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Ignite Website analysis
Ignite Website analysis
Ignite
Ignite website - HomeNavigation panes of website linking to all pages (mesh structure)
Channel launch information box to give info on launch date
Large images of shows to entice people to watch them
Bold titles, smaller text, gives info on what show is about
Logo and mantra of channel clear at top of the page
Twitter hashtag uses web 2.0 and audience involvement
Titles in different colours to attract audience
Slideshow of images from the programmes
Slideshow of large, inviting images
Social networking bar allows audience to find out more information
Ignite Ethos:
Ignite reflect their ethos of ‘setting your passion for television alight’ through the programmes depicted within the website, as this denotes instantly the sense of excitement that can be expected from the shows. Through the use of highlighting three main flagship shows for the launch of the brand, the audience is able to be enticed to the brand of Ignite and the programming on offer, because they will be able to remember the name of the three most popular shows within the channel. The idea of ‘setting passion alight’ is yet another extension of the ‘fire’ theme that the brand prevalently depicts throughout, as this is not only highlighted in terms of colour use, but also through the use of language. ‘What’s hot?’, ‘Oakley Vale is going to get fiery’ and ‘only on Ignite’ are just some of the examples of the channel following the ethos – because it not only links semantically with the overall theme – but also with the direct emphasis on the relationship between the audience and brand by enticing them to watch the shows.
Layout and Brand Identity:
The website uses a fire background which therefore relates to the entire ‘fire’ theme that the Ignite brand concurrently indicates through a variety of products, in a cornucopia of manners. This fire background is used to not only semantically relate to the lexical term of ‘Ignite’ itself, but also because fire has a sense of passion, which in turn can relate to the way that the audience can become extremely engaged with our programming and passionate about our shows. Furthermore, it can also signify the drama aspects that our channel offers and this is extremely beneficial because it means that our brand identity and image will become synonymous with the programmes that the brand shows – with this conveyed with the use of the background on the site.
Ignite Website analysis:
The Ignite website has a multitude of features that appeal to the audience, with this making the site extremely useful and effective. Firstly, the logo appears at the top of the page, with the use of the orange colour of the Ignite logo used to contrast strongly against the black background of the page. This makes it stand out tremendously, along with the mantra of the brand ‘setting your passion for television alight’. These features are set at the top of the page to convey them as important aspects of the site, and it also means that the audience can become synonymous with the brand identity because these are placed in the exact same area throughout the entire site. The consistency of this is effective, with this being a positive because it means that people will easily know where the logo is situated and it makes Ignite look like a professional brand subsequently. Moreover, the mesh structure of the website means that the audience can navigate to every single page on the website regardless of what page they are on – with this being extremely beneficial because they can access all of the information on the site without any technical difficulties. This is also a convention of almost all websites, meaning that it was a necessity to follow the same trend with the Ignite website.The navigation pane along the top of the page is vital to the page, because this means that the audience are easily able to see all of the different aspects that the site offers. Moreover, these colours use the same orange colour that is prevalent throughout the entire site and this enhances the consistency across the brand with the use of hot colours. Hot colours such as orange and red are concurrent within the site, along with the use of yellow – with these being bright and vibrant colours that create a sense of excitement about the brand, as they entice the audience due to how clearly visible they are on the site. The navigation pane also uses rollover colours, meaning that when the user hovers over the navigation pane with their mouse – it changes colour from orange to red – and this is yet another visually pleasing aspect of the site.The channel launch information box is part of a slideshow of large images on the home page. The channel launch information box includes all of the relevant information that is needed for the audience in order to find out about when the channel Ignite will launch. The channel launch information box includes information about the date of the channel launch, the number of the channel and then also utilises audience involvement with the use of the Twitter hashtag –thus generating a word-of-mouth through the extensive use of web 2.0 in a cohesive marketing campaign for the channel. The slideshow itself then contains two images from each of our three main flagship shows, with these depicting the main stars of the shows in order to subsequently entice the audience towards these programmes. The images are extremely large and it means that they are the focal point of the home page, meaning that people can clearly get an interpretation about what the shows offer, thus enticing them to watch the shows when the channel launches.
