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ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNatureJTC614:PublicCommunicationCampaigns

HayleyEveThompson

ABSTRACT

ThiscontentanalysisinvestigateshowtheDiscoveringNaturecampaignfromtheAdCouncilandtheU.S.ForestServicecultivatedsimilaritywithtargetaudiences.Themessageswerecodedforthecharacterdemographicsofrace,gender,andageforeachtargetsegment.Thesettingandactivityframeswerealsocoded.ThecontentanalysisfoundthatMaterialstargetedforAfricanAmericansfeaturedBlackcharactersandSpanishLanguagematerialsfeaturedHispaniccharacters.Theseresultssupportthetheorythatmessengersaremorelikelytobepersuasiveiftheyaresimilartothetargetaudience.

2 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature

TableofContentsSourceFactorsforPersuasion.............................................................................................................................................3TargetAudienceAnalysis......................................................................................................................................................5AdCouncilandDiscoveringNature..................................................................................................................................6Methods.......................................................................................................................................................................................10Hypothesis..................................................................................................................................................................................12Results..........................................................................................................................................................................................13Discussion...................................................................................................................................................................................19ListofFiguresFigure1 14Figure2 14Figure3 14Figure4 15Figure5 16Figure6 16Figure7 18Figure8 18

ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 3

Videogames.Television.Internet.Cellphones.Beyondthisshortlist,childrenare

stayinginsideformanyreasons.In2014theAdCouncillaunchedaDiscoveringNature

campaigntocombatthegrowingtendencyofchildrentostayinratherthanexplorenature.

Thecampaignwasdirectedatthreedistinctaudiences:AfricanAmericans,Spanish

speakers,andthegeneralpopulation(apresumedwhite,middleclassgroup…butthe

implicationsofthisisforarhetoricalscholartodiscuss).TheAdCouncildeveloped

campaignmaterialswithculturallyrelevantsymbolsandcharactersforeachofthespecific

audiences.

Theprincipleofsimilarity,orappealingtoatargetaudiencethroughlikeness,isan

importanttopicwhencampaignmanagerscreatethemessageandmaterials.Thiscontent

analysisoftheDiscoveringNaturecampaignswillcomparevisualcampaignmaterialsto

understandhowtherepresentationsofcharacters,activities,andsettingchangeforeach

targetaudience.Thisreportwillthendiscusshowthesourcefactorsforpersuasionwere

utilizedinselectingthemessengersforeachtargetaudience.Thefindingswillbeusefulto

connecthowaudiencesegmentationishelpfulwhencreatingcampaignmaterialsthatare

mostlikelytopersuadeatargetaudience.

SourceFactorsforPersuasionThepurposeofanymarketingcampaignistopersuadethetargetaudiencetodo

something.Insocialmarketing,thepurposeisnarrowedfurthertoinfluencingbehaviors

thatbenefittheindividualandsociety(Lee&Kotler,2016,8).Inordertoinfluence

audiencebehaviors,socialcampaignsutilizepersuasivetechniqueswithatargetaudience

inmind.Increasingsourcecredibilityandattractivenessisimportantforanycampaignto

besuccessful;eventhebestmessagestrategywillbehurtifthewrongcommunicator

4 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNaturedeliversit.Sourcecredibilityisthe“attitudetowardasourceofcommunicationheldata

giventimebyareceiver”whilesourceattractivenessreferstohow“likeable,similartothe

messagerecipients,andphysicallyappealing”thesourceis(Perloff,2014,237and250).

Theperceivedcredibilityandattractivenessofthesourcecandirectlyimpactthe

persuasivenessofthecampaign,thusimpactingtheinfluenceonbehaviors.Bothmustbe

consideredtodevelopmentthemoststrategiccampaignmaterials.

Credibilityiscultivatedthroughthreemajorfactors:expertise,trustworthiness,and

goodwill(Perloff,2014,242).Expertiseistheperceivedknowledgebasethatthesource

holdstowardasubject(Perloff,2014,242).Highlightingtheexpertiseofthecommunicator

isbestwhenthemessagereliesonfactsandlogictopersuadethereceivers.Tomany

receivers,trustworthinesscanoutweightheexpertiseofthesource.Trustworthiness

compriseshowobjectiveandhonestthesourceisperceivedtobe(Lee&Kotler,2016,

352).Sourceswillnotbeperceivedastrustworthy,orhavegoodwill,iftheaudiencedoes

notbelievethatthesourcehastheirbestinterestsinmind.Havinggoodwillincreasesthe

charismaofsourcesbecausehumanshaveasenseofempathy(Perloff,2014,242).

