(4) Killa App

1) 'How to' Guide: Stellar Survey

As an aspiring marketer, I can appreciate the importance of receiving valuable feedback from your targeted audience. Not that marketers are the only groups that can benefit from feedback. Students, academics, business people, etc. can all utilize feedback to better their research, products, and/or services. One easy way to obtain feedback is through a survey, and now there are ways to create surveys online. I found this online survey making tool called Stellar Survey, which was created in 2009.
Stellar Survey is convenient because there is no need to make a profile or sign up to create a basic survey. The tool allows you to do three basic things:

1) design
2) distribute
3) analyze

DESIGN SURVEYS

Stellar Survey's competition are other survey making websites such as Surveymonkey.com. Although they offer the same basic services, Stellar Survey may be the best one for you because of their particular features and template.

Stellar Survey is comprehensive. They offer more than 25 different types of questions (from multiple choice to rating scales) to ensure that how you want your questions to be answered is possible. You can upload pictures to add more detail and specificity to your survey. Through pictures, you can provide examples of a product or an advertisement, etc. so respondents will be able to visualize exactly what you are conveying. Pictures also add personalization by putting your logo on the survey.

Along with designing the look of the survey, they can help you organize it. They utilize a form of ‘branching logic,’ meaning the order of the questions will follow a logical psychological progression. For instance, if a question does not apply to you, they can skip other irrelevant questions. Furthermore, related questions can be grouped together and/or randomized according to your preference. Randomized answers, multi-lingual versions of surveys, etc. are all available through Stellar Survey.

REACH THE AUDIENCE

Nowadays, the internet is the choice medium to receive and send information because of its easily widespread distribution. Stellar Survey offers different ways to distribute your survey and/or make it easily accessible online. There are three main ways: 1) send out a mass email; 2) post a link; 3) embed it on a webpage. Once its been sent out, you can continuously check the progress of the survey by tracking who and how many people have filled out your questionnaire at that point in time.

GET THE MOST OUT OF THE DATA

Stellar Survey will help you analyze the data. Although only you know the true significance of the results, the tool offers a way to organize results so that trends can be found. After collecting enough filled-out surveys, you can download the ‘sample report.’ Or, if you prefer, the data can be made into charts. The sample report simply provides the percent/total of how many people chose a specific answer in each question (Did anyone skip the question?). You can view the responses of a certain respondent. Lastly, you can filter through all the responses depending on your criteria. For example, if you only wanted to know the respondents’ gender, they will find that statistic for you.

Signing up for an account will give you access to premium packages (at different prices) and to better survey features. This may be a good investment if your related field of study or occupation requires constant feedback or collection of data for the purpose of improving your product/service.

2) More info on the tool

So why did I spend an entire post talking about this online survey making tool? Since the beginning of this blog, I've been talking non-stop about advertising, advertising, advertising, and its effects. But how do people know that advertising has a psychological affect on people in the first place? Through feedback!

A survey is such a useful way to gather such information because you can tailor the questions to solicit the answers you want. But I can see other reasons why a survey made through Stellar Survey is such a great way to get feedback.

Stellar Survey is cost-effective. In fact, it’s free. Of course, if you plan on continuously making surveys, signing up might be a good investment. It’s doable. Even if you’ve never made a survey before, Stellar Survey has the template you need to make a simple basic survey. And once your survey is made, it’s easy to send it out to the desired sampling population because it’s all done through the world wide web.

But again, why do a survey? Well, imagine that I want to know Asian American respondents’ reactions to an ad that depicts an Asian American as a “model minority.” I could create a survey with a picture of an appropriate ad, then ask questions about its effectiveness, accuracy, etc. Or I can be even more specific, and ask them directly about their experience and opinions about the stereotype. Through the survey, I can gather my own data to see if the answers support previous theories on advertising’s effects on identity formation! What an awesome idea!

If you're still in doubt of whether this tool can produce a real survey for real people, I decided to test out the tool... Yes, I created my own survey! I ran with the idea I just outlined. Take the survey and see for yourself.

