Advertising
as we know it is dying. Less and less people are buying and using traditional
media (TV, magazines, newspapers, cinemas, radio, etc.), in which the
traditional types of advertising are present. The age of television, radio, and
paper will eventually come to a close; already the Internet is showing itself
to be a dominant player in media, in countries that have developed their internet
infrastructure to a satisfactory level. We and other companies have tried to
keep up with the rise of the internet, by placing banner ads, pop-ups, and
video ads, but people are getting around the ‘inconvenience’ or ‘annoyance’ of
these ads via ad blocking software, making our adverts useless (since not enough
people view them). However, there may be another, less overt way.
To
the average person, having to sit through an advert before viewing a
video/article, or view a site littered with ads is an annoyance, easily
mitigated via ad blocking software. Because this software isn’t going
anywhere for the near future, we must develop new ways of reaching our target
audiences. The documentary “Generation Like” shows how more innovative people
and companies have prepared for an internet world, by harnessing the power of
social media. The documentary detailed the experiences of various people
involved in social media, and how ‘likes’ have become a sort of ‘currency’. By
playing on people’s demand or need for ‘likes’ innovative social
media/advertising companies are able to advertise their product. Companies get
fans to advertise their products through various social media campaigns. The
Hunger Games (famous book series turned into film series), featured in the
documentary, used a points and ranking system to encourage their fans to share
news, scenes, and trailers for The Hunger Games series. Instead of paying
companies and websites for ad space, fans will do it all for us, by uploading
product related posts, therefore reaching their friends. They do this for free
as well, all we have to do is offer ‘ranks’ or a system that creates a feeling
of being rewarded (actual money not needed, rewards can be virtual + fans feel
rewarded when ‘their’ content is liked), in order to keep them happy and keep
them working. If we play our cards right, we can reach many more people and
spend a lot less resources. It’s pretty much ‘mutual exploitation’: they
exploit our content for ‘likes’, while we exploit them, by having them
advertise for us at no cost (they don’t even expect money).
To conclude, why
should we continue wasting our money on buying ad space in traditional media
and websites, if we have a fan base we can utilise to advertise for us? The
traditional/standard form of advertising, both in traditional media and online,
gets increasingly ignored every day, as people find ways around it, but people
will listen to each other, especially friends. Ad blocker software may block
pop-ups and video ads, but it can’t block fan posts on social media. Advertising
is changing and either we keep up, or we get left in the dust. Look at Kodak,
they had the opportunity to get into the digital camera market at an early
stage (a Kodak engineer actually created the first one), but clung to their old
ways, becoming a nostalgic remnant of the past, even becoming bankrupt at a
stage. Safe to say, we do not want to end up like Kodak. By integrating our ads
and products within the Internet (by using people to spread our message, via ‘fandoms’
and more), and not as glaringly obvious outsiders (pop-ups and side ads, etc.),
we may find great success. Let's guarantee our future success by investing in future: online advertising.
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