Socialattractivenessofthesource,althoughseeminglysuperficial,hasahugerole

onthepersuasion.Sourcesthatarelikeable,similartothemessagerecipient,and

physicallyappealingareperceivedasmoresociallyattractive,butthetargetaudience

heavilyinfluencesthesevariables(Perloff,2014,250).Itisunclearwhatexactfactors

enhancelikeability,yetthereisevidencethatlikeablecommunicatorscanchangeattitudes.

Likeablesourcescanfosterpositivethoughtsaboutthemessageastheymaketheaudience

feelgood.Likeablesourcesarealsosuccessfulatconveyinggoodwilltotheaudience

(Perloff,2014,250).Similaritybetweenthesourceandtheaudiencecanincreasethe

ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 5persuasiveaffectofthemessage.ResearchonHIVtestinginAfrican-Americanwomen

foundthattheaudiencewasmorelikelytofeelpositivelytowardthedesiredbehavior

whenthemessagewasdeliveredbyanAfrican-Americanfemale(Perloff,2014,250).

Similarityworksbecausepeoplecomparethemselvestoothers;ifsomeonewhoissimilar

endorsesaposition,thenthatpositionismorelikelytobeaccepted(Perloff,2014,252).

Lastly,physicallyattractivecommunicatorsareoftenmoreeffectivebecauseaudiencesare

morelikelytopaycloserattentiontothemessage.Physicalattractivenesshasbeenusedin

advertisingbecauseofthepositiveassociationbeautycreateswiththeproducts(Perloff,

2014,254).Thisfosterstheidiomthat“sexsells.”

Thiscontentanalysisismostinterestedintheelementsofsimilaritytothetarget

audienceforcampaignmessages.AsmentionedbyPerloff(2014),socialcampaignshave

foundincreasedsuccesswhenthemessengerwasrelatabletothetargetaudience.

Similarityisstrongestwhenheuristic,orquickvisualcues,aremorelikelytobeusedinthe

attitudeformationprocess(Perloff,2014,188-93).TheDiscoveringNaturecampaigndoes

notrequirealargecognitiveinvestmentbytheaudiencebecausetheprimarybehavior

objectiveisvisitingawebsite,sotheperipheralrouteofprocessingmaybetaken.The

communicator’ssocialattractivenessisakeyfactorwhentheaudienceisprocessing

informationintheperipheralroute(Perloff,2014,190).Socialattractivenessincludesthe

physicalappeal.Thiscontentanalysiswillinvestigatehowphysicalcharacteristics,race,

gender,andageofthepersonsvisibleinthemessage,changeforeachaudiencesegment.

TargetAudienceAnalysisTheAdCouncildividedtheDiscoveringNaturematerialsintothreedistinct

demographictargetaudiences.ThekeyvariablefordemographicsegmentationbytheAd

6 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNatureCouncilistherace,andthusassumedculture,ofthetargetaudience(i.e.African-American

andHispanic).Toadequatelydiscussthefindingsofthecontentanalysis,eachclearly

identifiedaudiencesegmentmustbeunderstood.AshortsummaryofAfrican-Americans

andHispanicsisprovided.

African-Americans:African-American,orBlackAmericans,accountfor13-14%of

thetotalpopulationasofthe2014census.ThisisanethnicgroupwithancestryfromBlack

racialgroupsofAfrica.Theinstitutionofslaverycreatedlastingsocio-economicbarriers

forthisgroupincludinghigherpovertyrates,higherincarcerationrates,andalowerlevel

ofeducation.ThepovertyrateforBlackwas26.2%in2014with19%receivinga

bachelor’sdegreeorhigher.Thedensityofthisgroupisalsomoreprevalentininnercity

andurbanareas(U.S.CensusBureau).TheAdCouncilfoundthat37%ofAfricanAmerican

childrenparticipatedinoutdoorrecreationin2011ascomparedto67%forCaucasian

children.

Hispanics:Hispanicscompose17%ofthetotalpopulationasofthe2014censusand

arethelargestminorityintheUnitedStates.Thisisanethnicgroupwithancestryfrom

LatinAmericaorothertraditionallySpanishspeakingcares.Thepovertyrateforthisgroup

23%and14%ofHispanicshaveabachelor’sdegreeorhigher.55%oftheHispanic

populationresidesinCalifornia,Texas,orFlorida.56%ofmarriedHispanicshavechildren

under18,whichisabovethenationalaverageof40%(U.S.CensusBureau).TheAdCouncil

foundthat50%ofHispanicyouthparticipateinoutdoorrecreation.

