How to: design an effective journalism blog

Video guide of the basics of designing a blogspot page: more tutorials by wvteks available here.

When designing a blog to present journalistic work there are certain elements that need to be included in its construction. These elements include:

A strong layout

One blog user suggests on Blogntrepreneur that:

"There is a golden rule when it comes to page layout in design, which is that everything on the page should be there for a reason. This same rule should apply to your blog. So to do this, remove anything unneccessary on your blog."

To achieve this it is important that you have in mind what messages you want your blog to contain. In this blog it is important that the content is clear and straight to the point so by having only one column and no widgets this look has been achieved. Additionally added a page banner at the top of the content still maintains a simplistic look but adds organisation to the content and interlinks with the content. Blogger as a blog creator allows the user to add additionally widgets and columns but always bear in mind  how this will affect your blogs aesthetic.


Tags
One blogger user stated that:

Tags not only allow people and search engines to find your content easier, but they can also help you organize your site

Tags are an important way to organise content as well as improve the chances of your blog being noticed. In this blog tags have sometimes included Twitter tags that link to the online promotion techniques being employed. Additionally these tags directly link to the pages at the top of the page e.g. data journalist adding an organisational structure to the blog. The tags you choose to accompany your posts must highlight the important parts of your content and also your blog. 


Copyrighted images
A blog isn't visual enough without strong images that relate to the content, however you can't just take a photograph or image from the internet and put it in your blog you have to acknowledge the graphics origin and copyright. Online images can be bought through websites such as iStockphoto but some images are available for free provided you reference where you got the photo from directly. Flickr is a great example of a website where copyright is important but also a great source of images. There are different levels of copyright under the umbrella of creative commons on Flickr which include:

Attribution:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work – and derivative works based upon it – but only if they give you credit.

Non-commercial:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work – and derivative works based upon it – but for non-commercial purposes only.

No Derivative Works:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.

Share Alike:
You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work.

To see this information in more detail with further explanations visit the Creative Commons website.

To get images from Flickr use the search engines and check the creative commons before using an image. For this blog photos are highly important and below is a visual guide to how copyrighted images from Flickr were used in this blog:

Another way to obtain images for a journalism blog is by looking through official companies websites. In this blog the main subject matter was the London 2012 Olympics so by going through their official Olympics websites images are available. With all companies search their sites have press sections that you should search for. In these sections they sometimes have a section for images that you can use on your site which are free of copyright. This is what was used on this blogs header to create a strong visual identifier for the blog and to emphasize what the blog is about. You can find more London 2012 Olympic images through their press site here.

All of these elements need to be considered when making a blog. Think about how you ultimately want the blog to look and use these techniques to show your blogs meaning and style.

Olympic sponsors investigation: Marketing (2)

If you were to visit each Worldwide Olympic partners website you will see a direct reference to their role in the Olympics which are related to their company values and messages. This alongside a long string of marketing campaigns and advertisements promotes individual sponsors and the entire Olympic brand. An official Olympic websites states that marketing is:

"Olympic marketing helps perpetuate the work of the Olympic Movement, by providing resources, programmes and financial support. All programmes and actions of a partner should be designed to enhance and protect the Olympic image and Olympic values"

This can be really explored by looking as specific examples of sponsors and analysing their campaigns. TOP's are the main sponsors of the games and according a news source FT:

"The investment required is a significant one - tier one domestic sponsors of London 2012 pay £50m on average, and worldwide Olympic partners around $100m (£61m)"

Coca Cola 


Coca Cola have been sponsoring the Olympics since 1928 and their most current advertising campaigns the presence of their own brand identity as well as the Olympic brand and values, and also athletes (see the examples below - TV advert found through Youtube). Additionally Coca Cola encapsulates and reiterates continually on their website their positive influence on the Olympics and a future past the London 2012 games. An official statement on their Olympic Games page states:

"Coca‑Cola is already working closely with London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to understand how we can promote recycling within the venues and are looking at every aspect of our Olympic Games plans - from the uniforms our staff will wear to the type of fridges we use to chill our drinks - to ensure we reduce our environmental impact wherever possible."

