Target Audience (persona profile) practice
These personas were created for an advertising project to increase brand awareness for a non-profit organization. The organization I chose for the project was P.A.W.S., or Performing Animal Welfare Society, a group dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of performing animals primarily in the U.S., but also supporting efforts on a global scale as well.
The two identities created were solely meant to think of two people that would care about the primary cause that P.A.W.S. is dedicated to--protecting wild and domestic animals that are exploited and abused for entertainment and saving their lives through rescue or by implementing laws and ordinances for animal safety. It was challenging to eliminate personal bias, mix in my personal attributes, and resist creating people that I would be friends with, even though after reviewing the profiles, they do seem interesting and likeable. I thought of approaching this as if it were a story, and I was creating characters. I wanted to focus on relatable people that love animals and standing up for something important, and would be more likely to donate, and spread awareness for the efforts of P.A.W.S., since they rely heavily on donations.
With Langston being in the arts and theatre scene, may naturally be a more compassionate, empathetic person, who believes in preservation and conservation of resources. Dominique was designed as the person who is a natural activist, and has a bit of a rebellious streak. She would be essential in organizing and implementing plans of action for saving animals and securing donations. I felt that both of these types of people told a story that was rooted in support and a sense of community. They have a relatively large reach, in terms of the potential volunteers they could round up, using their influence at work, within their social settings, or within their cities, with both being regional headquarters for the entertainment industry using performance animals. Overall, this was a fun and challenging exercise in storytelling and character creation.
