...and handed in to Patrick tonight.
I have just returned from presenting Patrick with half a rain forest's worth of papers and notes.
These "Quickies" are finito!!!!
Have fun, Patrick!
Thursday, 15 January 2009
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Q1: Design/marketing solutions...
Possible solutions:
Greater use of podcasts / multimedia downloads - such as the comprehensive selection available on the Classic FM website.
Use classical recordings in mainstream shows / TV / film soundtracks.
Integrate classical music into school curriculum.
Greater advertising via other BBC channels, radio and TV.
Use celebrities to endorse programming/broadcasts.
Shows at popular/peak times (breakfast/drivetime evenings) to play "easily accessible" classics - nothing to heavy.
Incorporate Radio 3 programming into "mainstream" TV schedule and programmes (eg. East Enders)
BBC Radio 3 is taking the bold step of trying to attract teenagers because it fears its audience is dying off.
By Charlotte Gardner and Stephen Adams
The classical music station has launched a programme to help teenage music students improve their grades because its average listener is 57 years old. Only one in eight of its listeners is under 35.
While today's teenagers are more likely to listen to hip-hop or indie music, station managers believe they can convince young people that Radio 3 can be "edgy" too.
But rather than produce something that is dumbed-down, Radio 3 has decided to broadcast an educational programme.
Discovering Music will take a piece of music from the A-level or GSCE curricula each week and break it down - by examining a few bars, a particular instrument or its rhythm - to show its composition. The piece is then reassembled to be listened to with fresh ears.
Study materials including listening notes by the senior examiner John Arkell are being made available in monthly emails, while the study aids will be put online.
Edwina Wolstencroft, editor of Radio 3 and co-ordinator of the project, said she hoped teenagers would discover the delights of the station through listening to the Sunday afternoon programme.
She said: "We're hoping that they initially come to us because their teacher points them towards Discovering Music as a way of learning more. But that once they've found us they find all sorts of other programmes - Late Junction, the world music and jazz we do, and of course the core classical - and that they will stay with us for the sheer pleasure of listening to Radio 3."
Discovering Music was originally created for serious music lovers rather than pupils, but has been adapted for a younger audience after anecdotal evidence suggested some A-level music students were listening to it. Wolstencroft stressed that the programme would still be for anyone who wanted to listen to it.
Natalie Clein, 31, a prominent cellist, welcomed the idea. She said: "I think that the world music and Late Junction are definitely edgy enough. The interesting thing about what's going on now is that young people do take music from all areas. Technology takes away some of the 'Radio 3, its not my thing' prejudices, so those barriers are breaking down. I think it's a very exciting time, and its good that Radio 3 realises that."
Natalie Clein
But she added a word of caution for anyone at Radio 3 anticipating a teenage stampede. She said: "Most people won't do what their teachers or parents tell them to; they'll do something because it feels exciting and different to discover for themselves, so its more likely to happen in a subtler way. You give them gateways that are interesting and valuable, not dumbing-down in any way, and you leave the rest up to them".
Paul Stokes, news editor of the New Musical Express, said Radio 3 had every chance of attracting teenagers as regular listeners. He said: "Music is so much less tribal now that it used to be. People are so much more eclectic in their musical tastes, so there's no reason why they should not make that jump to jazz and classical."
The problem was the way such music was "packaged", he said, with classical music often portrayed in a sterile manner that did not engage young people.
If Discovering Music avoided being "headmasterly" and could be relevant to a younger audience, he said all that was needed for success was for "one person to email it to his friends and say, 'listen to this'".
Young people switching on to a classical music station?
Classic FM's programme controller, Roger Lewis, tells Louise Jury how it's done.
(Tuesday, 15 May 2001)
Here's a teaser:
Here's a teaser:
Which radio station registered a 104 per cent increase in its youth market last year?
Kiss, Capital or Radio 1, you might suggest. You'd be wrong. The station that now has 6 per cent of its audience under the age of 15 just over 400,000 of them listening for more than five hours a week, according to the official RAJAR figures out last week is that repository of soothing classics, Classic FM.
That represents a 15 per cent increase, quarter on quarter. By comparison, young people account for 5 per cent of the audience of Radio 4, where controller Helen Boaden last month launched her new children's show, Go4It; and for 4 per cent of Radio 3's audience.
