PERSUASIVE CAMPAIGN PROJECT - Part I
 

Campaign Overview / Audience Analysis Paper

This assignment has three parts:  I.  the topic of your campaign, its exigence and purpose and the substantive arguments and appeals you intent to make,   II.  an analysis of the key characteristics of your target audience that will condition your persuasive strategy,  and  III.  a description of some preliminary thoughts on strategy including your goals and obstacles to accomplishing them.

I.  Topic - Exigence & Invention.  

This section of the paper will be divided into two sections.    A.  Topic/ Exigence.  Introduce the topic of your campaign topic (sort of like your thesis) and explain why it is important at this time, especially to your selected audience (in other words, exigence) and what you generally hope the result will be.    B.  Invention.  Outline the issues central to your subject.  Present key arguments that support the rationale for your campaign that you hope will get people to support your campaign goals (e.g. buy your product).  (1 - 1 and a half pages)

II.  Audience Analysis.  (the largest portion of the paper: 3-5 pages))

In this section of the paper you will need to write a description of the audience in general.   You will need to make use of the information we have covered on audience analysis but especially, “Critical Dimensions of the Audience," from the Audience Analysis handout (link also located on the "Course Notes and Handouts" page).

The audience you select for analysis should be described in this labeled section of the paper.  You may need to use the "Seat of the pants" method in part.  However, since you probably know people in your audience, "Observation" and even "Interviews" can be used for better information.  If you are using college students as your audience, the survey information on “The Freshman Class” (links found on the "Assignments" page) may be useful as well.  You likely can obtain more information on the audience by consulting with me.  The audience in general should be described by including the following information:

A.  An overview of who makes up the general audience, including relevant demographic information and why this group is a good choice as a target audience for your campaign. (A solid paragraph is enough for this.)

B.  A description of the characteristics that make the members of this audience or audience segment similar as a group in a way useful to your persuasion goal.   Include here a description of their current “rational” state of mind for typical audience members by describing each of the eight  “Critical Dimensions of the Audience” for this group. [Try to provide support for the assertions you make concerning the various audience characteristics. Write one good paragraph for each dimension and LABEL EACH as a SUB-SECTION IN B with the name of the dimension you are describing.]

C.   List two specific audience segments you discover/ create, which have characteristics relevant to your goal that are not shared by the entire target audience.  Name each segment and explain the specific characteristics that differentiate this group from the general audience and how those distinct characteristics relate to your campaign and goals (one paragraph each). 

III.  Preliminary Strategy  (1+ page)

A.  Present an outline of your realistic goal(s) for the general audience.  Be as clear and specific as you can in describing the outcomes you desire from your campaign.  In discussing outcomes be sure to include multiple outcomes necessary to accomplish your goal including attitude or belief changes required, behavior(s) sought, etc.  It may be that you will have several different outcome goals for different parts (segments) or your audience (e.g., less resistance to your cause from opponents, overt support from those sympathetic).  Or you may have developmental goals (e.g. First I will gain awareness, then I will .... ) to accomplish step by step over time.  (one paragraph)

B.  After you have described your goals, discuss obstacles that must be overcome in order to accomplish your goals. What do you think will interfere with success in persuading your audiences.  Justify your conclusions (concerning goals and obstacles) based on audience characteristics described in B. above.  (one paragraph)

Grades will not be based on the technical accuracy of your analysis but rather on correct use of terms and concepts from audience analysis and persuasion theory, the logic of your case for identifying and using a particular segment, and the completeness of your analysis.   As always, proofread and correct errors.  Impress me with what a credible student you are!

Paper Due:  Wednesday, March 16