Roaming Red Deer

By Femkat

Cruz and Advocate for a REaction. Hey, everyone! This is Femkat, reporting from Guiding Mosaic 2016. On Wednesday, July 13th, the Ranger Media Arts program took a field trip to the nearby city of Red Deer where I visited three incredible locations: The Red Deer Advocate, REaction, and Cruz 100.7fm. Each one had something different to offer and brought new light to areas of the media I rarely look at.

The Red Deer Advocate is the local newspaper in Red Deer and also provides news to Innisfail and Sylvan Lake. It has been in circulation since the early 20th century and is still going strong. This is partially due to the fact that it provides mainly local news, as National papers are dwindling due to the accessibility of the internet. The advertisement and flyers also help to keep the paper on its feet.

We were taken on a complete tour of the building, going through the office to the plate room to the printing room and back through the office. There are two sides to the content in a newspaper. One is the actual articles and the other is advertisements. For the articles, reporters gather local stories in Red Deer and area, write them down, and then go through an editing and formatting phase. The ads are slightly more complex, having to be bought by those who would like them in the paper. The creative team at the paper will then design the ad and it will be placed in the paper. These ads are the primary money-generators for the Advocate.

I was impressed that the Advocate was still doing okay when it is compared to the larger, failing papers such as the Calgary Herald and Edmonton Sun, even when most of their equipment was quite old and their facility small.

REaction is a marketing company and was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. The whole space was open and welcoming, with bright orange and white walls, a fishtank and glass whiteboards. We were welcomed by the owner and his co-manager and taken through the process of marketing a product. It was really interesting. First, they meet with a customer who wants to be able to market his/her product. Then, it’s a process of brainstorming a name, logo, website, etc. They will also explore the competition in the market and research the psychographic (potential customers) for the type of product. Once a basic idea has been established, it’s on to the visual side of the project. Graphic designers will create a logo, visualize the name and develop packaging while web designers create a suitable website. When all this is completed, a demo version of the packaging is made to present to the customer and it’s simply a matter of putting everything together. When asked how long it takes and how much something like this would cost, it was said that they will be working on one project for months and it can cost upwards of $50,000.

Our final stop was the radio station, Cruz 100.7fm. It was by far the smallest location, but we spent the most time there. After a brief tour, one of the radio hosts, Cam, offered for us to be on the air. Awesome, right? We were taken down to the studio and two of our girls were allowed to do the weather. They were instant pros, doing it so well for a first time. “[It was] fun, nerve-wracking, exciting. It’s like talking to yourself, sort of,” said one half of the lucky pair.

In all, Red Deer was an incredible experience I will never forget. All three locations were a total blast and I learned so much about subjects I normally never would’ve pursued. Completely amazing!

Until next time, this is Femkat, keeping you updated on all the goings-on at GM 2016.

Submitted by Femke van Son, Ranger Media Arts