Digital Media Convergence
New Media & Advertising
Digital media convergence is essential in defining the modern media landscape, an ever-progressing concept that shapes the future of changing media practises. Dwyer (2010) understands media convergence to be “the process whereby new technologies are accomodated by existing media and communication industries and cultures”. This notion is complex and multi-layered, evolving previously incompatible media formats which are brought together to provide a more centralised multimedia experience based on one or more platforms or devices. Convergent media has impacted social and cultural conventions, blurring the boundaries between the formerly distinct roles of producers and consumers. Advertising has developed and evolved with this technological revolution to target “increasingly distracted, distrustful and disinterested consumers” (Spurgeon 2007).
Advertising sustains and shapes most of the media that we consume, as new media technologies have radically multiplied the opportunities for the production, distribution and consumption of media content (Khamis 2012). In a ‘new millenium market’, commercial content has become increasingly individualised, differentiated and flexible to support a diverse audience’s interests and needs. The almost endless possibilities of new media have challenged advertisers to reach an audience that can now choose to avoid a majority of commercial advertisements, redefining the traditional execution of advertising within the context of digital media convergence. The techniques implemented in ‘old’ media such as TV, radio and newspapers - the ‘broadcast era’ - are no longer as successful as they once were, as the rise of the Internet has shaped the way in which consumers navigate the media landscape, changing the way we perceive and utilise media (Barkat, Hart, Salazar 2009). The ways that people use media are fragmenting, as technology becomes increasingly mobile, multimedia and ‘internetworked’ (Dwyer 2010). In this sense, consumers are conceptualised by producers and require a mode of address that is circumscribed, or suitably sensitive to their needs. Audiences are continually hard to reach, and advertising agencies must employ a multimedia expertise involving cross-media skills (Dwyer 2010) in order to successfully adapt to the changing media environment.
The Internet is the fastest growing media ever recorded, providing endless opportunities for entertainment, education, social networking, public forums and communications. Within this online domain lies the internet search engine, which is according to Spurgeon (2008), "the single most important development for informational advertising". The most popular of the Internet's many search engines, of course, is Google.
Search engines such as Google have become "globally significant, and, increasingly, locally relevant, advertising-funded media services and institutions" (Battelle, 2005, in Spurgeon, 2008). Search culture, as the largest and rapidly growing components of online advertising, has a direct impact on creative and persuasive advertising approaches and techniques. Search advertisers aim for search terms rather than distinctly addressing consumers' individual needs, integrating advertising into the audience’s everyday life in the way they search for employment, accommodation, transport and love (Spurgeon, 2008).
Online advertising through search engines has also become consumer-localised. New media technologies have allowed ‘real-time location services’ (Jeffries, 2010) to permeate the modern consumer’s search activities, leading them to a more personalised advertising experience. Small businesses and companies can target an audience that is either already geographically close to them, or tourists seeking accommodation, food or entertainment. Location based services no longer even require consumers to search a specific location, as their location is tracked and implemented, providing specific, relevant search results for the audience. This type of search advertising also differentiates between audiences in different countries - search results will differ between an American consumer seeking “holidays in Australia” and an Australian consumer searching the same terms.
In addition to websites, advertisers can also reach their target audience through a variety of apps, accessed through smartphones - a definitive example of how far digital media convergence has travelled.
‘FourSquare’ is a location marketing giant, valued at over $250 million, works by having businesses register a profile, on which customers can then ‘check in’ to those locations and tell their friends where they are. Businesses can also make deals and promotions for its FourSquare audience, keeping consumers interested (Stafford 2011). Electronic word-of-mouth (Spurgeon 2008) is an essential aspect of FourSquare’s location marketing ideals, as users can invite their friends to join, communicate with them and in doing so promote whichever business or facility they are at.
YouTube, an influential global tool used by the public sphere all over the world, has drastically changed the way in which advertising is executed. Launched in 2005, the site aimed to create a way of easily creating, viewing and sharing video content which was formerly difficult to come across. YouTube became a worldwide success and today is one of the most accessed sites ever (Lister, Dovey, Giddings, Grant, Kelly 2009). The boundaries between producer and consumer are blurred, as the video-sharing site’s tagline, “Broadcast Yourself”, invites user-generated content to be uploaded, and if enough ‘hits’ are generated the user has the potential to become well-known and successful.
The endless potential of YouTube for advertising and marketing has been realised through the ability of consumers to ‘share’ videos with their friends, generating popularity for YouTube uploaders easily. Advertisers have found it more efficient and less financially burdening to produce one piece of content, and let consumers ‘move’ it around the public sphere without direct involvement from the company themselves (Khamis 2012). Viral video marketing campaigns have generated much success for various companies, as ads that are more art than commerce emerge; an intersection of hollywood content and advertising content merge into a term coined ‘Madison & Vine’ (Spurgeon 2008).
An example of the wildly successful viral video campaigns is Samsung's "Extreme Sheep LED Art", which gathered over 17 million views.
The video has been shared all over the Internet domain worldwide, and as well as generating public interest and awe, there is also great debate about whether the video is fake, ie digitally reconstructed. Through viral video campaigns such as this one, advertisers can reach out to an extended audience and rely on electronic word-of-mouth (Spurgeon 2008) to market their product rather than putting forward their campaign on multiple levels of social media.
Media convergence has allowed methods of communication and information sharing to merge into more convenient, efficient and multi-faceted platforms of the digital economy (Spurgeon 2008). The digital media landscape has evolved and adapted to suit the consumeristic needs of today's multi-layered public sphere. As the effectiveness of old advertising trends begin to fade, marketing strategies have adapted to fit the demands of a technologically advancing audience. The future of digital media is ever-changing, and continues to alter social, cultural and political boundaries through convergence of platforms, practises and devices.
References
- Barkat, I, Hart, C & Salazar, JF 2009, Screen Media Arts: An Introduction to Concepts & Practices, Oxford University Press: Australia & New Zealand, pp. 357-364.
- Dwyer, T 2010, Media Convergence, McGraw Hill, Berkshire, pp. 1-23, MAS110 Introduction to Digital Media Production Course Reader Semester 2 2012, Macquarie University.
- Lister, M, Dovey, J, Giddings, S, Grant, I, Kelly, K 2009, New Media: A Critical Introduction, 2nd edn, Turner, G, Sydney: Allen & Unwin, pp. 237-258.
- Stafford, P. (2011) The rise of location-based marketing, http://www.smartcompany.com.au/advertising-and-marketing/20110224-the-rise-of-location-based-marketing.html, accessed 26/8/12
- Spurgeon, C. (2008) Advertising and New Media, Oxon, Routledge, pp 24-45.
- Jeffries, A. (2010) For advertisers, location-based services "Blew up overnight", http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/for_advertisers_location-based_services_blew_up_ov.php, accessed 26/8/12
- Khamis, S 2012, New Media & Advertising lecture, MAS110, Introduction to Digital Media Production, Macquarie University, delivered 22/8/12
- Images obtained from Google
- Extreme Sheep LED Art, YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw
Zoe Nicholson 42847001
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