Out of Home Advertising - Singapore Sports Council for Sports Safety

Banners at East Coast Park 1

The colourful and bright banners caught my attention while I was inline skating at East Coast Park some weekends earlier. Vividly coloured signage in red, blue, yellow and green lined the lampposts as I cruised down the park. They were definitely hard to miss!  

These banners bore messages like, 'Drink adequate fluid to prevent dehydration', 'Expect the unexpected. Gear up for safety', 'Cycle safe: wear a helmet' and 'Warm up and stretch before sports participation'. On a separate outing, I chanced upon a series of similar banners at Bishan Park. Piqued by my own curiosity, I later learned that these streamers were put out by the Singapore Sports Council’s Sports Safety Division (SSY) at all public recreational spaces, to educate the public on the importance of sports safety.

Banners at Bishan Park

The locations where these banners were put up were most appropriate.  Community parks are open arenas for the public to partake in recreational sports. Human traffic at the parks is high, and having these banners placed there is ideal.  Parks, being popular venues for the individual and families, offer an extensive variety of activities that range from walking to cycling, to inline skating, various water activities, and even barbecuing.  These parks are visited by a huge amount of people daily, and from all walks of life.  The human flow is exceptionally high over the weekends and holidays when families rent chalets or camp out in these recreational areas! 

The fact that the public has free access to these parks and that they are choice destinations for Singaporeans and the general public alike to recreate, provides an excellent platform for awareness creation and communication outreach on key and important messages. The messages on these banners, because of the suitability of the advertising location, serve as constant reminders to all on the significance of safety in sports – have fun and be protected.

Banners at East Coast Park 2

The advertisements look fun, vibrant and energetic, which is apt for the setting and background in which they are erected.  These banners are printed in eye-catching, loud and bold colours, which scream for attention.  The wordings are simple and easily comprehensible and the font size used is appropriate for the medium, the form of advertising and the message it wants to bring across – the words are big and readable even at a distance. The graphics used are suitable too, as it illustrates the key points of the message.  That the banners of similar messages are put up at every other lamppost, especially along the popular routes, strengthens the intention of the safety campaign.  It also aims to reach out to all users who may start their activities at different points of the park. With the constant safety reminders at every turn, the public are, in a way, influenced and educated on the importance of recreating sensibly. These advertisements being hung on the streetlamps, coupled with the application of bright primary colours and the right font size used, effortlessly grabs the interest of the park goers walking or skating alongside these lampposts. The effective exploitation of repetitive banners raised makes it possible for the public to internalise the message. 

The other outdoor advertising nearby are of event specific sporting competitions. The upcoming big event is the SAFRA Quadthlon 2010 and the promotional posters, banners and streamers are all over East Coast Park.  There is a seamless connection between the two advertisements – while one is marketing and generating publicity for the event and encouraging participation, the other is promoting the safety and well-being while engaging in the activity.  These two ads compliment each other in covering all aspects of the sport.

Image Source: National Parks Board

http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/docs/parks/ecp_brochure.pdf

As Singapore evolves into a global city, so does the sporting community.  Sports reap many benefits, both socially and economically.  Singapore was recently awarded second place as the ‘Ultimate Sports City’, just after Melbourne.  At home, the Health Promotion Board is actively encouraging healthy and active living, and sports is one of the main means towards achieving this goal. Over the years, the local sports scene has grown exponentially – the first Youth Olympic Games will be inaugurated in Singapore in mid-August 2010. Come September 2010, it will be the third year of hosting the Formula 1 Night Race - Singapore Grand Prix, the first of its kind city night race.  The number of people participating in the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore has grown by leaps and bounds over the years, from a humble participant rate of 6,000 in 2002 to 50,000 registrants last year. Singapore is moving towards providing world-class facilities for her people to enjoy sports; for example, the Sports Hub where general mainstream sports activities is held.  She also offers recreation outlets for niche activities, like extreme sports.

Singapore Sports Council (SSC) is a Statutory Board; their campaigns and advertisements precede and respond to the needs of her citizens and incidents that happen.  In moving towards the recommended active lifestyle, so must the need for emphasis on awareness and education of safety in sports. SSC has successfully achieved their goal in the terms of their strategic advertisement placement and the magnitude of audiences that it reaches.

The advantages of these out of home advertisements remind people of the things they tend to forget or take for granted.  In this case, it is all about the common sense of taking care of yourself while playing and having fun.  The benefits of such advertisements is that it allows the medium to reach out to as many people as possible when they are outdoors, at minimal costs and in the least amount of time because they are usually hard to ignore and are larger than life.  