AdCouncilandDiscoveringNature TheAdCouncilwasestablishedin1942withthemissionto“produce,distribute,

andpromotecampaignstoimproveeverydaylives.”Sinceitscreation,theAdCouncilhas

ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 7becometheleadingproducerofpublicserviceannouncements.Themodelfortheprivate,

non-profitorganizationisbuiltondonationsandvolunteerwork.Corporatesponsors,

federalgrants,advertisingandmarketingfirms,andmedianetworkshavedonatedbillions

ofdollarstotheorganizationtobenefitsociety.

TheAdCouncilconductsextensiveresearchintotheintendedaudienceforeachand

everycampaignthatitdevelops.Theresearchisbothqualitativeandquantitativetobegin

allcampaigns.Firstly,aliteraturereviewisconductedtoestablishthenatureandscopeof

theissue,understandpublicopinionsonthetopic,andtoanalyzeanysimilarcampaigns

alreadyinuse.ThentheAdCouncilwillconductabuzzmeasurementtogagehowthe

audienceconnectswiththetopicthroughsocialmediaplatforms.Anexploratoryphaseof

researchisessentialforanycampaigntothrive.Theexploratoryresearchincludesprimary

qualitativemethodssuchasfocusgroups,interviews,andobservationacrosstwotothree

marketstounderstandthecausesandcompletepictureoftheissue.Surveydata,statistics,

andotherquantitativemethodscompletethemarketanalysis.TheAdCouncilmeasuresits

impactofcampaignsthoughmediaexposure,consumerresponsesurveys,webanalytics,

andmeasurableshiftsinthetargetbehaviors.

TheDiscoveringNaturecampaign,sponsoredbytheU.S.ForestService,was

launchedinJuneof2014tocomplementtheDiscovertheForesteffortsalreadyinplace.

DiscovertheForestwasfirstlaunchedin2009toencouragetheuseofnationalparks.

DiscoveringNaturecampaign’spurposewasto“togetkidsandfamiliesouttoenjoythe

wondersofournation’sforests”becauseofthemental,physical,andspiritualbenefitsthat

naturecanoffer.Thetargetaudienceforthiscampaignwasparentsandcaregiversofteens

becausetheyhavetheabilitytotaketheirchildrenintonature.Thesecondarytarget

8 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNatureaudiencewasteensandchildren.Throughsurveyresearchitwasfoundthat245million

Americanlivewithin100milesofanationalpark,yettheydonotvisitthenatural

resources.TheTVspots,radioannouncements,andimagesdirecttheaudiencetothe

website,www.discovertheforest.org.AllmarketversionsoftheDiscoveringNature

materialsdirecttheconsumertothesamewebsite.Onthesiteusersareprovidedtoolsand

knowledgeaboutnationalparksavailabletothem.Thiswebsiteisthemainproductforthis

campaignandservesasthegatewayintothetargetbehavior.Allofthematerialswant

userstovisitthissite;inordertounderstandthecampaignmessages,thewebsitemustbe

discussed.

Onarrivaltothesite,theuserismetwithachangingheader.Theheadercontains

variousimagesofnaturallandscapesthatchangeevery5seconds.Thephotographs

includedesertmountains;highlandmountains;twoversionsofurbanparkswithlarge

skyscrapersinthebackground,onewithasmallbridgeoveracreekfeaturingachildand

manonthebankandonewithtreescoveringtheforeground;twowaterfallscenes;arocky

plateau;athickforestwithbrightgreenfoliage;afemalebackpackeroverlookinga

grassland;andaforestpathwithamanandawomanholdinghands.The“Discoverthe

Forest”logoisdisplayedintheupperlefthandcorneroftheheadingimage.Alongthe

bottomstates“RECONNECTYOURFAMILYWITHNATURE.DISCOVERAFORESTORPARK

NEARYOU!”Thenavigationbarisoverlaidinthetoprightcorner.

