Virtual Lecture New Media in Marketing, Advertising and

PR: The background

Robin Croft, Bedfordshire Business SchoolUniversity of BedfordshireRevised February 2011

Outline

This virtual lectureWhat are the new media?Why are they important?What are they like?

New media…new waysNew ways of communicating

Blogging, instant messaging, virtual worlds, MMSSMS and email are SO last year!

New ways of socialisingFor example through social networks such as Facebook, Bebo, MyspaceOr virtual online communities such as Second Life

New ways of finding knowledgeFor example Blogs for unbiased views or ordinary people, Wikipedia for pooled expertise, Google searches, checking prices through Amazon and eBay

New ways of entertainmentFor example watching and sharing videos on Youtube, listening to your own customised radio channel (streaming radio)

New ways of doing business E-commerce: consumers are used to buying, now they are getting into selling through eBay and AmazonFinancial transactionsBusiness start-ups: low start-up costs, no market research, no strategy… just small ideas

Of all of these, having fun…A new generation which doesn’t take itself seriously

The new media

Social softwareIn order of importance, Facebook, Myspace, BebosharingPictures (Flickr), music (LastFM, Spotify), video (Youtube)

New moneyVirtual money being earned and spent on simulations such as Second LifeAlternative digital payment methods like PayPalUsing mobile devices as payment tools in developing markets where there is little access to banks or credit

Tagging and streamingUsing technology to keep track of what we see, to share pages with friends, to get notifications as pages are updated

WikisNot just Wikipedia, but any site that enables users to adapt and contribute

Light devicesThe mobile phone, PDA, MP3 player, handheld PC – they are all digital devices and increasingly are carrying out more than one function

Why are NM important?Some numbers

Youtube sold to Google for $1.65 billionMyspace sold to News Corporation for $580 millionSkype sold to Ebay for $2.6 billionGoogle worth over $40 billionBebo sold to AOL for $850 million – Bebo was just 3 years old

Limitless growth?235 million Google searches per dayChina has360 million internet users, but this is still only about a quarter of the country, which has 703 million mobile phone usersKenya has 3.4 million internet users, but 17.5 million mobile phone users

Providing information is also gathering data (clickstream)Consumer research insights

The whole promise of direct marketing – the real value of informationThe user base… see next page

New media, new markets

Extensive350 million FaceBook users worldwide (including 19 million in UK alone), 11 million in France and 4.3 million in Germany. Total of 108 million active users in EuropeQzone in China has 376 million users. Facebook has only 1.4 million in the country125 million MySpace users worldwide, but still level with FaceBook in US45 million Bebo users worldwide7.3 million UK Myspace users, 110 m worldwide

Young, fun-lovingTypically under 24, communicating differently, bored by TV and mass media

Intelligent, scepticalTypically degree-level, distrusting of companies, brands, politicians, media

Affluent, globalSettling down later, more disposable income, hedonisticNew young, large middle class in China, India, Pakistan and other placesVery attractive target market – but how to reach them?

Mobile, wirelessIn mature markets users don’t want to be tied to the PC, but need to stay in touchIn developing economies there is often no cable-based comms infrastructure or reliable electrical supply Geeky, and geeks are now cool

TribalUsers defining themselves by their music and tastes, and by membership of virtual communities – young people especially through music

Multimedia Sources

click here to view a BBC Newsnight piece showing how in Kenya the mobile phone is used to access the internet, to send cash, to keep business moving...The music business is going virtual and digital: click here for link BBC report on how digital is changing everythingMusic and everything on the move: click here to watch a BBC report on developments in multimedia

New ways to stay in touch

Advertising ineffectivenessRising costs of media and productionDeclining audiences, fragmentedSceptical consumers

(Old) media clutterFragmented media, multiple channels, ambient advertising

Internet information overloadBoth the number of pages available and the amount on each – where do we start and who do we trust? Memory and fatigue problems. Hence tagging systems such as Bluedot

Fast changing environmentLargely driven by broadband – there is so much more we can do now, but it is users and audiences customising the technology, not companies. Hence need for RSS

Media environment has its own dynamicUnpredictable because user-driven

The future is here already…High speed broadband, still getting better in UK, penetration increasing in all major marketsMobile broadband GPS and Bluetooth technologies embedded in social networks, alerting us when friends are nearby