Roger Lewis, the station's managing director and programme controller, explains that Classic FM has been going out of its way to encourage young listeners. There are commercial reasons. "They are our future audience," he says simply.
And then there is an educational crusade from a man who sits on the boards of assorted musical charities, chairs a committee on the national music and ballet schools for the Department for Education and speaks glowingly of his own inspirational music teacher at school. "We believe that a classical music radio experience can be as relevant to a younger audience as it is to an older audience," he says.
In programming terms, that translates into direct appeals to the under-15s. At 8am there is the School Run, when parents and children can make requests. Children are encouraged to submit fantasy concert requests for broadcast. And a series of classic tales, including Dawn French narrating Romeo and Juliet and Des Lynam reading Hansel and Gretel won a 40 per cent increase in children's listening on Sunday evenings.
Lewis believes the use of symphonic music in films such as Gladiator and Titanic has made it easier to introduce young people to "the epic sound" of some classics. "There is a tradition of serious composers writing for the movies: Walton, Prokofiev, Britten, Vaughan Williams. It's a great way to attract a young audience."
The breaking down of boundaries between musical styles has helped, too. William Orbit, a producer who has worked with Madonna, is a huge classical fan and has made several appearances on Classic FM. "It says to kids, 'This is something that has relevance'," Lewis says.
The station has raised money through its own charitable trust to supply a video of best teaching practice to teachers, to be launched this week. With the Arts Council of England, it has run a scheme giving families who have never attended a classical music concert a chance to do so. And this will be the third year of its Music Teacher of the Year scheme. Last year there were over 500 entries, with joint top place going to James Wood, from St Bede's Secondary School in Surrey, and Diana Mortlock from a primary school in Leicestershire. They each won a trip to the Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland and £10,000 worth of equipment for their schools.
Roger Lewis, who was once head of music at Radio 1, says his experience there made him aware of the importance of radio for young audiences. He refutes critics' claims that Classic FM offers only an unchallenging range of classical music hits, but is keen that classical music should not be regarded as intimidating or élitist.
"Our starting point as a broadcaster is to create access for a broad-based mass audience for classical music," he says. "Underlying that is a belief that music has the power to change people's perceptions of their lives for the greater good." Starting with the kids.
Kiss, Capital or Radio 1, you might suggest. You'd be wrong. The station that now has 6 per cent of its audience under the age of 15 just over 400,000 of them listening for more than five hours a week, according to the official RAJAR figures out last week is that repository of soothing classics, Classic FM.
That represents a 15 per cent increase, quarter on quarter. By comparison, young people account for 5 per cent of the audience of Radio 4, where controller Helen Boaden last month launched her new children's show, Go4It; and for 4 per cent of Radio 3's audience.
Roger Lewis, the station's managing director and programme controller, explains that Classic FM has been going out of its way to encourage young listeners. There are commercial reasons. "They are our future audience," he says simply.
And then there is an educational crusade from a man who sits on the boards of assorted musical charities, chairs a committee on the national music and ballet schools for the Department for Education and speaks glowingly of his own inspirational music teacher at school. "We believe that a classical music radio experience can be as relevant to a younger audience as it is to an older audience," he says.
In programming terms, that translates into direct appeals to the under-15s. At 8am there is the School Run, when parents and children can make requests. Children are encouraged to submit fantasy concert requests for broadcast. And a series of classic tales, including Dawn French narrating Romeo and Juliet and Des Lynam reading Hansel and Gretel won a 40 per cent increase in children's listening on Sunday evenings.
Lewis believes the use of symphonic music in films such as Gladiator and Titanic has made it easier to introduce young people to "the epic sound" of some classics. "There is a tradition of serious composers writing for the movies: Walton, Prokofiev, Britten, Vaughan Williams. It's a great way to attract a young audience."
The breaking down of boundaries between musical styles has helped, too. William Orbit, a producer who has worked with Madonna, is a huge classical fan and has made several appearances on Classic FM. "It says to kids, 'This is something that has relevance'," Lewis says.