***Click here to take survey

Or click on the link:
http://www.stellarsurvey.com/s.aspx?u=2D4ECC41-8292-4A9C-90CA-D52029437C79&

The reviews of previous users of Stellar Survey appear completely satisfied with their experience. A big reason is that the creators of the tool listen to its users (feedback, get it?). They constantly update the tool with new features in response to the users’ needs.

Here is what a few people had to say about it:

"I’ve been using the website for a couple of hours and its brilliant – it will definitely be recommended to people on my course."

"Enjoy working with your software - well done. In setting up trial surveys today, I find your interface to be excellent."

"Thank you for your prompt response, and the availability of this tool! I am in an MBA statistics course, and many of us are using your tool. You are turning a many of us into advocates for your product!"

"I looked at many survey sites and determined your site suited my needs the best."

Look at that! Actual proof of the tool's convenience and ease of use. People figured out how to use the tool in the span of only a few hours. Users found that the tool was able to accomodate to their specific needs. What's more, the reviews show that the tool can be used in real life situations. Although there are no statistics that say how many people are using the tool, it seems that satisfied users are recommending it to their friends, classmates, and co-workers. Through word of mouth, the number of people who know about and use Stellar Survey can grow significantly.

Despite the numerous advantages that surveys provide over other forms of data collection, everything has its limitations. One limitation is that although you can send the survey to a lot of people via the web, there is no way to guarantee that everyone who receive it will answer. You run the risk of not obtaining enough answers to make the data representative of your desired population. Another issue with the results is that their answers may not be indicative of an actual effect. To elaborate, if you are trying to assess if an advertisement prompted a person to buy a product, just because a respondent stated they bought the product doesn't mean it was a direct response to the advertisement. Another reason, such as a friend's recommendation, could have influenced them in their consumption decisions. Lastly, a survey is entirely dependent on self-response. You run the risk of analyzing data from respondents who may have purposely answered falsely. You rely on their motivation to respond entirely and accurately.

It comes down to knowing when to use the proper tool to produce the best results. The benefits of using a survey over other data collection tools can sometimes outweigh the limitations. To remedy the limitations, you have to be aware of where, when, and why errors can occur and then tailor the questions (and the overall survey) to lessen the possible negative results.

Surveys are an integral aspect of my line of discipline. So any tool that will help me create one is always welcome.

3) Stellar Survey Presentation

I'm not done with the tool quite yet! I believe so much in its usefulness that I created this handy presentation to re-elaborate my points. Besides, some people are much more visual in their cognition.

--> Stellar Survey <-- [Thanks Prezi!]

Check it out.

The presentation goes through the steps of creating a survey through this website. It's designed to look like a survey (for obvious reasons...).

First, it breaks down the aspects of (1) designing (with questions, pictures and organization) (2) distributing (through email, link, or embedding), and 3) analyzing (with charts and the report).

Then, it states all the good reasons why you should use the site. As a reminder, surveys provide valuable feedback, and the tool itself is cost-effective (free!) and do-able. Next, I provided an example survey theme: Effects of stereotypes in advertisements.

I thought it would be important to show you what real users have said about the tool, and they were all positive reviews. They thought it was "brilliant" and "excellent." They were becoming "advocates" of the tool and believed that it satisfied their "needs."

Lastly, I showed a survey that I created myself.

If I can use the tool, then you can too! If you're in a discipline like me that benefits from feedback, then Stellar Survey may be a useful tool for you.

Looking Forward

I've been writing in this blog for the past few months now, and its been a blast. I appreciate it so much more because I was able to write about something that I am truly passionate about. It's one thing to say that you care about a topic, such as the role of Asian Pacific Islanders in the media, and another thing to actively engage in the subject by researching what other people have said or done, joining in on the conversation, and furthering the discussion through your own voice.

On the other side of a couple of term papers/projects and final examinations is graduation. The all too real future is as close to me as is the end of this blog post.

In my state of contemplation, I can't help but look forward. I said in my first ever post for this blog that I aspire to bring the Asian Pacific Islander demographic into greater prominence in American culture (VERBATIM) through my future profession. I am almost to that point. Soon, I will have the opportunity to try and make a real difference, and after all that I've learned, how can I not? I think I owe it to myself and my identity as well.