Further analysis:
Underneath the slideshow of images, three images are used alongside each other to denote important information about the channel and its main shows. The left and right images are images taken from the trailers of the advertisements for the flagship shows, whereas the middle image simply uses the Ignite logo – hence further creating an emphasis on the importance of the brand, so that the audience can remember it. Underneath these images are text about the respective images above, with the left and right images giving information about the programmes that they represent. However, the middle image that uses the Ignite logo states information yet again about the channel launch, with this complimenting the channel launch information box that is placed directly above it, thus giving the audience a plethora of opportunities to be able to see when the channel launches. Each image uses a different colour, with the red, orange and yellow colours used to make the website look visually pleasing and dynamic towards the audience – which will attract them towards the programming that the brand has to offer. The typography is large and therefore easily visible for the audience, so they are able to see everything on the page without any issues at all.
Underneath these images are a further gallery of images that are from the shows that the Ignite channel offers, with this slideshow acting as another opportunity for the audience to be able to see snapshots from shows that will soon be airing. By giving the audience the opportunity to be able to see shows, it gives them a sense of empowerment because they can learn aspects about the programmes before they air –hence creating an active and engaged audience in the same that they will want to find out as much as possible. The Ignite website offers this opportunity largely with the slideshow of images that includes the channel launch information box, though also in this instance with the smaller images that are able to scroll by using the horizontal navigation bar.
Finally, the home page ends with the use of the social networking bar at the bottom of the page – with this being of paramount importance for the target audience of the channel. The target audience for Ignite is the 16-34 year old audience, with this being the most profitable audience, primarily due to the fact that they have strong capabilities in using web 2.0 – and they can become an active audiencesubsequently. In order to attract the social and connected LIVES categories that we have previously demonstrated within our research, the use of a social networking bar is extremely important. The younger end of the population have the capabilities of using the new media technology, and they are also prevalent users of social networking, hence meaning that the inclusion of the social networking bar at the bottom of the Ignite page – which is consistent across all of the pages on the website – is a feature that maximises the potential for the audience to become involved with the brand. Moreover, the mainstream and explorer psychographic audiences are reached primarily with the use of this social networking section because these involve the largest conformist audience and then also an audience that values individualism – hence meaning that they will be able to have a sense of discovery when finding out more information and engaging with the brand through the use of social networking and web 2.0.
Ignite website - ShowsNavigation panes of website linking to all pages (mesh structure)
Logo and mantra of channel clear at top of the page
Heading to engage audience
Heading of each article is large and bold
Image relating to show
Consistent design for all information
Sidebar lists all of the news stories about shows
Featured posts states most important news
Read more icon allows audience to read article
Social bar allows audience to find out more information
Ignite website - Shows
Consistent design for all information
Social networking bar allows audience to find out more information
Read more icon allows audience to read article
Ignite website - PostsNavigation panes of website linking to all pages (mesh structure)
Logo and mantra of channel clear at top of the page
Heading to engage audience
Image relating to show
Sidebar lists all of the news stories about shows
Featured posts states most important news
Social bar allows audience to find out more information
Further analysis:
The title on the ‘shows’ page is used for a multitude of reasons, with this ultimately used to attract the audience towards the shows on offer. ‘What’s hot?’ is represented with the bright, orange colour that is consistent across the entire website, as this contrasts strongly to the background of the page. In addition, the lexical choice of ‘hot’ acts as a semantic field to the name of the brand ‘Ignite’, meaning that the language used within the heading relates to the entire brand – and thus the brand identity of ‘hot’ television is enticing for the audience. The orange colour also has connotations with heat and this also enhances the brand identity upon the audience. The lexis ‘hot’ is also extremely effective for the target audience of the brand, as it appears as a colloquial lexical choice that will appeal to the younger demographic audience – which is something that is apparent throughout the rest of the site – primarily because of the prevalence of social networking links aiming at younger, social audiences. Next, the pages includes the news stories about the respective shows on the Ignite channel, thus allowing the audience to gain a better understanding about what the shows are all about. They each include a large title, an image that relates to the show, text that signifies the start of an article and then a ‘read more’ icon that allows the audience to read the entire text about each show. By utilising the ‘read more’ icon, it means that the audience member is forced to become an active audience as they have to delve further into the website in order to find out the information that they are looking for on the page. Each post starts with a bold section that gives the basics about each shows and the fact that they are brand new shows that have come to the Ignite channel, then underneath the remaining text appears as normal because this means that it differs from the more fundamental text in terms of typography and graphology. Furthermore, each post ends in the same manner, thus creating a sense of consistency across all of the site, as well as giving the similar impression about when all of the shows start and where they can expect to see them. By using the sentence ‘only on Ignite’, it creates a sense of individualism and uniqueness about the channel, which gives it an advantage over other competing channels and it makes the Ignite brand seem more illustrious and exciting for the viewer. In addition, a mainstream psychographic audience and also the aspirer category are able to gain satisfaction as a result of the way that all of these articles end, because it creates a sense of excitement about the channel as it is the only channel that the audience can expect to see these shows on – meaning that a conformist group will all be negated to watch Ignite in order to see what the latest ‘new big thing’ essentially is. The consistency is also to make the brand and the website appear as professional.
