There's nothing on TV for my age group
16-24 year olds
Previous efforts: BBC Switch, Trouble
Fail because they are patronising
Why? Run by people who do not understand target audience
Teens and young adults are interested in laughing (comedy), music. They
want to be able to relate to what they are watching*

*survey of sixth form pupils
Examples: Peep Show, Mock The
Week, Skins, etc.
Teenagers and young adults want new, invigorating and 'fresh' products on their TV screens
Fresh - name - Zing
Interesting, attractive
name. Unique
Inspired by the lad channel Dave
The website had pages for the channel’s schedule and for information to contact its operators. I believe the target audience would want to do this because Zing would be very interactive  firing off an email to the channel’s controllers would more than likely get a reply and in some cases lead to noticeable changes on screen, in the form of new programmes or presentation. It is also a method of sharing opinions. This target audience, I know from experience, finds it very important to be able to feel like they are having an input and a say on what they are watching. They like to feel as if they are being heard.
Website and interactivity
 The video should appeal to my target audience because they can relate to the pair featured in it (because they are your average teens/young adults), and they also appear natural and amusing. By relating to the people in the video, the target audience should feel like ‘if these sort of people are watching this channel, then I think I’d like it too’. The Uses and Gratification Theory comes into this - with a need for identity and a chance to escape reality through the medium of television.
The video and affinity
The newspaper advert lists some of the programmes on the channel, some of its slogans and details on how to watch it (channel numbers, etc.). These are conventions of television channel advertising (more examples of TV channel advertising can be seen on another blog post). The main image of the advert is two of the target audience smiling and looking relaxed, again attracting and enticing the target audience into ’joining them’ and watching the channel. Everything is aimed at getting more viewers. The poster also features a direct mode of address with both of the people in the photograph looking straight into the camera. This makes the advert seem more personal to the consumer, and appealing.
The newspaper advert and consumer appeal
In the course of my feedback, it was suggested to me that the newspaper advert should maybe have an ethnic minority in the photograph, to ensure that the channel caters for everyone and no one is excluded. After considering the options, I decided against altering the photograph. I felt that changing the photo to feature someone from an ethnic minority would be too tokenistic and politically correct. Zing would not exclude anyone from viewing. I just did not believe that it needed to be spelled out so explicity. On the channel level, I would reaffirm this by including music videos from all over the world in programming.
Ethnic minority?
The listings magazine pages give information about how the channel came about and what its aims are, a launch night schedule and also a teaser as to the possibility of new exciting programming coming to Zing, in this case, live football. A photograph depicts a young woman rollerblading and peering into the camera. This direct mode of address, as before, draws the readers’ eyes to the page and appeals to them. The audience may think: ”this young, care-free person is enjoying herself, and she watches Zing - so then I’ll watch Zing too  it’ll make my life better.” This part of it strikes Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, as the audience is attempting to fulfil their potential by watching the channel.
Listings magazine pages and media theory
I chose to work on a channel for young adults because of what I perceive as a complete lack of any half-decent TV output for this group. Children are well catered for with CBBC (both a channel and slots on BBC One/Two), CITV, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. The only service remotely for this audience is BBC Switch, but I find it extremely patronising and the sort of thing I would have switched off and left behind at about 13 or 14 years old, due to how the presenters were too try-hard and how the programming was too far-fetched to be appealing to my audience. This is why one of my programmes, Channel 4s Skins. None of the characters fly off into space at any time.  I seem to think that the BBC believe after you have started doing your GCSEs you should settle down in front of the Antiques Roadshow. I thought this was wrong and my idea for a channel was based on catering for the needs of 16 to 24 year olds.
Why this target audience?
I wanted to take all of the shows that are watched by this audience across all channels, such as Peep Show on Channel 4 and Mock The Week on BBC Two, and put them all on one channel that was available to as big an audience as possible, which meant putting it on Freeview - not just a subscription channel on Sky or Virgin Media. I understand that money might not be abundant for a 16 to 24 year old. At the lower end of the target audience there might be a lack of choice as to whether they have satellite television or not. The channel also had to be non-patronising at all costs. I noticed that the reasons behind this patronising feeling coming from other services was older people trying to ‘be like’ the target audience, which they just can’t do when they are pushing 30. The solution to this would be an array of presenters who fit the target audience, probably between 18 and 24 years of age.
Which platform?
I made a point of ensuring that the synergy between the main task and the ancillary was as strong as possible, that the newspaper advert and listings magazine pages were not just afterthoughts at the end of the project. Therefore, I made certain that all parts of the project shared a consistent design. The advert and listings magazine pages also feature the website address. This came to mean that Zing had a 'brand image' that was easily identified.
Synergy
The project was not without its problems, mostly caused by technology. The biggest difficulty I had was attempting to place the video in working order on my website. It required complicated .flv streaming technology that I had to learn to use, but eventually I managed to get it to work. In the future I would be able to use these skills I have learned to make better websites.
What problems did I have?
The font I have used on the poster is Trebuchet MS, a classic font. It is clear, rounded and stylish and fits neatly with my overall scheme of bright, enthusiastic colours.
Which font?
Ideas
BBC One - red circle
ITV 1 - yellow and black
Sky1 - blue '1'
The idents on BBC One use a number
of different settings to produce the
red circle. These include motorcycles
going round a track, footballers passing
a ball around a circle and kites being flown
in the sky.
ITV1 has a uniform branding
of yellow and black. After
playing out a scene (street scene,
etc.), the camera pans out and the
logo appears.
Sky1 have numerous idents, some of which
are related to the programmes they show, such
as the protagonist in Bones practicing shooting
a gun. They all have the common theme of a blue
number 1 appearing. This one features a sophisticated,
modern city scene.
UNIFORM BRANDING - EXAMPLES
Zing carries a distinct uniform branding.