Running head: QUENCH THE THIRST Quench the Thirst: A Content Analysis of the Persuasive Techniques of UNICEF’s Tap Project _________________________________________ Presented to the Faculty of Liberty University School of Communication & Creative Arts In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Arts in Communication Studies ________________________________________ By Rachel V. Chadalavada December 2014 QUENCH THE THIRST 2 Thesis Committee Angela Widgeon, Ph. D., Chair Date Randall Pruitt, Ph. D. Date Lynnda S. Beavers, Ph. D. Date QUENCH THE THIRST 3 Dedication To God’s glory & For God’s glory QUENCH THE THIRST 4 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my Lord, my savior and my best friend Jesus Christ without whom finishing this thesis would have been impossible. He bore the brunt of all my whining, He was patient in my shortcomings, and He gave me the courage I needed to stay focused. This thesis was a strong reminder that in everything, for everything, I need Jesus. I cannot do justice in merely saying thank you to my chair Dr. Widgeon. You believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. You encouraged me when I needed it the most, you gave me a reality check and brought my head back to the ground when I got side tracked and didn’t focus. However, above all, you were patient with me and didn’t let go of my hand through out this process. For all this and more, thank you. To my readers Dr. Pruitt and Dr. Beavers, thank you for your patience, encouragement and time throughout this process. There have been times when I have walked in to your office, walked past your office or met you in the hallway, and you gave me just the encouragement I needed to stay focused and come out strong. I am forever grateful to my family who stood by my decision to further my education. If not for you, I would not have been able to take on this new journey in my life. To my mother who has been my prayer warrior throughout this thesis and throughout my life, my father who encouraged me never to settle for anything short of excellence and to my sister who has been my constant support and anchor, I love you. My acknowledgements would not be complete if I did not thank my friends for putting up with me - my buddy Anderson Santos for being my stress buster and sounding board, Alex Bothmann for being my study buddy through this daunting ordeal, and Shelanne Jennings, whose thesis helped me hone my own. Last, but not the least, I’d like to pat myself on the back. Rachel Chadalavada, you did it! QUENCH THE THIRST 5 Abstract This study analyzes the persuasive techniques utilized by UNICEF’s Tap Project. This water related campaign began in 2007 and since then has created four themes. These themes are: Dine out, Celebrity Tap, Facebook Push and Cellphone Challenge. The study finds that the videos employed by the Tap Project portrays all six Facets of Effects. However, their usage was based on the message that was being delivered. That said, not all videos utilized all of the facets. This implies that an advertisement need not necessarily use all six Facets of Effects to be successful. The facet of association however, stood out to be the key facet in all of the videos analyzed. The consistent use of images, tagline, and logo created brand awareness and in this case campaign awareness. UNICEF’s advertisements for the Tap Project demonstrate the persuasive power of using different facets of effects. Other non-profit organizations can learn from their success how and when to strategically utilize facets of effects in campaigns. Keywords: UNICEF, Tap Project, cause related campaigns, social marketing, Facets of Effects Models, the Persuasion Matrix QUENCH THE THIRST 6 Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Literature Review .......................................................................................................................... 13 Facets of Effects Model ............................................................................................................. 21 Persuasion Matrix ...................................................................................................................... 26 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 30 Content Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 30 Strengths and Limitations of the Methodology ..................................................................... 31 Application to Study .............................................................................................................. 32 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................. 32 Research Design ........................................................................................................................ 36 Sampling ................................................................................................................................ 36 Research Procedure ............................................................................................................... 36 Validity and Reliability ......................................................................................................... 37 Coding Scheme ...................................................................................................................... 38 Operational Definitions ............................................................................................................. 38 Results ........................................................................................................................................... 41 Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 101 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 116 References ................................................................................................................................... 118 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................. 133 QUENCH THE THIRST 7 Introduction For a child, summer seems to be the best time of the year. It’s vacation time. No homework, no studies. You get to sleep in right? Wrong! For several years when I was a child, sleeping in on a summer day was out of the question. Why? This is because early in the morning, for one hour exactly, our apartment complex in India would get drinking water. Each household was allowed two pots of water and nothing more. We had to wait in line, hoping we reach the tap, before it runs dry. Knowing there is a water problem and living through a water problem, are two very different circumstances. Having lived in India my whole life, I know what it means to crave water – to wonder how we would cook that day, because you ran out of drinking water. Or how we would shower because the water in all the bathrooms was exhausted, and the hand-pump outside your house ran dry. I wanted to complain and groan about how awful it was that I was filling water and carrying pots, but I couldn’t – I wasn’t the only one. In fact, in developing countries, such as India, over 20% of children (nearly 376 million) have more than a 15 minutes walk for water or are using water from unsafe sources (UNICEF, 2004). Growing up, I often asked myself, “If everyone knows that water is such a problem, why won’t someone do something about it?” Water is undeniably essential for the existence of life, not just for human beings but also for all other species that share the global ecosystem. It is evident that clean water gives life and protects health. However, water that is polluted can ruin the entire ecosystem. Therefore, ensuring there is a proper management of water resources is important for the well being of the environment and more importantly, human life. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) participates in protecting and conserving water sources and attempts to provide clean water to children around the world. All of UNICEF’s water campaigns and programs center on the QUENCH THE THIRST 8 primary objective of establishing secure child health and well being by improving their physical, biological and social environments (UNICEF, 1989). The staggering reality, however, is that over 1.1 billion people have no access to drinking water, and children end up paying a heavy price for this severe lack of clean water, creating conditions for illness and infection (UNICEF, 2007). Each year, over 3.4 million people die from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes. Of these, 99 percent of deaths occur in the developing world. Nearly 780 million people have no access to clean drinking water – this is approximately one in nine people. To put that statistic into perspective, it can be said that an American taking a five-minute shower uses more water than the average person in a developing country slum uses for an entire day (The crisis, n.d.). One child dies from water-related diseases every 21 seconds. This implies that three children lose their lives every minute, and 171 children die every hour (“Water