Scenario: You and your group are the Associate Directors of Communication at your company (the one you created for your contract). Your supervisor, the Vice President of Communication, Joseph Matador, would like to update the communication tactics of your company. He has asked you to analyze three different communications from a different company in the hopes of learning new techniques from that company.
Assignment: For the Communication Analysis assignment, you will select a company that is similar to the one your group has created (determine what type of business you and your group would like to run/own and then choose a company similar to that) and analyze three different communications that company has created. For example, if you and your group are a clothing company that sells casual, classic and simple clothing for men and women, you may want to research a store like The Gap.
You must consider the three major modes of communication: written, oral, and visual. At least one of these communications must be oral, at least one must be visual, and at least one must be written. Remember that these categories can overlap (for example, a commercial is both visual and oral).
You may want to consider the following types of communication (this is not an exhaustive list):
· Advertisements
· Billboards
· Blogs
· Brochures
· Commercials
· Presentations
· Press Releases
· Product Placement
· Reports
· Websites
Remember that your communication analysis should focus on one company only. For example, if I selected Apple, I could analyze an iPod commercial, a presentation by Steve Jobs, and Apple's website.
Questions to Consider:
When analyzing each communication, ask yourself the following questions:
1. What is the purpose of the communication?
2. Who is the audience of the communication? Does the communication address the audience appropriately?
3. Is the design of the communication effective? (This incorporates a great deal of information. It can range from the color scheme of a website to the appropriateness of a speaker's outfit. Consider all visual elements of the communication, even if it is primarily written or oral.)
4. If the communication has written elements, is it written well?
5. If the communication has oral elements, is it delivered effectively?
6. Is the communication persuasive? In other words, do you find yourself agreeing with the author? Does the author use ethos, pathos, and logos? Does he/she/it make reasonable claims?
7. Is the communication effective? Consider the previous six questions. Does the communication succeed at its goal(s)?
What techniques of the communication could you adapt for your own purposes?