Ignite website - TrailersNavigation panes of website linking to all pages (mesh structure)
Heading to engage audience
Videos of every flagship show
Social bar allows audience to find out more information
Titles in different colours to attract audience
Logo and mantra of channel clear at top of the page
Analysis:
The final page of the Ignite website is the ‘trailers’ page, with this page giving the audience the opportunity to become involved with the site as a result of the previews of our flagship shows. This page is consistent with the rest of the site because it includes the logo, mantra, fire background, navigation pane and social networking link at the bottom of the page – thus appearing as professional due to each page having a consistent layout that the audience can become synonymous with. This page is extremely simple and starts with three large titles in the colours that have been shown on the other pages of the site. This creates further consistency and professionalism within the site, with the vibrant colours giving an impression of the Ignite brand to be exciting and innovative, hence why they have been used to highlight the trailers of each flagship show.
Underneath the large titles are the trailers that have been embedded via YouTube, because this not only allows the audience to be able to see the advertisements for each programme – but also due to the fact that they can become an active audience in terms of YouTube comments and sharing the video. This is extremely useful for our audience because they have the most capabilities of technology and are also avid users of social networking, meaning that they can click our videos and share them in order to attract a larger audience towards our programming. These videos are extremely useful, especially for a large conformist psychographic audience, because they are the most likely to draw in more people towards the Ignite brand and our programming.
Theoretical Analysis:
The website follows Daniel Chandler’s genre theory. This theory states that genres tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content. We have conveyed a range of flagship shows within our brand that all belong to a range of different genres, thus giving our channel the opportunity to provide a range of exciting television for the audience. These genres are represented with the use of images and also news within the website, meaning that the combination of information represents the primary genres evidently. Within the ‘trailers’ page of our website, we were able to represent Chandler’s genre theory in the sense that we provide the conventional aspects for the soap opera advertisement. The characters were dressed in clothes that made them appear as conventional and relatable, meaning that they were working-class people that represented the soap genre well – with the realism theory involved because we wanted the audience to engage with the characters.
Theoretical Analysis:
We have subverted from Neale’s genre theory of ‘genres are instances of difference’. We opposed this theory primarily because of the fact that we have been conventional with our channel launch and therefore have tried to emulate the success of newly launched channels like ITV Encore and ITV Be.
We have applied the uses and gratifications theory towards our website, as we wished the audience to use our site in order to seek pleasure. By giving the audience multiple genres to enjoy and then also information in terms of graphical content and textual content combined – we have been able to allow them to engage with our content on the site. We have followed the conventions, and we have given pleasure towards the audience by signifying the entertainment genre to be replete within our programming; though with the ranging sub-genres like soap operas and reality television.
