Courtesy: Fike2308.

By Angela Kazmierczak

Local researcher awarded for studies on magazine advertising

Jan 25, 2023 | 5:35 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – A local researcher, Dr. Jana Smith-Elford, was recently awarded almost 75 thousand dollars to examine how social movements occurred prior to social media.

So far Dr. Smith-Elford and her research partner have determined that regardless of the technology used, they all began with an advertisement.

“Today, we would look at social media and see how people connect through the medium. We argue that in the past, they still had a network and connected with each other,” said Dr. Smith-Elford.

The researcher claims that people connected through advertisements within magazines. Eventually, some of those advertisements led to social movements.

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Dr. Smith-Elford says that by studying past advertisements, it will help create more effective advertisements in the future and help students understand technology.

“People we are training on the project are learning about technology through that, so learning how to engage with new technology, learning how to use them and that helps them get jobs,” she said.

The research will span two years with the grant. Dr.Smith-Elford envisions that it will become an educational tool and a research tool for both institutions and the public.

She says her research will also be free to the public through an online tool.