MAS110
– Introduction to Digital Media Production
Online
Essay
42455421
– Hamish Conroy
“The
perfection of the image has brought us to a whole new state of expectation. We
are the image. We are the viewer and the viewed” – John Ralston Saul, Voltaires Bastards
In an era defined by the phenomenally rapid
convergence of media and technology, the advertising industry has been
presented, the challenge of embracing and adapting to a new way of connecting
with a tech-savvy market. The shift to a digital culture has influenced the
advertising industry in three significant ways. The first of these being the evolution
of the consumer to the producer, as the individual, also known as the ‘citizen
consumer’, assumes a highly empowered role in the dissemination of media
content (Spurgeon, 2008). Secondly the essay will draw focus to the popularity
of branded entertainment as a means of response to an increasingly critical and
disengaged market. Finally, the essay will draw attention to the increasing
prominence of the viral campaign. In discussing the aforementioned topics, the
essay will aim to present varying viewpoints on the way in which digital media
convergence has influenced the advertising industry via new media, and in
particular the way in which this has affected the concept of consumer
sovereignty.
As technology has evolved so too has the
role of the citizen consumer in the circulation of media content. Today’s
citizen consumer is empowered with the ability and knowledge to be highly
exclusive in regards to the media content they are exposed to. With the
increased use of ‘pull technology’ such as TIVO as well as other wed-based
programs e.g. AdBlock, it is now possible for the citizen consumer to avoid
advertising altogether (Sheehan & Morrison, 2009).
This avoidance issue has presented a
dilemma to those in the advertising industry, as the as the consumer has become
distracted, distrustful and disinterested, ultimately making the market harder
to engage (Spurgeon, 2008, pg. 26). Sheehan & Morrison, present the idea of
a ‘confluence culture’ to describe the relationship between the advertising
industry and new forms of digital media (2009). The theory establishes an
understanding of the responses that need to be made by advertisers in order to
adequately deal with the challenges presented by convergent media. Defined as
“the situation where traditional methods of work adapt to embrace the new reality
of interactive content” (Sheehan et al, 2009), confluence culture points to the
need to empower consumers with the ability to create content in collaboration
with the advertiser. In regards to this, Sheehan et al argue that advertisers
must recognize change and consider new techniques that encourage consumers to
participate more actively in the creation and distribution of media content. Understandings
presented by Sheehan establish the challenges faced by advertisers in
connecting to the modern citizen consumer, as well as presenting a viable
framework for forging new methods of communication.
The ways in which the advertising industry
communicates with the broader market have changed significantly since the days
of old media dominance. As the citizen consumer has become harder to reach,
approaches to marketing have aimed to infiltrate new media as a means of increasing
consumer participation as well as reestablishing lines of communication. This
area of discussion will be examined in relation to the case study of BMW Films.
The facilitation of the viral marketing
process, as outlined in the work of Wilken and Sinclair (2009), can be largely
credited to the development of 3G technology, enabling advertisers to “move
beyond text-based SMS messages” to more engaging forms of communication (ibid).
This is particularly evident in the example of T-Mobile’s virally disseminated,
Life’s for Sharing’ campaign. The campaign involved T-Mobile launching a
promotional campaign on television and YouTube that “literally performed the
company’s brand slogan ‘Life’s for Sharing’”. Taking the form of a spontaneous
dance routine in Liverpool Street Station in downtown London. ‘The Dance’
became an immediate television talking point and YouTube hit (Grainge, 2011,
pg. 166). As an example of viral marketing, the campaign exemplifies the
tendency within current advertising think tanks, to utilize the citizen
consumer as a creative participant in the overall production and circulation
process. In relation to the discussion of the influence of convergence on
advertising, the campaign demonstrates the utilization of new media by
marketing organisations.
As media and technology have synergized the
advertising industry has faced challenges in communicating with an increasingly
disengaged market. As the advertising industry as a whole has adjusted to these
changes through branded entertainment, viral marketing and promoting consumer
participation, avenues of communication will become increasingly more
efficient. In correlation with this process, citizen consumers will also become
more empowered, having the ability to scrutinize the media content they are
presented, ultimately creating a cycle of mutual participation and creation.
References:
Spurgeon, C, 2008, Advertising and New Media, Oxon,
Routledge, pp 24-45.
Sheehan, K & Morrison, K, 2009, Beyond
convergence: Confluence culture and the role of the advertising agency in a
changing world, First Monday, 14(3)
Grainge, P, 2012, A song and dance: Branded
entertainment and mobile promotion, International
Journal of Cultural Studies, 15(2)
Wilken, R & Sinclair, J, 2009, Waiting
for the Kiss of Life: Mobile Media and Advertising, Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media
Technologies, 15(4)
abmwfan, 2007, BMW Films – The Hire – Ambush (online), Date Accessed: 31/8/2012,
Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKYUtUw-8ig
lifesforsharing, 2009, The T-Mobile Dance (online), Date Accessed: 31/8/2012, Available
from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM
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