Digital Media Convergence- Advertising and New Media.
Mikaela Heise: 42867584
The contemporary mass
proliferation of technological capabilities and the propagation of content
consumption have provided the impetus for a new revolution of converged digital
media. This digital media convergence is distinguished as the merging or coadaptation
of multiple media forms, industries, cultures and practices towards performing similar
tasks (Jenkins, 2006). Situated within the
broader cultural context of an increasingly digitally reliant society, the
paradigm shift towards new and converged media has exponentially challenged the
comfortable practices of advertising through traditional media. In turn, a
shift in the dynamics between producer and consumer has led to a new age of
participatory communication and media.
Vast technological
convergence within the past decade has resulted in an unprecedented era of
pluralised media that retains an omnipresent power over social behaviour. This fragmented
media has resulted in a “splintered audience” (Khamis, 2012) which in turn has
contributed to the decline of the television, and the subsequent obsolescence
of T.V advertising. As discussed by Negroponte the progression from the
physicality of analogue media to the digital sphere has made way for
“ubiquitous and user-friendly” technologies that give rise to a new found sense
of consumer independence. The introduction of digital television enabled the
personalisation of program schedules, which in turn gave a greater sense of
empowerment to audiences to navigate around commercialised content. However,
with the emergence of new technological practices such as smart phone
technology and more capabilities online, the conventional use and appeal of the television
for sole entertainment purposes were lost. With the dramatic widening of
technological practices, consumers are finding themselves pulled taught between
multiply platforms of digital engagement. Under particular scrutiny, the rise of the participatory culture online, which enabled the sharing
and uploading of content purely for entertainment value, provided substantial engagement. As discussed by Sheehan and
Morrison “The ubiquity of wireless access makes
it possible to never log on or off to the Internet”(Sheehan and Morrison,
2009). This new social obsession of being constantly connected had a detrimental
effect on commercial television. The value of television advertising was
inextricably linked to the relevance and popularity of the T.V set (Khamis,
2012). This conventional reliance upon the television was superseded by the
explosion of the internet, prioritising advertisers to re-evaluate and revive
the stasis nature of television advertising. As discussed by Dwyer, advertisers
followed consumers online, “where competition for eyeballs and ad dollars is
fierce.”(Kiehl, 2009).
'The death of television'
wordpress (2010) Untitled. [image online] Available at:
http://drbristol.wordpress.com/2010/09/ 17/t-g-i-f-ten-tv-tips/ [Accessed: 28 august].
Faced with the overwhelming ubiquity of the
internet, advertisers have had to adjust and adapt to a new era of consumer
sovereignty. Accompanying the mass splintering of audiences and the subsequent
decline in television consumption, the notion of consumer sovereignty emerged.
As discussed by Spurgeon, the presumption of the geographically located audience
is defunct. The widely held assumption that an audience’s location on the
internet was dependent upon geographical positioning, and thus the ability to engage them,
was naïve. The widening of bandwidths, eradication of broadcast restrictions
and explosion in internet options through digital media convergence has forged
new spaces which enable people to decide where, when and how they consume
desired content (Deuze, 2006), regardless of geographical location or content
restrictions. This new found fluidity has catalysed a power shift between the producer and the consumers of content, contrasting with
“older notions of passive media spectatorship”(Jenkins, 2006). The modern
consumer within the online environment is now king (Khamis, 2012), independent
in choice and consumption. The rise of the participatory culture has further
empowered consumers, as social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube,
amongst other content sharing based sites, undermine the control of industry
specific expertise. Now consumers control the means of production, distribution
and consumption. This has engaged advertisers and corporations alike to
reassess and revive strategies to overcome the obsolescence of traditional
media advertising.
Proliferation in Social Network usage
Unknown. (2011) Social Media websites. [image online] Available at: http://watvhistory.com/2011/04/media-convergence-the-evolution-of-content-form-and-delivery/ [Accessed: 28 august].
Dissatisfied by the
obsolescence of advertising through old media, advertisers looked for “new ways
to reach increasingly distracted, distrustful and disinterested consumers.”
(Spurgeon, 2008). Utilising the increasing usage of social media networks and
exploiting the sheer social power of the current participatory culture,
advertisers are “reaching millions, all on a shoestring marketing budget”
(Watts et al, 2007). Viral marketing in relative terms is the low-budget
production of content with marketed intent, launched on a social media website
in the hope that peer to peer interaction and commentary will activate mass
consumption. As discussed by Spurgeon, viral marketing wholly
typifies the progression of advertising and new media into one synonymous
entity. Validating this argument Spurgeon relies upon the case study of the
Coke-Mentos experiments that “illuminate the co-adaptive development of
advertising and media.”(Spurgeon, 2008). In 2006 hundreds of consumer produced
videos of experiments involving exploding Diet Cokes and Mentos began appearing
on websites such as Youtube and Revver. The mass replication, “video capture
and Web-based sharing of Coke-Mentos experiments snowballed. Thousands of
experiments were uploaded to the Web and viewed by millions.” (Spurgeon, 2008).
