This document discusses conventions used in billboard advertising and how the author's billboard poster for a regional magazine both follows and challenges some conventions. It follows conventions by using an eye-catching focal image, bold colors and fonts, and including ordering/location information. However, it challenges conventions by not being minimalistic like typical urban billboards and by advertising a magazine for a rural audience in an urban setting, where the target audience would be mismatched. The document provides analysis of how different audiences might interact with the billboard and magazine based on concepts like two-step flow of communication and Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

1. In what ways does my
billboard poster use,
develop or challenge
forms and conventions
of real media
products?

3. ▪ Slide 4
▪ I would argue that the opinion leader is the reader of the magazine who
has a detailed knowledge of its content and promotes its ideologies (i.e.
its upper middle class bias). The billboard audience is tertiary or passing
trade.
▪ Slide 5
▪ Look at your first sentence - doesn't make sense...what are 'wealth
ideologies'?!
▪ I think you are talking about Morley's reception analysis and preferred or
oppositional readings rather than 'negative messages'. This may apply to
your audience as being more sophisticated they may be more active.
However, this is why the links to the region are so importance to play on
the reader's loyalties and hopefully prevent an oppositional reading.
▪ Slide 6
▪ Not uses and gratifications!!!
▪ Maslow's hierarchy of needs is unclear. I think you mean that the tertiary
audience may be seeking love and belonging, whilst the primary readers
of the magazine will be seeking self esteem etc as they should be more
sophisticated. The billboard may promise belonging by representing a
village community through the use of the sign.
▪ Slide 7
▪ What is a problem of your billboard advertising - would be advertising in
the city to a rural audience?!

4. RECAP
1. Mass Media Content
2. Opinion
Leader
3. Less active
audience socially linked
with opinion leader
TWO STEP FLOW

5. TWO STEP FLOW
My billboard poster audience is called the tertiary audience
that are first exposed to the first product in the cohesive
campaign, this may create passing trade from passers by
meaning that those who see the product may like it and
buy it to try it out. My magazine’s audience would be the
opinion leaders who create their own view of the magazine
as they have detailed knowledge of it, this would include
the ideologies, e.g. its upper middle class bias, and these
opinion leaders promote these ideologies. These
messages are infiltrated through word of mouth as the
opinion leaders socialise with a bigger, more passive
audience. These people also begin to think the same
message as the opinion leader and there would be a
bigger audience thinking that the poster looked cultural.

6. TWO STEP FLOW
The benefit of this is the attraction of the rural
living and upper middle class ideologies and
people who live rurally or aspire to be, will be
attracted to the magazine. Also this will create a
bigger brand identity for my magazine. People
who first read it will socialise with others and
pass on these ideologies to a more passive
audience.

7. RECEPTION ANALYSIS
When applying Morley’s reception analysis I can
see that there are people that take preferred or
negotiated readings from the magazine. This is
because my audience is more sophisticated and
more active, they are in charge of what they
think and do not naturally take in the subtle
messages that are injected by the media.
However, this is why the links to the region play
an important part on the reader’s loyalties and
hopefully prevent an oppositional reading. I
have tried to avoid people getting an
oppositional reading from the magazine as then
they are less likely to read the magazine.

8. MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
The tertiary audience who pass the billboard
poster do not relate to the content will not have
the traits of self esteem, etc, they would be in
the ‘seeking love and belonging’ category. My
magazine relates to those who have the traits of
the Self-actualisation category - these people
will be more sophisticated and wealthy an. The
tertiary audience interested in seeking love will
like this billboard poster as the promise of
belonging to a village community is used on the
sign as a tagline.

9. Billboard conventions
• Unfortunately it is very unconventional for a regional magazine to
advertise using billboard posters, however using the conventions of
generalised billboard posters I was able to create my own
• By doing this I am creating a unique selling point for the magazine
which reaches out to a wider audience.
• by doing this I am developing conventions of a regional magazine
because they do not use billboard posters to promote their
magazine and I have.
• However, the rural reflection the poster has of Leicester will not
apply in urban areas. This means there may be a struggle in
advertising as it is targeting the wrong audience. I could overcome
this by using a minimal budget on the billboard, in reality, as I feel
other forms of marketing would be more successful.

10. Billboard conventions
eye catching
minimalistic
colourful
big
BOLD
focal point
graphics
white background
white, black +1/2 other colours
social media/website references

12. Billboard conventions
The bird in the middle of the page catches the eye of those walking
past, people can immediately discover the rural theme to the
magazine and those who enjoy watching birds know that this
magazine will include various countryside topics.
I have not followed the convention of minimalism as I believe this is
more associated with the urban society who live in crisp clean white
furnished houses, whereas my audience will be living in more
traditional places and this billboard poster attracts that audience.
I have continued my house style through to the poster - white,
black, green and blue. This creates a bigger brand identity as the
colours will be prominent in the magazine and they link directly to
the natural colours around us in the world

13. The focal image on this poster is the village sign which is very big and
bold. It catches the eye of those walking past whilst also showing them
images of well-known places in Leicestershire. This follows the
conventions of a poster being big, bold and having a focal image that
attracts those who are interested in visiting the places in the images.
The title is also very bold and uses a font that is used in the magazine
which links the two together. The font is big enough for drivers to see
and remember so even if they do not fully look at the poster they can
easily search for ‘Leicestershire Living’.
At the bottom of the village sign it shows where the magazine is
available at, so if passers by see the poster they
can easily find out where to go to get the magazine.
Billboard conventions