Assessment 1 - 42148197

 Digital Media Convergence                                                            

                                                               Advertising & New Media       

" Convergence is taking place within the same appliances, within the same franchise, within the same company, within the brain of the consumer....

Convergent media, at its best, is designed to "foreground the 'consumer'". A prime example of this (featuring internet interaction) is a campaign intended to promote 'Old Spice'. They utilised the star of the well known 'Old Spice' television advertisements and recorded and uploaded to YouTube video responses to tweets sent in by Twitter users. "The media (e.g., YouTube, Facebook, Twitter) are essentially vehicles for carrying content". In this situation, two of these examples of media combined to expel content.

A series of videos responding to tweets were filmed

utilising the same character (and actor) as the

television advertisements.

The success of this campaign is indicated by the number of views each video in the response series boasts. Numbers range between one hundred thousand and seven million.

A subsequent campaign by the same company held a face off between the face of 'Old Spice' and a 'challenger'. Both characters interacted with fans via YouTube videos and the exchange culminated in a vote (by view count  for which should become (or remain) the face of 'Old Spice'.

The same company utilised the interactivity of Reddit to host a question and answer session with Terry Crews, their new 'Old Spice Guy'. He engaged with many fans directly, but not without first posting a link to the new advertisement for 'Old Spice'.

 " Convergence involves both a change in the way media is produced and a change in the way media is consumed.

"One of the main synergetic strategies for cross-media work is to get more news published on more media platforms, with the same, or fewer resources"

"It is [consumers] who produce much of the value-added content in social media..."

"potential of 3G technology for advertising, considers recent developments in
location-sensitive advertising, and... the implications for the global mobile
advertising industry"


"mobile advertising strategy pivots on the question of whether to
adopt a ‘push’ or a ‘pull’ model of advertising, what might be dubbed as a Dr Dolittle
dilemma"

‘subscription-based campaign where recipients are sent

mass messages over an ongoing period (push), and information or services sent instantly

as the result of a specific, often personalized request (pull)’

'Pull' advertising is something that is far more prominent in new media. In the past advertising could be tailored to wide demographics, say, the readership of a magazine, or a certain column, but now it is far more specific. In many cases the users of the Internet create the advertising content themselves, as is the case with the above 'Old Spice' advertising campaign.

"the ways that people are using media are fragmenting".

"The ability of consumers to obtain multiple services on a single platform or device or obtain any given service on multiple platforms or devices".

"media convergence is the process whereby new technologies are accommodated by existing media and communication industries and cultures. The fact that the term is used to describe this adaptation, merging together and transitioning process, is an indication that the ongoing confrontation of old and new technologies is complex and multilayered."

References:

- Sinclair, J. and Wilken, R. (2009) 'Waiting for the kiss of life : mobile media and advertising' Convergence: the journal of research into new media, vol 15 no 5 pp 427 - 445
http://con.sagepub.com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/content/15/4/427.full.pdf+html
- Berton, P., Pitt, L., Plangger, K. and Shapiro, D. 'Marketing meets Web 2.0, social media, and creative consumers: Implications for international marketing strategy' Business Horizons, vol 55, no 3, pp 261-271
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681312000080
- Danaher, P., Lee, J. and Kerbache, L. 'Optimal Internet Media Selection'. Marketing Science. vol 29, no 2, pp 336-347
- Dwyer, T. (2010) 'Media Convergence'. McGraw Hill, Berkshire. pp 1-23

Sean Barton - 421481977

Fire and smoke: Obscure Beauty - 42846315

Fire and Smoke

Theme: Fire

Sub Theme: Smoke

Fire and smoke: Obscure beauty

Mundane is not a word usually assigned to the ferocious element of fire, perhaps because of its beauty and forbidden enticement. Within her piece on digital image sharing and everyday aesthetics, Murray emphasizes a new era of amateur photography which surged during the 1950’s as a documentation of ‘The good life in post-war America, and a means to that end.’ The website Flicker is referred to by Murray as “a daily diary of impressions” with focus on realism, urbanization and the small objects in life that often go unnoticed.