But what is the future state of Asian American portrayals in advertising? I can only imagine. I believe that any change that does happen will be slow coming but inevitable. Yes, stereotypes still continue to persist this day, but we've come a long way in the past couple hundred years. And advertising has always proven to be versatile and adaptable. When society is ready to change, so will advertising. Advertising may even become the catalyst for this change. But as long as people who are in the position to change the current status quo are aware of the issues, such as myself, then maybe change will occur a lot faster than expected.

Quizno's $5

Let's analyze another fast food ad, shall we?



I highlight this commercial because

(1) it is a BLATANT knock-off of Subway's $5 footlong promotion (Come on, Quizno's! Can't you come up with your own unique marketing strategy?) and
(2) it features an Asian character.

Credit goes to them for choosing an Asian as their main character. But how arbitrary is it that Quizno's chose this setting for their commercial? How come she's not placed in a home setting, or in a restaurant for that matter (after all, this is a fast food commercial). No. it appears as if she is the owner of that small business.

Doesn't that sound familiar? Another model minority Asian who is business- and success- oriented. But something strikes me as odd. She is Chinese and the owner of a LAUNDROMAT… I guess the commercial decided to take the stereotype further by depicting another stereotype that is particular to the Chinese ethnicity. The commercial could have used an Asian character in any other location but they chose to depict a known Asian stereotypical setting. Why? Because they thought people would relate? Because people would understand the reference and find it amusing? I don’t see what’s so amusing, but maybe I’m one of the few people who don’t get their sense of humor. And if people, just as I did, can instantly recognize that subtle stereotype, than perhaps the stereotypes isn’t so subtle after all.

So much for perpetuating more stereotypes in American society.

I’m not a big fan of the commercial anyways. Why would an Asian woman, or anyone for that matter, want to eat $5? Oh that’s right. So they can remember that Quizno’s sandwiches taste so much more better than dollar bills… yum.

Wendy's 3conomics

(1)


(2)


(3)


So, I was a little bit confused by these commercials. The gist of it is that Wendy's is trying to advertise their new money-saving promotion where you can buy 3 burgers for 99 cents each. They call this "3conomics." Appropriately, they have three characters - 3 guys for 3 sandwiches.

Out of the three guys, two of them are white and the third is Asian. The choice of characters is what confused me. First, assuming that they are co-workers, they are all dressed differently. While the white men are dressed more casually, even ready to do physical labor, the Asian man is dressed in a button shirt and tie. Also noticeable is their difference in sizes. Sandwiched in between the two men, the Asian looks distinctly smaller.

I feel like this characterization is supposed to be a play on the Asian 'model minority.' But rather than exuding the superficial positive connotation of the image, this commercial gives it a more negative spin, even making fun of the stereotype. The Asian man is wearing the tie to indicate that he is at a different level as the other two in the work place. But he comes off as super 'nerdy' (check out that bowl haircut!). What's more, even if he is at a higher level working position, the other two still appear to dominate over him as indicated by their number (2 vs. 1), spatial positioning around the Asian man, their larger size, and their attitudes and behavior to him (Especially in ad #1. They don't acknowledge that he is there!). He doesn't even say anything 'intelligent.'

I don't get the choice in characters for this ad. Maybe the middle commercial could be considered funny, but the first one...now, what's that all about!?

More Info on the Tool

More thoughts on why Stellar Survey is a good idea.

The reviews of previous users of Stellar Survey appear completely satisfied with their experience. A big reason is that the creators of the tool listen to its users (feedback, get it?). They constantly update the tool with new features in response to the users’ needs.

Here is what a few people had to say about it:

"I’ve been using the website for a couple of hours and its brilliant – it will definitely be recommended to people on my course."

"Enjoy working with your software - well done. In setting up trial surveys today, I find your interface to be excellent."

"Thank you for your prompt response, and the availability of this tool! I am in an MBA statistics course, and many of us are using your tool. You are turning a many of us into advocates for your product!"

"I looked at many survey sites and determined your site suited my needs the best."