The station has raised money through its own charitable trust to supply a video of best teaching practice to teachers, to be launched this week. With the Arts Council of England, it has run a scheme giving families who have never attended a classical music concert a chance to do so. And this will be the third year of its Music Teacher of the Year scheme. Last year there were over 500 entries, with joint top place going to James Wood, from St Bede's Secondary School in Surrey, and Diana Mortlock from a primary school in Leicestershire. They each won a trip to the Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland and £10,000 worth of equipment for their schools.
Roger Lewis, who was once head of music at Radio 1, says his experience there made him aware of the importance of radio for young audiences. He refutes critics' claims that Classic FM offers only an unchallenging range of classical music hits, but is keen that classical music should not be regarded as intimidating or élitist.
"Our starting point as a broadcaster is to create access for a broad-based mass audience for classical music," he says. "Underlying that is a belief that music has the power to change people's perceptions of their lives for the greater good." Starting with the kids.
(Source: The Independent)
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Our "Ethical Policy"....
Kramers Designs & Signs Ltd. is a small family run business.
Our ideals:
We want to work in a way which will improve things for others and which ensures no harm comes from our actions.
"Ecological", "ethical", "organic", "sustainable" and "green" are often seen as nothing more than trendy buzzwords by some companies. Organisations with poor environmental or social responsibility records are increasingly keen to jump onto the "ethical" bandwagon by supporting "ethical" projects - but with the cynical aim of only improving their public image. This often means it can be difficult to determine if this kind of sponsorship is a good or bad thing; we attempt to see whether the benefits achieved will outweigh not becoming involved in the project.
We aim to:
We won’t:
We have, to date, been very lucky in having the support of family, friends and our business contacts - both customer and supplier - and we aim to continue to grow steadily whilst retaining our original principles. These were quite simple really - "to treat others as we ourselves want to be treated".
We did not set out with an "obvious" ethical policy at the beginning however, as with most people on the planet, we knew (in most cases) what was right and wrong and try to do the "right thing" when required to make a difficult decision.
We did not set out with an "obvious" ethical policy at the beginning however, as with most people on the planet, we knew (in most cases) what was right and wrong and try to do the "right thing" when required to make a difficult decision.
Ethics is a difficult area to define as people will always view the same things differently.
This simple statement is our ethical policy and outlines what we hope is good business practice.
Our ideals:
We want to work in a way which will improve things for others and which ensures no harm comes from our actions.
We want to work with, for and alongside organisations that attempt to bring about positive change in our local community and the wider world in which we live. When working with organisations such as charities, not-for-profit, public sector bodies and individuals - we ask whether the purpose of the organisation or project has social benefit.
"Ecological", "ethical", "organic", "sustainable" and "green" are often seen as nothing more than trendy buzzwords by some companies. Organisations with poor environmental or social responsibility records are increasingly keen to jump onto the "ethical" bandwagon by supporting "ethical" projects - but with the cynical aim of only improving their public image. This often means it can be difficult to determine if this kind of sponsorship is a good or bad thing; we attempt to see whether the benefits achieved will outweigh not becoming involved in the project.
We aim to:
- bank with The Co-Operative Bank - the UK's only high street bank with a credible ethical policy.
- make use of we recycled or low-impact materials where possible. Especially for office supplies and stationery. We try to promote recycled paper stocks for clients to consider.
- "Freecyle" equipment that still works but that we no longer need, want or have a use for. This prevents usable items being placed into land-fill sites helps to reduce waste.
- recycle as much of our waste and materials as is possible.
- support ethical or fairtrade products where available and possible.
- support and use like-minded organisations and individuals.
- be open, honest, polite and approachable with all our clients, suppliers and any third-party organisations.
- donate to charitable and voluntary organisations that benefit society - both locally and globally. Our donations have so far included financial support and the provision of our time and services.
- use our vehicles as little as possible and to carefully consider our routes when traveling to see clients, attend site or make deliveries. We also aim to reduce the amount of vehicles on the roads by employing a "car sharing" policy.
- conserve energy by turning off computers, equipment and lights when not required. And by heating rooms correctly - don't have open windows or doors with the heating on!
- source materials and supplies locally where possible. We try to reduce the environmental impact caused by unnecessary travel and transportation.