My photo assignment is compiled of 24 iPhone photos from a source of over 48 and attempts to depict the way in which fire will never be considered part of the ‘everyday,’ being one of man’s greatest achievements - despite its constant use. The narrative style of my project loosely follows moments in time of a pre-adult boy’s life, creating some sense of journey - the ‘exploration of the urban eye,’ portraying the way in which fire is manipulated by man: candles; matches; lighters; burning within child experiments etc. Through images of burning plastic dolls, flowers and faces, I hoped to illustrate the allure of decay, alienation and kitsch objects. The re-occurrence of the slowly burning tree and the repetitive ‘lighting’ of different implements (lighter, matches) relate to societies’ infatuation with flames and burning, hence my title: Fire and smoke. The song, RetroFuture Nasty, was picked to create an urban, rebellious atmosphere in theme with the assignment requirements and my subject choice.

Through lighting, frame, colour and subject I’ve attempted to blur the lines between amateur and professional photography. From lighting candles to terrorist attacks, fire has been used throughout my assignment as a means to the end of discovering ‘aesthetics within the mundane,’ beauty within the everyday, seduction of the norm.

Created By
Jack Barkl (42846315)

References: 

Murray, S (2008) Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics. Journal of Visual Culture, August 2008, vol. 7 (2). 147-163.

Music By:

RetroFuture Nasty - Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

MAS110 Lab 14 - Floors/Floor Roots

             


Murray's (2008) claim of everyday aesthetics especially about the small and mundane, led to the choice of floors. Floors are required for society to flourish and is one of the first ways we connected to each other as a society through the ages. Slowly while civilisation continued to advance, so did the types of flooring that became readily available from natural materials such as dirt till more advance man-made materials such as cement.

The photos were taken with the iPhone camera which further illustrates Murray's (2008) point about "amateur photography" as the readily available access to cameras allowed even amateurs to take photos with relative ease. This was also the case as the iPhone camera's are fairly good for today's standards and as well as being portable for the "everyday man".

The music chosen is called "Standing up (To be fearless)" which can used under Creative Commons. This particular piece was chosen as it had a soft and fluid melody. This particular song was chosen for this reason as it was decided that transition effects would not be used as it would interfere with the flow of the sub-theme as well as keeping the transitions in time with the music as the development of flooring is a slow, mundane process given the duration of time civilisation has existed.

Created by:
Shawn Barton
Sterne He

Music
'Standing Up (To be Fearless)'
http://tales.ocremix.org/disc5.html#2
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Reference

Murray, S (2008), Digital Images, Photo-Sharing and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics, Journal of Visual Culture, August 2008, vol 7(2) pp147-163 






   

MAS110 Everyday Aesthetic- Shoes

We have chosen the everyday ordinary object of 'shoes' for this assesment on the topic of everyday aesthetics. Though shoes are a concrete idea, they are objects that encompass and protect our feet from the surroundings in which we put ourselves, we were provided with such an exciting variety of results to choose from. The capturing of our photos took place around Maquarie University, Sydney City, and our local suburbs on the North  Shore. We used a canon DSLR to capture our photos, which allowed for incredible quality and features such as zoom and focus, and then used an Apple Macbook to use iPhoto and edit our pictures. Susan Murray writes that pictures can 'blatantly refer to their creator's work/home life' (Susan Murrary 2008), and we believe shoes are a significant teller of what a person might be like, what they might like, and the interests they hold. Shoes are a form of self expression, emotion, and how someone feels. It might reflect the stage of life they're at, their occupation, or their hobbies. We were delighted with our varied results. We chose a song from www.Jamendo.com, titled 'Secret in Their Eyes' by Capashen. It's upbeat track reflects the positivity captured on film at the variety in life of such a mundane concrete object.


