SHARED & PAID Media Audit

Context
 Recently you explored Owned media. At this time, we’re going to shift our focus to share and paid media. This assignment asks you to
examine how a brand uses social media to build community and engage audiences with both curated and original content. Additionally,
we’ll examine how a brand uses paid digital advertising and paid social advertising to drive sales or action.

Task
 Audit a brand’s social media and paid advertising activity to determine the extent at which it meets industry best-practices.

Worth
 20% of final grade.

AI Usage:
 Artificial Intelligence tools (e.g., Chat GPT, Grammarly, Canva Magic Write, etc.) are permitted for use in this assignment for Parts 3 & 4
where indicated, and or only for purposes to go over and above to secure an A/A+ e.g., for writing or re-phrasing content, image
creation, or other uses.
o Make sure that YOUR voice comes through.
o Use of AI in responses where not permitted may result in score of 0 for the entire assignment.
o Spelling, grammar, and sentence construction will not be assessed.

Instructions
 Download a copy of this document to work with and submit. It is in landscape (horizontal) format.
 Select a brand (one brand per student, no duplication between students).
o It is recommended that you continue using the brand used in the previous assignment.
 Reference that same brand throughout the entire submission.
 Complete Parts 1-5.
 Refer to and use what you captured in your homework if you like.
 Refer to the course materials and weekly presentations, especially the checklists.
 Respond in this document.
o Do not change formatting (font, size, margins, bullets) or it won’t be marked.
 Submit this document to Brightspace for marking.

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Submission
 Submit your evaluation and the content calendar at the same time in Brightspace.

Marking Schemes
 Please see the rubric in Brightspace for details about how you will be evaluated.
o Completing the requirements = 75% mark (B)
 Going beyond the requirements
o Don’t just write more, do more (refer to the homework and in-class activities and incorporate them)
o Find ways to demonstrate more thinking and learning that may lead to an A / A+
o Discuss how what you do connects with the course concepts
 What would you like to investigate further?
 In what ways would you further demonstrate your learning?
 Can you take a concept further?
 Can you bring the subject matter to life in a new way? (go beyond pictures)
 What about competitors?
 This is about your thinking, not referencing someone else’s (no plagiarism)

Submission
 See following page

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PART 1: Context
 Fill out the following chart.
o Use your own thinking. No use of AI in response.
o No paraphrasing tools e.g., Grammarly, nor AI e.g., Co-Pilot, ChatGPT
 Feel free to copy and paste responses from the previous assignment regarding Owned Media. Consider improving it.
 Be sure to update the Goals to reflect shared and paid media.

Criteria Reponses
Brand Evaluated Drip by Rage - A Gen Z streetwear brand manufactured by Urban Outfitter that promotes
List the brand name and in one (1) limited-edition graphic tee, hoodies and accessories with a focus on individuality,
sentence describe the products or exclusivity and internet culture
services they sell.
Link to social media accounts - Instagram: [Link]
Provide clean hyperlinks to the social - TikTok: [Link]
media accounts that you’re evaluating. - X (Twitter): [Link]
- Facebook: [Link]
Brand Voice Character: bold, rebellious, self-expressive -- reflecting the creative chaos of Gen Z
Describe the brand’s voice using bullets, streetwear culture.
sentences, etc. Tone: conversational, hype-driven, informal -- the brand talks like a friend hyping the next
drop.
Language: slang heavy ("drip," "fire," "limited drop," "cop now") and often uses emojis to
signal energy and relate in some way Brands
Purpose: to create FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and build a strong online tribe that lives
on the exclusivity and creation of a strong online tribe Purpose.
Goals Share Media: Engagement -- Encourage users to share their outfit photos and use the tag
Using language from AIDAR, provide 2 to tag the brand and engage with hashtag challenges to increase the organic visibility of
high level goals that you think the brand your content.
is trying to accomplish with its shared Paid Media: Conversion -- Use paid advertisements (ads are available on Instagram,
and paid media. One sentence per goal. TikTok and Meta) to convert high-interest audiences through advocates who share your
ad by promoting time limited drops and discount codes on your product(s).
Target Audience Description: The general audience is Gen Z males and females between the ages of 16-25
Provide a summary of one target that reside in North America and Europe. They are fashion-friendly, digitally native, and

