Category: Assignment #2

4. Second-Year Course Headline (4 marks)

Create one headline promoting second-year digital courses in this program, targeted to first-year students.

You must provide:

a) Provide the headline

“Want To Make Your Ideas Matter? Explore Second-Year Digital Courses in Our Advertising Program”

b) Explain your reasoning clearly using class content

This headline directed to first-years students triggers curiosity, it makes readers and the audience be curious about how they could make their ideas matter, and getting them to take action by clicking and reading the article. It tells students that their creativity and ideas could make an impact and they should put that into practice. This headline is also very relevant especially to first year students looking on what to do next, making them think that this content is meant for them and why they should take another step into pursuing these digital courses. Students in first year are usually looking forward to succeeding, learning and developing and putting their skills into practice, eventually making a living out of them. This headline is also very short and easily scannable, making viewers engage with this content in just a few seconds and making them more likely to take action.

3. SCC Advertising Program Headline (6 marks)

Create one headline for an article about the SCC Advertising Program, targeted to local graduating high school Students.

You must provide:

a) The headline

“Like being creative? Turn that into a living with Advertising and Marketing Communications Management at St. Clair College”

b) An explanation of the information missing from the instructions

There is some information missing from the instructions on this question, leaving us room to be creative and make decisions ourselves. Some information that is missing is the tone we should use when writing the headline for example, fun, serious, urgent etc. Also it does not say the main benefit or reason for this article, it just states that it is for the SCC Advertising Program and the target audience which is graduating local high school students. It does not tell us how long this headline should be, or what to highlight if there are any specific reasons or classes we should mention. 

c) A detailed justification for your headline choice based on course concepts

You are intentionally not being told what questions to ask.

The headline I created includes a couple of concepts that I have learned in this course, it contains signal relevance, meaning that it is automatically relevant to students that enjoy being creative when the question “Like being creative was asked?”. This headline also creates a sense of value to readers when “Turn that into a living” was stated, because lots of people looking to graduate high school are looking forward to making something into a living. It also clearly and vividly explains what the program is, and what you can do with it in just one headline. Keeping the target audience in mind, this triggers curiosity and excitement because they are being given something fun and that can be turned into a living all in one which will make them accordingly act on it. I made sure to also keep it short and to the point, keeping in mind digital scanning behavior.

2. Headline Intent vs Outcome (4 Marks)

Choose one headline you created in Part B, Q#1 Part B and answer the following:

“How staying single could impact living in Canada” 

a) What is the primary intent of this headline? (e.g. curiosity, urgency, clarity, relevance, emotional pull)

The primary intent on the headline “How staying single could impact living in Canada” is curiosity. This headline does not state exactly how life in Canada will be impacted or is already impacted by single people. It also raises questions for readers, leaving them wondering, which will result in them clicking on the article to find out more. 

b) What action or response is the headline designed to trigger?

The action this headline is designed to trigger is a click, it makes people more likely to click on the article because they would want to learn more about how being single affects Canadians and their daily lives. It will also make them more likely to click if they wonder what is exactly changing in Canada if people stay single, like housing and taxes, and whether it will personally impact them.

c) Explain why this intent is appropriate for the target audience you selected.

Curiosity  is appropriate for the audience I selected, which is young adults who are single, not married and do not have kids yet, because a lot of people do not usually compare being single to the way they live in Canada and taxes. This topic is also social and economic, meaning that it would be better to approach the audience softly, not making them panic or giving them a sense of urgency because they are serious topics impacting daily lives.

1. Headline Variation (12 marks)

Using the article from Part A, Question #1, you are to create three (3) different headlines. Each headline must emphasize a different headline element discussed in class. (3X4=12 Marks)

For each headline:

a) Include the Headline

1. “How staying single could impact living in Canada” 
2. “More Canadians are staying single – Here is how it affects taxes and housing”
3. “Less marriages & Less Babies – What this means for Canada” 

b) Explain your reasoning

1. The reason I created this headline for the first article is to raise urgency and curiosity from readers, keeping it on point and relevant.Instead of mentioning very specific points like the original headline, it mentions housing and taxes, I kept it simple and on point, using the simpler version which is “impact living in Canada”. I did that so people that read the headline wonder and have questions on how exactly does it impact Canada? It misses information without it being confusing, so readers still have an idea of what the article is about but have more questions about it. 
2. This headline is super clear, expressing exactly what the article is going to give readers, the answers that it is going to be about housing and taxes which is a crucial topic for Canadians in 2026, without them guessing what the article might be about. 
3. This headline adds urgency to the readers because it states what could happen in Canada now that there are less babies and marriages, this makes the headline feel more serious and a huge issue that could happen in the future.

