size, you might select one important part of
warehouse operations and plan a program
titled How to Drive a Fork Lift. In the case of
Acme Power Tools, your imaginary client, the
subject/title is obvious: The Sidewinder Cordless
Drill (Figure 9-1).
Objectives
The next step is to identify the client’s
objectives: what does Acme want this program
to achieve? The obvious answer is convince
people to buy Sidewinder drills. But, that is only
a start. Some potential buyers may not even
think that cordless drills are very useful. Others
may understand that such drills are worth
considering, but they are leaning toward drills
made by Acme’s competitors. Still others do
not think that they want any type of drill. These
facts suggest two obvious objectives for your
program—persuade customers that:
●
A cordless drill is a tool worth buying.
●
The Acme Sidewinder is the best cordless
drill to buy.
Notice that these objectives are clear,
specifi c, and simple; and they are phrased in
terms of their effect on viewers. An objective like,
“to demonstrate cordless drills” merely seeks to
present information. By contrast, “to persuade
customers that a cordless drill is worth buying,”
is an improvement because the objective in this
form intends to actively move the viewer.
Even a personal video benefits from at least one
clear objective. For instance, the objective for a
child’s birthday party video might be to communicate
the love and care that went into creating the event.
These program objectives are few in number
and they fi t together logically. To see why limiting
objectives is important, imagine that Acme Power
Tools initially wants two additional objectives:
●
To increase customer interest in do-it-yourself
projects in general.
●
To develop positive feelings toward the
Acme Power Tools, Inc.
But, you realize that general “do-it-yourselfi ng”
would make the subject too broad to cover
properly, and that the Acme corporate public
image is not directly relevant to product
usefulness. So, you convince your client to limit
the program’s objectives specifi cally to those
that will sell the Sidewinder drill.
Audience
Now: to whom do you want to sell the
drill? Different audiences will watch your video
with different interests, different prejudices,
different amounts and types of knowledge. To
communicate effectively, you must identify your
target audience and address your video directly
to them. To see how this works, imagine that
you are preparing two programs: How to Choose
a Retirement Community (an informational
video for older people) and Power on the Water
(a commercial aimed at speedboat buyers),
Figure 9-2. The senior audience will probably
appreciate a straightforward, low-pressure
presentation of their retirement options. The
potential boat racers will respond to dynamic,
exciting shots of action on the water, backed by
pulsing music and the howl of big engines.
To see how this works, imagine what would
happen if you delivered a loud and frantic video
to the mature viewers, and a steady, systematic
presentation to the boat racers. Both groups would
reject your message. To succeed, your video
must be carefully tailored for its target audience.
Figure 9-1 The Sidewinder cordless drill.
Chapter 9 Project Development 161