1. Advertising & Society
Major Paper
Points: 20%
Format: This is individual work. Do not collaborate with others.
Submitting your work: Your final project must be uploaded to
D2L using the Major Paper Upload Link. You may submit early
if you like.
Topics: Please choose from one of the following topics or
propose a topic to your instructor. If you would like to cover a
topic that is not on this list, you must seek approval in writing
before you start work on the final project. Do not prepare your
final project using any unapproved topic or you run the risk of
receiving a 0 grade on this project.
· Predatory lending (e.g., mortgages, pay day loans, etc)
· Marketing of organic foods
· Marketing of co-ops (including CSAs)
· The role of crowd funding in marketing (e.g., Kickstarter,
GoFundMe)
· Marketing of live animals (e.g., pets for adoption; livestock)
· How brands have responded to the debate about gun-related
violence
· Brands that have succeeded or failed as a direct result of their
political statements. If you choose this option, you should
discuss specific examples of at least 2 brands that have
succeeded and at least 2 that have fallen apart as a direct result
of their political statements.
For any of these topics, you will need to do extensive research
and provide very detailed and specific information to discuss as
part of your project.

2. Instructions:
· Choose one of the suggested topics or seek written approval
for a different topic that was not already covered in class this
semester.
· Thoroughly research the topic so that you can write an
evidence-based report. Although you are welcome to include
your personal opinion in your paper, the paper does need to be
based on factual information and defended using references.
· Focus on telling your reader about the pros and cons of the
topic and how society is impacted.
· Prepare a 15- to 16-page (double-spaced) paper that discusses
the topic in great detail.
· Your paper should be formatted using strict APA style. See
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ for helpful
guidelines. Do not leave blank lines on any pages. Use 1”
margins on all sides of the paper. Use only 12-point font.
· Subheadings are permitted but are not essential.
· You need to include an APA-formatted reference list. This list
should start on a separate page and does not count towards the
page limit for the paper. Be sure to include at least 10
references.
· Use citations throughout your paper. Be sure to provide a
reference for every important point you make. Use citations to
back up any bold statements. Keep in mind your reader can say
“I don’t think that’s true” any time if you are not supporting
your points with references.
· Your paper needs to present a synthesized account of the
topic. Do not write in “book report” style. Book report style
(which you should NOT do) is when you write one paragraph
summarizing one paper you read, another paragraph
summarizing a different source, etc. Instead, you should write
each paragraph around a theme and each paragraph should
contain multiple citations.
· Do not plagiarize! If you copy someone else’s work (including
any publications), you will fail this course and be reported for
academic misconduct. Simply changing a few words here and

3. there is still plagiarizing. See your instructor for help before
you submit your work!
· You are welcome to include tables or figures, however, these
will not count towards your page limit. If you include a table or
figure, please refer to it in the text (e.g., Table 1, Figure 1, etc)
and then place it on a separate page after your reference list.
Grading Rubric:
/ 2
/ 5
/ 1
The paper begins with a clear statement of the topic under
investigation, as well as detailed exposition of why the topic is
important to study in 2018.
The literature review is thorough and the reviewed content is
clearly tied to the issue at hand.
The paper is between 15-16 pages in length (excluding
reference list and tables/figures).
/ 5
The paper goes beyond a simple introduction to the topic. It
provides deep insights or clever critique of the issue and
available evidence.
/ 2
The paper considers the issue from more than one perspective.
/ 2

4. / 3
A full reference list is provided and is formatted using APA
style.
Report is professionally written. There are no problems with
spelling, grammar, layout, APA style, or length.
/ 20
Reminder: Late work is not okay. Work received will receive 0.
Group Assignment #3
Worth: 35 points out of 75 for the assignments.
Description:
This is the big one. There is a large gap between this
assignment and the previous one because this assignment will
take time. DO NOT LEAVE THIS FOR THE LAST MINUTE. It
involves actually collecting interview or survey data and then
reporting the findings.
In this assignment you will describe your research approach and
methods and report interview or survey results, whichever
methodological approach you chose. There are four parts to this
assignment: (1) Introduction, (2) Approach, (3) Results, and (4)
Discussion.
Please write in complete sentences, NOT in bullet points/outline
format. Remember to citeall sources that you used both in the

5. text as well as the reference list at the end of your report, using
APA style.
Using these research questions!!
Research Question
We intend to do a qualitative study to gain an understanding of
the topic and how consumers view anti-smoking campaigns.
Central question
1. How do anti-smoking campaigns change the life of smokers?
(RQ)
Sub-questions
1. What do smokers think about smoking? (RQ)
2. What do smokers know about the anti-smoking campaign
(e.g., advertising, anti-smoking organizations, or ordinances)?
(RQ)
3. What do smokers think about anti-smoking campaigns? (RQ)
4. What do smokers think are the most effective aspects of anti-
smoking campaigns? (RQ)
5. How have anti-smoking campaigns affected smokers? (RQ)
Central question
2. How does the public (non-smokers) react to anti-smoking
campaigns? (RQ)
Sub-questions
6. How have anti-smoking campaigns impacted the (local) area?
(RQ)
7. How have anti-smoking campaigns impacted the world? (RQ)
8. How have anti-smoking campaigns impacted lives of non-
smokers? (RQ)
9. What are the most effective aspects of anti-smoking
campaigns to keep non-smokers away from cigarrettes? (RQ)
10. What are the most ineffective aspects of anti-smoking
campaigns? (RQ)
11. How have anti-smoking campaigns impacted the health of
the nation? (RQ)