- source quality materials for all jobs. This helps to prevent things having to be redone - thus saving cost for clients and materials.
- use the most appropriate materials for the job. We want to to ensure the client gets a quality job that will last a long time and provide good value for money.
- be as competitive on price as possible. We try to ensure that we do not knowingly sell our services and goods too low. People will always undercut on cost but we aim to provide quality and good value.
- charge a fair price for our goods and services and to pay a fair price for the goods and services of others. We all need to make a profit and pay our bills.
- pay our suppliers bills within the agreed timescales. We also ask that our customers pay ours on time! Cash flow is vital to a small business like ours and we cannot afford to offer lengthy credit terms to customers. Small businesses succeed or fail by their ability to pay creditors.
- be friendly, approachable and tolerant. It's great being "ethical" - but it is also very important to be nice people. Good manners are totally free! And a polite manner will often get you the job or commission - so it's worth it!
We strongly believe in the philosophy that
"what goes around comes around".
We won’t:
- act in a way that undermines our ethical aims
- undertake work that is illegal, likely to cause offence or that we know is just plain "wrong".
- work with organisations which we know to be involved with animal testing or those with questionable human rights or environmental records.
Kramers Designs & Signs Limited - December 2008
Saturday, 13 December 2008
An ethical manifesto...(PDP 5)
We are to produce an "ethical manifesto" and produce a written report to include in our PDP 5 portfolio.
We are to consider:
1. approach to the environment
2. approach to political movements
3. repressive regimes
4. moral issues
5. gender issues
Research:
Ken Garland - First Things First Manifesto (1963)
Nick Orr - IF & IT
I especially like the comments from Nicky Orr. His father shared the same principle as myself.
Whilst researching this topic, I came across a piece by Paul Nini - who I contacted earlier in my course work.
Friday, 17 October 2008
To do..
I know, I need to finalise this "little" brief ASAP.
UPDATE: 13th January 2009
Busy finalising this now....
Thursday, 2 October 2008
Q1: The target group...
Demographic: 25 - 35 age group
Key Things To Consider
The Middle Youth age band encompasses every possible lifestage imaginable – singles, co-habitors, married with kids, married without kids, divorced etc.
25-34's aren’t all getting married and having kids. Some are settling down while others are still enjoying their independence.
But regardless of lifestage, this age group is settling into the routine of life. There are more responsibilities than when they were students and with the onset of work and long-term relationships, life has become more regimented. TV is used primarily as a form of relaxation.
The Middle Youth is the first generation to grow up in the technology era. They were taught to use a computer at school, had computers at home, and have always known a workplace to be equipped with computers.
Who are they?
There are over 8 million 25-34 year-olds who make up 14% of the population. This number is projected to remain stable for the next 20 years.
Marriage and parenthood are being put off until later. The average age of marriage has increased by around 5 years since 1961, to 30 for men and 28 for women.
Over two-thirds of this group are either married or living with a partner – 30% are still single and 4% are either divorced or separated.
1/3 of women in their mid-thirties have yet to have their first baby. The mean age of women when they have their first child is 27.
While marriage is being put off, living with a partner has grown in popularity. Co-habiting is most popular among men in their early 30s and women in their late 20s.
Since 1971, the gap between people leaving school, settling down to get married and starting a family has grown steadily and young people are now enjoying freedom from responsibility for longer than ever before.
25-34's are more upmarket than the overall population – 58% are ABC1 compared to 52% in the population overall.
25-34's are too busy to sit down and watch the news everyday; instead they are more likely to keep up with only the big stories. The Sun is their most popular paper, but they are more likely to get their news from the internet rather than from a newspaper.
A new life-stage is emerging. Traditionally, there was adolescence followed by adulthood. Now turning 21 doesn’t mean accepting the burden of adulthood – starting a career, buying a house, settling down, etc. These activities are being deferred to the late twenties and beyond.
Between the ages of 25 and 34, individuals are in a range of different lifestages. It is a time when the lines between the values of being young and the values of being parents are blurred. Two-thirds are married or co-habiting, but the remaining third are still very much single.
This age group tends to fall into two key lifestages – the younger (who are still single) and the older (who are co-habiting or married).