Monorex, a photo by cocabeenslinky on Flickr.

As you can see from these examples Coca Cola infuses its brand (bright red, vibrant, exciting) with the Olympic values and athletes. These variety of advertising campaigns correspond and follow the values the London 2012 Olympics wants to portray as the say on their website

"London 2012 will create the most accessible and participative Games. It will touch people as it has never done before, stimulating people to do more and to try new things and reassess what we are all capable of. London 2012 has sport at its heart and London at the centre, but it is more than London and more than sport. It is a Games for London, the UK and the rest of the world, for sport and culture, for volunteers and business."

However some their marketing campaigns have met criticism, for example on Flickr one user said in regards to cocabeenslinky's photo:

"It should never have been there. What was there before was so much greater"

Despite this the marketing campaigns have been successful with their Youtube channel having over 60,986,548 views (as of 23:52pm on 05/03/2012) with their combination of brand identity, entertainment and celebrity. Being the only TOP to focus on drinks their exclusivity to the games provides a large point of revenue and something their competitors don't have. The only other food and drink company in the TOP's is McDonald's who themselves stock Coca Cola products. 


Coca Cola as a business is fully aware of an evolving global economy and the up rise of social media and technology with their marketing director Claudia Navarro saying in Adage's article published in September 2011 on the release of their advertising campaign:

"We are using London's rich culture and diversity as a backdrop. We've partnered with Mark Ronson because he's someone special - he's a London icon who can bring our creative vision to life. The athletes only met for the first time yesterday, but already they are buddies and are tweeting each other"

This shows an understanding of social media, global relations, creativity and celebrity that each sponsor replicates throughout their Olympic campaigns. 

What kind of companies are represented in London 2012?

Breakdown of companies - Pie chart generated by me through Chartgo

In the previous spreadsheet worldwide partners were categorised by sort of companies they were. From this information a pie chart was generated to visualise percentages and what kind of company was most dominant within this group.

From this pie chart it is apparent that technological companies are the most represented within this selection. This coincides with an innovative perspective the games is trying portray. Additionally there is also a wide selection of other types of companies represented.

So from this further investigation which originated from a culmination of a wide variety of information I was able to find out reasoning behind marketing campaigns, the history of the Olympic games and how all this is all incorporated in certain brands. It is clear that branding both within the companies and within the Olympics is essential to a successful Olympic games if success is measured by a bigger spectacle, consumption, finance and audience satisfaction.


These forms of investigations and visualisations can be replicated to any pieces of information and any investigation by using specific Google searches/Google documents and websites such as Gliffy, Dipity and ChartGo.

Main feature: Sponsor deals and your career

This is a feature piece about the sportswear company Adidas and their relationship with individual athletes and sponsorship deals they have with them. Within this feature are quotes from a separate interview with Ann*, a national athlete who is competing in this years London 2012 Olympic Games for Team GB.

On speaking with the Press Team of Adidas Corporation they believed this interview “expresses the good nature of our company and how we respect our clients. Our sponsorship deals are freely available if the public request, like most companies we have an exclusivity term within our contract. However we do not feel this deters clients from their role within the sporting field they represent, we are merely assisting and aiding their profile.”

Sponsor deals and your career

Adidas are a worldwide known brand, with over 10 billion dollars in assets and 40,000 global employees. They are pioneers within the sporting industry and were recent sponsors for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

What strikes a cord within in the UK is their commitment to rising athletes, they fund and sponsor young runners, gymnasts, swimmers and many more in this country. Without the likes of these sponsors many amazing and talented sports stars would never of been found.

However, is being sponsored by a worldwide company really all it seems? Perks of the job also come with restrictions and limitations, many of which could ruin the dreams and aspirations these athletes once wished for.

I managed to get an exclusive interview with *Ann, a young up and coming athlete breaking into the world of professional sports people. She is part of the GB Team for this years London 2012 Olympic Games. But as she reveals, wanting those big sponsorship deals, come with a heavy price and an even heavier fall if things don’t go the way your sponsor wants it to.

Ann started off in her sport at a young age, like many athletes she was focused and knew one day she wanted to be a professional, getting paid to do the one thing she loved in front of thousands of people supporting her. “Adidas have sponsored me for a while now, they turned me into the professional athlete I am today, without them I would still be at my local running club.”

