbreak, fake news spread globally, negatively affecting authorities’ decisions and the health of individuals. As a result, governments, media agencies, and academics have established fact-checking units and developed automatic detection systems. Research approaches focused largely on writing styles, propagation patterns, and building knowledge bases that serve as a reference for fact checking. However, little work has been done to assess the credibility of the source of the claim to be checked. This paper proposes a general framework for detecting fake news that uses external evidence to verify the veracity of online news in a multilingual setting. Search results from Google are used as evidence, and the claim is cross-checked with the top five search results. Additionally, we associate a vector of credibility scores with each evidence source based on the domain name and website reputation metrics. All of these components are combined to derive better predictions of the veracity of claims. Further, we analyze the claim-evidence entailment relationship and select supporting and refuting evidence to cross-check with the claim. The selection free approach yields better detection performance. In this work, we consider as a case study Covid-19 related news. Our framework achieves an F1-score of 0.85 and 0.97 in distinguishing fake from true news on XFact and Constraint datasets respectively. With the achieved results, the proposed framework present a promising automatic fact checker for both early and late detection.

Sámi Media and Indigenous Agency in the Arctic North

Sámi Media and Indigenous Agency in the Arctic North

Interactive meaning of visual images in Da Nang city tourism discourses on some Vietnamese websites

This article studies the interactive meaning of visual images in Danang tourism discourse from the perspective of multimodal discourse analysis. This research direction assumes that images, language, music... are all sources of meaning. The analytical data are images collected from a number of Vietnamese websites by three media subjects, including the local tourism management agency, the central media agency, and the travel agency. The content of this study is based on the image analysis framework of Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen. The results show that there is an imaginary interaction between the participants in the visual image and the viewers through the image research criteria such as the gaze, the size of frame and shooting angle of the participants (human, animal, place… etc.). These criteria show not only the connection, social distance and attitude of the participants in the images towards the viewers, but also the different intentions of the media subjects: The offer images in the tourism discourse invite not only viewers to participate in tourism activities but also expect viewers to witness the activities of the participants in the visual images; the shooting distance (size of frame) represents not only the social distance, but also the purpose of emphasizing the details of the participants or providing the entire context of the participants' appearance in the visual image; the shooting angle (horizontal and vertical) not only shows the attitude or power of the participants in the images to the viewers, but also to emphasize the special details of the participants in these images. Therefore, depending on their purposes, media subjects need to enhance visual images with different criteria about the gaze, the size of frame and shooting angle of participants in the images in the tourism discourses in Da Nang city on Vietnamese websites in order to improve communicational efficiency of these visual images about tourism in this city on those websites in the future.

Secret Agencies: How a Critical Media Scholar Got Inside Advertising

Abstract: This access narrative recounts how I conducted ethnographic research on the lack of diversity within advertising agencies in New York City during the summer of 2010. It positions this effort as a response to the scholarly tendency to make semiotic analysis the dominant mode of critical advertising studies and follows cultural studies scholar Richard Johnson's call to "decenter the text" and move the attention of cultural studies toward what Marx called "the hidden abode of production." My hope is that this essay will help demystify my process for securing entrance to agency settings and thereby encourage emerging critical scholars to generate new methods of understanding (and disrupting) the closed social networks that enable and perpetuate White opportunity hoarding throughout the creative industries.

Citizens of Scandal: Journalism, Secrecy, and the Politics of Reckoning in Mexico

Citizens of Scandal: Journalism, Secrecy, and the Politics of Reckoning in Mexico

Assessing impact in global media: methods, innovations, and challenges

International broadcasting, defined as “the use of electronic media by one society to shape the opinion of the people and leaders of another,” is an area of public diplomacy research ripe for scholarly attention (Price in Media and sovereignty: the global information revolution and its challenge to state power, MIT Press, Cambridge, 2002). The primary agent for U.S. international broadcasting is the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which operates in 62 languages in over 100 countries. While there is broad consensus in the literature that evaluation in public diplomacy is extremely difficult, USAGM has a unique challenge of assessing impact across such a broad and diverse geography of audiences and media environments. Moreover, as an independent public service media agency, USAGM is often called upon to show it is a responsible steward of resources by demonstrating the effectiveness of its programs to policymakers and key stakeholders (Metzgar in Seventy years of the Smith-Mundt Act and U.S. International broadcasting: Back to the future? CPD perspectives in public diplomacy, 2018). This paper describes and assesses USAGM’s Impact Model, which serves as the conceptual framework for aggregating, understanding, and communicating the Agency’s research. It illustrates the research-strategy-evaluation loop examining the case of Voice of America in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and discusses some of the challenges that USAGM faces in both research as well as implementation of the recommendations proposed based on that research.

A framework for the sustainability of advertising agencies in an emerging economy: the case of South Africa

ABSTRACT Digital evolution has disrupted advertising globally, and the outdated business models used by South African advertising agencies are pushing their customers towards their competitors in the digital space. The objective of the study was to provide a framework of Critical Success Factors (CSF) for marketing decision-makers operating in the digital era by investigating the extent and implications of this digital disruption. Triangulation through a mixed-methods approach with the sequential exploratory design was employed. In the qualitative phase, the impact of digital disruption on South African advertising agencies (AA) was explored through interviews. The findings were used to develop a questionnaire for the quantitative phase, in which exploratory factor analysis was employed. As a result, six factors significant for the operations of advertising agencies in the digital age were identified. These are (i) characteristics of modern marketing; (ii) agency sustainability in the digital age; (iii) characteristics of effective advertising in the digital age; (iv) critical skills for advertising agencies to succeed in the digital age; (v) digital capabilities for agencies’ success in the digital age; (vi) agency structure and process considerations for the digital age. The resulting CSF Framework provides the marketing decision-makers with a broader perspective on their strongly digitalised business environment and permits a smoother transition of AA towards a new sustainable business model.