Look at that! Actual proof of the tool's convenience and ease of use. People figured out how to use the tool in the span of only a few hours. Users found that the tool was able to accomodate to their specific needs. What's more, the reviews show that the tool can be used in real life situations. If some can apply surveys for their MBA statistics course, then why not to asses advertising effects? Although there are no statistics that say how many people are using the tool, it seems that satisfied users are recommending it to their friends, classmates, and co-workers. Through word of mouth, the number of people who know about and use Stellar Survey can grow significantly.
----

Despite the numerous advantages that surveys provide over other forms of data collection, everything has its limitations. One limitation is that although you can send the survey to a lot of people via the web, there is no way to guarantee that everyone who receive it will answer. You run the risk of not obtaining enough answers to make the data representative of your desired population. Another issue with the results is that their answers may not be indicative of an actual effect. To elaborate, if you are trying to assess if an advertisement prompted a person to buy a product, just because a respondent stated they bought the product doesn't mean it was a direct response to the advertisement. Another reason, such as a friend's recommendation, could have influenced them in their consumption decisions. Lastly, a survey is entirely dependent on self-response. You run the risk of analyzing data from respondents who may have purposely answered falsely. You rely on their motivation to respond entirely and accurately.

It comes down to knowing when to use the proper tool to produce the best results. The benefits of using a survey over other data collection tools can sometimes outweigh the limitations. To remedy the limitations, you have to be aware of where, when, and why errors can occur and then tailor the questions (and the overall survey) to lessen the possible negative results.
----

If you're still in doubt of whether this tool can produce a real survey for real people, I decided to test out the tool... Yes, I created my own survey! I ran with the idea I outlined in the previous post.

***Click here to take survey

Or click on the link:
http://www.stellarsurvey.com/s.aspx?u=2D4ECC41-8292-4A9C-90CA-D52029437C79&

Take my survey and try the tool out for yourself!

Stellar Survey

So why did I spend an entire post talking about this online survey making tool? Since the beginning of this blog, I've been talking non-stop about advertising, advertising, advertising, and its effects. But how do people know that advertising has a psychological affect on people in the first place? Through feedback!

A survey is such a useful way to gather such information because you can tailor the questions to solicit the answers you want. But I can see other reasons why a survey made through Stellar Survey is such a great way to get feedback.

Stellar Survey is cost-effective. In fact, it’s free. Of course, if you plan on continuously making surveys, signing up might be a good investment. It takes away the cost of paper and printing and distributing…which brings me to my next point. It’s doable. Even if you’ve never made a survey before, Stellar Survey has the template you need to make a simple basic survey. And once your survey is made, it’s easy to send it out to the desired sampling population because it’s all done through the world wide web.

But again, why do a survey? Well, imagine that I want to know Asian American respondents’ reactions to an ad that depicts an Asian American as a “model minority.” I could create a survey with a picture of an appropriate ad, then ask questions about its effectiveness, accuracy, etc. Or I can be even more specific, and ask them directly about their experience and opinions about the stereotype. Through the survey, I can gather my own data to see if the answers support previous theories on advertising’s effects on identity formation! What an awesome idea!

Surveys are an integral aspect of my line of discipline. So any tool that will help me create one is always welcome.

'How to' Guide: Survey Making

As an aspiring marketer, I can appreciate the importance of receiving valuable feedback from your targeted audience. Nowadays, the internet is the choice medium to receive and send information because of its easily widespread distribution. One easy way to obtain feedback is through a survey, and now there are ways to create surveys online. I found this online survey making tool called Stellar Survey.

Stellar Survey is convenient because there is no need to make a profile or sign up to create a basic survey. What’s more, it’s free! The tool allows you to do three basic things:

1) design
2) distribute
3) analyze

DESIGN SURVEYS

Stellar Survey is comprehensive. They offer more than 25 different types of questions (from multiple choice to rating scales) to ensure that how you want your questions to be answered is possible. You can upload pictures to add more detail and specificity to your survey. Through pictures, you can provide examples of a product or an advertisement, etc. so respondents will be able to visualize exactly what you are conveying. Pictures also add personalization by putting your logo on the survey.