In a way, many would think she is one of the fortunate ones, got a big secure sponsor who can provide for her so she can focus on the sport rather than finding enough money to live. In this case, yes Ann is the lucky one; she tells us of a running partner she knew who has had her dreams shattered by not abiding by the terms of her contract. “It was horrible, the company called her in a sued her for thousands, they didn’t drop her as they cant, but the price was so extortionate she could afford to keep running professionally without another income. So she gave it all up, she is still paying back what she owes them to this day.”

On speaking with her it is obvious this story has haunted Ann, many sportsmen are tied into exclusivity deals with big fines potentially able to destroy a future successful career within your sport. “These deals do have their set backs, you have to be careful what you wear, where you eat, what you are seen doing, you are basically a walking billboard for that brand. But they pay your wages, you can’t blame them, you just need to be careful.” Ann reveals her contract is similar to this exclusivity deal, “I do adverts and campaigns for them on a regular basis which gets in the way of training quite a lot. But its mainly just the clothing deal, I have to wear at least one clearly branded item of there’s every day. It is a right pain especially when I’m having my relax days, but I just keep reminding myself who pays my wages.”

Adidas is a company that prides it self on being part of the Olympics and this year they have teamed up with fashion designer Stella McCartney in producing a new clothing range for Team GB. Nick Craggs, Adidas Marketing Director, said how Adidas are “bringing together the best British Athletes performing at the Olympic and Paralympic Games and combining that with the best British designer.”

With this recent news Adidas stock shares have increased along with sales for the company. With so many adverts all showing Adidas as the brand to wear, is it any wonder sales have increased? Ann has to always display the Adidas brand when she is competing or training, this just reiterates to spectators that this is a supreme brand even if that may not be the case. “If people recognise me and ask for advise on what running shoes they should start off with, or if I can recommend a comfortable sports bra, I have to say Adidas. Even if I don’t agree, I hate that, I don’t like lying to people but I have no choice. Usually its true, I could recommend some of their kit as exceptional, but honestly, everything in life has flaws and even some Adidas stuff isn’t the best.”

Adidas is one of the few decent companies, many have been known for being much tougher on who they sponsor and the rules and restrictions within that deal. However that is not to say they do not act differently with other clients they sponsor. For best advice when signing any contract deal with any company is to read all small print detail, get a trusted family member to speak through any issues you may feel you have and entrust a lawyer so you have piece of mind that you wont end up like Ann’s friend if it all goes wrong.

For the full interview with Ann please see the “An interview with an Athlete” blog post further down the page. Please note the names have been changed for the confidentiality and anonymity of the interviewee. 

Olympic sponsors investigation: Worldwide Olympic partners (1)

Olympic sponsors: TOP programme on Dipity.

Continuing from the spreadsheet generated previously, it is important that you focus on specific elements when conducting further research. For example in this investigation information specifically about TOP and the worldwide partners has become the main point of focus and several forms of visualisation have been generated. In this post, a timeline has been generated to map the progression of worldwide Olympic partners historically. From this visualisation further explanations, visualisations and investigation should be conducted to give your audience the bigger picture. In this case I will use these techniques and tips to explain the investigation of TOP which relates to previous research presented on this blog.

What are Worldwide Olympic partners?

Worldwide Olympic partners also known under The Olympic Partners (TOP) programme was established in 1985 by the IOC. This was based of the product category exclusivity model utilized by Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. This initiative created in coordination with 159 NOC's (National Olympics Committee) along with the Seoul and Calgary OCOG's (Organising Committee's of the Olympic Games) both of which also launched independent marketing campaigns. The IOC also required the OCOG to develop a joint marketing programme with the host countries NOC for the first time. This started the relationship between the Olympics and the high budget marketing and sponsorships campaigns.

