The Effect of Convergent Advertising on ‘The Consumer’

MAS110 Convergence Essay

Digital Media Convergence – New Media and Advertising

The Effect of Convergent Advertising on ‘The Consumer’

Although digital media convergence is not a new phenomenon (Maxwell et al. 2011) it is constantly evolving and continually relevant to the development of ‘The Consumer’. Industries increasingly engage in new, imaginative and convergent methods in their advertising practice to reach an audience that has grown accustom to the place advertising takes in the background of their lives. The growing trend of advertisers utilising convergent practice in commercials has a profound effect on the role advertising plays in a consumer’s life, and the role consumers play in advertising.

Media Convergence can be seen as the merging process of different types of new and old media forms, technologies, industries and cultures (Dwyer 2010). It has often been used to refer to the merging of media that had previously been distinct or separate (ibid.). However, there is an important social aspect to convergence, particularly involving consumer culture. Jenkins also notes this, emphasising the importance of the audience’s role in convergent media and consequently the ‘migratory behaviour’ they have adopted in search of the entertainment and media that they desire (Jenkins 2006:2).

The commercial industries utilise digital media convergence in a variety of ways. Advertisements are frequently the product of the convergence of the entertainment and commercial industries, with a merging of entertainment and advertorial content. This convergent approach to advertising works in both attracting an audience, and increasing the symbolic value and brand name of a product. Consequently, consumers often become more likely to consume and willingly promote the product and the advertisement. This phenomenon places the consumer as a vital part of the distribution line to advertisers and potentially makes them ‘walking advertisements’ for the product.

Volkswagen – The convergence of entertainment content and advertising

“Many advertisers creatively embed their messages in media flows and experiences that coveted consumers will actively seek out.” (Spurgeon 2008: 27)

The convergence of entertainment and advertising is a growing practice in commercial industries. In the age of the fragmented audience (Dwyer 2010) there is an increasing need for advertisers to ‘court’ consumers to view their products (Jenkins 2006:3). Advertisers seek to attract viewers to their advertisements, and commercials begin to look less like an advertisement, and more like entertainment media. The goal of commercial industries is to create an advertisement that will not only attract viewers or encourage viewers to seek out the advertisement, but also encourage the audience to become a distributer, publishing the advertisement amongst social network sites and in effect become promoters for the product.

Volkswagen’s advertisement ‘The Force: Volkswagen Commercial’ is a good example of this.

The advert can be seen as a mini-narrative, diverting attention from the main purpose, to promote and sell Volkswagen cars. The advertisement draws on popular film references from George Lucas’s Star Wars through symbolic reference with the Darth Vader costume and the music of the iconic theme song. Such advertising can be seen as utilising the ‘creative and persuasive’ method (Spurgeon 2008) to effectively cause the consumers to enjoy watching the advertisement and think of its function as more that of entertainment media, rather than commercial. This encourages the audience to seek out and distribute the media of their own accord. This is clearly seen as the case with ‘The Force: Volkswagen Commercial’ with the amount of views on YouTube totalling at over 54 million, which is indicative of the large exposure and circulation the advertisement has received from a compelled audience.

Apple – Brand name building

“Branded entertainment aims to contextualize brand images in ways that are so appealing that consumers will seek them out for inclusion in their personalised media entertainment flows.” (Spurgeon 2008:40)

Advertising is changing not only in terms of content, but also in terms of the way symbolic value is placed on products. The convergence of the entertainment and commercial industries work towards establishing a ‘Brand name’, increasing the product’s symbolic value, and further increasing the profitability of both ventures. This shift also further highlights the key role consumers’ play in the advertising process in terms of promotion and distribution.

Brand building is the process where commercial industries attempt to construct a highly valuable brand image for the company, and consequently certain connotations with their product (Spurgeon 2008). In this case, the commercial industry and the entertainment industry have again converged to add value to both parties. Entertainment media is increasingly being funded by the convergence of the advertising and entertainment industries. (Spurgeon 2008)

Apple products are being constantly promoted in various entertainment media, and also by consumers themselves. The constant exposure of Apple products increases their symbolic value and assists in building the ‘Brand name’. This is seen in the common product placement of Apple’s technology in films, music videos and other entertainment media.

