Assignment 1: Christian Clay Dequina

Cinema, Mobile Phones, Television, Internet: How advertisers balance the art of selling in a DIGITAL DOMINATING world

Advertising is an old art form that promotes product benefits to its consumers. With the introduction of new technology, advertisers struggle to conform to the digital age. Effectively advertising followed a structure that in the past gained incredible results and to challenge it is completely risky. However the consumers of the digital generation are no longer naïve and are actively seeking the right information. Brand loyalty is facing extinction, a practice which many advertisers have relied on. Failure to conform to the new marketing practices, denies the advertisers the opportunity to expand the label and ultimately no economical benefits are reaped. 

Advertising in its traditional form, controlled the exchange of communication and interaction of their product to the consumer. Author, Christina Spurgeon states that [1]‘historically, advertisers have thought of themselves as top-down communicators’. Highlighting that they were the agents in total [2]‘control of what information is released’. They single handedly generated the content of their advertising. They set the image, the branding and the tone of the product. All of these facts points out that advertising and its consumers lacked social relations. Moreover, there was a view that advertising and its features will no longer change. The pattern given and done in the past is the same guidelines that present advertisers use today. It was commonly known as the IMC structure, which stands for Integrated Marketing Communications and they [3]‘assumed a top down or push type messaging strategy’.

This view is also shared by William Bearden and Charles Madden, who wrote in their article that in the advertising field [4]‘progress has reached the mountain peak’. On the other hand they failed to note, technological improvements and the effects it made on the distribution and creation of advertising. It is evident in the modern world, that the [5]‘advertising industry has grown more sophisticated’. Through the exploration of texts, we highlight the effects of technology and the changing attitudes of the consumer on the process of advertising, in a now dominating convergence culture.

The cultural identity prominent in the 21^st century is a digitally focused society. A 2011 article written by The Guardian branded the children of the digital age as a [6]‘generation dedicated to online pursuits’. Such exposure to the digital world saw a transformation in how consumer’s perceives a product. The consumers of the past decade received the value of a product, directly from the ads. These ads were communicated through print and television media. However the main concern is that the message they received were quickly digested without being evaluated. The message was strictly in accordance with the agencies, while to a [7]‘degree the consumer defines his or her own prospects’; it was always [8]‘in terms agreeable to the marketers’. 

 On the other hand, it can be perceived that the traditional roles of the consumer have been re-established. The digital phenomenon has allowed the consumer from [9]‘consuming the media’ to ‘producing the media’. The popularity of Home videos, that contains reviews of a product, is a leading example of the transforming roles of a consumer. Often Home videos are produced using simple technological tools such as a cam recorder or mobile phones. And with the use of the Internet, are then uploaded to sites such as Youtube and Facebook. The combination of this technology is an example of digital media convergence. As such it allowed consumers to develop their own message/ perspective of the brand. This type of marketing is not a threat to advertisers rather it should be viewed as a complementary (Spurgeon 2008). 

Image Credit: Wes Stull 

Moreover, the way in which advertisers produce their ads, through social sites is another example of digital convergence. Past distribution of material, was confined in print and television media. Such strategies, is still prominent today, however it impacts a low number of audiences. Because individuals no longer spend their time around watching television shows and reading magazines (Sheen and Morrison, 2009). While on the other hand, a Youtube video could easily garner millions of views. Technological improvements in wireless connectivity projected the use of the Internet to a daily interaction. Taking note of these advertisers has added websites address on the Youtube videos, giving the consumer the chance to select the information they want. It connects the consumer and the product to a more humane level instead of a business relationship.

Image Credit: X Factor Australia

Image Credit: Big Brother Australia

Advertisers have also noted the growing importance of QR codes as a marketing tool. QR codes are image processing systems applied on mobile phones (Yue, 2008). By scanning the code, an imagery or video is played on the phones. The benefits of this for the advertiser is that they would be able to track the number of people, exposed to their advertisements. This is especially useful for print ads in newspaper. And this practice has already been implemented in Japan and has shown great results (Ostrow, 2008). This could also allow the consumer to visit the websites of the brands to access more information. 

Image Credit: Adam Ostrow

In conclusion, it is important to not that, the improvements made in technology have challenged the advertising industry. Business can no longer rely on brand loyalty rather they have to reach out to the consumer and have their products interact with the consumer. The changing attitudes to society to becoming more informed rather than being simply directed highlights the importance of direct marketing. And if agencies actively use technological tools such as the Internet and social sites, effective communication or marketing would be the result. As stated before the new media is not a threat rather it’s complementary to the old system of advertising.Therefore, digital convergence, revived the advertising world, showcasing that advertising is still an integral part of society. 

Reference List 

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[1] Spurgeon, C, (2008), Advertising and New Media, retrieved from http://www.ewidgetsonline.com/dxreader/Reader.aspx?token=TGrxevNn5Jw8Yoktb9UV2Q%3d%3d&rand=129991669&buyNowLink=&page=&chapter=

[2] Spurgeon, C, (2008), Advertising and New Media, retrieved from http://www.ewidgetsonline.com/dxreader/Reader.aspx?token=TGrxevNn5Jw8Yoktb9UV2Q%3d%3d&rand=129991669&buyNowLink=&page=&chapter=

[3] Sheehan, K. B, Morrison, D, (2009), Beyond convergence: Confluence culture and the role of the advertising agency in a changing world, First Monday vol 14 no 3, Retrieved from  http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2239/2121

[4] Bearden, W, Madden, C, (1996). A brief history of the future of advertising: Visions and lessons from integrated marketing communications, Journal of Business Research, 135-138, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0148-2963(96)00062-8

[5] Pollay, R, (1988). Keeping Advertising from Going Down in History, European Journal of Marketing, 7-16, 10.1108/EUM0000000005292 

[6] Campbell, D, (2011), “Children growing weaker as computers replace outdoor activity”, The Guardian, retrieved http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/may/21/children-weaker-computers-replace-activity

[7] Shudson, M, (1984), An Evaluation of Advertising, Advertising the Uneasy Persuasion: Its Dubious Impact on American Society, Basic Books, pg. 235

[8] Shudson, M, (1984), An Evaluation of Advertising, Advertising the Uneasy Persuasion: Its Dubious Impact on American Society, Basic Books, pg. 235

[9] Sheehan, K. B, Morrison, D, (2009), Beyond convergence: Confluence culture and the role of the advertising agency in a changing world, First Monday vol 14 no 3, Retrieved from  http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2239/2121

-Ostrow, A (2008), 'Interactive Barcodes in Newspaper Ads: The Next Frontier for Google?', retrieved from http://mashable.com/2008/01/29/google-barcode-ads/

-Stull, W, (2012), "McDonald’s Twitter Advertising Campaign – Epic #McFail", retrieved from http://www.vegau.com/blog/2012/01/mcdonalds-twitter-advertising-campaign-epic-mcfail/

-Yue, L, (2008) 'Recognition of QR Code with mobile phones', retrieved from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=4597299&tag=1