Astheeyetravelsdownthepagetherearethreemainsections.Theleftsidebar

featurestoolsfortheusertolocatenearbyparks.Theuserscaninputtheirlocation,select

theactivitiestheyareinterestedin,andchoosefromthetypeofsitetheyarelookingfor.A

mapisthengeneratedbasedontheprovidedinformation.Therightpanelcontainsthree

ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 9contentboxes.“EveryKidinAPark”isatthetopandprovidesinformationontheparkpass

programfor4thgraders.“DiscovertheUrbanForest”encouragesbeingoutdoorswithinthe

neighborhood.ItisinterestingtonotethattheonlyAfricanAmericanpersonrepresented

onthewebsiteisassociatedwiththe“urban”environment.AfricanAmericansaremore

denselypopulatedinurbanareasofthecountry.“AbouttheForest”roundsoutthe

featuredcontentwithanimageofthevividgreenforestandinformationaboutnatural

lands.Thebottomcontentboxcontainsthevariouswaysthatuserscanconnectwiththe

campaignviaFacebook,Instagram,andTwitter.Themostrecentpostsareshowcasedhere.

Thenavigationbarwilltaketheusersdeeperintothewebsitetoexploreother

dimensionsofthecampaign.“BeforeYouGo”isalinkforpreparation-basedresources.

Usersareprovidedpackingchecklists,parkrules,andcosts.Theonlyimagesarecartoon

diagramsofabackpack,aclipboard,atrashcan(fortheleavenotrashguidelines),and

money.“WhattoDo”providesgamesandactivitiesthatcanbeprintedandtakenintothe

foresttocomplete.Thereare16activitiestochoose(e.g.,leafrubbings,aforestsnapshot

game,andanimaltracks)andallfeaturecartoonimagestoaccompanythetext.“Sharethe

Forest”containsthePSAmaterialsthatuserscanwatchandshareviasocialmedia.There

isalsoinformationonallofthecampaignpartners.“MoretoExplore”featuresinformation

onhowtobecomemoreinvolvedwithpubliclands.Therearesixwaysthatthewebsite

liststobecomeinvolved;alloftheresourcesarepairedwithasmallcartoon.“Aboutthe

Forest”providesfunfactsabouttheecosystem,conservationefforts,andbenefitsofbeing

outdoors.Nomatterwhatwebpagetheuserison,aturquoise“FindtheForestNearYou”

tabisalwaysinview.Webdesignresearchhasdeterminedthatuserslookatasiteinan“F”

10 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNatureshape,andthisimportanttabfollowsthetoplineofthe“F”formaximumvisibility.Thelink

takestheuserbacktothemapofparksintheirarea.

Again,thegoalofthiscampaignistoincreasenationalparkattendanceby

increasingparents’knowledgeaboutthelocationofparksandtohelpthemtaketheir

childrenintonature.Everythingaboutthiswebsitedirectstheusersbacktonationalparks.

ThewebsiteisavailableinSpanishtoaddresstheneedsoftheSpanishLanguagemarket,

butthesitedoesnotfeatureanyvariationforthecontent.

TheAdCouncilhaspreviouslypairedwiththeU.S.ForestServiceonahighly

successfulcampaign:WildfirePrevention.ThiscampaignwasthebirthplaceofSmokeythe

Bear,andthemessageof“onlyyoucanpreventforestfires”has70%recollection.This

partnershipbeganin1944andtheresultsareclear.Forestfireburnacreshavedropped

from22millionto6.7millionayearoverthecourseofthiscampaign.TheWildfire

PreventioncampaignisthemostcomparabletotheDiscoveringNaturecampaignasituses

imagesofnature,forests,andrespectfullyenjoyingtheoutsideworld.Bothcampaignsuse

eachothertopromotetheother.SmokeytheBearappearsontheDiscovertheForest

websitemanytimesinanefforttoencouragebeingoutdoorwhileprotectingthe

environment.

MethodsAfterthoroughlynavigatingthecornerstoneofthecampaign,

www.discovertheforest.org,myattentionturnstothePSAmaterialthatdirectsuserstothe

website.ThisstudyisfocusedonthevisualvarietybetweenthePSAmaterialstodetermine

theextentthatsimilaritywasconsideredacrosstargetmarkets.Theuniverseforthisstudy

isvisualmessagesoftheDiscoveringNaturecampaigndevelopedbytheAdCouncil

ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 11availableontheAdCouncilwebsite.TheDiscoveringNaturecampaignincludesthree

versions:DiscoveringNature,DiscoveringNature(AfricanAmericanmarket),and

DiscoveringNature(SpanishLanguage).Thesampleincludesallofthevideosandimages

producedforeachofthethreecampaignvariationsasdistributedthroughthewebsite,

www.adcouncil.org.Thereare10totalunitsofanalysisforthissample;twoprintimages

andeightvideomessagesfrom30secondsto60secondslong.

