Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Digital Media Convergence: Advertising and New Media




Today's interactive advertising landscape is a far cry from traditional, more linear advertising methods.   (Bezijan-Avery, Calder, Iacobucci, 1998.)


Source: AFP, Sydney Morning Herald.
  Convergence, in its simplest form, refers to the 'coming together' of two otherwise separate entities. Specifically, digital media convergence refers to a cultural shift in the media environment and a growing participatory culture within the consumer audience. Not only does the notion of digital media convergence imply a technological process in which several media functions are made accessible through a variety of mediums, but it also highlights the importance of consumer/business interaction.  
In today's modern advertising landscape, digital media convergence is at large. As new media culture and technologies have risen in popularity, the advertising industry has adopted new and innovative methods in order to capture the attention of a fragmented and somewhat 'nomadic' audience (Khamis, 2012). 





Source: Youtube.com
  The modern advertising industry utilises various mediums such as social networks and popular media products, and follows certain trends to give it an interactive appeal. In order to capture a target audience's attention, advertising companies are straying from traditional 'informational' messages and choosing to follow the 'Madison and Vine' trend, which bases itself upon typical Hollywood practices (Spurgeon, 2008). Through the use of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Youtube advertising companies are able to participate in the phenomenon known as 'viral advertising', allowing them to reach more audiences than was previously possible due to the limitations of television advertising. Similarly, through the sponsorship of popular media products (such as the latest Justin Beiber music video or episode of 'Modern Family'), advertising companies are able to access a particular consumer base in ways they have never before experienced. 

                                  
Source: Scott Donaton, Amazon.com
  The term 'Madison and Vine' was first created by Scott Donaton and is used to describe the production of branded entertainment that is based on the development of "strategic alliances between advertisers and entertainment companies" (Spurgeon, 2008). The concept of 'branded entertainment' aims to make the advertiser's message so appealing and entertaining that not only will the advertisement capture the interest of audiences, but audiences will actively seek out the advertisement for their own personal entertainment.
In 2002, BMW Films released a short film, 'Beat The Devil', starring Clive Owen, James Brown, Gary Oldman, Danny Trejo and Marilyn Manson. The branded film was directed by the late Tony Scott, known for his work in successful Hollywood blockbusters such as Top Gun (1986) & Man on Fire (2004). The 'film' was first released online; the internet was utilised as the main medium for distribution (90% of finances were allocated to production, only 10% were allocated to distribution costs). Therefore, electronic word-of-mouth became the primary medium for the publication of these films (Spurgeon, 2008).

   

In what is an incredibly well made 'film', the audience's intrigue is captured immediately through the use of suspenseful dialogue and the presence of well-known Hollywood icons. Through the use of the internet as the sole distribution medium, BMW were able to connect directly with their target audience: affluent, young, new media users (Spurgeon, 2008). 
As a result of this convergence between the advertising and film industries, BMW experienced an immediate increase in sales figures, despite the failing economic environment it was operating in. The nature of this advertisement meant that it was both a prime example of 'Madison and Vine', as well as a greatly successful viral advertisement.

Source: istartedsomething.com
  The term 'viral advertising' was first coined in 1996 by venture capitalists Steve Jurveston and Tim Draper. At the time, they were describing the phenomenon in the context of their own business - the creation of their free e-mail service 'Hotmail'. The viral technique consisted of the pair sending out commercial emails from Hotmail accounts, and relying on electronic word-of-mouth to spread the advertisement. With more than 10 million users in just seven months, the tactic was deemed successful (Porter, Golan, 2006).
Using Hotmail as an example, Sabrina Helm (2000) defined viral advertising as "a communication and distribution concept that relies on customers to transmit digital products via electronic mail to other potential customers in their social sphere".  

An optimum example of viral advertising can be seen in Saatchi & Saatchi's British 'spoof' advertisement for T-mobile in which they recreate the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton as a part of their 'Life's for Sharing' campaign. 

 Catching on to the online phenomenon of wedding dances, the advertising company created a realistic scene consisting of 15 royal lookalikes, all dancing down the aisle to a popular East 17 song.