Along with designing the look of the survey, they can help you organize it. They utilize a form of ‘branching logic,’ meaning the order of the questions will follow a logical psychological progression. For instance, if a question does not apply to you, they can skip other irrelevant questions. Furthermore, related questions can be grouped together and/or randomized according to your preference. Randomized answers, multi-lingual versions of surveys, etc. are all available through Stellar Survey.

REACH THE AUDIENCE

Stellar Survey offers different ways to distribute your survey and/or make it easily accessible. There are three main ways: 1) send out a mass email; 2) post a link; 3) embed it on a webpage. Once its been sent out, you can continuously check the progress of the survey by tracking who and how many people have filled out your questionnaire at that point in time.

GET THE MOST OUT OF THE DATA

Stellar Survey will help you analyze the data. Although only you know the true significance of the results, the tool offers a way to organize results so that trends can be found. After collecting enough filled-out surveys, you can download the ‘sample report.’ Or, if you prefer, the data can be made into charts. The sample report simply provides the percent/total of how many people chose a specific answer in each question (Did anyone skip the question?). You can view the responses of a certain respondent. Lastly, you can filter through all the responses depending on your criteria. For example, if you only wanted to know the respondents’ gender, they will find that statistic for you.

Signing up for an account will give you access to premium packages (at different prices) and to better survey features. This may be a good investment if your related field of study or occupation requires constant feedback or collection of data for the purpose of improving your product/service.

Status Quo

For these past couple of weeks, I've been pouring over all that research I collected, and I'm not too crazy about what I've seen. Here is what previous research has to say about my topic thus far. Maybe you'll share some of my indignation.

Because Asian Americans are fast becoming one of the largest growing minorities in the United States, marketers have started to look at them as a prime target audience. Marketers can pick and choose how they wish to depict Asian Americans depending on their advertising strategiea. But what if those images are limited or negative?

Asian Americans are generalized as a single group, which greatly underestimates the different ways to define one’s ethnic identity. Race has long been the center of many heated debates, especially concerning its true definition. Race may entail one’s physical or behavioral characteristics…but a new definition I found focuses on an individual’s lived experience as a member of a racial group and its social meaning. Does that mean that we create our own definition on what it means to be a part of the ‘Asian American race?’ On the other hand, people may like to define their identity based on their ‘ethnicity,’ or the culture of their country of origin. And Asians in American can be US born, immigrants, or non-citizens. These complexities are important to consider.

Do advertisers even pay attention to all these nuances? Not really. Research that looked at both television and magazine ads found that Asian Americans are greatly underrepresented. If they are in the ad, they are only in particular places and settings, specifically technology, business, or science magazines. They are only shown at the work place (rather than the home) and engaging in business (rather than social) relationships.

Unsurprisingly, this is consistent with the ‘model minority’ stereotype I blogged about in an earlier post. As with all stereotypes, it assumes that a group is only fit to play a certain role, which bars their entry into other areas of society! Maybe some statistics support the stereotype (high income and education levels, people working in managerial professions), but again, it does not apply to everyone.


Theories try to explain the effect advertising may have on identity formation. First, the Social Cognitive Theory states that simple repetition, which is a typical advertising technique, cause viewers to learn from the media. Viewers may not necessarily copy the media, but images can provide a foundation and example of socially accepted behavior. The Expectancy Theory states repeated exposure to media portrayals potentially create and reinforce social expectations in others about a group. Since Asian Americans are considered “model minorities,” they will be expected to continually perform at a superior level. Cultivation Theory suggests that eventually, repeated exposure of a stereotype will not just reinforce, but will result in public acceptance of the image as reality. Lastly, the theory of ethnic self-awareness is instant and temporary. Self-awareness relies on a prime - a model of the same race can produce perceived similarity. When viewers feel similar to the model, the more likely they will categorize themselves as the same race/ethnicity as well as feel targeted by the advertisement.

Where does my indignation come from? I don’t like the idea that research shows us how limited Asian American portrayals are in the media and that there ARE theories that explain how this could affect us. Advertisements have great power to affect our 'lived experiences' and influence our definition of what it means to be Asian American rather than us figuring it out ourselves. I understand that it may be difficult for each and every advertisement to be sensitive to every single one of us out there, because it’s simply not possible. But is it too much to ask for an image to be neutral or at least show us doing other things?