When I decided I wanted to study Journalism in college, I assumed I would be writing and reporting on current events. As I learned more about the different avenues one could take as a journalists, I realized I could utilize my skills more effectively emphasizing in strategic communication. However, I NEVER assumed my journalism educational career would lead me into a research position.
Fast forward to my senior year at the Missouri School of Journalism. I am currently Researcher for AdZou, a student run advertising agency ran through the university. AdZou provides students with real life ad-agency experience, all while being a student. Students are assigned roles– and that is how I now became a researcher. Through my capstone course, I have been able to learn the importance of research. Primary and secondary research. Quantitative and qualitative research. Different research methods and how to analyze the results to understand the main insights.
While confused and somewhat frustrated at first, I quickly learned the importance and effectiveness of my role. The approaches and tactics and our overall “big idea” for our clients project– a informational conference– are all rooted in the research conducted. Without research, our suggestions would be completely baseless and possibly in accurate.
By gaining this experience, I now look at advertisements through a new lens. You can truly tell who took the time to research their target audience: Is it reflective of their needs and does it offer them a solution? You can also tell how much effort the team put in to understanding the ad from various demographics point of views– was there a diverse team working on this project? Do you understand the market trends at the time– is your advertisement relevant? In the few months of 2018, there have been many controversial advertisements- such as the H&M print ad and the 2018 Dodge Super Bowl commercial– all which could have been avoided if a little more effort had been put into conducting and understanding research.
Samantha Taylor 