TheDiscoveringNaturecampaignwasselectedforthisstudybecauseofits

comparativequalities.TheAdCouncilandtheU.S.ForestServiceoriginallydevelopeda

campaign,basedona2009andeffort,andthenadapteditforuniquetargetaudiences.The

consistentunderlyingpurposeandnarrativelineeliminatesthe“applestooranges”nature

ofcomparingcampaignswithdissimilargoalsandobjectives.Thiscampaignlentitselffor

theanalysisofcharacters,activities,andsettingswithoutthelimitationsofothervariables.

Twocodersviewedthecompletesampleandcompletedthecodingsheet(See

Appendix1).Thecodersevaluatedthedemographicsofthecharacters,thenatureofthe

activities,andthecharacteristicsoftheenvironment.Thedemographicvariablesof

interestweretheethnicity/race,theage,andthegenderofeachcharacterpresented.

Ethnic/RacialcategorieswereWhite/Caucasian,Black/AfricanAmerican,Hispanic,Other,

andUnknown.Thecategorieswereselectedtoencompassthethreemostlikelyandmost

prominentethnicity/raceswithinthecampaigntargetaudienceandallowspaceforthe

variousotherpossibleethnicities/races.Raceismostassociatedwithbiological

componentsandethnicitywithculturalgroupings;bothidentifiersmayinfluencethe

similarityofthecharacterstothetargetaudienceandraceremainsasignalforcultural

associations,sothetwowerenotdistinguishedinthisstudy.Theactivityvariablewas

12 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNaturecategorizedintoPassiveLeisure,SportingLeisure,ActiveLeisure,andOther.Theaerobic

potentialoftheactivitywasthemainsignalforcategorization.Activitiesthatdorequirean

increaseinaerobicfunctionwerecodedaspassive.Activitiesthatrequiredmoreaerobic

functionwereactive.Activitiesassociatedwithrecognizedsportingeventswerecodedas

sporting.Anyactivitythatdidnotfitintooneofthecategorieswascodedasotherwitha

descriptionoftheactivityprovidedbythecoder.Forest,Urban,Rural,Beach,Desert,and

Othercomprisedtheenvironment.Thefoliageandnaturalfeatureswerethemain

identifyingfeaturesforthecoders.Urbanwascodedbasedonthelackofnaturalfoliage

andtheabundancepresenceofcityelements(e.g.,cementandbuildings).SeeAppendix2,

theCodingBook,forextendeddescriptionsofeachvariable.

Hypothesis Basedontheliteratureaboutsimilarity,theresearchintoeachtargetaudience,and

theanalysisofdiscovertheforest.orgIhaveseveralhypotheses.Overall,Ibelievethateach

ofthemarketspecificcampaignmaterialswillreflectthemajorcustomsandracesofthe

targetaudiencetoenhancethesimilarity,thusthesocialattractivenessandpersuasive

natureofthematerials.

H1:ThemostfrequentagegroupacrossalltargetmarketswillbeChildren.

H2:ThemostfrequentsettingacrossalltargetmarketswillbeForests.

H3:Theraceofthecharacterswillbeconsistentwiththetargetmarketforeachcampaign.

H4:TheDiscoveringNatureAfricanAmericanmaterialswillfeaturegreaterthan75%

Blackcharacters.

H5:TheDiscoveringNatureAfricanAmericanmaterialswillfeaturemoreUrbansettings

thananyothertargetmarketcategory.

ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 13H6:TheDiscoveringNatureSpanishLanguagematerialswillfeaturegreaterthan75%

Hispaniccharacters.

ResultsEachcoderviewedthe10unitsofanalysisandcodedforcharacterrace,age,and

gender;activity;andthesetting.Therewere40totalcharactersacrossthesamplewithone

unitofanalysis,DiscoveringNature#3,notincludinganyhumanpersons.Thisparticular

unitfeaturedonlyadeerasthecentralcharacterandwasexcludedfromthecharacter

analysis.Therewere11activitiesand13settingscodedasseveralunitsfeaturedmore

thanone.IntercoderreliabilitywascalculatedusingtheHolstimethod(Wimmer&

Dominick,2014,175).Thecodersagreedon38decisionswitheachmaking41total.Based

on𝑅 = !!!!!!!

theintercoderreliabilitywas92%.Thispercentageisabovethe

recommended90%reportedfromforHolsti’sformula(Wimmer&Dominick,2014,180).

