"Due to the nature of new media technologies in our modern society, it is possible to sell anything; whether it is an idea, product, or political agenda, the boundless source of information, ability to communicate in a synchronous manner, and connectivity of mobile devices made possible by new media have aided in doing so"I don't love the syntax and formatting of my thesis, but it's a work in progress. We started off the semester talking about Social vs Technological determinism and McLuhan's famous phrase, "The medium is the message. ...It is the medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action." According to McLuhan's stance on technological determinism, the ability to sell on the internet and through new media devices is made possible because of those devices and the nature of which they are used. McLuhan might argue that the ability to "sell anything" on the internet is harder now than it was when there was no such thing as a computer or digital media. Now the consumer has the ability to seek truth and contrasting arguments for anything. If an ad for an automobile pops up on your computer screen boasting 36mpg, the consumer can perform an internet search and find out the truth from consumer reviews, the FCC, and even learn the logistics of how a car works and what it takes to have that high of a mileage per gallon (for the more tech savvy individuals, obviously).
This is important because while yes, the auto company might be able to sell that car differently, via a popup ad, facebook page, promoted tweet on twitter, blog about it, make an interactive driving game with branded cars for the iPad for -- the consumer is still paramount because they have more options to reasearch the product, discern truth from embellishment, and make an overall educated decision about it. According to McLuhan the technology makes for these changes and not the human. On the other hand, a social determinist would argue that it is still the human who is in control of the new technology. The human is just uses the resources provided more effectively and actually makes for more competition in the market. Long gone are the days where a billboard ad boasting a price for a pair of shoes and that being the end all be all. Now a consumer can type in the name of shoes to Google and be shown all of the options available on the internet with the lowest price they can buy it for. The customer has more power because of how they use internet, technology and machines.
Another example of consumerism and new media is the price scanner app that is widely available on most of the popular smart phones and is one of the most downloaded apps of all time. The concept is you hold your phone up to the barcode of any product in a store (a DVD, box of pasta) and the app scans it and provides you with all of the price options available on the internet and local retailers. I am definitely one to go into a store and find a product I like, scan the barcode and then go buy it for 10-20% cheaper (sometimes even more) online or elsewhere. The key here is that the technology is being used to make educated shopping decisions by the consumer.
So now with this knowledge of how we use our mobil devices, how we use the internet to shop, and how we perceive recommendations from our friends on facebook -- companies have caught on and started to sell to us differently. No longer is a banner ad as effective as a facebook post with a friend saying "check out these awesome shoes I just bought!" However, we have to ask why is that person posting about those shoes? what did that shoe company do to provoke the consumer to post their shoe on facebook? perhaps there was a contest that said anyone who mentions our shoes will be entered in a contest to win a pair, perhaps the friend who posted saw a promoted and paid for tweet on twitter that came right to the top of their feed but was camouflaged enough to appear and feel real, as if it were there friend posting about it. The communities that are built on facebook are unique in that they are built on a level of trust and commonality. People flock to fan pages of Coca-Cola because they love the brand, the product and what it stands for. Coca-Cola is now their "friend" and no longer are they just an out of sight corporate hound. Coca-Cola has the ability to become "translucent" and talk with their customer as a opposed to "shouting" at them through ads and other commercial advertising.
While Coca-Cola having a fanpage and assimilating into our newsfeed on facebook feels very new media and fresh -- it's actually something we have seen before. Think about magazines and those advertisements that are meant to look like articles and only until you read that fine print "PAID ADVERTISEMENT" at the bottom are you aware that it is what it is. Even in TV commercials, instead of being a plain, dry advertisement, most ad agencies tune into the senses, effectively humor, and mask their ad as entertainment. If the ad is successful, it may even become viral on the internet and be watching millions upon millions of times because it's funny, while also selling the product (i.e. superbowl ads)
Last week we starting talking about emotional vs logical appeal in marketing and I wanted to read more about this. I thought about how it would apply to facebook and online marketing and what kind of appeal certain products have on the consumer when they are hidden in the newsfeed amongst our "friends." Just thinking off the top of my mind, I would say that majority of online advertising appeals to the the emotional aspect rather than logical on facebook, twitter, and YouTube. Right away I would argue that the advertising is predominantly emotional because so much of social media is emotional. One friend is "in a relationship," another is furious with her parents, another is loving a movie trailer, another is playing a farm game -- everything we do on facebook and twitter is wrought with emotion so seeing an ad in the form of a post on facebook would need to tap into that emotional sense in order to feel real.
Emotional & Logial Appeal article:
http://www.orwig.net/articles/rational_emotl/rational_emotl.html
To Be Continued...
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