Written by Abby Kellett
nstead of multiple time-consuming assignments, students in the Christian View of Media ethics class had only one major project: help spread the message of Jesus, either explicitly or implicitly, using the skills from their majors. Students had to take the aptitudes being taught to them through their departments to come up with a project that would positively affect today’s culture and society.
Caitlyn Ringling, a senior advertising major enrolled in the class this semester, got her project idea just from listening to broadcasting.
“I came up with this idea from hearing their [Air1 Radio’s] pledge drive on the radio,” Ringling said. “I really found it annoying and hoped to find a better way to raise money for the station and advance their ministry.”
Ringling’s project involved coming up with a new marketing strategy for the station’s annual weekly fundraiser. She presented her extensive plan to the class last week, and she says she hopes to see results in the future.
“My hope is that they will adapt a new way of marketing their station so that they may be most effective in raising money,” Ringling said. “My project will hopefully influence the avid listeners of the station by providing them a more direct way to give back, without taking away air time from the songs that people want to hear.”
Other students in the class took a different approach to the assignment. Michael Brooker and Hunter Mitchell made an advertising campaign composed of different kinds of messages. The two wrote scripts for three video spots and created four ads.
“We basically started with an idea of an old woman feeling alone in a time of need. From there, we wanted to point out when she realized she was never alone in the first place,” Brooker said. “This was our first video spot, and the two other stories branched off of this one.”
“We wanted to create a simple, yet effective, encouraging campaign,” Brooker said. Their project’s tagline, “Just Be There,” was designed to carry out that goal.
Other projects included a movie trailer, the coloring in chapel service project and a Harding University in Greece promotional book to be used by the International Programs.
