Audience Profiles

KATIE

Age: 17

Favourite music: Florence and the Machine, The Arctic Monkeys and Kate Nash

Likes: Photography, swimming, shopping and spending time with friends

Dislikes: Spiders, underage drinking and Mondays

Bio: Brought up into a middle class family, Georgina knows the value of money and longs for independence. Perhaps not a completely 'average' teenager as she has a deep interest in politics and is a holder of high moral standards. She enjoys partying with friends at the weekend, but because of her upbringing disapproves of 'wreckless' teenagers who smoke, drink and have one-night stands. Currently studying A-Levels in Science, Photography and English she believes that education is essential for success in later life, and doesn't want to end up on housing benefits. Generally a pleasant girl who isn't outwardly judgemental and likes to think of herself as highly individual. She would be classified as popular in school.

Why are you targeting her?
Girls like this are part of my target audience because, though they may not necessarily admit it, they're usually the most likely to stereotype pregnant teenagers. Coming from a middle class family (though saying this is stereotypical in itself) she is more likely to band pregnant teens as 'lazy' or 'underclass' without considering the circumstances - also, as she values education I'd like to show teens like this that pregnant girls do want to go back to school, but sometimes it isn't easy, or even possible at all. I also want to show that girls like herself may even find themselves under these circumstances, so they shouldn't be so quick to judge.



JANET

Age: 34

Favourite music: Katy Perry, Rihanna and P!nk

Likes: Gossip, socialising and soap operas

Dislikes: Being gossiped about and nosey neighbours

Bio: A single mum of two teenagers, Janet works in a local supermarket to maintain a standard living for her family. She enjoys putting her feet up in her time off and knows pretty much everything about everyone - she thrives on gossip and scandals are her favourites. Not an overachiever in school, she decided to head down a working road rather than an academic one as she started a family at a fairly young age. Janet would love to think of herself as a 'trendy' mum, and despite financial setbacks she isn't one to hold back on luxury items when she has the opportunity. An all round family woman, she dotes on her children doesn't hesitate to come to their aid when they need her most.

Why are you targeting her?
Women like Janet are likely to be most interested in programmes about teenage pregnancy as it is probable that they were teen parents themselves. She wouldn't by any means be in a high social demographic position, and may even be classed as a 'chav' mum - but this is exactly why the show is aimed at people like herself: her children are, statistically, more likely to become teen parents themselves, and I want to show parents in this position how beneficial it is for young parents to have their support.
The children of women like Janet would also be included in my target audience as my documentary series would aim to show the different options teen parents have, and what kind of support they can get outside of the family.

Advertisement

So,  here's a look at the advert and a brief summary of what I did.

The feedback I got from my initial design was very positive and very little changes were made to it in order to form the final product.The changes were:

1. Picture was originally in black and white - respondents liked the photo but thought bright colours would be more modern and represent the vibrance of teenage life better
2. Title was at the top - audience didn't like this, they felt it distracted from the statistic
3. Different quote was used on the back of the teenager - it said "But is it right to stereotype?" originally, and whilst some liked this, others believed I should use something more shocking which linked in with the fact you can't see the face of the girl
4. Statistic and title had no effects used on them - the audience felt that these looked flat and wanted something which 'jumped out'.

Print Development

IDEA ONE



• NOTE: at this point I was drafting ideas and had not yet decided on a main image for the page

IDEA TWO

• Here I almost completely redid Idea One and gave the audience both ideas to look at
• I asked the audience to choose which they preferred - though Idea Two was popular, they thought it looked too much like something from a Girl Talk magazine

IDEA THREE

• I basically used the same colours as the text box from my first idea on this draft
• Still hadn't picked a main image I liked (had some people from my target audience vote on which they liked best at a later stage)
• This idea was more popular with my audience, so I chose this to be my template

IDEA FOUR - FINAL DESIGN

• Made very few changes between Idea Three and the final product
• Slight alterations were made to the text box and I added another picture
• Final image decided upon - originally I would've placed it only on the right of the page, but some people suggested a full page image would be more preferrable
• The use of similar - yet contrasting - images of the two pregnant girls was favoured by my audience, but some disliked that I hadn't used a picture of a teen dad on the page

Designing a Logo

Logo

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Listings Magazine Research

Here's my analysis of the popular listings magazine "What's On TV?"

Unfortunately, I lost the image of the front cover I was analysing at the time, but it was from the around time of the Eastenders Christmas special - the characters Kat and Alfie were the main focus of the cover image.

What’s on TV?

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Questionnaire

Are you male or female?

Male                            Female

Which age bracket do you fall into?

