Language
1) Website conventions:
- brand identity (logo)
- navigation bar (menu)
- central images
- multi-media features (e.g. videos, pictures etc)
- links to other social media sites (integration)
- biography
- sponsored partners/ambassadors
- book club
Social media conventions:
- logo (profile picture - brand identity)
- bio (personal information)
- images/videos
- online engagement
2) Rashford's website promotes his brand through the perpetual use of his logo throughout, and also consisting of an "about" page outlining the main aspects of his career and charity work, a timeline of important events of his career, as well as convergence - through links to different social media feeds, his book club and video content which are all available to view on his website.
3) An example of a connotation which can be found on the homepage of Marcus Rashford's website include pictures of his football kit which are consistently used throughout; the red colour may be symbolic of power, strength or dominance and it is also representative of which team he belongs to (Manchester United). Another connotation can be found through the pictures of a football, which exerts the idea of sportsmanship and displays an idea of his athletic ability; whilst simultaneously indicating what his main career is (being a footballer).
4) Rashford posts a vast variety of promotional videos, photos and tweets in order to promote his brand and campaigns, and to uplift his social media presence. Examples can include the TV adverts he features in, his documentary-style videos and his very vocal comments about the charities he supports on social media.
5) Rashford's online presence highlights the narrative of his childhood upbringing in order to create a positive brand identity. He is very vocal of how he grew up in a working class background, and how he was raised by a single mum, which emphasises his passion for hard work. This also builds up a narrative of success against the odds, as well as using his huge platform to campaign on food poverty and aid for the children suffering from it, due to his own experience having had been in that position himself as a child.
Representations
1) The use of mise-en-scene on Rashford's website is shown by his football kit (costume) to represent his football career on social media. Another example of costume being used is through a close-up of Nike trainers - perhaps to signify endorsement and to promote the brand to the public - whilst presenting himself as an ambassador of the brand Nike.
2) Some representations of footballers is evident through Rashford's online presence; which both reinforce and subvert stereotypes. A way in which stereotypes are reinforced is by the fact that footballers are traditionally known to be very athletic and competitive, which is shown through the various snippets of videos of Rashford scoring goals displayed on his website's homepage. A way in which stereotypes are subverted is through the idea that footballers are sometimes thought to be arrogant and violent, however Rashford counters this through his charity work and the way that he endeavours to aid the less fortunate (such as providing free school meals to children during lockdown), therefore conveying the fact that he is very down-to-earth and cares deeply for others.
3) An example of a website page which creates a positive representation of Marcus Rashford includes his section the FareShare website. This emphasises his campaign on the crisis of food poverty and depicts him as a philanthropical and compassionate person, which is further shown by the way in which he raised enough money to ensure that over 21 million meals could be distributed amongst children and adults who would have otherwise not been able to eat over lockdown; this displays Rashford as a positive role model through the way he was capable of influencing government policy with his #MakeTheUTurn campaign.
4) Representations of masculinity are simultaneously reinforced and subverted in Rashford's online presence. A way in which they are reinforced is through his immense involvement in football, which is commonly thought to be a more male-dominated sport. Another way is by his language, which includes more masculine slang. However, these representations are also reinforced; he doesn't censor his love for his teammates and football, which is evident by the way he posts photos of his team hugging as well as openly expressing his compassion towards them, subverting stereotypes as men are traditionally thought to not be as sensitive and caring since they are usually seen to be putting up a bold front.
5) Representations of race and ethnicity are challenged in Rashford's social media by the way he vocally expresses his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, especially being a part of the BAME community himself. This subverts stereotypes due to the way he is very outspoken about this movement and has the platform to do so, when traditionally it had been barely spoken about at all and many did not have the resources to do it.
Audience
1) The potential target audiences for Marcus Rashford's online presence include those of a working/lower class background, as they may be able to resonate with Rashford's campaigns. The target age group could be from 8-40, through his book club and work with children's books and also his involvement within charities, as well as his footballer persona. The target gender group can be both but more likely mostly male, due to him mainly posting football and "manly" brands. The target ethnicity may be the BAME community, specifically Black British, as they can relate to what he posts which offers a sense of personal identity. The target psychographics groups may be "the mainstream" and "the aspirer".
2) Rashford uses social media to engage with his fans by posting consistently and always posting things which can appeal to both young people and older people alike.
3) Marcus Rashford's Instagram engagement rate is 6%, which is considered to be extremely high. This emphasises his power as an influencer and how people enjoy and engage with his brand identity.
5) In terms of Blumler & Katz Uses and Gratifications theory, Rashford provides a sense of information/surveillance through his campaign work and raising awareness upon problems that many may not have known beforehand. He also offers personal identity by being vocal about the hardships of those with a working class background, or those within the BAME community, by talking about their problems on his platforms. His work on football may provide diversion/entertainment and his online presence can also offer personal relationships by making audiences begin to care for him and his teammates.
6) The preferred reading for Rashford's online presence may be people who are in support of his campaigns and charity work, as well as his work in football. The oppositional reading may be people who believe that he abuses his fame and only posts about the working class struggles in order to be in the limelight or stay relevant, which subsequently leads him to receive a lot of hate online.
Industry
1) Rashford's net worth of £16 million proves to be a vital component in regards to his online presence. He earns money through £200,000 per week from Manchester United (£10.4m a year).
2) Rashford has a £2M endorsement deal with Nike and additional deals with Burberry, BT Sport (now TNT Sport), Coca-Cola and others. These link to the Rashford brand as many revolve around sport, which is what his main job is all about.
3) Twitter, now X, is owned by Elon Musk as of October 2022. Twitter generated a $4.4 billion revenue in 2022, which was an 11% decrease on 2021 figures. Twitter makes most of its money through advertising – promoted tweets or ‘trend takeovers’. In 2012, Instagram was bought by Facebook for $1 billion. Facebook and Instagram’s parent company is now called Meta – a global conglomerate. It is estimated that the platform generated a revenue of $51.4 billion in 2022.
4) The primary concerns surrounding Instagram's negative effects include the fact that recent research deduced that Instagram is detrimental to young people's mental health - in particular, teenage girls. The research suggested that one in three girls felt bad about their bodies and Instagram made this worse. It is also linked to increased anxiety and depression.
5) The government put forward the Online Safety bill in 2022 to change the law and add regulation of the internet to Ofcom’s role as media regulator. This assured that sending threatening posts was made punishable by jail sentences, platforms like Twitter and Instagram had to actively prevent users from seeing harmful material – or risk being fined by Ofcom and platforms paid Ofcom to regulate their content. This may change in the future as critics of the law say that it is impossible to regulate the internet in its substantial entirety.
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