6. The assignment should have the following sections (please use
section headers):
1. Introduction (1 paragraph double spaced)
Short summary of topic, to remind me what you were talking
about.
2. Research approach (1-2 double spaced pages)
2.1 Describing methods
Describe your methodological approach. You may choose
between either conducting interviews or a survey. You do NOT
have to do both. Only one of these is required. Explain why you
selected that method for this particular study. Why is this
method appropriate for this population and in this context?
2.2 Recruiting
Who are your participants? Why did you pick this
population?Where and how did you get people to participate?
If you are doing interviews you must have at least 4
participants. If you are doing surveys you must have at least 10
participants.
You may select any population to study EXCEPT for children
under the age of 18. There are informed consent issues with
research involving minors that are outside the scope of this
class.
3. Results (2-4 double spaced pages)
3.1 Description of participants
Demographics, and description of ‘who’ you actually have

7. interviewed or surveyed.
3.2. Quotations/descriptions
Interviews: You must complete at least 4 semi-structured
interviews. Report key findings, including useful quotations.
Surveys: You must obtain at least 10 survey responses. Report
key findings, including useful quotations if open-ended
questions were used, or useful statistics if only closed-ended
questions were used.
Your results here are purely descriptive. Tell me what you
found. Describe how your participants reacted and answered.
3.3 Research Questions and Hypotheses
Did you find support for your hypotheses? Did you receive
answers for your research questions? Please keep in mind that
in science nothing is ever “proven”, but only “supported”.
Therefore you should never claim anything along the lines of “X
proves Hypothesis 1”, but instead “X supports Hypothesis 1”.
Also keep in mind that you’re not doing statistical analysis here
(that is a whole other class), and your sample sizes are small, so
you’ll be talking about trends in the data rather than actual
effects.
4. Preliminary discussion (1-2 double spaced pages)
Discuss your results. Think about what your findings contribute
to your initial problem statement from Assignment 1. What does
it mean that your participants answered how they did? What can
you infer from your research? How does this help you frame
how you should advertise your product, what media channels
you might use to reach your target audience and the arguments
that might be persuasive for your audience?
You will write a longer, more directed version of this for
Assignment 4 (creative brief).
5. Appendix
5.1 Items/instrument
Include the questions that you actually used for your interview

8. or survey. You should have at least 10 questions (including
important demographics such as age, gender, etc., and
substantive topics).
6. References
Cite using APA format.
Citing sources: You must cite your sources using APA format.
If you are unfamiliar with APA check out the resources at
Purdue OWL:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/. You can
also take the easy way out by using Endnote and telling it to do
APA format.
The document must be submitted in Microsoft Word format.
Grading:
The first criterion for your grade will be your ability to hand in
the assignment and its components on time. Late assignment
submissions will lose 10% per 24 hours until submitted.
Other factors I will be considering as I grade include:
· Ability to follow the prompt (e.g., the content)
· Clarity of writing and argumentation
· Proper use of course information
· Proper use and citation of outside sources
· Organization, grammar, spelling (please see me if you need
help with this!)
My philosophy of grading for written assignments is not that
you start with 100% and lose points from there. You start at 0%
and earn points higher than that. Therefore, doing the bare

9. minimum does not earn you a 100%. The highest grades are
earned by going above and beyond and writing an exemplary
paper.
Marketing of Live Animals
Marketing of live animals is entirely different from the
marketing of other products or services. When one is marketing
and advertising live animals, there are several expenses still
being incurred since the animals still need to be fed. Further to
this, other activities such as veterinary visits and walking or
grazing the animals cannot cease. Provision for feeding live
animals must be made. Otherwise, it will affect their condition,
and this means that the animal will fetch less in the market and
advertising it will not be comfortable in such a state. Another
consideration that must be made is that once a live animal is
broadcast, a potential buyer may request to see it and this will
involve constant transportation hence leading to the reduction in
weight and value. While transporting animals, a lot of care must
also be taken since it can affect the animal and even lead to
death. Live animals are marketed through channels that favour
them, since the mainstream advertising methods may not all be
favourable (Ottoman,2017). This paper will look at the
marketing of live animals regarding concepts that can be used,
advertising strategies and challenges faced when one is
marketing live animals.
Marketing Concepts for Live Animals
Marketing is an important aspect of any marketing system. It
enables livestock producers to exchange their animals for cash.
When one is marketing livestock, it is important to understand
whether the livestock production is being done for a niche
market or for a commodity market. If one has a herd of
livestock, a decision must be made on the number of animals
from the herd that will be sold and the target weight that they
need to have to be considered as healthy at the time when they