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 Criteria Reponses
audience in five (5) sentences. This follow urban culture using platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. They value
description will act as the lens for this self-expression and cultural relevance and online credibility -- they wear clothes that
assignment so be sure to be specific and "speak" their personality. Psychographically, they're motivated by community-validation
reveal nuances as to who they are. (likes, reposts and comments), impulse-driven shopping, as well as FOMO if new
Consider demographic and psychographic collections drop. They're attracted to short-form content, influencer endorsements and
information. relatable humor attached to streetwear trends.

PART 2: Content Calendar

 Create a retrospective content calendar for your brand. Use the same template as you used for the homework.
o Use your own thinking. No use of AI in response.
o No paraphrasing tools e.g., Grammarly, nor AI e.g., Co-Pilot, ChatGPT
 Capture 20 posts in total from the past month from two different social networks.
o For example, 10 posts on Facebook and 10 posts on LinkedIn
o Feel free to build upon/edit the content used in your homework assignment
o Choose the networks that make the most sense of you, your brand, and target audience
 Submit the Excel table as a separate file in Brightspace.

PART 3: Social Media Creation

 Let’s assume that you are stepping into the role of a Social Media community manager at your brand. Congrats! That said, the person
who you are replacing is no longer with the organization and they left you nothing to refer to. As a result, the only thing that you have
to inform your work is the retrospective content calendar from Part 2. You have been asked to create and propose a new Content
Calendar for the next two weeks.

 Build upon your existing Content Calendar.

o You can create the content yourself and or with support from an AI tool e.g., Co-pilot, ChatGPT, other
 You may use AI to help you create this new Content Calendar
 You are accountable for the Content Calendar.

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  Please review the information. Revise and update anything that you feel is incorrect, missing, or could be improved.
o The Content Calendar must provide all the same information as the version you used in Part 2
o It should include one post per day for the next upcoming 14 days, in other words 14 posts
o You may focus on one or more platforms
o Consider including any upcoming holidays or special events
o Save the Content Calendar in an Excel table.
 Submit the Excel file as a separate file in the submission in Brightspace.

 Select two social media posts from the new Content Calendar and create mock-ups for each of them.
 You may use AI to help you create this new ad
o Be sure to meet the creative best-practices discussed in week 11
o Consider engagement, relevance, and complimentary content
o Use PowerPoint, Canva, or other tools
o There must be a minimum of 3 differences between the two mockups e.g., platforms, target audience(s), key messages, pillars,
mix of creative elements, etc.

Paste your social media post

mock up #1 here:

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Paste your social media post
mock up #2 here:

 Complete this chart.

o Use your own thinking. No use of AI in response.
o No paraphrasing tools e.g., Grammarly, nor AI e.g., Co-Pilot, ChatGPT

Criteria Mockup 1 Mockup 2

The selected social media platform for this Instagram TikTok
post is:
This social media platform was selected for Instagram is the best social platform TikTok was selected thanks to its direct
this post because: to promote aesthetics of the product access to Gen Z through trends, transitions
to create conversions on sales with and real short form videos that fit to the
the help of visual ads. Its shopping brand's fast-paced and expressive
features and carousel format make it personality.
possible to look through several
different hoodie styles in seconds.
The target audience will find this post to be Our target audience consists of young The audience will relate to the energy of the
relevant to them because: people and is the audience we have in video, transitions, and creativity -- it seems