Due to the way in which we have followed the uses and gratifications theory, we have also followed Aristotle's theory, with this linking to the fact that different emotional responses are linked to a range of genres. Moreover, the genres can allow an audience a sense of escapism. Therefore, we have adhered to Aristotle’s theory because of the fact that we can elicit different responses from the audience due to the way in which we highlight the three flagship shows to belong to different genres. The audience is therefore able to have a multitude of different responses to the programming that is involved in the Ignite brand – and it gives them a cornucopia of opportunities to engage with the shows that they prefer the most.
Theoretical Analysis:
We have followed Deborah Knight’s theory of conveying our genres towards specific audiences, as we have made our design and information for our shows dynamic, which means that the younger psychographic audiences are more likely to become engaged with the content. Moreover, Knight says ‘genre provides the additional pleasure of prolonged anticipation’, thus meaning that by following Freytag’s dramatic structure, as well as Barthes’ proairetic code theory –we have ended our advertisements without a denouement – which therefore will engage the audience and entice them to find our what ultimately happens. The audience will become active in the sense that they will be drawn to find our what happens next, so by using the technique of cliffhangers, we have conveyed our shows – and soap opera primarily – to end without a denouement to give anticipation.We have connoted Laura Mulvey’s representation theory within our presentation of the reality television show. The female character is depicted within the beginning of the advertisement, with a close up shot providing an example of objectification of woman through the camera work. The purpose of this was to make the character appear as attractive and to focus upon the facial features, thus acting as allowing the male audience to objectify the character easily. Moreover, this shot of the female character is soon followed by a shot of the dominant male character, with the male character looking directly at the camera – in order to follow aspects of Mulvey’s representation theory. We followed this theory because it gives the male character a sense of dominance, whereas the female is objectified because this signifies a lesser sense of power. Suspense is created through the combination of shots between the female character who is initially shown with a close up, rather than a male character who is shown with his entire body – hence showing a sense of power within that character’s representation.These aspects also relate to the fact that we have opposed Janice Winship’s notion of complicity, as we have not given a sense of idealism for the female character, whereas the male character has the dominance within the trailer. Furthermore, this also indicates the fact that we have contrasted David Gauntlett’s empowered female theory, because we have denoted that the male has more power, and the female acts alike how a heterosexual male would perceive them.
Theoretical Analysis:We have highlighted Propp’s character types within our website, with this being shown in a multitude of ways. We have denoted this within our use of images, as well as the advertisements primarily. Firstly, all of the characters within the soap opera and the reality television show are conveyed to have a narrative function. We have been able to include a female character in a positive light, and though we have been unable to depict her as an entirely positive character, the audience is able to assume positive connotations about her – which can potentially represent traits of a hero. Then, we have been able to convey the negative characters within programming, with this being the male character within reality television and then the female character within the soap opera. Therefore, we have primarily focused upon using Levi Strauss’ binary oppositions theory rather than sticking entirely to the character types concept by Propp. We have been able to set a contrast between the positive and negative characters within the programming, and this is shown with the facial expression and close up shots of the male character within ‘#CorbyLife’ – with this therefore signifying a villainous character within the programme. Moreover, the female character within the soap opera is shown to be a villain because of the fact that she has cheated on her boyfriend, with this represented within the website because of the promotional video, as the music in the trailer stops when the cliffhanger occurs – thus drawing yet another example of Freytag’s dramatic structure being used to entice the audience.
Theoretical Analysis:We have represented Todorov’s narrative theory within our advertisements on the website, with the main purpose of highlighting a sense of calm initially, before ultimately ending in disequilibrium. We wanted to end the advertisements in this state because it would entice the audience towards our new channel that we have launched, in order to allow them to find out what happens after the cliffhanger. Within the soap opera, the characters are connoted to have a sense of calm and this is shown with the positive conversation that occurs. However, the regular heartbeats without any other sound allow the tension to be created, and along with the regular black fades used to act as a transition between character discussion – it highlights that the disequilibrium is prevalent within the advertisement. In addition, the lack of any sound apart from the diegetic sound of the female villain – with this acting as a dramatic function to represent the sheer disequilibrium at the end of the advertisement and this draws the audience towards the programming.Within the reality television show, the equilibrium is shown initially as the female character drives –though her narration with the use of non-diegetic sound is used to highlight the sense of disequilibrium that will ultimately occur. Then, two male characters discuss in a relatively calm manner, before drama is enhanced because not only does the music get louder in order to build tension – but a physical confrontation between two other male characters give a sense of drama to the show – though these events are not fully explained. The purpose of using disequilibrium and initial tranquillity is to engage the audience with the excitement of the show so that they will want to find out the full reasoning for the confrontation.