Theonlydiscrepanciesbetweencodersweretheagesandthesettingsoftwounits.The

resultsarelistedinthebelowtables.Figures1through6reflectthedemographic

informationofthe39charactersidentifiedinthesample.Figure7istheactivityframing;

Figure8isthesettings.


7%

42%

0%

48%

3%

AgeDispersionCoder1Infant Child Teen Adult SeniorAdult

Figure1

7%

37%

5%

48%

3%

AgeDispersionCoder2Infant Child Teen Adult SeniorAdult

Figure2

02468101214161820

Infant Child Teen Adult SeniorAdult

Frequency

AgeCategory

Age

Coder1

Coder2

Figure3


Theagedispersionwassplitbetweenadultsandchildrenasthemostfrequent.

TherewasaslightdiscrepancyinDiscoveringNatureUnit1fortheageofthetwo

characters.Coder1perceivedthemtoelementaryagedwhileCoder2perceivedthemtobe

highschoolaged.Therewerethreeinfantsfeaturedandonesenioradultwithinthe

sample.TheinfantsandthesenioradultswererepresentedintheDiscoveringNature

SpanishLanguagematerials.Themajorityofthecharacterswerechildrenandadults.The

identifiedtargetaudienceforthegeneralcampaignisthecaretakersofchildren.Theyoung

childrendisplayedcouldnotgettonaturewithouttheassistanceoftheircaretakers.Adults

werepresentwithallthechildren.TheDiscoveringNaturecampaignfeaturedthefewest

numberofcharacterstotal.Mostofmyhypothesisfortheageofthecharacterswas

rejected.

H1:ThemostfrequentagegroupacrossalltargetmarketswillbeChildren.

Childrenandadultswerethemostfrequentagegroup,butadultswererepresented

ataslightlyhigherrate.Thishypothesisisrejected.

Male,19,47%Female,21,53%

Gender

Figure4


Thesampleincludedmorefemalesthanmalesbytwoindividuals.Discovering

NatureAfricanAmericanmaterialsfeaturedmoremalesthanfemales,whileDiscovering

NatureSpanishLanguagefeaturedmorefemalesthananyothertargetmarketmaterials

with16.DiscoveringNatureSpanishLanguagerepresented40%ofthefemaledistribution.

DiscoveringNaturewasequalinitsdistributionofgender.Imadenohypothesisaboutthe

genderdistribution.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Black White Hispanic Unknown

Frequeency

Race

RaceofCharacter

Coder1

Coder2

Figure5

17%

7%

68%

8%

RaceofCharactersBlack White Hispanic Unknown

Figure6


ThemajorityofcharacterswereHispanic,followedbyBlack,andthenUnknown.

Whitecharactersrepresentedtheleastamountofrepresentations.TheDiscoveringNature

SpanishLanguagematerialsalsofeaturedthemostnumberofcharacterstotal.

TheUnkowncharacterswerefeaturedintheDiscoveringNaturematerials,andallthe

othercampaignswereinclusionarytothetargetmarkets(Blackswerefeaturedinthe

AfricanAmericanmarket,ect.).

H3:Theraceofthecharacterswillbeconsistentwiththetargetmarketforeach

campaign.

TheBlackcharacterswerefeaturedatthehighestrateintheAfricanAmerican

campaign;HispaniccharacterswerefeaturedatthehighestrateintheSpanishLanguage

materials.TheUnknownandWhitecharacterswerefeaturedintheunspecifiedcampaign

materials.

H4:TheDiscoveringNatureAfricanAmericanmaterialswillfeaturegreaterthan

75%Blackcharacters.

100%ofthecharactersfortheseunitswereBlack;thereforethishypothesisis

accepted,as100%isgreaterthan75%.

100%ofthecharactersfortheseunitswereHispanic;thereforethishypothesisis

accepted,as100%isgreaterthan75%.

H6:TheDiscoveringNatureSpanishLanguagematerialswillfeaturegreaterthan

75%Hispaniccharacters.