Reference
Murray, Susan, 2008, Digital Images, Photo Sharing, and our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics, Journal of Visual Culture, p155

Capashen, Secret in Their Eyes, http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/769000/secret-in-their-eyes-rockpop-electro, Creative Commons: Attribution- Share Alike

Alex Pugliese 42457939
Prudence McCutcheon 42452759

MAS110 Everday Aesthetic – Road Signs

The theme of our original photos is “road signs”. As Murray(2008) claims that the everyday aesthetic as the discovery of the mundane, common things are able to represent people’s daily lives. Road sign is a great example of that. Every road sign is an important part of a city that directs people to their everyday destinations. They ensoul boring streets and help lost people find their ways home. In this perspective, they keep a city in order. We have taken these photos of different road signs in Sydney. They are attractive with various shapes and surroundings like new one, old one, broken one or one at corner. All photos were taken by digital camera and iphone and edited by iphoto.The piece of music we have chosen is “Tron Jeans long” by imovie sound effects which is suitable for the “road signs” theme. The beats are fast which makes the video like a roadmovie.  As Frith (1984) states, music and sound effects are responsible in setting a mood which can affect the audience deeply.

Yue Yu 42925711

Qiqi Wang 42671922

References:

Frith, S. (1984) “Mood Music: An Inquiry into Narrative Film Music", Screen, Vol 25:3, pp. 78–87.

Murray, S (2008) Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics. Journal of Visual Culture, August 2008, Vol. 7(2), page 147-163.

MAS110 Everyday Aesthetic- Cups And Life

MAS110 Everyday Aesthetic- Cups And Life 

 Theme: Cups
According to Murray, she concluded that photos have connection to memory and history is an essential aspect of photography's social use and meaning.(2008, p139) In this case, cups have been used to described the trajectory of human lives. From birth to death. This video involve different main issues in different stages.

The use of music my six strings way in the video has only used the prelude of this sounds, it sounds not very high or down, just keep in a middle level is very suit for use to dub for life. The beginning of this music have cut to coordinate with photos. All of these photos have adjusted with iPhoto, change the color with the whole photos and make them looks get the trace of years. Different styles have gave the dynamics in this video, go though this video it can be found the entire screen is filled with a hazy sense with photos. The purpose of this effect is trying to bring audiences back to their memory.

Tacking this group of photos is more about to capture the moment, the feeling in the memory rather than the storying. Concerning with Murray's reading (2008), the inability of photos to hold  onto certain moments rather than interpret this as a type of death. In this video,  the collection of photos has show audiences that lots of beauties and the witness of years are normally paperer in people's social life/


Create by
Li CHEN - 42534496
Bin HE- 42055520


Reference:
Murray, S (2008) Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics. Journal of Visual Culture August 2008 vol. 7(2). 147-163.

MAS110 Lab 14 - Architecture; European-Like Building Exteriors

Building exteriors, often intricately crafted structures influenced by particular eras or industrial circumstances, can at times become lost and unnoticed by individuals as a result of the highly condensed metropolis they reside in. It is only until one seeks everyday aesthetics, that these details are noticed and focused on in captured frames. As Murray states, "It has become less about the special or rarefied moments of domestic living and more about an immediate, rather fleeting, display and collection of one's discovery and framing of the small and mundane" (Murray, 2008).

Through focusing on architecture, furthermore building exteriors, certain building styles were noticed and hence emphasised by the photos captured - ultimately to create a European influenced story of beautiful building exteriors through the photo essay. By capturing unique door frames, window panes, balconies and architraves, European accents were readily found within the various locations in Sydney. These images, along with the accompanied traditional Italian song, the Tartentella, allowed for a European story to be told through the photos, whilst the selected photo transitions moved within the music to create an overall harmonious production. 

The use of black and white editing allowed the details within the photographs to shine through, putting emphasis on the Euro, vintage fell of the captured images. The sharpness and shadowing in each photo effortlessly creates a visually appealing image for the audience to witness and overall ties both the theme and sub-theme together.