The particular video exampled below received over 15 million views and appeared
at the top of the ‘most watched’ lists, demanding unprecedented brand exposure
for both Coke and Mentos.
'Diet Coke+ Mentos' experiment
Unknown. (2006) Diet Coke + Mentos. [video online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKoB0MHVBvM.
Mentos estimated this
media exposure was worth “US$ 10 million, equivalent to more than half its
annual advertising budget for the US
“Convergent
developments in consumer electronic barriers and social software that support
peer to peer interaction also cause the economic barriers to media production
and distribution to plummet” (Spurgeon, 2008).
This economically
resourceful convergence of advertising and media further “facilitates the
operation of neoliberal global markets” confirming the presence of media
imperialism (Dwyer, 2010). This unexpected and unanticipated brand exposure,
whilst rare, set into motion the rise of the viral campaign that has seen
successful and unsuccessful replications of this viral phenomenon.
Cadbury’s immensely
successful 2009 viral campaign “eyebrows” embodies this rising trend of the commercial
utilisation of participatory media, to perpetuate branded content through
social spheres. In response to the growing popularity of social networks,
specifically Youtube, Cadbury set about to recreate the Coke-Mentos experiment
phenomenon, capitalising off the success of their viral ‘Gorilla’ campaign.
Exploiting new media practices of audio-visual manipulation, the advertisement
converges digital special effects with film to satirically depict two children
with eyebrows flamboyantly dancing to ‘Don’t stop the rock’ by Freestyle.
Adopting a ‘Maddison and Vine’ approach (Spurgeon, 2007) the advertisement
seductively wraps marketed material in a creative and subtle approach to engage
consumers. The advertisement cut through the surrounding advertising noise of
the time, attracting over 9 million views and a wealth of concentrated consumer
engagement. Subsequent spin offs and parodies, including a Lily Allen parody,
played a major role in reproposing the brand, re-embedding marketing messages
and intensifying brand product association. This use of humour and creativity as
a form of engagement confirms the effective use of the ‘Maddison and Vine’
approach, highlighting the industry conflict between informational advertising
and creative advertising. As examined by Spurgeon, creative advertising is
reflexive and more appropriate in the current climate of consumer sovereignty:
“The
judgement that rational appeal is the lesser of the two evils of advertising is
anchored by the assumption that consumers and media audiences are passive, and
that perfect information in a market can really only be attained through
rational, instrumental allocation” (Spurgeon, 2008)
Cadbury’s execution of
creative advertising justifies the success of this paradigm in engaging
consumers through sensitive and circumscribed approaches (Khamis, 2012)
Cadbury 'Eyebrows' Campaign 2009
Cadbury (2009) Untitled. [video online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVblWq3tDwY [Accessed: 20 august].
The explosion of new
converged media and the technological capabilities of the Internet have forged
an environment of consumer sovereignty and participation, that challenges
traditional modes of advertising. These new technological avenues however
provide commercial and creative opportunities to engages consumers through the
use of dominate social medias and networks.
Mikaela Heise: 42867584.
References:
Deuze, M. (2006). Collaboration,
Participation and the Media. New Media and Society. [online] 8(4)
pp.691-698. Available at:<http://www29.griffith.edu.au/imersd/draper/music2/collaboration_participation_media.pdf>[Accessed
25th August 2012].
Dwyer, T. (2010). Media Convergence, Berkshire :
McGraw Hill. pp. 1-23.
Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media
Collide, New York : New York University
Kiehl, S. (2009) ‘As Journalism
remakes itself, students follow’, The Baltimore Sun (Online edition), 31 March.
Available at: <http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-journalism0331,0,644027.story>[Accessed
24th August].
Negroponte, N. (1995)
Being digital, Knopf , New York
Sheehan, K. and Morrison, D. (2009) Beyond convergence: Confluence culture and
the role of the advertising agency in a changing world. [online].
Available at:<http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2239/2121>[Accessed
24th August 2012].
Spurgeon, C. (2008) Advertising and New Media, Oxon:
Routledge. pp.24-45.
Lecture Content:
Khamis,
S. (2012) Advertising
and New Media, MAS110. Macquarie
University
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