Theoretical Analysis:Within our advertisements on the website, we were able to depict a sense of a multi-strand narrative, because this is conventional within programming and we wanted to highlight this because the range of events will appeal to the audience and draw them towards watching the programming that Ignite offers. In the soap opera, we have highlighted not only the storyline with the female character being pregnant, but also the fact that there is a reasoning for the male character’s discomfort at the revelation of her pregnancy. Moreover, the advertisement ends with the female character stating that the baby is someone else’s – though this conversation was a phone conversation and therefore the audience is unaware of who the character is actually speaking to. The combination of the narrative events occurring within the advertisements for the soap opera is used because the maelstrom of events serves as disequilibrium, and we wished to use this structure so that the audience are drawn towards what happens ultimately in the show.
Theoretical Analysis:We have used Barthes’ hermeneutic code within our website, with this being because we have advanced the narrative without showing a conclusive end. By leaving our advertisements without an ending, the audience are thus engaged towards finding out about the events – as mentioned with previous theoretical analysis. However, Barthes’ code is most effective in relating to web 2.0 and the target audience of the overall Ignite brand. Due to the fact that we have left our advertisements as a mystery, as well as the descriptions of the programmes within the ‘shows’ page of the site – it draws the audience in to making conclusions about what will occur. Furthermore, the fact that we have included the social networking links and web 2.0 information for the audience to access – because of the fact that our target audience has clear capabilities in using this software – it combines the theory and the purpose of new media technology being involved on the site. The audience is therefore drawn to be an active audience because of the fact that they can generate a word-of-mouth on social networking, which can involve a huge amount of people and this can mean that lots of interest is placed within not only the programmes, but the channel launch also. Interest of a climax for the shows can be shown within Twitter trends, Facebook posts and also comments on the advertisements on YouTube – with the purpose of this being to allow the audience to come up with their own theories for the denouement of each advertisement. This theory also strongly relates to audience pleasure, because of the fact that the audience are given the opportunity to become active as they can decipher what may happen – this allowing them to give their own opinions.
Theoretical Analysis:
We have used mediation within our website, because of the fact that we have emphasised and perhaps at times exaggerated aspects about our brand – with the purposeful hyperbole used in order to enhance the quality of Ignite. The use of mediation falls into the fact that we have used selection – with this being because of the fact that we have selected the main flagship shows to advertise throughout all of our products. The use of selection means we have been able to signify and depict the best elements of our brand and also our programming – thus drawing the audience towards the Ignite brand. The mediation theory applies fundamentally in the sense that we have used focusing, because of the fact that we have used selection – we have been able to focus on the most important – and also the best aspects about our brand. By focusing the audience towards the brand identity with the use of the fire theme throughout and then highlighting the main three flagship shows within the website through images, news articles and then the trailers for the shows – we have been able to make our brand easily memorable. Stereotypes are something that we had to consider not only within the website, but within the entire presentation of our brand – as we wanted to aim at both a male and a female audience with our shows. By creating a brand identity that involved vibrant colours like orange, red and yellow – we were able to be neutral in our presentation and therefore we have taken aspects of stereotypes and adapted them so that we can aim at both genders. Moreover, within our reality television show – we have depicted the male character to have the dominance within the show – thus following the traditional, patriarchal stereotype of males having a sense of dominance over the female gender. Although, we have not been diminishing of the female gender within our presentation – we have merely been able to signify the power of the male dominance, especially when the two male characters come together in confrontation – as this certainly follows a sense of alpha-male stereotyping.
