New Media Connects

Presented by Jarrett BayneJune 28th, 2010

Individuals have a tribal desire to connect with others who share similar attributes, and commonality. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter have created communities with an ideal environment for them to communicate then share.

Businesses have spotted this new opportunity like the Co-owner of Jersey Street Furniture Steve Novich who started using Facebook pages and updates on Twitter to create a fresh image online and stated “I see it growing, and business is up 11 percent, as opposed to last year which was a disaster,” (Lawrence, 2010).

Consumers globally on average spend more than five and a half hours on social networking sites daily. (The Nielsen Company, 2010). Facebook is up-and-coming as the top source for referral traffic which some believe might have more influence than Google (Last Click News, 2010).

Steps taken by the administration understand how members use the site in addition to the web. Mark Zuckerberg the CEO of Facebook in April 2010 premiered new plug-ins to make content within the site easier to find, share, and critique. Social plug-in enables users to ‘Like’ websites while another gives businesses the ability to incorporate features from Facebook into their website (Last Click News, 2010)

With the growing amount of content on the World Wide Web there is a need for effective search engines so users can connect with their curiosity. According to figures from comScore it was found that there were 14.4 billion searches submitted in February 2010, in March it increased 7% to 15.4 billion searches (Adrian, 2010).

Marketers want a growing piece of the pie as seen in a new report from WebVisible which shows increased investment in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in 2009 by small businesses, which now averages around $2,000 each compared to $900 in the previous year (Stewart, 2010).

Currently the largest segment of businesses using the web for advertising are dentists, attorneys, and general contractors during the first quarter of 2010 (Freedom Communications, 2010).

Although YouTube was originally introduced for amateur made content, more marketers are seeing opportunities. The format utilizes sound and sight to create visual representations for stories, parodies, and information.

Popular video sites like YouTube and Hulu provide viewers with clips, episodes, and movies that might pertain to their search query. YouTube says that a billion videos are seen daily, with 24 hours worth of content uploaded every minute (Chapman, 2010).

This format is ideal for businesses selling products like Dynomighty Design the makers of magnetic bracelets who uploaded a video showing product benefits to YouTube and watched as the views grew to the millions while it generated $130,000 in sales (Rivas, 2010).

The future of the video sites remains uncertain. When the co-creator of YouTube Chad Hurley was asked about the future of this industry he stated “Instead of this world of online video and this world of TV there is just one world,” (Telegraph.co.uk, 2010).

Meanwhile Hulu the popular video site that specializes in movies and TV shows has blocked viewers’ ability to watch the site through TV screens using services like Boxee (Sorkin, 2010). Hulu’s decision can be seen as an attempt to protect the traditional TV format for commercial advertising.

Advertising with new media can extend pass the computer and incorporate the physical landscape to catch the attention of the consumer. The trams and metros in Helenski Finland have incorporated digiscreen media on board the transportation coaches. Klaus Kuhanen the CEO of JCDecaux Finland which is the agency responsible for the new technology has stated “The initial reactions to the digiscreen media are positive... People appreciate our strategy of providing fun entertaining and useful information,” (Cord, 2010)

Other displays are using holographics to give a creepy effect in a high traffic pedestrian routes. The 2009 feature film Coraline is a 3D animated film from Laika Studios in which outdoor displays were used in cities such as New York and Boston that utilized 3D to give the impression of ghosts wandering around a vacant store using projection technology. (Cruse, 2010) To date this movie has accumulated close to 125 million dollars worldwide. (Box Office Mojo, 2010)

Although the 3D technology is nothing new it does seem to be pulling through the mainstream with hits like Avatar and Alice in Wonderland . Many key players in electronics are preparing for a 3D revolution. Samsung in anticipation of launching its new 3D LED TV is using a 3D commercial campaign that will be seen in compatible movie theaters (Finnerty, Petersen, & Shandwick, 2010).

The first 3D enabled laptops are now available to consumers such as the Acer Aspire 5738DZG or the Asus G51J that allow the user to convert photos and media into 3D as well using them to enjoy 3D media like movies and games (Browne, 2010). If this revolution happens, more agencies will need to be prepared for production of commercials and other content that incorporates the format.

JarrettBayne.com

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