The Establishment and Implementation of New Media and Emerging Technologies as a competitive Strategy in the Advertising Industry (abstract)

Information and communication technologies are changing. They can be determined with a definite direction. For a fairly long time, they assess the public discourse. Experts project the development of media towards interactive media as a key technology in the next century. With the phrase “WEB 2.0”, Tim O’ Reilly created a milestone in 2003. He coined the name for the establishment of New Media and networked communication systems. The participatory/ interactive media were born. This innovation has thrust the people into “the era of democratic media”. Unbound from the traditional barriers of time and geography, citizens have now access to any information at any time.

Consumption, distribution, information and use are not any longer a monopole of traditional media broadcasters. The traditional lines between media and their audience have been allocated differently. New Media affords a “many-to-many publishing”. Beforehand, it was rather the usual broadcasting from a single source to its audience. Along with this, the people had less room for feedback, criticism and censorship. In the New Media network the citizens gain access to platforms from which to express their own ideas and opinions is not supervised by the long-standing gatekeepers of information, like there were media corporation’s and government’s regulations before. Circumventing those, everybody became a direct competitor of established media institutions.

The consumers seize more and more an independent network of information. That is not at least why traditional media struggle to adapt the new climate. Likewise, the advertising industry has changed. Since the beginning of commercial advertising, this venal, professional, and earmarked communication avails itself of several communicative devices.

There is evidence to suggest that communication processes and message compositions change. In addition to radio, television increasingly becomes a casual medium. Therefore, the effectiveness of advertising in the mass media becomes more and more questioned. “Special Interest Media” flood the advertising market. The target groups for advertising messages decrease significantly. Advertisers recognise changes in society’s values towards individualisation. Mass media orientated communication looses ground. Furthermore, marketing gains a different recognition as different measurements of the Marketing Mix change. Whether the New Technologies within New Media can offer possible solutions, is to be discussed in future.

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Impact on Advertising

The workflow of creating advertising strategies has become more complex and dynamic. The introduction of new application ranges and user-friendly software gives everybody the opportunity to become a participant in direct competition.  The most significant development in the media system is the intensified adjustment of New Media at the interests of increasingly smaller target groups. Therefore, it becomes more and more difficult for advertisers to choose the right fields for spots and advertisements that get trough to the target group of single products. The variety of offers at reasonable prices abates the market share of distribution channels and thereby the coverage of advertising messages. A more differentiated range of media products can indeed get through to an increasingly homogeneous audience, but nevertheless they do not have to agree with the desired target group. The change of “reception behaviour” in relation to mass media and “advertising saturation”of consumers are other facts that concern the traditional advertising industry.

Media messaging mainly functions by using mass media. Along with communication processes, several models have already been developed, with which is to be dealt briefly. The “Lasswell Formula” is typically quoted in terms of the basis of communication:  “Who Says What To Whom In What Channel With What Effect?” The formula implies a linear, one-sided process. Similarly, Shannon takes up this linearity in his information theoretical model. His understanding of communication is said to be outdated today as it does not reflect social measurements that affect the recipient. Nevertheless, it covers basic elements that deal with communication. In this case, the designer can be understood as the propulsive communicator as he designs the advertisement. He creates the message and transmits it as a coded signal through a channel. In case of apperception, the recipient decodes the sign and can react. The absence of an action can also be interpreted as a reaction. The basic essentials of Shannon’s model are the linear structure, the broadcasting to single or multiple recipients, and the missing of a response channel. Not at least the development of New Media has revolutionised Shannon’s linear model.

With the active fetch on the side of the receiving party, communication is not any longer one-sided. Furthermore, the audience is willed to pre-package the messages. The advertising message (published by the propulsive communicator) becomes a message on demand. Recipients are free to choose and change contents. One-sided passive supply became a multi-sided communication network. “The methods by which consumers absorb information and entertainment — and the ways they perceive, retain, and engage with brands and brand messages — have changed irrevocably. As marketers take notice, their decisions are reshaping the media environment.” The most apparent difference between New Media and the Traditional Media is the organisation and structure that produce them. The emergence of New Media, meanwhile online media, creates a new distribution group for advertisers.

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After dealing with different impacts that New Technologies entail, the following assumptions draw a conclusion, which points out new directions for the industry and its participants:

1. New Technologies enable the up to now passive consumers rather to be an active participating audience. Furthermore, the assortment of media channels increased significantly. The recipients are not any longer controlled by any “gatekeepers of information”. They filter the contents themselves and decide, at what point they tune out a channel. In interaction with the evolving technologies, online platforms were established. Online Communities (like MySpace, facebook, YouTube, etc.) place the advertisements unobtrusive. In addition, more and more online portals provide DVRs, RSS feeds or pop-up blockers which allow the users to skip or hide advertising. à Advertising now rather focuses on leveraging brands and awareness levels with using the opportunity to engage dialogues with the consumers.

2. The advertising industry is subject to their customers. And the customers are reliant on their audience. à Therefore, they follow recipients to Internet platforms and New Media they value.  As mentioned before, advertising spend shifts towards the World Wide Web. Media experts also recognise a side effect:  the evolving technologies expend other multisided communication channels such as mobile micro sites and news feeds (RSS, Podcasts, etc.). Advertising agencies accordingly concentrate on provider sponsorships.
3. The emerging era of participation and interaction allows advertisers to find new ways of communication. The named platforms or blogs thrust peoples into discussions and disagreements. Users share opinions and value advertising campaigns. àAttracting the recipient’s attention in any way is all about new brand leveraging. Consequently, this requires advertisers and their producers to take more pleasure in risk than teams have traditionally taken before.
4. Newspapers and print media are in stage of decline. From now on, messages are taken towards audio and visualisations. Kevin Roberts, CEO of Satchi & Satchi has once said: “There three keys to the hearts of consumers: Mystery, Sensuality and Intimacy. Here`s how they come alive: Sight, Sound and Motion”. Advertising tradesmen expect a continuative increase of New Media advertising spend. Especially the use of video platforms is projected to grow conspicuously. à Writing assessment gets replaced by ear- and eye catchers.
5. The Advertising industry’s timing and planning become a different measurement. New Technologies need new management perspectives. Beforehand, advertising campaigns have been elaborated and planned with huge timeframes. Competition and innovation demands short and exclusive decisions. A traditional eighteen month plan doesn’t work any longer. The industry shifts to a different model, called “tried and true” (search) / invest (video) / experiment (community).

Tags: advertisers, advertising, communication processes, consumption, distribution, emerging technologies, future, gatekeepers of information, impact, information, lasswell formula, marketing mix, multisided, new media, puplishing, shannon, tim o'reilly, timeline, traditional, usability, Web 2.0