The video, (released on 15th April 2011 through the 'lifesforsharing' Youtube account) drew over 3 million views in two days. Since then, the campaign has produced over 26 million views and has prompted interactive audiences to create their own versions of the spoof.
Source: vibewire.org
  Another example of viral advertising that was passed through every aspect of social media is the KONY 2012 campaign, released March 14, 2012. The campaign called for the world's youth to come together and demand justice be brought to Joseph Kony, a Ugandan war lord. The 30 minute video was first released by the charity 'Invisible Children' through social media site, Twitter. Marketers behind the campaign directly bombarded celebrity figureheads such as Ellen DeGeneres, Rihanna, George Clooney and Zooey Deschanel with the message, imploring they support the cause (Goodman, Preston, 2012).
Due to the public and inherently viral nature of social media, every single 'follower' of these celebrities was notified of the endorsement; almost instantaneously millions of social media users viewed the video and published it to their online communities through a variety of websites (not just Twitter or Youtube). This viral strategy used by Invisible Children created the most successful advertisement campaign in media history, and was viewed by over 55 million people worldwide.

   The introduction of new media gives way to a third method adopted by the advertising industry in order to create consumer interest and audience recollection (Gupta, Lord, 1998). The strategic placement of branded products in media content such as movies, music videos and television shows is known as 'product placement'. Product placement allows advertising companies access to an acutely niche and defined audience. Depending on the genre or form of media, advertisers are virtually able to 'pick and choose' exactly what type of audience will be subject to their advertisement.


Source: thestyleking.com
An extraordinary example of this is seen in the 2004 film I, Robot, starring Will Smith. Throughout the movie, Smith's character makes reference to and wears 'Converse All Star' sneakers. This most obvious type of product placement has proven to increase product sales, as the audience has the ability to relate to the character, and therefore, the product.


  The convergence of the advertising industry with new media technologies has created an interactive and consistently innovative advertising landscape. Through the use of a variety of technological mediums, such as social media, established media content and the Hollywood notion of 'Madison and Vine', advertisers are able to reach an increasingly diverse and specific range of audiences. Modern audiences are once again able to connect with advertisers through a flexible and complex convergent media environment, enabling today's advertising companies to experience success like never before. 

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References

Unit Readings: 

  • Spurgeon, C. (2008) Advertising and New Media. Oxon, Routledge. pp.24-45.
  • Dwyer, T. (2010) Media Convergence. Berkshire, McGraw Hill. pp.1-23.

Recommended Readings:

Lecture Content:

  • Khamis, S. (2012) Advertising and New Media. MAS110, Macquarie University, 22/08/2012. 

Additional Research:

  • Deuze, M. (2006) Collaboration, Participation and the Media. New Media and Society, 8(4). SAGE Publications, London. pp.691-698.
  • Bezijan-Avery, A., Calder, B., Iaobucci, D. (1998) New Media Interactive Advertising vs. Traditional Advertising. Journal of Advertising Research, pp.23-32.
  • Chu, S. (2011) Viral Advertising in Social Media: Participation in Facebook Responses among College-Aged users. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 12(1). (Online) Accessed at: http://jiad.org/article151 Accessed: 20/08/2012.
  • Goodman, J. D., Preston, J. (2012) How the Kony video went viral.  New York Times. (Online) Accessed at: http://www.anunconventionalwar.com/uploads/How_Kony_Video_Went_Viral.pdf Accessed: 20/08/2012.
  • Gupta, P.B., Lord, K.R. (1998) Product Placement in Movies: The Effect of Prominence and Mode on Audience Recall. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising. 20(1) pp.47-59.
  • McCabe, M. (2011) T-Mobile launches Royal Wedding spoof ad. Campaign. (Online) Accessed at: http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1066034/ Accessed: 20/08/2012
  • Porter, L., Golan, G.J. (2006) From Subservient Chickens to Brawny Men: A Comparison of Viral Advertising to Television Advertising. Journal of Interactive Advertising. 6(2). pp.26-33. Re-published in American Academy of Advertising, 2010. 

Electronic Media:

References according to Harvard Style Outline: School of Nursing and Midwifery (2007). RLO: Referencing your work with Harvard. (Online) Accessed at: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/nursing/sonet/rlos/studyskills/harvard/index.html Accessed: 22/08/2012
Hayley Vesperman (42863716), MAS110 Lab 12.





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