Melissa Bialek
05.21.13
Social Media Campaign Project
(1)
Describe the challenge
The challenge is to make
a completely bizarre, strange “Flash app” that will spike in popularity to
appease (and make fun of) a niche market, then die soon after, without making
it too inaccessible for either the target audience or the audience it would be
parodying.
(2)
Who is the target
audience?
The target audience of
the app breaks down into two major groups: a) “Bronies”, male adult fans of My
Little Pony: Friendship is Magic who are the new population crutch to make fun
of because of general social awkwardness, lack of hygiene or style but attempts
to employ the use of a classic “Fedora/Trilby” hat to attempt to have any, and
inacceptable behavior in general public (adult men should not be watching a
little girl’s cartoon show). The second major group is the general public who
finds these people laughable.
(3)
What does the audience
currently think about the brand or group?
Bronies are in love with
other bronies. It’s a subculture within itself that is ignorant to a lot of
criticism. Many Bronies are ignorant of other people’s opinions, and choose to
live and act the way they do out of arrogance and a blind eye turned toward the
rest of society. They would use this app seriously, as the app would offer them
a fun service: at the cost of taking a picture of himself, the Brony would be
suggested more merchandise he would enjoy to put on his hat/bag/etc that could
otherwise be hard to find on the internet.
For the general public,
it would just be something to laugh at, be weirded out by, and have a kind of
disturbed curiosity sated by dressing themselves up to look like they were a
blind 4 year old fumbling around in a closet.
(4)
What would we like the
target to think and feel?
Bronies should feel
welcomed and excited, because it is yet another outlet for them to express
themselves the way they like.
The general public should
be having fun, laughing, and feeling bewildered or weirded out.
(5)
Which facts, evidence or
thoughts will assist in this change of thinking?
Not sure how to address
this question? The fact that these “Bronies” are college aged (or older) men
that get in far too deep with little cartoon ponies is creepy, bizarre, and
somewhat fascinating. To Bronies, anything that remotely accepts their hobby is
great, and appeals to them due to wide dislike for their antics. For the
general public, this app would put the strange fecundity of these men on
display, and confirm stereotypes about the majority of these people.
(6)
What is the brand
essence?
Light-hearted fun!
(7)
What is the key emotion
that will build a relationship with the core audience?
For Bronies –
“Acceptance”. For the general public – “Shared confusion/disgust/curiosity”
(8)
What media will best
facilitate our goal?
Advertising on
Facebook/Reddit and My Little Pony forums for the Bronies. For the general
public, word of mouth stemming from actual use by Bronies would probably be the
best bet, along with comedy websites – SomethingAwful, Cracked, ThinkGeek –
possibly having advertisements as well.
(9)
What are the most
critical elements?
It is critical that this
app is always lighthearted and offers a good time to either party – e.g.
whether it is being used with serious intent or not. Parody is funniest to both
parties when it isn’t too malicious in nature. This pokes fun at Bronies for
sure, but it isn’t cruel or mocking enough to really hurt feeling; it fits both
the niche market and appeals to the general public because it is both
good-natured and positively bizarre.
(10)What is the single most important takeaway?
That even if you are a creepy,
fedora-wearing Brony, that there is something for you – and you using this
gives the general public something more to be curious about. This is a weird,
niche “Flash” app, but it really can appeal to everyone… Just for different
reasons.
(11)What do we want the audience to do?
Take the app with a grain
of salt, enjoy it for a moment, then move on. It’s just meant to be like a
one-off joke! Don’t take it too seriously.
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