The compilation of these photographs has further supported Murray's notion that "taking photos has become less about saving the special family moment and more about capturing the fleeting, the simple and the everyday" (Murray, 2008). The shifting notion of everyday aesthetics can easily be seen through these images, as these everyday objects and structures are transformed into beautiful and intricate frames.

Louise Paolucci - 42460123

Alana Lucci - 42885639

Reference:

Murray, S (2008) Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics. Journal of Visual Culture, August 2008, Vol. 7(2), page 147-163.

Long and Light. Sydney Streets: The lights that light the night.

We have chosen to photograph the streets of Sydney for our photo essay; focussing particularly on the city's street lights. They have been a dynamic subject, offering much in the way of contrast and depth at night, and directive lines and silhouettes by day. The photographs took place in different areas of Sydney, spanning from suburbs such as Newtown, Glebe, Darlinghurst and Rockdale to the Northern Beaches. Having a broad variety of photographs ranging from day to night, utilising different angels, perspectivr, lighting and composition; our aim was to bring out the beauty that the human eye may not always notice in these ordinary, everyday objects. The photos were taken on a range on cameras ranging from a digital SLR, to multiple point and shoot models and iPhones. Photos were edited in iPhoto, where they were cropped and adjustments were made to contrast, saturation and sharpness. The photos were then compiled into essay form in iMovie, where elements such as duration, timing and pace were taken into account and techniques including Ken Burns, zoom and transitioning were used. The accompanying music is an original track made in GarageBand for iPhone. As Susan Murray states, “photography has become less about the special or rarefied moments of life and more about an immediate display of one’s discovery of the small and mundane things.” (Murray, 2008) This quote accurately explains how the everyday aesthetics of photography has influenced our choice of theme. This new sense of creating images in a more imaginative, immediate form, allows almost any amateur photographer to engage with everyday objects and create something beautiful with a click of a button.

Arnae Valla & Molly Freeman

Murray, S (2008) Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics. Journal of Visual Culture August 2008 vol. 7(2). 147-163.

MAS110 Lab 14 Photo Essay - Stairs/Outside

RATIONALE

Everyday without even realizing it, people pass the everyday aesthetics. This photo essay attempted to capture a unique insight of this beauty with a primary focus on stairs outdoors. To create a unique experience for an audience, a myriad of techniques were used to build an original photo essay.

The dominance of smart phones in present day society has given everyday individual access to professional tools. The photographs taken were captured by iPhones to create an authentic feel to the project. The size of the iPhones ensures that photographs can be taken at a variety of angles with little difficulty. The evolution of smart phone’s convergence has ensured that individuals were given the basic tools to create a strong framework once only accessed by photographers (Murray 2008).

The concept of stairs came through a desire to convert the apparent 'mundane' series of stairs and shape it into a rare spectacle often overlooked. Also explored in this project is how the outdoors can transform the aesthetics of stairs overtime, whether it is through aging paint or moss. The social media revolution through websites such as Flicker and Instagram  have ensured that everyday objects and scenery have gained more attention as a growing interest of the inconsequential has greatly shifted (Murray 2008). Examples from these sites have been highly influential to the creation of the project. As the sites offer a variety of perceptions previously unattainable.

In order to meet copyright standards, "Creative Commons" music was used. Through Jamendo  "Butterflies", written by Charlotte Machut, was chosen. A piece of music which suits the environmental atmosphere perfectly. As Frith (1984) explains, music and sound effects have great responsibility in setting a mood which can deeply affect the audience.

This project has captured the 'Everyday Aesthetic' in an intriguing and unique way through a blend of photography and music.