c) Reference specific class concepts

1. This headline has a few concepts that we learned in class, it triggers curiosity by not going in detail, it keeps it relevant by mentioning Canada and the people living there, it communicates value, promising people that this article will answer the question stated in the headline and it also reduces uncertainty, showing that the topic in this article is about single people and the effects it has. 
2. Based on what we learned in class, this headline also creates clarity when people scroll through a lot of content, it makes it stand out and grabs readers attention by stating that it will indeed affect housing and taxes for Canadians. 
3. This headline is more emotionally effective because it mentions babies and marriages, signaling that this article will be important and have an impact eventually, so readers will feel like they must read it, especially if they are currently living in Canada. It also makes readers think long-term about the future and inform themselves on what could happen if the rate of single people will continue to be higher.

2. Accuracy & Representation (4 marks)

Was the headline in Question #1 An accurate representation of the article content?

a) Explain your reasoning clearly

This headline is indeed accurate and relates 100% to the whole article, talking about being single, how the rate of fertility is lower every year, the effects of staying single on houses, taxes and jobs. By reading the headline, people can automatically have an idea on what the article will be about, it doesn’t have any false information or exaggerate any words or statements. 

b) Reference course discussion on misleading vs effective headlines3. Click Motivation  (8 marks)

As discussed in class, misleading headlines usually do not fully match the article’s content, it can be dragged or overexaggerated. These headlines are not as practical as effective headlines. Effective headlines consist of true content that always matches the content the article will provide. “The rise of singlehood could impact everything from housing to taxes” a lot of people will be willing to click on this headline because it sounds intriguing and the word “impact” in the headline makes it sound more serious and important. Housing and taxes are issues that are general and a lot of people have in the world, a person’s relationship status is a more personal optic that people personally have. When it says “the rise of” is suggesting that something is growing, not just a small issue or something that will go away the next day. This article is also very easy to understand and read, without using complicated words so anyone can have a clear understanding in just a couple of seconds. 

a) Provide a different headline you recently clicked on.

b) Include the exact headline and a screenshot

Another headline I recently clicked on is “With FIFA World Cup 100 days away, preparations continue in Toronto, Vancouver”

c) Explain why you clicked it, not why you liked it

I clicked on this article because the article mentions the FIFA world cup and how it is coming up in 100 days. I am very interested in soccer and passionate about watching the world cup games. It has a sense of urgency and excitement for those passionate about soccer, making readers feel that this important event is coming up sooner than they might think. I also clicked it because it mentions Toronto which is very close to me, and it is my dream to go to one of those games. I also wanted to know what Toronto is doing for it and how they are preparing for it. 

d) Tie your reasoning directly to course concepts

This headline is very efficient, because it has a few primary jobs that a digital headline is supposed to have in order to get a lot of attention. First of all it sends a signal of the content in it being relevant, because it mentions Canadian cities Toronto and Vancouver, and it has a clear relevance because it explains what the article is about in just one sentence, which is World Cup preparations. The headline also communicates value, expressing that viewers who will read this article will also learn something from it, what is being done and what will these cities do to get ready for these games. People will also question when reading the headline what is being done in the World Cup, the costs, behind the scenes, the time it will take them to prepare etc.

1. Headline Resonance (6 marks)

Find one (1) headline you recently encountered that you felt was effective.

a) Provide the exact headline

“The rise of singlehood could impact everything from housing to taxes”

b) Explain why it resonated with you

This headline resonated with me in a few ways, it is something that is currently happening in the world. A lot of people, especially young adults, are choosing to stay single rather than searching for a partner or having kids. This article is about the choices of young adults staying single, and for this reason, it affects certain factors like housing, spending money, taxes and the way we live. Dating isn’t just a choice, it affects the whole way of living and economy. In the article, it is clearly stated the high expectations and standards people have when it comes to dating, but also gender roles and a chart as well of the fertility rate from 1921-2022, it decreases more and more every year, going from 3.5 to less than 1.5 in 2022. 

c) Tie your explanation directly to specific headline elements discussed in class

In class, we learned that a headline is a decision trigger, meaning that when someone is looking for articles, the headline is the mean reason for them clicking or ignoring it. This is an effective headline because of a couple reasons, first it clearly shows why is it important and how, stating what the article is about, when people read it, it makes them wonder how being single affects housing and taxes so it raises questions, and many people could also relate to it because a lot of people are currently single or know someone who is.