Theoretical Analysis:We have been able to depict the constructionist view within the website, primarily with the presentation of the reality television show. By subverting our setting of Corby within the reality television show – we do not present the glamorous lifestyle, and therefore we have placed an importance on the context of our society that the characters have been placed in. The trailer involves representing areas of Corby, though these shots involve many pubs and restaurants, conveying that there is not a range of opportunities available within the town. Due to the subversion of the programme, it means that the context of the location is something that it dominant, and it plays an intrinsic aspect of the show – with subversion thus creating audience interest.
Dominant ideology is represented within our shows, because of the fact that we have focused upon the entertainment genre. All of the female characters within our programming appear as looking after their appearance, thus fitting alongside the psychographic audiences of conformists – as the audience will be able to relate and enjoy the way that female characters look. Although, we do subvert from a dominant ideology because of the fact that the female character does not put her family first, as she is shown to be pregnant but does not have the baby with her boyfriend. This subversion is used deliberately in order to contrast dominant ideology, as the contrast allows the audience to become engaged due to the suspense involved, and they will wish to understand the reasoning for the lack of dominant ideology in this instance.
Realism theory has been extremely important for our brand and for our website, because we have had to focus on using the research of other websites of existing channels in order to ensure that we fit alongside the other programmes on offer. The website follows the traditional techniques of realism with aspects like a mesh structure, hence allowing our audience to navigate through all of the pages on the site without any issues at all and it means that they can access all of the information on the site. However, the realism theories apply mainly within our presentation of the programmes within the trailers. This is due to the fact that we wanted our characters to appear as realistic because the audience will seek pleasure from being able to engage with the realistic character traits. If the character presentations are realistic, then the audience are more likely going to engage with the events of shows that occur, and we have done this within our trailers. Our documentary show allows the audience to see the real-life school environment and the younger end of our target audience can understand and relate to the school issues that occur – although also the slightly older audience is able to reminisce the events of school and can gain subsequent pleasure from this. Within the soap opera, the male character is shown to be relatable and realistic in the sense that he is thrown into a state of disequilibrium and needs to get out of it – and this elicits a response of sympathy from the audience because they will want this character to understand the events that go on. Finally, within the reality television show, we represent the realism theory due to the way that the drama unfolds between the male characters because of the scenario of the male character cheating on his girlfriend – with the friends attempting to reason with him because of the wrongdoings. This is a traditional event and because of our representation of the character being angry at these events, it means that the audience will grow to like this character, and then grow to dislike the character that has cheated on his girlfriend. Villains are essential for programming in terms of presenting Levi-Strauss’ binary oppositions theory, as the villains create other characters to be liked and disliked.
Theoretical Analysis:
Within our website, we have followed the pluralism and postmodernism concepts, with this involving the synergy that we represented as part of a cohesive marketing campaign. The way that new media technology is now fully accessible, it means that it was of paramount importance to highlight our advertising to use web 2.0, which allows our audience to become active. We have linked our social networking within the website which allows the audience to gain information about the Ignite brand from other sources, with Twitter and Facebook. Moreover, we included a YouTube link because this allows the audience to see our advertisements in a separate place to the trailers page itself – thus showing the postmodern theory because of the plethora of opportunities to become engaged with the Ignite brand. We follow pluralism because we are allowing the audience to become active, as they can consume the media for their own gratifications and needs. The audience can use our website in order to look at the advertisements and news about the programming that Ignite offers, which means that they can seek assurance because of the way that we have incorporated realism into our shows. By using web 2.0 and new media technology, it means that the audience can use pluralism in order to gain the most information possible about Ignite.
Theoretical Analysis:
The final theory that applies as a result of the Ignite website is scheduling theory, with this being shown because of the way that we have scheduled our programmes to be shown on the air. Prime time television is used for all of our shows and this is because we have depicted the flagship shows through the manner of focusing – and because we want the audience to tune in to our programmes at the peak times, thus drawing in the largest group of people. We have shown our programmes to start at 7pm, 9pm and 10pm – with the soap opera starting earliest because this is conventional – and it means that we have shown a clear indication of when the audiences will wish to watch our shows. The reality television show has the latest slot at 10pm because of the fact that the younger demographic audience are more likely to be watching television at this time, so by signifying it to start at 10pm – it means that they will be awake and watching television and thus can see the show.