In short, as long as you have made a blip on someone’s radar, the advertising has been effective!

To Blog Or Not to Blog... Decisions, decisions...

Prior to this assignment, I was never interested in getting myself a blog or linked to the cyber world.  I actually had to be coerced by friends to join Facebook.  This is because I was never keen on the idea of putting my thoughts and feelings out there.  And well, mostly, I was not too keen in reading about someone else's angst-ridden existence.  The whole thing, sounds a little scary to me.  

In the course of this assignment, I came to realise that blogging is not what I had thought it was.  It is definitely much easier than I had imagined.  It carries so much potential, it is a fountain of knowledge waiting to be tapped.  Eventually, I came to learn a great deal about how the media environment changed within the span of 10 years - from the early creation of internet, to the addition of new pages, and to new media.   

A blog, to me, no longer means a collection of mundane, dispirited comments and experiences from friends, but rather, a collection of information from all over.  People who have a stand, a voice, an adventurous spirit, believes in sharing and receiving in return and do not believe in boundaries when it comes to communication.      


Image Source: Scienceblogs.com

Issues in Publication - Print vs. Online (Cost & Revenue)

Issue: Cost & Revenue 
- Print 

The cost of print media is high and makes it expensive is because of the physical and tangible aspects of the periodical.  On top of this, the other factors to consider are, ink, paper, binding, distribution and mailing costs. 

As print media costs more to product than online, there is a high possibility that the revenue will also be higher than online media, bearing in mind that the number of pages that will be printed in a print magazine or periodical is determined by the number of advertisements the publisher manages to rake in. 

- Online  
Online publishings are so much cheaper to produce and maintain since there are no printing, paper, ink, binding and distribution costs involved. 

Unlike print media, the revenue raked in would be considerably lower. 

Both online and print publishings are complimentary to each other.  In this age and day, one cannot survive without the other as they each have their own purposes and functions.  Maybe, the most important thing to note is that, technology is ever-evolving, and publishers will need to be on top of the latest and most current innovation in order to keep up with the changing times. 

Issues in Publication - Print vs. Online (Audience)

Issue: Audience 
- Print 

Print magazines have a consistent following who will purchase or subscribe to the magazine or publication. Some of their demographic readers pick up the product if the content catches their eyes, this means they have little control over the content see since the information they see is through the cover lines and cover photos. 

- Online  
Online magazines have a wider range of audience, probably from an eclectic mix.  Many of their audiences stumble into their sites due to the results of search engines that brings them to the related websites.  Due to this, online periodicals would naturally amass a larger following due to the wider extent of audiences it can reach.  The Internet, being a world wide resource, reaches people internationally and globally. 

Issues in Publication - Print vs. Online (Function)

Issue: Function 

- Print 

Print publications are sometimes considered "luxury" items.  Readers can take their time to go through the publication, read and re-read it over again.  Because the print issue is tangible, it is mobile and can follow you everywhere.  Imagine running a long, hot bath, relaxing into it and poring over a favourite book or magazine.  An article in print, reiterating Parker's (2003 p. 270) argument, would also cause less fatigue and pain on the reader's eyes, as compared to a web article.  

- Online
The biggest restriction of online publication is that it needs Internet connectivity before the reader can access the information.  Without it, an online publication is as good as not having it at all.  Because it is wired to the Internet, useless information can be filtered out, therefore retrieving only the necessary details.  This is the biggest advantage of online publications.

When all requirements are met, online publications proves to be practical, interactive, convenient and cheap. 


References:

Parker , RC 2003, Looking good in print, Paraglyph Press, Scottsdale, Ariz. 

Issues in Publication - Print vs. Online (Frequency of issues)

Besides the design issues that we have previously discussed, the battle between print and online publishing is never-ending. 

Each has got very valid and strong points to sustain its survival and viability. We will be discussing these print and online related issues over the next few posts. 

Issue: Frequency of publications 
- Print 

Because of the logistics, print magazines usually have a longer gap between each issues.  Time needs to be factored in for the layout planning, garnering of advertising revenue to justify the number of pages, the printing process and eventually the delivery of distribution.   

The content of print media do not get updated until the next issue, which can be either on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.  As such, news and information for readers of print publications will always be late.

- Online  
Online magazines, however, needs to be updated frequently to keep readers interested and increase their traffic flow.  Because updates can be posted every minute, every hour, they keep their readers well-informed and abreast of what is happening. 