13 – 19                        20 – 29                        30 – 40                        40+

Do you watch documentaries?

Never               Sometimes                  A lot                 All the time

Who do you watch documentaries with?

Alone               Family              Friends                        A partner

Would you be interested in a new documentary on teenage pregnancy, which aims to show the positives of pregnancy?

Yes                  No

If no, please specify why: ________________________________________________

Please write down one positive and one negative point, in your opinion, about teenage pregnancy:

Positive: _____________________________________________________________

Negative: ____________________________________________________________

Please write down any issues regarding pregnancy which you find interesting and would like the documentary to discuss in further detail: _____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Are there any issues you think have not yet been sufficiently covered in existing documentaries regarding pregnancy? If so, please specify: _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

 

Do you think Sex Education should be taught to students from a young age? Please give your answer and specify why:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Would you agree with the view that “bad” or “relaxed” parenting is to blame for teenage pregnancy? Please specify:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________


What is your personal opinion on teenage pregnancy?

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Do you think that existing teenage pregnancy documentaries exploit the girls they feature? 

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Would you be interested in a documentary which shows more prominently the point of view of a teenage father?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Do you think that existing documentaries show teenage fathers negatively? 

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Do you enjoy current teenage pregnancy documentaries?

Yes                  No

Please specify why: 

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Please name one or more teenage pregnancy documentaries you have enjoyed or found particularly informative:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Teenage Pregnancy - Existing Documentaries

16 and Pregnant

16 and Pregnant is an American reality TV show aired on the network MTV, and is filmed in a documentary style. The series follows the lives of high school girls dealing with issues such as religion, rebellion, and gossip amongst peers whilst facing an upward struggle into motherhood. Each episode follows the story of one girl from between 4 to 8 months into their pregnancy, up until a few months after giving birth. The series also deals with relationships with friends, partners (if they have one) and family.

Teen Mom

Teen Mom is a spin-off series which follows the lives of four of the original teenagers featured in 16 and Pregnant: Maci Bookout, Farrah Abraham, Amber Portwood and Catelynn Lowell. Again, this is a reality TV show disguised as a documentary. The show looks at how the new mothers struggle through the first year of motherhood, following up on family life and, particularly, they way each of their relationships has been strained by dealing with a newborn child.



Cherry Has A Baby

This programme is broadcast on BBC Three and follows 28 year old Cherry Healey as she nears the final stages of an unexpected pregnancy. Though the show does not exclusively deal with teenage pregnancy, Cherry interviews a wide variety of mums-to-be including a 15 year old girl named Paige, who appears to be anticipating the arrival of her baby. The show also deals with the issues of premature birth, post natal depression and miscarriges but retains a lighthearted approach to the topic of pregnancy in order to retain viewer interest.

Kizzy: Mum at 14

This is a documentary which focuses on the life of Kizzy Neal, a girl who became pregnant at the age of 13. The documentary follows Kizzy through her pregnancy and the first six months after the birth, showing how she copes with gossip from peers, her family and, among other things, the absent father of the child, who moved homes after discovering she was pregnant. The programme has a more serious approach than the above documentaries, and is featured in the "Born Survivors" series.

For the promotional documentary newspaper advertisement I decided to look at existing work related to teenage pregnancy; whilst most of the content appeared to hold negative views toward the topic, I found the use of imagery to be mostly inspiring. As my documentary intends to be neutural in its take on teenage pregnancy I have decided to combine aspects from the negative and positive sides when designing my ad.

Below I have listed the images I found most inspiring:

I like the way that colour is used in this poster as the image and background are plain and neutural, whilst the text is blue and bold so that it stands out on the page. The image used is effective as it portrays and average-looking teenage girl on a mobile phone, but we can tell from her facial expression and pose that she is worried; her eyes are downcast and she is slumped forwards.

This picture certainly has a negative opinion on teenage pregnancy as the word "statistic" is boldened and large on the page, which suggests that teenage mothers are becoming nothing more than a number. The use of the colour pink - which represents women and femininity - on this page draws the audience's attention to facts and figures.
I like the idea of dividing the page up into two halves with a picture taking up a whole side.

This next image, though plain, is one of my favourites. I like the way that the text is simple and straightforward, almost like words would be read coldly or sternly. I also like the idea of not showing face of the subject: this implies that the young woman could be anyone.

The idea of not using real images, but a drawing instead is interesting as it gives the poster a childish vibe - the image strikes me as something a teen might draw.
Vivid colours are used on the page to draw our attention to the stores and people enjoying life, whilst the teenage mother takes up a small amount of space and is coloured quite blandly; this suggests that the lives of teenage mothers are no longer exciting or thrilling.