SAMUEL BAUERMEISTER- 42867290

MARGARET CROWLEY - 42882753

Photo Essay Rationale- Kate Lockley & Charlene Ocray

Mas110 Photo Essay

Theme: Letterbox      Sub-Theme: Nostalgia       

The letterbox was formerly an integral part of our communication, but in the present-day, with the rise of text messaging, email and social media, receiving a letter in the post is starting to become somewhat a thing of the past. Despite such changes, the letter remains as an important form of communication, with the letterbox still a necessity in our current age. Often marking the entrance to one's property, letterboxes are often personalised/ decorated yet overlooked in our everyday experience. For the purpose of this assignment, we utilised the theme of the 'letterbox' to convey the notion of the 'everyday aesthetic'- something which exists in our everyday lives but is often taken for granted. Whilst generally considered to be a mundane and banal object, the letterbox also signifies an important symbol of a bygone era of communication. Therefore, the sub-theme of nostalgia was chosen to represent the sentimental value often associated with receiving a letter in the family letterbox. Through the use of the sepia effect and filters to create an 'aged' and 'grainy' affect, we have aimed to evoke memories of the audience's childhood regarding the excitement and joys connected to receiving a personal Birthday/Christmas card or letter in the mail. Additionally, the use of Aroa Escobero's "Gymnopedie Improvisation" furthers this sense of nostalgia, as the classical genre of the music automatically immerses the audience in the past. At the conclusion of the clip, the subtle 'ripple' transition from a sepia to a full-colour photograph serves to emphasise that while such memories largely remain a thing of the past, for the meantime, the letterbox still remains in our present-day lives. 

Creative commons crediting

Music – “Runaway By The Past” courtesy of PeerGynt Lobogris: Available at http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/596332/runaway-by-the-past,  published under a Creative Commons Attribution, NonCommercial, ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Licence, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/, accessed 5.10.12

Please note that if you use share-alike media that means that you also have to publish share alike.  To do so just say in your credits...This work is published under a whichever licence you need to quote e.g. Creative Commons Attribution, NonCommercial, ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Music Video in a Convergent Media Environment

         "Old media never die... What dies are simply the tools we use to access media content."
                                                                                                                                -Jenkins, 2006.


When looking at the history of Music Video as a medium, it would be easy to fall under the assumption that it is a dying art form. The sparse showings of music video on today's television are stark in contrast to the glory days of MTV, Madonna and MJ, but the limitations set by looking at Music Video purely as a television medium are many. In an environment of digital and cultural convergence, analysing the life of any medium on one platform would be a futile and inaccurate exercise.  I don't propose to argue that television as a 'tool' is dying (Jenkins, 2006), rather that the way we use this tool is rapidly changing, specifically in relation to Music Video and online consumption. With sites such as YouTube and Video accounting for the vast majority of music video consumption, I will also be arguing that online access is going beyond continuing the life of the classic video clip. Access to live streaming and user generated content online is enhancing and expanding the experience of Music Video as a medium.

Firstly, I would like to clarify my definition of 'Music Video' for the purposes of this essay. Prior to the emergence of YouTube in 2005, a Music Video would have been simple to define. A video produced for and set to music for the purposes of being shown on a music television program; frequently featuring artists contracted to record labels. These still exist today and amidst the myriad of music video forms are known as "Official Videos" (Holt, 2011). In a current convergent media sphere, there are several other splinters that I would like to include under the Music Video clarification:

• user generated content; both live recordings and home produced clips.
• live commercial content; produced and distributed by record companies, touring companies and online radio stations.

The Kooks take the coveted role of
Guest Programmers on rage.

With the decline of music video content on MTV, the cancellation of host run video programs such as Video Hits and the reduction of Australia's longest running music program, Rage, leaving only the iconic Saturday evening/Sunday morning guest programmer slot: it is easy to see the waning presence of music video on television. Jenkins' view that the tools or hardware that we use to access media are things that draw parallels when looking at Music Video. It is not Music Video as a form that is dying, but the use of television as a means of access is being surpassed by online access. Holt (2011) argues that contemporary society is undergoing a broad transformation of our media environment, referencing Manovich (2008), who says that with the inception of YouTube, we have entered "a new media universe". This 'new media universe' is the culturally prosperous home to Music Video. Jenkins also talk about the control of the consumer, which I believe is the driving factor behind the shift to online consumption of Music Video. As consumers are becoming more savvy and being given more choice; the likelihood of them sitting down to a video playlist created for them by a TV Producer diminishes; using YouTube to pick and choose or create their own is much more suited to the modern consumer. One outlandish statistic is that of the most watched music video on YouTube, Justin Beiber's Baby, with an astonishing 774 million views, (YouTube.com, 2012).  