Passivewasthemostcommontypeofactivityframe.Withinthepassivecategory,

mostcampaignsfeaturedeatingorstandingwhileobservingnature.Activeframeswere

alsocommonwithhikingbeingthemostviewedactivitywithinthatframe.Therewereno

teamsports.Manyofthecampaignsfeaturedmorethanoneactivityasthecharacterswent

frompassiveactivitiestoactive.Thismulti-framingoccurredprimarilyintheDiscovering

NatureSpanishLanguagecampaign.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Passive Team Active

Frequency

ActivityType

ActivityFrame

Coder1

Coder2

Figure7

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Forest Beach Desert Urban Rural Other

Frequency

Setting

SettingFrame

Coder1

Coder2

Figure8


Themostcommonsettingwastheforest.Everyunitofanalysisfeaturedaforest

setting,whileotherincludedbothaforestandanadditionalsetting.Urban,rural,andother

werethenextmostcommonframesrepresented.Otherwasentirelyhouseholdsettings

andthenthecharactersmovedoutdoors.Therewerenobeachordesertsettingsfeatured

inthesample.Onehypothesisaboutthesettingwasacceptedwhiletheotherwasrejected.

H2:Themostfrequentsettingacrossallthree-targetmarketswillbeForests.

Forestswerefeaturedin100%oftheunitsandforestoccurredatahigher

frequencythananyothersetting.

H5:TheDiscoveringNatureAfricanAmericanmaterialswillfeaturemoreUrban

settingsthananyothertargetmarketcategory.

Thishypothesiswasrejected.Anurbansettingonlyoccurredonetimeanditwas

notintheAfricanAmericanmaterials.TheSpanishLanguagematerialsfeaturedtheurban

environment.

DiscussionCampaignmaterialsaredevelopedtomaximizepersuasivefactors.Discovering

Natureutilizedsourcecredibilityandsourceattractivenesstocreateanimpactful

campaign.Credibility,throughtrustworthiness,goodwill,andexpertise,wasalready

cultivatedforthiscampaign.TheAdCouncilandtheNationalForestServicearewell-

knownsourcesthathaveahistoryofpositiveassociations.Thegoodwilland

trustworthinesswerenotbarriersastheaudiencecanrelyonpastcampaignsasevidence

ofthesequalities.TheAdCouncilhasahistoryofsupportingcausesthatbenefitthe

community.TheNationalParkService,althoughagovernmentagency,supportsand

protectsnaturalareas,whichmostpeoplethinkofpositively.TheexpertiseoftheNational

20 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNatureParkServiceisapparentandassumedbytheaudienceasagovernmentagency.Because

thecredibilityisnotalargebarriertomessagepersuasiveness,theAdCouncilfocusedon

sourceattractivenessforthemessengers.

Likeableness,physicalattractiveness,andsimilaritycontributetothesocial

attractivenessofmessengers.Childrenaregenerallylikeablecharactersandfamilyunits

havepositiveassociations.Allofthefamiliesappearedhappyandveryclose.Thephysical

attractivenessofthecharacterswasnotexploredthroughthecontentanalysis,butnoneof

thecharactersstoodoutatunattractive.Theresultsclearlyindicatethatthecampaign

materialsweredevelopedtoincreasesimilaritywiththetargetaudience.Theraceand

familialcharacteristicsrepresentedbythecharactersaresimilartothecharacteristicsof

thetargetaudience.

DiscoveringNature(AfricanAmericanMarket)andDiscoveringNature(Spanish

Language)onlyfeaturedactorsthatmatchedtheraceofthatdemographictargeted.Perloff

(2014)discussedhowaudiencesfeltmorepositivelytowardamessagewhenamessenger

thatappearedsimilarpresentedthemessage.AllofthematerialsdirectedatAfrican

AmericansincludedBlackactorsinfamilyunits.AllofthematerialsinSpanishincluded

Hispanicactorsinfamilyunits.Iftheaudiencecanrecognizeandrelatetothecharacters

performingthebehavior,theymaybemorelikelytoemulatethatbehavior.Thematerials

fortheundefinedaudienceincludedcharactersthatweremostlyWhite,butafewwere

codedas“Unknown.”TherewasnodistinctracepresentinDN1,exceptforaWhitemale.

Thescenewasatnight,whichfurthermadeitdifficulttodistinguisharace.Thegeneral

campaignmaterialsaredirectedateveryone,socreatingsimilarityismuchmoredifficult

andmaynotbeasimportant.Theundefinedmarketalsoincludedadeerasthesole

ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNature 21characterinaunit.Eliminatingthehumanelementmakesthematerialrelevanttoany

viewer.