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 Criteria Mockup 1 Mockup 2
mind because: - Streetwear native to the TikTok experience. It is
enthusiasts who crave from exclusivity commensurate with their love for fashion
and visual inspiration before a product challenges and trends and also self-
drop. The post is an attempt at hype expression.
building based on sleek visuals and the
"limited edition" appeal.
The success of the post will be measured Link clicks, saves, and conversions Views, shares and rate of engagement
with this metric: (purchases from "Shop Now" button). from taking part in the
"#MyDripMyWay" challenge.
The audience will engage with and or share The design generates urgency and The rapid transitions of fast outfit, the
this post because: visual desire -- the clean dark tones trending music, and user participation
and "They dropped. You weren't coax users to jump on board and repost
ready." headline known as spark of their own version to further reach
curiosity and sharing in the manner to organic reach
the fashion circles
The post will be deployed at this date and Given this study, the most logical November 18, 2025, at 8:00 PM (EST) -
time because: times for posting articles is between best time to get engagement on TikTok,
11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Fridays, because when the Gen Z audience is active and
that's when the highest engagement is trolling for the trends
on Instagram-when audiences are
scrolling through these platforms after
either school or work

PART 4: Paid Display or Paid Social Advertising Flip-Flop

 Find 1 example of either a paid display ad or a paid social ad.
o Use your current brand but if they do not have any ads running currently you can evaluate a competitor’s ad.
o You can search for brand ads at Google Ad Transparency or, by creating a free trial account at SimilarWeb (See a screenshot of
the dashboard where you can locate the display ads). You can also search at the Facebook Ad Library.

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Paste the ad that you found here: [Link]

The advertisement features a post of "Black Friday" ad.

 Fill out the following chart:

o Refer to week 13 - ad creative standards and iAB Ad Standards checklists and/or the week 14 - Paid Social Ad Creative Checklist
o Fill out the chart below
 Use your own thinking. No use of AI in response.
 No paraphrasing tools e.g., Grammarly, nor AI e.g., Co-Pilot, ChatGPT

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 o Identify and describe a TOTAL of 5 ways in which the ad meets or does not meet industry best practices.
o Respond to the questions.

Identify and describe in 2 sentences each way that the ad MEETS Identify and describe in 2 sentences each way that the ad does
industry best-practices (total of 5 between both columns) NOT meets industry best-practices (total of 5 between both
columns)
1 Strong Visual Identity - The dark neon lit photo is suited to the No Video or Motion Content - Still images are not as dynamic and
urban streetwear aesthetic and captures the moody feel of the lack the movement and energy that Gen Z users are attracted to,
brand. so adding short motion graphics could boost engagement.
2 Clear CTA - The "Shop Now" button makes it easy for users to take Limited Storytelling - With the capsule (our label, our mascot, our
immediate action -- necessary for low-drop items. brand story, etc.) Staged imagery (i.e., a photo taken before the
capsule's release)
3 Scarcity and Urgency - I used the "100 hoodies only" and the No Influencer or User Tagging - Not utilizing creators or customers
"Don't sleep" creates FOMO and pressure, which motivates fast in paid ads is missing out on trust building and authentic reach.
purchases.
4 Pertinent Hashtags - The use of trending hashtags such as Lack of Localization or Personalization - The same message is used
#Streetwear and #DripByRage is an effective way to increase globally -- not optimized for city specific audiences or interests.
visibility to an interested audience.
5 Platform Fit - The visual storytelling is Instagram aesthetic -- clean, No Retargeting Layer - There's no mention of retargeting for users
minimal copy with high-impact visuals. that went on the site but didn't purchase leaving conversion
opportunities on the table.
Questions:
What level of AIDAR does this ad reflect the most? Use language This ad urges people to act now and buy now through the use of
from AIDAR. urgency and scarcity as opposed to long-term engagement or
storytelling.
In what ways does this ad support the iAB’s Respect, Control, and Respect: The ad is non-intrusive and visually consistent with the
Choice principles: aesthetics of the user feeds.

Control: It can easily be skipped or scrolled past by the user.

Choice: "Shop Now" button provides users with choice to engage

voluntarily.

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 Advertising Flip-Flop
o Using PowerPoint, Canva, or your preferred tool, create a new ad
 You may use AI to help you create this new ad
o If the ad meets 5 creative best practices, create an ad that does NOT meet industry best practices.
o If the ad does NOT meet 5 creative best practices, then create an ad that does.
o Either way, it doesn’t have to be perfect as this is not a design course.