TOP facts and figures - from www.olympic.org (2009)

This relationship and concept has developed over time resulting in ever increasing revenue from the selected partners. From the graphic provided you can see a correlation between the NOC'S and overall revenue. Additionally it is possible to make certain predictions about the revenue that will come from the London 2012 Olympics. With the London 2012 Olympics having 16 TOP's it could predicted by specialists within the marketing campaigns that a high revenue will be achieved. With the figures behind the cost of being an Olympic sponsor, in regards to London 2012, being heavily protected by LOCOG and other respective companies it is impossible to draw a correlation between spending and revenue but by researching around advertising you can develop a strong indication of how much TOP's spend on their marketing. For example in a news report posted in 2011 by Sports Business Daily stated that:

"Spending information is based on standard rate-card prices for specific national and regional live and taped sports broadcasts on English and Spanish networks. The staging of the Olympics and World Cup can skew year-to-year comparisons for companies, making two-year comparisons notable in some cases. For example, U.S. Olympic Committee and FIFA sponsor Coca-Cola increased its ad spending by 160 percent over 2009, a non-Olympic year, but just 20 percent more than 2008."

By discovering statistic such as these it is clear that TOP's invest a lot of money into their marketing campaigns which ultimately has an effect on the overall revenue, which then pays the sponsors and funds the Olympics - it's one financial and strategical driven cycle. This conclusion can be further strengthened by information supplied by Mischon who reported:

"Although there has been a massive increase in sponsorship revenue over the past 20 years (TOP sponsors paid $95million in 1988, rising to $866million in 2008), this has to be considered in the context of the growing costs of hosting the event over the same period (with estimates that Seoul 1988 cost $4billion, to Beijing 2008’s $40billion). Whilst modern Olympic Games can be profitable, this would not be feasible without the increasing sponsorship revenues. As such, the IOC is understandably  anxious to protect what has become a valuable asset."

The roles of TOP's

As stated within the Olympic Marketing Fact-file:

"The TOP programme provides each Worldwide Olympic Partner with exclusive global marketing rights and opportunities within a designated product or service category. The global marketing rights include partnerships with the IOC, all active NOCs and their Olympic teams, and the two OCOG's and the Games of each quadrennium. The TOP Partners may exercise these rights worldwide and may activate marketing initiatives with all the members of the Olympic Movement that participate in the TOP programme"

Source: Seguin, IOA, 2008 found through Slideshare

With this established power within the Olympic games and campaigns the Worldwide Olympic Partners have certain roles and responsbilities in alignment with the marketing campaigns. These roles and responsibilities are expected to be fulfilled by all Worldwide Partners and are listed in the table above. Some of these roles aren't necessarily visible to the general public but some of them are very clear. It is imperative that the sponsors full fill these criteria as it directly influences the success of campaign leading up to the Olympic Games. A lot of these listed are dependent of the success of their marketing campaigns which will explored in a follow up post.

Adidas investigation: How do they treat their athletes?

This interview I got with an athlete who is in the line up for the London 2012 Olympic games. I rang her up and this is the original transcript of the telephone interview we had. Due to the nature of certain material she disclosed to me I have decided to omit her real name and provide a pseudonym within the interview. However, all words expressed here are true and have not been edited for the nature of the research.

An interview with an athlete.

Please note, a pseudonym name has been used to protect the confidentiality of the interviewee.

So Ann, how are you, how have you been keeping in the run up to the Olympics? It’s not long to go now do you feel prepared for it all?

Heya, yeah I'm really good ta, I feel as ready as I will ever be, I have been out training everyday and am really focused. It has come up really soon I cant believe it, but my body is in shape and I have had no injuries so feel strong and prepared to go out there and run my best.

That’s good to hear, the country is behind you and supporting your every step.

That means a lot; I don’t what I would do without the help and support of all my friends and family. My team is great as well; we help each other through everything. You kind of have to get on as you basically are with each other all the time. They become like a second family to you and you talk with everyone about any thing that is ever on your mind, you have a bond and a trust with each individual.

How do you fit it all in, as I know you have to do promotional campaigns for your sponsor ‘Adidas’ as well?

Yeah it is a lot. I do photo shoots or ad campaigns with them all the time. But its mainly just being recorded when running which is what I love to do so doesn’t bother me too much. Spend all day running in time with a metronome sound so they can splice one seconds worth of material of your shoe or something into an advert. But its fun and without them I wouldn’t be where I am today so in a way, its part of my job.