        "Consumers are learning how to bring the flow of media more fully under their 
                                                       control and to interact with other consumers." Jenkins, 2006.

Lingel and Maanam (2011) conducted a case study on the user generated production of live concert footage for the purposes of online distribution via YouTube. They view the study of these practises "as an entry point into still-unfolding theoretical discussions on significant changes in content production, and related debates as to the socio-cultural impacts of these alterations." As a form that has only flourished since the inception of online video, user generated live content now makes up a integral part of the music industry. Record companies and bands are less resistant to these forms of media and their ambiguous ownership, at times even contacting the concert goers making to recordings and developing a cooperative relationship with them- choosing clips they would prefer not to have circulated (Lingel, Maanam, 2001).

American Band Lemolo performing
 live at KEXP Studios.

Fabian Holt (2011) goes further, to talk about the almost mandatory inclusion of video content by radio stations, magazines and record companies across their multiple platforms; mandatory in the sense that without them, readership would diminish considerably. KEXP, an alternatively geared radio station based out of Seattle, is at the forefront of online content, with masses of beautifully shot live studio performances available freely on their website.








Another outstanding case of online music video content was the enormous online presence of Coachella, one of the worlds largest music festivals, held in the Californian Spring of 2012. The production and online distribution of content from the festival was on a scale unlike anything before it. With multiple live streaming channels both on YouTube and on the Coachella website, as well as sustained clips of sets, interviews and crowd activity available for viewing at a click- the coverage was interactive and colossally comprehensive. Fans the world round sat at their computers, getting an experience as close to being there as ever before, over ten million of them on YouTube. I personally sat watching a bands set in my living room, simultaneously receiving a picture text from a friend of mine who was at the show... It was an incredible feeling of connectedness brought about by this expanded use of technology.

Coachella Live Streaming Trailer, 2012: Released on the 29th of March, 2012.

User Generated Content: Beirut live from Coachella, 2012, 

as shot by YouTube user, MrPeyote.

Connectedness: A photo sent from a friend in California,
as I streamed Beirut's Coachella set online.

Music video as it stood in the eighties and nineties has moved on. In the past five years we have seen expansions in online production, distribution and consumption that, in the glory days of MTV and RAGE, we could not have dreamed of. With encouraged interactivity, connectivity between bands and fans, increased choice, freedom and access for consumers- it is hard not to the see that music video in it's many forms is a flourishing medium, no matter on what platform it takes precedence.







"The explosion of video content on the Web (2005-) has unleashed a new media universe . . . What is important, however, is that this new universe was not simply a scaled up version of 20th century media culture. Instead, we moved from media to social media. Accordingly, we can also say that we are graduated from 20th century video/film to early 20th century social video." (Holt, 2011, Manovich 2008, 33)



References:

Academic


Holt, F.(2011) 'Is music becoming more visual? Online video content in the music industry, VisualStudies' 26:1, 50-61, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1472586X.2011.548489


Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture, New York, New York University Press, pp 1-24. 