Hispanichouseholdsaremorelikelythanthenationalaveragetoincludechildren

under18.ThetendencytohavelargerfamilyunitsisalsoreflectedinDiscoveringNature

(SpanishLanguage).Themostcharacterswererepresentedinthosematerialswithalarger

agerange.TheSpanishLanguagematerialsweretheonlymessagesthatincludedasenior

adultandaninfant.Hispaniccultureismorelikelytohavemultigenerationalhouseholds,

soagrandmotherwasrepresentedasenjoyingtheoutdoorswithherassumedchildren

andgrandchildren.

Thesettingwasmostlyforestenvironments.Thesponsorforthiscampaignisthe

NationalForestServiceandtheobjectiveistohavethetargetaudiencevisit

www.discovertheforest.org,sothissettingmakessense.AlthoughtheUnitedStatesdoes

havebeachesanddeserts,mostofthenationalparklandisinforestedareas.Similarity

maybecultivatediftheaudienceassociateswoodlandswithnature.Astudytounderstand

theassociationshouldbeconductedtounderstandthiselement.

IhypothesizedthattheAfricanAmericanmarketwouldincludemoreurban

environmentsbecauseAfricanAmericansaremorelikelytoliveintheinnercityandthe

campaignwebsitefeaturedaBlackgirlastheimageforthe“DiscovertheUrbanForest”

information.TheAfricanAmericanmaterialsonlyfeaturedfamiliesalreadyoutsideina

forestsetting,whiletheSpanishLanguagematerialsincludedtheonlyvaryingsettings.

TheSpanishLanguagematerialsportrayedfamiliestransitioningfromworkingto

exploringtheforest.Thesematerialswerethemostreflectiveoflifestylesratherthanthe

desiredsecondarybehavior(beingoutdoors,theprimarybehaviorobjectivewasvisiting

22 ContentAnalysisofDiscoveringNaturethewebsite).Hispanicculture,beingmorefamilyfocused,incorporatesfoodandactivities

intodailylife.ThecampaignmaterialsfeaturedHispanicfamiliespackingapicnicand

eatingintheoutdoorsasareoccurringthemeacrossmaterials.Additionalresearchintothe

attitudestowardfoodshouldbeconductedtocomplementthiscontentanalysis,butit

appearsthattheAdCouncilreflectedculturalvalues.

Alloftheactivityframesreflectedsimilaractivitiesacrossmarkets.Withthe

exceptionofHispanicfamilieseating,allofthecharacterswerehikingorlookingat

animals.Therewaslittlevariationbetweenthesegmentedmaterials.Theprimary

objectiveforallthecampaignsistovisitwww.discovertheforest.orgtolearnaboutnational

parksnearthem.Becausethebehaviorobjectivewasconsistent,thecharacterscouldenjoy

natureinequalways.

Overall,theAdCounciltailoredcampaignmaterialstothespecificaudiencethat

theyweretargeting.Theyadaptedthematerialsthroughtheactivitiesthatwere

representedandtheraceofthecharacters.AfricanAmericansweretargetedwithBlack

familyrepresents.SpanishspeakersweretargetedthroughlanguageandHispanic

characters.Similaritywasachievedandthemessagemayhavebeenmorepersuasive

becauseofthis.Additionalstudiesonaudienceattitudesshouldbeconductedto

complementthiscontentanalysisbeforecorrelationscanbemadebetweensimilarityand

persuasiveaffect.Intheend,theAdCouncildoesconductresearchonthesegmented

audienceandstrivestoreflectthecharacteristicsofthatsegmentwithinthecampaign

materials.ThroughtheDiscoveringNature,DiscoveringNature(AfricanAmerican),and

DiscoveringNature(SpanishLanguage)morepeopleinAmericanwereencouragedto

DiscovertheForest.


References

AdCouncil.(2016).AboutUs.Web.http://www.adcouncil.org/About-Us

AdCouncilandU.S.ForestService.(2016).DiscovertheForest.Web.

http://www.discovertheforest.org/

Lee,NandKotler,L.(2016).SocialMarketing:ChangingBehaviorsforGood(5thEdition).

ThousandOaks,CA:SagePublications.

Perloff,R.(2013).TheDynamicsofPersuasion:CommunicationandAttitudesinthe21st

Century(5thEdition).NewYork,NY:Routledge.

UnitedStatesCensusBureau.(2014).QuickFacts.Census.gov.AccessedMay10,2016.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/00.