Assignment 1 Rhysie G

The phenomenon of digital media convergence in relation to

Advertising& New Media

Advertising has numerous platforms and with these new stages comes the emergence of new types of media assisted by technological advancements. Jenkins describes Media convergence as "the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behaviour of media audiences"(Jenkins 2006). The continual growth of media has brought significant cultural and technological changes towards consumption, production, distribution and the overall growth of advertising as a whole.

As described by Sheehan and Morrison " Advertising agencies have moved beyond bemoaning the demise of traditional advertising messages and are taking steps to find ways to increase audience engagement in messages, regardless of the venue" (Sheehan and Morrison 2009). With this change into advertising attitude and approach we as a society are faced with a cultural change such as text messaging, apps and more apps. With this technological advancement today we can find almost anything we want over the internet or in our own hands. A major change within our society would be a individual wanting to buy a 'book' but now with the iPhone you can pay for that book in your hands, download it in your hands and then start to read it within a couple of minutes. 38% the population believe this style of advancement is destroying books altogether but 62% realise it's cheaper, easier and faster. It's almost as if the "cheaper, easier and faster" phrase is becoming the 21st century motto. Facebook, myspace, Tumblr and YouTube are all perfect examples of how far social media can go as well as a drastic response to self opinion and attitude. Facebook has over 1 billion members and YouTube has over 800 million videos, all of which can be accessed by anyone. So it is only logical that advertising agencys and businesses get their product on those sites and attempt to sell them. We are now living in the age of technology and social platforming.

The history of media convergence really started with the radio. For the first time people within their homes could listen to advertisment while also being distracted by music and interviews. After the 1920's the next media convergence phenomenon was really sound and films. Going to see films became part of the decades culture as well as having several advertisments for the movies, the food and drinks and fashion. In the mid 1950s came another major step of media convergence, and this was television. Television had a major impact on society and culture as it gave the viewers a chance to watch what they wanted in their home and been victim to advertising. Television was used excessively during the Vietnam war and became known as the "TV war". This is relevant due to the fact that the reaction of people towards what they saw showed proof of the amount of people watching the televison. Companies also got on board with the riots and protests and advertised their products and how they could assist with the war effort and peace.

 

Technology is becoming more and more feared and loved with businesses using the internet to approach youth and other generations due to, as discussed in Sheehan and Morrison article 2009,  "advertising agencies today are facing a changing environment. Consumers are less brand–loyal than ever before and pay more attention to the recommendations of friends and family than they do to marketing messages; thus, traditional advertising is failing in its purpose". I believe this is the reason for the change in media. Companies are trying and demanding new ways to reach people with their product and that's whysuch companies as Apple is so successful. They are known for the 'sexiest and slickest' looking items and being able to give you almost anything you want on your phone 24/7.

 

An example in the change of advertising would be the "Shell" commercials. The commerical shown above is from the 1960's. It shows a number of cars aligned and being part of an experiment. You cannot see the drivers and they are in a desert, not a tropical or exciting location. Half of the cars have shell fuel and the others dont. While we listen to the scientist explain what is happening with the engine we are given heavy detail on why Shell has the best fuel eg "9 working ingredients" and the fact they are using "platformate". The approach with this advertising is what Shell fuel can do for your car. An individual from the 1960's would also have no reason to not trust them because with media convergence in the 60's most was thought to be fact.. Lets juxtapose that with the video below.

 This commercial created in 2008 is very simple. It shows a racing car driving around populer cities of the world, with the engine making loud noises, passing beautiful girls and differet cultures. The commerical ends with the car pulling into a shell and the voice over mentioning it works with Ferrai and then ending with the phrase "made to move". Now there are several differences that are proof of the change in advertising and culture. The new age commerical doesnt give you any details about Shell but rather gives you the fact they work with ferrari while also giving you the illusion its used all over the world. The 1960's commercial gave you the technical details while also showing you several cars but with no effects. I believe people dont want the detail anymore but rather want to see what it can do and see proof of a sexier car or commercial.

“The high cost of advertising in today’s fragmented media world forces marketers to strive for the most effective and efficient ads, in order to boost advertising ROI, marketers need to make sure an ad’s content and message is relevant to the consumer who sees it. " (Beard 'Nielson 2012).

With marketing and advertising striving to connect with their audience it is obvious that media convergence was and alwasy will be vital. .Now it is evident that marketers have to not only draw attention of the viewer but also build a relationship with them, in order to establish that main interest in the product. In conclusion Media convergence has now become the main tool of advertising and with the constant upgrades of technology the public will soon be reached in almost any way. It is only a matter of time. Media convergence has also allowed companies to expand more and for the people to hear more, but it is still in uqestion if this will be beneficial or if it will get too far out of hand.


References:

1. Sheehan, Kim and Morrison, Deborah (2009) Beyond convergence: Confluence culture and the role of the advertising agency in a changing world in First Monday vol 14 no 3 -

2. Jenkins, Henry (2004), 'The cultural logic of media convergence', International Journal of Cultural Studies v1, pp. 33–43

3. Grimes, Marisa (2012), " Global Consumers' Trust in 'Earned' Advertising Grows in Importance" Nielson media research

4. Orgad, Shani (2009) 'Mobile TV : Old and new in the construction of an emergent technology' Convergence, vol 15 no 2 pp 197 - 214