10. will be sold. Another consideration will be whether the animal
is pregnant at the time of sale and if buyers will be comfortable
buying the animal that way. Another consideration should be
made of where the product is going to be sold and which place
will have the most profound effect. Selling can be done through
auctions, online auctions and marketing to local feed yards.
Craiglist can also be used as an alternative for marketing. The
livestock producer must explore all channels available for
marketing the product. Another important consideration will be
price. Pricing is an important factor and can affect whether the
live animal is purchased or not. Pricing is also determined by
the marketing method since pricing at an auction will be
different from when one is selling online.
When selling a live animal, one must have an objective of
selling. This will be important in enabling a person to achieve
the marketing plan they have put in place. Putting a price that is
too high may not be good as it exposes one to risk. One should
be able to get a reasonable price, while at the same time
controlling marketplace risks. Planning is essential when it
comes to marketing live animals as it will help to reduce
unnecessary stress. For livestock, it is crucial that one
understands their cost of production so that it becomes easy to
set pricing objectives. It is important to continually look at
marketing plans and assess whether the strategies used are
working or if there needs to be a change.
A livestock marketing model should be used when it comes to
livestock marketing. Livestock markets can be separated based
on types of sellers and buyers who operate in the market and
why the livestock is being purchased. The first type of market is
a primary collection market where the primary seller is a
livestock producer, and the primary buyers are fellow
producers, butchers or traders. Fellow producers mostly buy the
livestock to make a replacement in their herd. On the other
hand, butchers buy for slaughter and sale of livestock products,
while traders purchase for resale in other markets. The second
type of market that exists in livestock marketing is secondary

11. distribution markets. This market has traders as the leading
sellers and local butchers or fellow traders as the buyers
(Ottoman, 2017). The fellow traders, in this case, buy for sale
into other markets. The third type of market when selling
livestock is terminal markets with traders as the sellers and
slaughterhouses and other traders as the buyers. In this case, the
traders export the animal that they have purchased.
Pets are also live animals which are marketed through different
concepts. Many people today see pets as part of their family
hence they take parental roles when they acquire pets. This has
led to the immense growth of the pet industry. In the United
States, for example, pet spending has reached almost $76 billion
annually hence showing how the market has mostly grown. The
demographic groups that mainly acquire pets are the millennials
and nesting boomers (Bender, 017). Today's millennials have a
lot on their plate hence prefer children later in life. Many of
them, therefore, prefer acquiring pets. Baby boomers see pets as
their children. These two groups make up the most significant
percentage of those who purchase pets and can treat them as
part of the family.
Advertising Strategies for Live Animals
Several advertising strategies can be used to market live
animals, as discussed below:
Social Media-Social media is the best way to advertise since the
advertisement will be viewed by many people. Social media has
an extensive coverage hence opening many possibilities.
Advertising on social media enables one to put pictures of the
animals which are up for sale and give detailed specifications
that will be needed by buyers.
Animal Auctions-This is a popular method, especially for
livestock. It is essential that one enrols for such events as many
buyers come to the events hence enabling sellers to interact
with as many buyers as possible.
Community Forums-Livestock owners tend to stay in common
areas. This makes community forums an ideal way of

12. advertising since it will reach out to specific communities that
have a propensity of doing livestock farming.
Challenges in Marketing Live Animals
There are a significant number of challenges faced when
marketing live animals like pets and livestock. The first major
challenge is that live animals are not advertised in mainstream
channels like television and radio, hence limiting the marketing
strategies that can be applied. Most advertising happens through
social media, community forums or word of mouth. In the case
of livestock, sales are mostly made through public auctions
which occur occasionally. These events are primarily marketed
in communities through word of mouth, social media and
announcements on local radio channels (Ottoman, 2017). The
reach is usually low since many people are not keen on
livestock farming since it is done by particular groups of
people. Marketing of pets, on the other hand, can be said to
have a broader reach since the market for pets is vast. Many
people consider pets as part of their family. The challenge is
however that mainstream advertising techniques cannot be used;
hence it must be done through social media, word of mouth or
through websites of companies that deal in pet sales.
The second challenge that is faced in marketing and advertising
of live animals is that one must have resources to continue
keeping the pet healthy. This involves regular feeding and
continuously monitoring the animal to ensure that nothing
negative is affecting it. This means that funds must be used
even when the animal is being marketed to prospective buyers.
One must take care to make sure the animal is kept healthy and
under no stress whatsoever so that it remains appealing to the
buyer.
Conclusion
Live animal marketing is quite challenging since there is a
myriad of factors which are involved. Despite this, it is possible
to come up with a grand marketing strategy and plan for live

13. animals. One must ensure that everything possible is done to
keep the pet healthy so that it will be easier for the buyers to be
attracted to the animal. Further to this, it is essential to try and
adopt unique advertising methods that will enable marketing of
live animals to a broader audience. If legal regulations are being
followed, one should come up with unique ideas that will make
the animal attractive to whoever is purchasing it.
References
Bender, R. (2017). Run, spot, run: The ethics of keeping pets
[Book Review]. Australian Humanist, The, (126), 23.
Ottman, J. (2017). The new rules of green marketing: Strategies,
tools, and inspiration for sustainable branding. Routledge.