I found the information provided in the readings (chapters 3 and 4 in SCfN) to be incredibly useful and relevant to the goals we as a class are trying to accomplish. Chapter 3 discusses conducting research and reaching target audiences. In regards to our client, Safe Harbor, I think it would be very beneficial to employ the idea of thinking up segments or "clusters" (page 36) to more accurately determine our audiences. Different groups of people have different agendas, and we need to work on reaching all of those dynamics in order to raise awareness about our client and succeed in our goals. In particular, we want to reach full-time college students. This is a dynamic of individuals who has little to no awareness about the ugly truths of domestic violence-not to mention they make up the majority of the population in Clemson-so they are an ideal candidate.
The information pertaining to qualitative and quantitative research struck a familiar cord with me because I am currently taking a qualitative research methods class. I always find it interesting when materials from my different classes overlap.. learning the information is easier if I can see it in action in various settings in life. One of the main facets of qualitative research is polling or interviewing individuals so that conclusions about a topic can be drawn from the data. One of the other types of research listed was online research, which we all do on a daily basis. In fact, we as a class employed online research for our first blog post regarding statistics about domestic violence in our state and country. It may even serve us well to get to know our client better through the use of some of these research tactics.
The values that people hold near and dear to their hearts is something that we need to explore in order to more effectively reach our target audiences. Obviously, our client is one that already utilizes an emotional appeal to reach out to the public for support. However, the individuals who lack awareness about domestic violence also have personal values that need to be discussed. Page 46 of the text lists primary and secondary values that people hold. These values influence beliefs that they may have, and decisions that they may make. I found it interesting that most of these values can potentially tie in with the mission of our client, Safe Harbor. Some of these may include responsibility to care for others, honesty and integrity, fairness and equality, and personal liberty. If we appeal to the values of Clemson students, we should be able to successfully pull off whatever projects we decide on.
At the same time, we want to make sure that we don't make our projects seem too outlandish so that our audiences don't experience the "glazed over" effect (page 50). We need to concentrate on making our audience feel like they CAN help us accomplish our goals, and that the projects themselves aren't too overwhelming. I feel like many large nonprofit organizations experience this at one point or another, particularly when dealing with a problem that is unpleasant or uncomfortable for the public to talk about (such as domestic violence, rape, etc.).
I found this public service announcement on YouTube.. It's graphic but I think it definitely pertains to the emotional appeals we need to reach with our audiences.
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