New Forms of Media Publishing

As we push into a another decade of the millennium, the need for newer forms of technology, for example, publishing and media, becomes ever apparent. Most people have become familiar with the uses of the Internet. With this advancement, people begin to reply less on the more traditional forms for media, namely print and broadcasting.  A good example is the shift from printed newspapers to the online edition.  The Straits Times from Singapore Press Holdings created The Straits Times Interactive website to keep up with technology.  Even the broadcasting media has joined the online bandwagon some years back, with the introduction of Channel NewAsia.     

The Internet has now become a popular alternative as new forms of publishing.  Because of its accessibility and size of the global audience, companies are tapped on the Internet's vast resources to reach their targeted demographics. 

Like blogs, newspapers, books, films and television series can now be accessed online through their own websites.  And this works because it allows their audience to interact with them on a personal level. 

The recent years saw the birth of some new media, like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Friendster, YouTube, podcasts and weblogs.  All these media have found their niche in the cyber sphere.  While some of these platforms are reaching the end of their rope, there will be some that will flourish and reach greater heights.

In the last year or two, the world has witness yet another form of publishing.  This form of publishing is generated by Twitter feeds.  The content of the books does not change, but the context in which it is interpreted and understood does.



Arguably, this is perhaps the most novel form of publishing to date. At this point, we are unable how feasible this new platform is, but one thing is certain; that the Internet, or World Wide Web, has taken to world by storm and there is no denying of its power and usefulness.


References: 

YouTube, viewed 27 May, 2010,

Blogging Community - Friends or Foe?

Blogging have become a powerful tool for communication.  Blogs are updated regularly and because of the medium, it has the potential to reach out to the masses.  Blogging communities have evolved from the growth and popularity of blogs.  Communities and networks are formed through shared interests, ideologies and opinions.  Each blog allows their visitors to read and leave a comment on their entires or post.  Such communication inadvertently forms communities and little niche groups.  Over time, through friendship and the human web, these little groups conglomerate to form networks. Blog networks embody a huge part of the 'problogging' industry.  

Blog networks provides a regular update on news, commentary and happenings around the 'blogosphere', or a collection of connected communities.  How each community is classified is based on their topic or nature.  Some classifications of blogs include:
- Fashion 
- Art 
- News 
- Photography  
- Media 
- Business 
- Current Affairs 
- Sports 
- Travel  

Take the fashion blog community for example, blogcatalog, provides an extensive range from designers to style tips and market research. "Why then the blog's mine oyster"!

The community listing is as unlimited as the sky is wide.  And because blogging essentially a 'people-business', one can even find social and support groups on blogs.  

Blog communities range from a a myriad of areas and purposes, from all over the world.  The classification and categories are indefinite.  

A peek into 'The world's largest blog niche and topic idea list' may give you an indication of the possibilities. 

Designing for print versus designing for online

Printing was said to have been invented in China during the Tang dynasty, and the innovation was later further developed in Europe.  At that time, printing was purely functional; there were no room for design and aesthetics.  Over the centuries, art flourished as standards became higher, and technology was spawned.  Art became a science and aesthetics gradually crept into our lives and stayed on permanently. No matter what new invention it may be, design will be there to see it through.

As much as the content of print and online mediums are the same, they have vast differences when it comes to the design.  In the comparison between the print and online publications, the latter platform seems to be more favourable because of the convenience and cost-saving benefits. However, print has been around long enough to not be threatened by the online media, but it is imperative to keep up with times. Print publications will need to have an online presence. 

How a publisher comes to conclude if they want to shift from print to an online platform, or to expand the publication via an interactive web site, they will need to understand the differences between the two mediums. 

Parker (2003, p. 288) argues that advantages of website distribution far out-weights conventional brochures.  Besides having no minimum printing requirements, flexibility and promptness of information updating, the distribution can be done also immediately.   

Design Elements - Print vs Online

 

Design: Font and Readability 

The design process changes when conceptualising for print and online.  The designer will need to understand the differences in order to create an effective webpage.  Walsh (2006, p. 24) discusses the 'paradigm shift' as we progress into an era and environment 'filled with visual, electronic and digital texts' to enhance our education.  She explains that when reading print-based texts, the visual sense is usually tactile and attention is paid to typographical arrangement, formatting, layout, font and punctuation.  Reading off an online site, however, involves not only the tactile sense, but also the visual, hearing and kinaesthetic perceptions.  The visual style is based on choice and arrangement of medium, angles, colour, graphics, animation, windows, frames, menu board and hyperlinks (Walsh 2006, p. 35).  

