MAS 110 - Media Convergence Essay
Nathan Sweeney – 42457254
Discuss
the phenomenon of digital media convergence in relation to one of the
following: Advertising and new media or music video online.
The process of new media convergence has stimulated a power shift from
markers & advertisers into the roles of consumers. Trends of new media use
(derived from this power shift) can then be used by firms as a means of
individual consumer based marketing and advertising.
Although convergence in
media has naturally been evident for decades, it is over the past 10 years in
which emerging and “new technologies” have been “accommodated by exisiting media
and commucation industries and cultures” (Dwyer 2010).
(Dwyer 2010) suggests TV audiences and as a result “advertising revenues
are all in a slow decline”, which can be contributed to advancements in
technological development. However this increasing trend may also act as the
solution – as marketers and advertisers alike show increasing interest in
expansion into online and mobile media.
This leaves an extraordinary and somewhat untouched and (possibly) boundless
market space in which firms can exploit and target consumers individually
through observation and tracing of their daily lives as powerful new media
users. The privilege of media convergence is clearly evident through consumers
using devices which “act as a gateway to a multiplicity of services” – services
which act as a means of individual consumer marketing for advertisers (Dwyer
2010).
Berthon ETAL (2012) proposes three effects of the development of new
media (or web 2.0) technology; including a shift in consumer activity from the
desktop to the web, value production from the firm to the consumer as well as a
power shift away from the firm to the consumer.
Access to new media authorizes consumer’s to take control of their
everyday life; “organising contacts, personal, leisure and work activities
while on the move” (Dwyer 2010). Consumers in today’s technologically driven
and increasingly demanding media and communication market now don’t have to
rely on logistical and geographical restrictions as “new media increases the
versatility of human action” (Dwyer 2010).
As mentioned earlier all consumers have the ability to benefit from the
ease of technology, however it is the ‘creative consumers’ whom are the locus
of value in an increasingly new media environment.
Berthon (ETAL 2012) states “it is they (creative consumers) rather than
firms; who produce much of the value-added content in social media” and further
their networks with friends and family which constitute the ‘social’ facet. The
significance of the modern day consumer and their affiliation with new media as
a primary mode of communication is clearly underlined in this proposal. However
it is the method in which marketers utilise this ‘social’ facet, which is the
most significant.
Presented in the form of ‘Facebook page likes’ and ‘Google searches’;
this acts as crucial independent consumer information in which advertisers and
marketers alike may freely exploit in further developing a new media
environment which consumers find “easily accessible” with “media content that
was personally meaningful to them” (Jenkins 2006).
Wilken ETAL (2009) compares this environment to one of an ecosystem – “used
to stand for equilibrium, resistance or resilience , diversity and adaptability”
– a very clear indication of the potential for a thriving new media online
marketplace.
Creative consumers project their power roles by participating in
informal discussions through social and entertainment media websites and
applications such as Facebook and YouTube. Consumers ‘vote’ or ‘like’ certain
media and pages in order to express their opinion on social issues as well as
influence popularity of artists and celebrities. One particular YouTube channel
‘The Needle Drop’ records and uploads album reviews; encouraging consumers to
critique the video and have their opinion by suggesting their desired next
review in the ‘comment box’.
By doing so, consumers are not just voicing their opinion – they now
have the ability to influence the trends of new media and content in which
passes through.
New media convergence has significantly affected the way in which we
consume and contribute to a technological environment. Convergence has
triggered a power shift from marketers and creators of technology into the
roles of consumers – whom now have the ability to both consume and create media
through the ease of their mobile phone device.
It is at this platform in which marketers and advertisers alike may
exploit opportunities as they arrive through the now creators of media, the
consumers.
Referencing
Dwyer, T. (2010). Media Convergence. McGraw
Hill. Berkshire. Pp 1-23
Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture:
Where old and newe media collide. NY University Press.
Spurgeon, C. (2008) Advertising & New
Media. Ozon Routledge, pp 24-45
Wilken, R & Sinclair, J. (2009).
Waiting for the kiss of life: Mobile Media and Advertising.
Berthon, P. (2012). Marketing meets Web 2.0, social
media, and creative consumers: Implications for international marketing
strategy
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