At the younger end of the spectrum, individuals tend to be:
Independent and self-reliant. Many have a ‘work to live’ attitude.
Big spenders. What is earned is spent on themselves – and what they buy usually doesn’t come cheap. Cars, mobile phones, broadband, DVD players, designer clothing are amongst the typical items – most of which they consider basic necessities.
Self-indulgent. This lifestage is a selfish one where things are ‘all about me’.
At the older end of the spectrum, individuals tend to be:
Settling down. Many are either settling into long-term relationships or getting married. Life is calming down and individuals are settling into a routine.
Moving away from the self. Priorities are changing and concerns move towards partners, the home or even children. It’s about compromising and balancing your own needs with those of others.
Establishing their interests. You learn what you like and what you don’t. Whether it’s cooking or history or gardening, individuals are developing their interests in specific genres.
25-34's grew up in the late '70's and '80's.
They don’t remember a world without:
Key Things To Consider
The Middle Youth age band encompasses every possible lifestage imaginable – singles, co-habitors, married with kids, married without kids, divorced etc.
25-34's aren’t all getting married and having kids. Some are settling down while others are still enjoying their independence.
But regardless of lifestage, this age group is settling into the routine of life. There are more responsibilities than when they were students and with the onset of work and long-term relationships, life has become more regimented. TV is used primarily as a form of relaxation.
The Middle Youth is the first generation to grow up in the technology era. They were taught to use a computer at school, had computers at home, and have always known a workplace to be equipped with computers.
Who are they?
There are over 8 million 25-34 year-olds who make up 14% of the population. This number is projected to remain stable for the next 20 years.
Marriage and parenthood are being put off until later. The average age of marriage has increased by around 5 years since 1961, to 30 for men and 28 for women.
Over two-thirds of this group are either married or living with a partner – 30% are still single and 4% are either divorced or separated.
1/3 of women in their mid-thirties have yet to have their first baby. The mean age of women when they have their first child is 27.
While marriage is being put off, living with a partner has grown in popularity. Co-habiting is most popular among men in their early 30s and women in their late 20s.
Since 1971, the gap between people leaving school, settling down to get married and starting a family has grown steadily and young people are now enjoying freedom from responsibility for longer than ever before.
25-34's are more upmarket than the overall population – 58% are ABC1 compared to 52% in the population overall.
25-34's are too busy to sit down and watch the news everyday; instead they are more likely to keep up with only the big stories. The Sun is their most popular paper, but they are more likely to get their news from the internet rather than from a newspaper.
A new life-stage is emerging. Traditionally, there was adolescence followed by adulthood. Now turning 21 doesn’t mean accepting the burden of adulthood – starting a career, buying a house, settling down, etc. These activities are being deferred to the late twenties and beyond.
Between the ages of 25 and 34, individuals are in a range of different lifestages. It is a time when the lines between the values of being young and the values of being parents are blurred. Two-thirds are married or co-habiting, but the remaining third are still very much single.
This age group tends to fall into two key lifestages – the younger (who are still single) and the older (who are co-habiting or married).
At the younger end of the spectrum, individuals tend to be:
Independent and self-reliant. Many have a ‘work to live’ attitude.
Big spenders. What is earned is spent on themselves – and what they buy usually doesn’t come cheap. Cars, mobile phones, broadband, DVD players, designer clothing are amongst the typical items – most of which they consider basic necessities.
Self-indulgent. This lifestage is a selfish one where things are ‘all about me’.
At the older end of the spectrum, individuals tend to be:
Settling down. Many are either settling into long-term relationships or getting married. Life is calming down and individuals are settling into a routine.
Moving away from the self. Priorities are changing and concerns move towards partners, the home or even children. It’s about compromising and balancing your own needs with those of others.
Establishing their interests. You learn what you like and what you don’t. Whether it’s cooking or history or gardening, individuals are developing their interests in specific genres.
These interests are unlikely to change as they grow older.
25-34's grew up in the late '70's and '80's.