Nielsen (1997) observes that people rarely read web pages word-for-word; they scan the page instead.  He suggests using the following methods to make text scannable since 79% of users scan any new pages they come across: 
- To highlight keywords 
- To employ meaningful sub-headings 
- To use bullet points 
- Only one idea per paragraph 
- Write more with less words 
- Follow the inverted pyramid format  

Print mediums usually have more fun with the design aspects.  Photos, pull-quotes can be enlarged to accentuate the emphasis or have the images spread across two pages.  The online platform has a little flexibility with their font selection and design.  Having a complex design would mean having to obtain more advanced software or technology, which would then pass on the inconveniences to the readers.  Higher resolution pictures would also translate to taking a longer time to download the pages, causing the readers to exit the page in frustration.  
Parker (2003, p. 270) also argues that reading online is far more difficult that reading a printed document because of the different way the reader's eyes encounter the message.
   

References:

Nielson, J 1997, 'How users read on the web', viewed 20 May, 2010, <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html> 

Parker, RC 2003, Looking good in print, Paraglyph Press, Scottsdale, Ariz. 

Walsh, M 2006, 'The textual shift: examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts', Australian journal of language and literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37. 


Image Source: Vogue

The Blogging Phenomenon

If I were to ask anyone if they "blogged" about 8 years ago, I would have met with a resounding "YES" or "which planet have you been on?" all round.  It is an undeniable fact that technology moves at an alarming rate; new ideas become obsolete the moment newer, fresher, more marketable and, dare I say, more gimmicky, sites are created.  But one thing for sure, the very fact that you are reading this, proves that blogging has passed the 'novelty test'.      

Perhaps, I jumped into the blogging bandwagon "too little too late".  Even with the advent of new technologies like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, My Space, I cannot help but marvel at the appeal of blogging and its durability that keeps it thriving till now.  

Once upon a time, people wrote their daily observations into a book called a diary.  Today, people share their personal experiences, observations and even knowledge on online journals and weblogs.  Weblogs, or blogs as they are affectionately called, are frequently updated websites, usually personal, with commentary, records and links.  These tools help people communicate, across countries and time.  People use blogs to express their feelings, theories, thoughts and ideas and to reach out to others.  While their manifestations may not reach their intended audiences immediately, it is almost guaranteed that their views will be read, or chanced upon one day.  

Blogs are quick and simple to set up.  As if it cannot get any easier, some blog hosts, like Blogger, for example, even linked up with Google to make 'cyber-life' a one-stop process.  And now with smart-phones, blogging can now be brought into our pockets, our purses and well, virtually anywhere!  The growth of blogging is apparent, even in Singapore.  When you have The Straits Times, the local most-read and respectable broadsheet, creating a "blog" section in their Internet edition, blogging has made a mark in the radar.   

With all things, even blogs have its pros and cons.  Bloggers who post personal entries use this as a medium to communicate with, and in some cases educate, their friends and audiences.  But one of the biggest issue is posting too much personal information or “saying” something in one of their posts, which they may come to regret later. 

We all know the speed of internet and how fast news can spread like a bushfire in this medium.  While reports in the newspapers will always be a day late, blogging allows the content to be released immediately as soon as the 'post' button is clicked.  
Blogs work well also because its posts can be labelled or 'tagged'.  With this, the copious amount of information will be filtered, so the readers only need to select what they are interested in.      

There are numerous advantages and disadvantages of blogging, but ultimately it is up to the user to weight and decide if this is something that they would benefit from.  Blogs, if used correctly, are a great way to communicate and experience the Web. 

Image Source: www.blogger.com (Blogger); 
                      www.wordpress.org/about/logos (Wordpress)

The One with the Hellos!

Hi and welcome!

This is my very first web log, and as the title of my blog suggests, I stumbled into creating this blog, thus, The Accidental Blogger.

The birth of this blog came about as part of an assignment in the course of my studies.  But since we're here, let us enjoy the journey together - the joys of discovering a totally new medium (to me), and all its benefits and its shortcomings!

Over the weeks, I will be discussing the blogging phenomenon, the issues and effects of media and electronic publishing on our community, new forms of media publishing, and design considerations for online publishing.

More specifically, the aim of this blog will be to provide an informative online resource that is relevant to both media or communication students and professionals.

Do leave your comments, opinions and questions on the issues raised by my posts, to stimulate discussions and debates.  After all, a one-way blog does seem pretty boring, doesn't it?

Till the next one, cheers!