Eleanor Sanderson (42879302) Words: 997 (references not
included)
Ease of Access: Convergence, New Media and Advertising
Henry Jenkins defines convergence as “the flow of content
across multiple platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries,
and the migratory behaviour of media audiences who will go almost anywhere in
search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they want.” (Jenkins, 2006, p. 2) Few fields exemplify
this better than advertising. This essay argues that convergent media allows
advertisers greater access to consumers. In embracing new media platforms, advertisers
can target consumers across inter-relating platforms; advertisers have found a
new, cheaper forum and have begun to make entertainment from advertising.
New media allows advertisers to monitor consumer activity so
they can employ targeted advertisers, be it on social networking platforms like
Facebook, video sharing platforms like Youtube. With the excess of information
available on online platforms, users must
discuss it with others as there is no way that they can contain it all
themselves (Jenkins, 2006) . Advertisers monitor
this collective intelligence to
determine individual users’ interests and tailor the advertising that they are
exposed to accordingly, picking up on hot trends and what users share and talk
about (Spurgeon, 2008) . That new media
experiences come pre-tailored is an under-acknowledged and all-permeating concept.
Consumers are steered and directed in what they think is their playing field, both
overtly and covertly. An obvious method of consumer guidance is the related
videos bar on Youtube (Hilderbrand, 2007; van Dijck, 2009) . There are also
complex algorithms on both Youtube and Facebook platforms dedicated to monitoring
consumers’ every online move to ensure maximised brand exposure of advertisers
to the maximum number of potentially interested parties (Johnson,
2009; Dwyer, 2010; van Dijck, 2009) .
Companies also now acknowledge that while traditional media
may still be effective for some demographics, new media is the most effective
means of reaching others and thus attempt to give their brand on those
platforms. An example is the luxury department store Neiman Marcus. Typically
associated with the older demographics – specifically, the ladies who lunch
crowd – the company paid for use of the entire Youtube homepage in 2007 on the
occasion of their centennial (Klaassen, 2007) . Their goal was to
rejuvenate the brand in the eyes of the young and affluent whom they wished to
create a new market out of. In explaining their choice of Youtube, Ginger
Reeder, Vice President of Corporate Affairs, said, “And if [Youtube] starts to
permeate our consciousness, we can only assume it’s in our customers’ as well.”
(Klaassen, 2007) . Thus, it is clear
that advertisers use new media to target their audiences across various new
media platforms.
Convergent media and the interactions convergent new media
platforms allow for offer advertisers a new, cheaper forum. Advertorial content
technically only need be posted once in one place to permeate the market en
masse as, if effective, consumers do the sharing in a partnership of dissemination
between the advertisers and the audience (Sheehan & Morrison, 2009) . This content is
shared across platforms as Youtube videos are posted to Facebook walls,
embedded in blog posts and linked to on Twitter (Lester, 2012; Yu & Sung, 2010) . This means
advertisers can focus funds on production as they need not put the same costs
into time slots and paper space like in traditional media advertising (Yu &
Sung, 2010; Learmonth, 2009) . For example, Ford
has, for free, created a whole Youtube channel dedicated to promoting its
Fiesta (Learmonth, 2009) . From 2006 to 2011,
advertorial/entertainment videos were posted, creating a cheap, enduring
relationship with consumers.
In the ultimate example of media convergence, advertisers
now use new media as free focus groups to determine the potential success of
campaigns on traditional broadcast platforms. On 17th August 2012,
the U by Kotex Facebook page and Youtube channel posted a “sneak preview” of
their newest TV ad, “just for fans”. Fans were invited to post their thoughts
or like it, not only directly giving advertisers feedback on effectiveness but
perpetuating the sense of closeness and broken corporate/consumer barriers (Hilderbrand, 2007) . Advertisers also
employ user-generated content found on new media platforms for inspiration. In
2007, Nick Haley used freely available web images to make his own advertisement
for the iPod Touch which was spotted by Apple on Youtube, who then paid to have
him come out and help them recreate it professionally for broadcast on
television (Sheehan & Morrison, 2009) . Another advantage
of new media advertising is that it remains in circulation for years after
inception. One comment on the Youtube posting of the professional iPod Touch
advertisement was; “Why am I watching this in 2011? LOL”.
Finally, new media and the choices new media allows consumers
to make have driven advertisers to make entertainment out of advertising.
Spurgeon calls this the Madison and Vine phenomenon – the convergence of the advertising
industry (with their traditional locus on Madison Avenue) and entertainment
industry (the famous Vine Street in Hollywood). This has occurred because while
the aforementioned factors have allowed advertisers easy access, new media also
allows consumers to choose to avoid advertisements. In response, advertisers
are making advertising that consumers want
to watch (Spurgeon, 2008; Yu & Sung, 2010) . Take the
aforementioned Ford Fiesta channel. Embedded is just one example of how the
informational aspects of advertising have been incorporated into the
entertainment factor. Many other companies have created similar informative/entertaining
hybrids (see embedded Ikea advertisement).
Other approaches have been to
completely abandon the informative aspect, offering advertisements in the style
of short films directed by high profile figures that only reveal themselves as
advertisements subtly throughout and then only properly at the end (Spurgeon, 2008) . Spurgeon gives the
example of the BMW film series but Absolut Vodka took a similar tack with Spike
Jonze’s film ‘I’m Here’.
On other occasions, television advertisements have become
successful thanks to their entertainment value once put onto the new media
platform. The classic example is the Old Spice advertisement. Entertainment
value is a key factor in videos going viral (Yu & Sung, 2010) and advertisers now
are capitalising on this to easily permeate consumers’ minds and the public
consciousness (Spurgeon, 2008) . Thus, convergence
and new media mean advertisers are employing entertainment to easily access
consumers.
In conclusion, advertising and new media exemplify principles
of convergence. New media allows advertisers greater access to consumers. In
embracing new media platforms, advertisers can target consumers across
inter-relating platforms; advertisers have found a new, cheaper forum and have begun
to make entertainment from advertising.
Bibliography
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