Lingel, J. Naaman, M. (2012) 'You should have been there, man: Live music, DIY content and online communities' New Media Society 2012 14: 332, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://nms.sagepub.com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/content/14/2/332.full.pdf+html


Orgad, Shani (2009) 'Mobile TV : Old and new in the construction of an emergent technology' Convergence, vol 15 no 2 pp 197 - 214, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://con.sagepub.com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/content/15/2/197.full.pdf+html


Other

Coachella Live Streaming Trailer, 2012, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgZuUTRvzso

Beirut, Santa Fe, Live- Coachella, 2012, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIKy9WgF3go&feature=plcp

Lemolo, KEXP live, picture, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://www.fromgotowhoa.com/lemolo-full-performance-live-on-kexp/

KEXP.org, Lemolo recordings, KEXP website, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://kexp.org/live/liveperformance.aspx?rId=33170

Rage, The Kook Guest Progam, Picture, accessed Aug, 2012.
http://www.abc.net.au/rage/archive/s2385227.htm

Digital Media Convergence in Advertising

 Digital Media Convergence - Advertising & New Media

Convergence can be described as the coming together of things that were interdependent previously. Media convergence therefore refers to the adaptation and ever-changing nature of the media, and the process whereby “new technologies are accommodated by existing media and communication industries and cultures” (Dwyer, 2010). We are entering an era where technology will become become a staple and constant in our everyday lives, and we will use all kinds of media in correspondence with each other (Jenkins, H 2004). Particularly in terms of telecommunication devices, this technology no longer has just one use, but a proliferate selection of media tools.

While new media does extend to a wide array of possibilities and potential for advertisers, the gap is quickly closing between new media consumers, and new media producers. Particularly in terms of the digital camera, consumers are now able to produce and input their own content online. The implications of new media and digital convergence has meant that consumers are now able to avoid advertising techniques, proving to be an obstacle for advertisers to overcome. The introduction of the personal video recorder is one particular example that have provided a challenge for advertisers. This has meant that audiences are likely to skip the conventional commercial advertisement, to continue watching the content they originally chose to watch.

The extensive shift of content from Television to the Internet has additionally meant that audiences have become vastly fragmented, indirectly creating another obstacle for advertisers. Due to the rise of digital convergence and the digital media culture, advertisers have responded to the phenomenon in varying ways to address the emerging “confluence culture”.

The term “confluence culture” (Sheehan & Morrison 2009) in terms of the media scape, is when conventional methods adapt to the forms of interactive content available.  In order to keep the public engages, advertisers have gone beyond standardized print advertorials, and have moved into the realm of online advertising to increase engagement. Consequently, online opportunities for advertisers have enabled them to generate more specifically altered material, targeted at particular audiences and developing a personal engagement with consumers. This has effectively become a benefit for advertisers in generating profit and successfully engaging in a target audience as they are able to manage distraction.

There are many different techniques to internet advertising, including banner, pop-up and email forms. The three fundamental types include search advertising, display advertising and classified advertising. Search-based advertising in social media has become a popular technique amongst advertisers and continues to grow. Examples of such a strategy can be seen through Yahoo! and Google alike, paying up to $US900 million to well-known social media sites such as Facebook and Myspace for the rights to provide “search and text-based advertising” (Spurgeon, 2008). An increasingly picked-up strategy by many small business advertisers, an article in The Guardian recently spoke about Twitter enabling advertisers to target specific audiences, based on their daily tweets. Google has become a huge success in displaying advertorials based on what users look for in search engines, while similarly Facebook displays advertisements specifically altered to users based on their online activity. In an effort to keep up with the new social media form of advertising, Twitter has recently decided to allow advertisers send paid ads to users based on their tweets. 

While initially internet advertising saw a promising beginnings (Dreze, X 2003), advertisers began facing obstacles in the lack of effect advertisements had on audiences. As it is, these days consumers have the tendency to be less brand-loyal, an imperative component of marketization strategies for many companies. Traditional media advertisements found that a “one-way” communication model became unsuccessful, and many consumers have lost interest due to the “one-to-many” approach. However, on the other end of the scale, while online advertisers thrive in a one-to-one marketing approach, it has been found that many organizations have struggled to develop a strong brand image through advertising online.

Digital convergence has become a rapidly growing phenomenon in recent years, leading to the development of new media platforms and opportunities for media industries, such as advertisers. While initially struggling in the convergent culture,  businesses that have been able to grasp new media are able to successfully make use of advertising strategies, particularly online. 

References

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