One of the most lucrative aspects for consumers when considering purchasing an apple product over other brands is the high symbolic value that the product has gained. Shi notes the undeniable effectiveness of the iPhone’s ‘symbolic influence’ (Shi 2011: 137) and Hilderbrand further acknowledges how the product has contributed to the changes in the way viewers interpret and consume media (Hilderbrand 2007). Apple has put a lot of time and money into building over a desirable image for consumers. The expectation is that consumers will then willingly promote the product through use and the sharing of positive opinion, shaped by the influence of the product’s symbolic value. 

Conclusion – The Evolution of The Consumer into Walking Advertisements

“Marketers have turned our children into walking, talking billboards who wear logos on their T-shirts, sew patches on their backpacks, plaster stickers on their lockers, hang posters on their walls…” (Jenkins 2006: 142)

In conclusion, a variety of convergent media processes can be seen at work in contemporary advertising practice. The convergence of content and advertisement, media industries and commercial industries, film popular culture and consumer culture, all result in the development of a new form of Consumer. Consumers are now encouraged to seek out the entertainment, share it, promote it and increase its value. The commercial industries adoption of convergent methods to increase the value and brand name of its products further contribute to this. Consumers are no longer seen as separate or distant from the advertising process, as advertisements are increasingly inseparable from entertainment content. Rather, consumers are a vital part of advertising the product; they become the product of advertising.

 

Reference List

Embedded Media 

YouTube videos

Apple 2011, Apple - iPod touch - TV Ad - Share The Fun, YouTube <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGrDMVk2isc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCL5UgxtoLs> (accessed 29 August 2012)

Volkswagen 2011, The Force: Volkswagen Commercial, YouTube <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0&feature=relmfu > (accessed 29 August 2012) 

Images

Coca Cola (Image Screenshot) 2009, Coca-Cola Australian Summer Commercial 2009/2010, Open Happiness, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlpZRK2Yfd0> (accessed 31 August 2012)

Dunlop, T 2011, Branded News, <http://thefailedestate.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/branded-news.html> (accessed 31 August 2012)

House (Tv Series), as seen in Sande, S 2012, Apple movie/TV product placement is on the rise <http://www.tuaw.com/2012/05/14/apple-increasingly-using-product-placement-as-advertising/> (accessed 31 August 2012)

The Simpsons (Tv Series), from episode ‘Mypods and Boomsticks’, as seen in Jacobson, V 2011,  Apple Product Placement: They’re Everywhere, <http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/261067/apple-product-placement-they-re-everywhere> (accessed 31 August 2012)

Toxel 2008-2012, 14 Creative Advertisements, <http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2008/05/27/14-creative-advertisements/> (accessed 31 August 2012)

Twilight (Film), as seen in Sauer, A 2009, 2009 Product Placement Awards: Apple is #1, <http://abesauer.com/2009/08/03/2009-product-placement-awards-apple-is-1/> (accessed 31 August 2012)

Unit Reader

Dwyer, T. 2010, Media Convergence, McGraw Hill, Berksire, pp. 1-23 Hilderbrand, L. 2007, 'Youtube: Where Cultural Memory and Copyright Converge', Film Quarterly, vol. 61, pp. 48-57 

Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture, New York, New YorkUniversity Press, pp 1-24 Spurgeon, C. (2008) Advertising and New Media, Oxon, Routledge, pp 24-45

Recommended Texts

Jenkins, H. 2006 ‘Quentin Tarantino’s Star Wars? Grass roots Creativity Meets the Media Industry’ Convergence Culture, New York University Press, pp. 135-174 

Sheehan, K. and Morrison, D. 2009, ‘Beyond convergence: Confluence culture and the role of the advertising agency in a changing world’ in First Monday, vol. 14 no. 3 (accessed 28 August 2012) <http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2239/2121>

Journal Articles

Maxwell, R. & Miller, T. 2011, ‘OLD, NEW AND MIDDLE-AGED MEDIA CONVERGENCE’ Cultural Studies, vol. 25, pp. 585-603 (accessed 28 August 2012)  <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2011.600550>

Shi, Y 2011, ‘iPhones in China: The Contradictory Stories of Media-ICT Globalization in the Era of Media Convergence and Corporate Synergy’, Journal of Communication Inquiry, vol. 35 no. 2, 135- 155 (accessed 28 August 2012) <http://jci.sagepub.com/content/35/2/134>