Are you thankful to have a sponsor? I know for some people it takes years to get even a minor one and you landed quite quickly with a major contract?

Oh my without having a sponsor I would still be running round my town on the odd day and at my running club some evenings. They have been sponsoring me for some time now and its because of them I am where I am today, they turned me into a professional athlete. I feel sorry for some people who have to pull out of their dream due to a lack of funding and support. I don’t know what I would do if that were me, I am very lucky.

Does it not have its downsides though? Your contract must have a lot of stipulations, which may sometimes get on your nerves?

Well yeah, of course it does. One thing that is really annoying is my clothing deal. I am lucky ‘Adidas’ provided me with loads of top of the range training gear and running clothes and shoes, the lot to be honest. But part of the deal is I have to wear at least one clearly branded thing of there’s every day. That’s a pain as even when I'm having my relax days I still have to abide by that. At the end of the day though, they keep me in my job, its part of life. Quite a lot of the time I make sure I always am wearing my ‘Adidas’ watch, that way I am still tying to my contract.

Have you known people who have been dropped from their deal due to breaking their contract?

I don’t know anyone personally who has been dropped. I did know of this one girl when I was breaking into the professional ranks that had a massive fine. She was like me, just starting to make a name for herself, bagged a similar ‘Adidas’ deal as me but two months into her three year contract she was competing in warm up trails, basically just friendly competition to see who you may be up against in nationals. Well, she turned up to these, not only not wearing ‘Adidas’ but also actually wearing a completely different brand. Naturally you can’t do that, especially at high-level events, apparently the company called her in a few days later and sued her for thousands. I felt so bad for her, they didn’t drop her but she couldn’t afford to live her dream of athletics and pay them back for breaking her contract. So she stopped it all, went to work as a receptionist or something and is still paying them now. Moral of the story, don’t break your contract…

Oh my god that is horrible! So what she doesn’t run anymore?

She runs in a local club but she doesn’t want to train up to a national standard again, I think it has put her off competitive sports completely. It’s a shame as she could have really been something.

Does that not scare you that the same could happen to you?

That’s why I am always so careful with it. These companies will have people watching you all the time. They are paying for you; they don’t want to see you are ruining their good nature by going out on the piss every night, or promoting their oppositional brands. You will be sending out the completely wrong message to what they want. It is scary, this sport is a cutthroat world, and you have to play on the right side if you want to survive.

So what exactly are your contract terms? What stuff does you gave to do for ‘Adidas’?

Well mainly just wear their clothing and branding, when training, when competing, when out and about in general. It just shows if people see you they associate your success with that brand. I cant go out drinking, I miss the day of being drunk at 3am, but to be honest, I am serious about my sport so the no drinking has made massive improvements on my fitness anyway. If people ask me what running shoes I would recommend or fitness bras I use etc I have to always say ‘Adidas’. I hate that rule though as I have some really nice fitness gear from other companies, which I actually prefer but I cant ever, say…

Is the pay good from these deals? I bet some really top athletes get a massive sum of cash every month from their sponsorship deals.

Oah definitely, I am happy with what I get, I never have to buy any sports kit at all as they send me new clothes every week to try and promote and use. So that has saved me thousands, you wont believe how many running shoes I have in my room; some have barely even been used! I get a basic pay for the contract I am on and then additional money if I am used in their adverts and campaigns. What I get though is nothing to others. My mates deal is incredible, she gets holidays, meals out, hair and make up done weekly, not just running clothes but designer labels too for if she is out at an award show or something posh like that. But it becomes a dream and a goal, I want to improve my self as an athlete, so I can work up towards a massive high profile sponsorship deal.

What message would you have to those just starting out in the professional circuit with sponsors hounding them?

Its easy, ask your parents, they are the only ones who really know you and know what you can cope with, some deals are so pressurised it can destroy you. Get them too look at the small print, every page of the contract and no matter how tempting it may sound, just wait and never rush into anything.

Ann, thank you for taking some time out of your schedule to talk to me. We all wish you every success in your training and good luck for London 2012 and future events.