Among the influences that have left their mark are:
Growth of PCs and the internet
Mrs. Thatcher
Fall of Berlin Wall
Live Aid
AIDS
Ready meals
Ecstasy and rave culture
Property boom
The walkman
Sky TV and Channel 4
Supermodels
Microwaves and CDs
The Premiership
Brit Pop
Mrs. Thatcher
Fall of Berlin Wall
Live Aid
AIDS
Ready meals
Ecstasy and rave culture
Property boom
The walkman
Sky TV and Channel 4
Supermodels
Microwaves and CDs
The Premiership
Brit Pop
They don’t remember a world without:
Colour TV
Computers and calculators
Single parents
Student loans
Foreign holidays
Fresh Orange juice, tuna, pizza, and pasta
Computers and calculators
Single parents
Student loans
Foreign holidays
Fresh Orange juice, tuna, pizza, and pasta
(Source: BBC Commissioning)
Q1: Research...
2007 Audience figures
(Source: RAJAR - Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd)
Initial findings seem to indicate that recent years have seen Radio 3 steadily loose listeners.
In fact figures released in August 2007 and covering the period April to June 2007, show their listening figures fell to their lowest levels for a decade. The station had 1.3 million listeners over the second quarter of 2007, down by 51,000 on the year and 119,000 down for the quarter. This decline followed the most radical shake-up of the station for five years, initiated by Robin Wright, the stations' controller.
At the same time, the figures for Radio 1's breakfast show, hosted by Chris Moyles, grew to 7.26 million - a rise of 200,000 for the quarter and 470,000 for the year. The DJ's popularity helped Radio 1 to reach an audience of 10.87 million; a quarterly rise of 320,000 and an annual increase of 450,000.
Meanwhile, over at Radio 2, Terry Wogan's listening figures were healthy at 7.92 million. Wogan added 40,000 new listeners to his figures but, despite these gains, Radio 2's audience figures fell slightly from the previous quarter to 13.1 million.
The stations' flagship news programme, "Today", retained healthy figures of 9.48 million.
Commercial Radio
This sector had its highest audience for over four years increasing to over 32 million listeners each week; a year on year rise of 1.3 million.
Other avenues
The figures show approximately 91% of the nation's population tune into radio with nearly 6 million people listen via digital means. Additionally, people over 15 listening to radio on mobile phones rose by 27% to 4.4 million, whilst figures for the same age group listening to podcasts grew from 1.9 million to 2.7 million.
2008 Audience figures
(Source: RAJAR - Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd)
Radio 3
Recovered from the previous years disappointing figures to reach 1.91 million listeners each week - a rise of 1.1% for the year. Research also showed that listeners were tuning in for longer.
Radio 1:
Overall the stations' audience fell to 10% of the market, down from 10.87 million to 10.68 million listeners per week. Chris Moyles figures fell from 7.26 to 7.21 million - despite a high of 7.72 million.
Radio 2
Their figures also dropped for the year; down to 13 million from 13.12 the previous year. A market share of 16% for the year. Terry Wogan saw his figures drop a little to 7.75 million yet, despite this fall, his show remains the most popular breakfast show in the UK.
Radio 4
Followed its "Sony Award" for "Station Of The Year" with another strong year. Figure were up to 9.53 million (from 9.48) with a 12% share of the market.
Podcasts
Figures show that over 14 million listeners accessed radio broadcasts via the web, with more than 9 million people downloading podcasts each week. Research revealed that half of the people surveyed were now listening to programmes to which they did not previously listen; each person listening to an average of 1.8 programmes per week with comedy and music being the favoured genres.
Additional Sources:
7th Feb 2008 Ofcom - "The Future Of Radio"
7th Feb 2008 Ofcom - "The Future Of Radio"
23rd Jul 2004 Ofcom - "The iPod Generation"
2007 Ofcom - "Radio"
24th Jul 2004 BBC - "Return To Form for Unique Radio 3"
June 2008 Media UK - "BBC Radio 3"
Culture.gov.uk - "Radio & Television"
27th Feb 2003 The Guardian - "Is 3 Company?"
4th Aug 2005 The Guardian - "Radio 3 Hits New Low"
17th Aug 2007 The Independent - "Radio 3's Spring Clean..."
18th Jun 2004 The Stage - "Leave 3 Be - Radio 3"
9th Sep 2008 Brand Republic - "Radio 3 Autumn Schedule"
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