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Paste the ad that you found here:

Paste the “flip-flop” ad that you

created here:

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PART 5: Conclusion & Recommendations:
o Use your own thinking. No use of AI in response.
o No paraphrasing tools e.g., Grammarly, nor AI e.g., Co-Pilot, ChatGPT

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 1. Content Curation versus Creation: Based upon the evidence that you provided above, do you think the brand is maintaining a healthy
mix of curated and created content? Why? Provide 2 sentences of rationale to support your perspective.

2. Goals: Based upon the evidence that you provided above, do you think the brand is achieving its high-level goals that you identified in
Part 1? Why? Provide 2 sentences of rationale to support your perspective.

3. Best practices: Based upon the evidence that you provided above, do you believe the brand’s social media and paid advertising meet
industry best practices? Why? Provide 2 sentences of rationale to support your perspective.

4. Recommendations: Based upon the evidence that you provided above in Parts 2-4, provide 2 recommendations that the brand should
take immediately to improve their social media and paid/social advertising. Provide 1 sentence for each.

Questions: Responses:
1. Content curation versus creation Drip by Rage heavily uses generated content where the vast majority of posts are from their
photoshoots and drop announcements instead of sharing content from the community or
influencers. While the created content ranks strong in terms of aesthetics, the absence of curated
or user-generated content makes it difficult for the brand to feel connected to its audience.
2. Goals The brand is partly achieving its goals simply because it creates interest and hype of new drops,
but the engagement and community-building aspect isn't as strong as it could be. Their posts
attract attention, but the approach doesn't always lead users to deeper interaction and/or long-
term retention.
3. Best practices The brand satisfies a number of best practices including strong visuals, consistent posting, and
clear product messaging, but struggles when it comes to storytelling, audience engagement and
paid ad diversity. The overall approach is visually polished yet not quite optimized for Gen Z the
way they interacted with fashion brands online.
4. Recommendations  The brand should create more user-generated content or influencer collaborations to
create authenticity and generate a better sense of community.
 Drip by Rage should increase its use of paid ads in the form of short form videos using
clearer calls to action to enhance engagement and conversion.

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PART 6: Reflection
 How would you evaluate your work?
 Fill out the chart. Select the appropriate cell and in that cell, please provide 1-3 sentences to self-assess your work.
Submission Components Falls Below Met Exceeds
requirements Requirements the Requirements
I gave an elaborate
breakdown of the brand's
voice, goals and target
audience with a reasoning
behind each section. I went
even beyond the minimum in
Part 1: Context that I connected the tone
that we find in the brand
with the motivation of the
audience and tied the goals
with AIDAR. This section
displays great understanding
and analysis depth.

Part 2: Content Calendar I did an entire retrospective

and suggested content
calendar based on the same
template as above, with each
column full and every column
full and complete tidily. I also
ensured that the posts were
aligned to clear content
pillars, audience segments
and outcomes. The work
shows accuracy, structure
and strategy beyond just the

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 basic requirement.

Part 3: Social Media I made two mockups that

Creation were both different
graphically and explained the
rationale behind each one
belonging to its platform. I
also showed them how each
of the creative relates back
to audience behavior and
platform norms. The
rationale is sound and
displays a good
understanding of the role of
design in social strategy.

Part 4: Paid Display or Social I have analyzed an ad in the

Advertising Flip-Flop real style, caught some of the
weakness and strength
points, and redesigned to a
better version. The flip-flop
gives you a good idea of how
the ad can be made more
effective but I tried to stick to
what the assignment asked
for by not adding additional
optional layers.

Part 5: Conclusions & My conclusions reveal good

Recommendations reasoning that is backed by
evidence from previous
sections of the assignment.
The recommendations are

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 practical and strategic and
are directly linked with the
audit findings. This section is
where you are demonstrating
strong critical thinking and
the whole assignment comes
together.

APPENDIX
 Please number and title each image and only one image per criteria.

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SimilarWeb
 Select Acquisition Channel
 Select Advertising
 Select Display Ads
 Perform a Search for your brand or a competitors.

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