New media convergence

Power of hand-held devices Enabling more applications such as computing, internet, telephony, music, video, GPSDevices get smaller, more portable, more efficient

Cost of mobile devicesBased on reducing manufacturing/component costs and increasing market sizes

Global potential, emerging markets Portability and lifestylesI want it now, I want to be in touch, I want to be in control

Electricity and infrastructuresSolar chargers in developing countries more dependable than electricity

CultureImportance of family/community/tribeVoice and conversation valued in a digital age

CustomisationNew generation wants their own individuality on mass-market technologyUser-driven, content-rich

ConnectivityNeed for 24/7 connectivityWhatever, whenever

Multimedia sources

Click here to watch BBC report on new technology: consumer adoption is more rapid than everConnectivity is the future, according to Microsoft. Click here to watch 3 separate BBC news articles from the Consumer Electronics Show and to hear what Bill Gates believesNew battleground is the digital living room: click here for BBC article and links to 3 broadcastsClick here to watch BBC broadcast about mobile internetClick here for text article from BBC about enhanced mobile internetNicknamed New Youtube, a new web-based service promises video on demand, via broadband not broadcast. Click here to watch BBC item on thisClick here to listen to Guardian correspondent talking about the new Apple iPhone

Economic drivers of NMPower of hardware

Increasing incrementally, in PCs, PDAs, handhelds, mobiles (Moore's Law)Devices can get smaller and more energy-efficient

BroadbandPower and speed increasing in most marketsMobile broadband suits developing markets – cheap, reliable, quick, flexibleAvailability of broadband means that users start doing new things with the technology – a major driver of Web 2.0 applications. It’s not just that the platforms are available, it is that we now have the bandwidth to make possible (for example) streaming video and Voip which previously was out of the question

Cost reductionHardware costs halving each yearConnection to broadband – price reductions, price wars

Bigger audienceswww now 10 times bigger than 1998And in emerging markets there are often 4 times more mobile devices

Key features of new media

CommunitiesOpen to all – also called Me MediaClosed – our group, our tribe

Collective intelligenceBuilding ideas and consensus on BlogsCollective/collaborative knowledge of Wikis

Free, open sourceThe original principles of the internet, no proprietary toolsCollective intelligence improves the toolsOften the new users are kids who can’t/won’t pay out for new software toolsNo entry barriers based on cost

DemocraticNew Web 2.0 applications mean users can produce creative applications in minutes – no special IT skills neededBlogging is becoming an important part of political protestSMS has been used to mobilise large anti-government and anti-war protests

Providing platforms and toolsBlank canvases for users to express themselves onRange of tools to customise applications

New media content

RichPictures, sounds, moviesNew open source software enables us to edit and digitise our personal media and then share it on the webTools provided with new digital devices (cameras, mobiles, PCs, MP3 players) to make uploading and downloading easy

User-generatedTwo-way connectivityCustomising the spaceOften looks chaotic – but that is the authenticity

More of everythingMore information to more people in more ways – this is Google’s unofficial vision statement

Blogs not splogsSoftware used by companies crudely to infiltrate blogs with brand messages (spam + blog = splog)Counter-software developed to identify and delete splogsThere are 200 million blogs worldwide – with about 50 million active

What’s new in new media?

Connectivity staying in touch 24/7Watching/listening where you want on the device of your choice

Tagging finding your stuff in a cluttered media environment

SocialisingWith your tribeJust hanging out in cyberspace

Fun, cool, authenticUsers can spot the commercial messages

English is just another languageOnly 30% of Wikipedia pages are in EnglishOther languages part of democratisationYoung users customise language anyway – slang and new forms such as txtng

FiltersInteractivity – don’t show me this ever again – this is spam

StreamsUpdate me as your pages update through RSS streams

Freedom to express yourself within limits, don’t hurt anyoneAway from control of parents, teachers, authorities

Business development in NM

Small ideasCreativity grows incrementally, not in a linear fashionParadox of creativity, moving forward quickly but cautiously

No strategyno planningno market researchIdeas tested in real timeFlexible and pragmatic response

AccidentsChance meetings in Sillicon Valley coffee houses

Nurturing and seedingTrialling the ideas with small groupsIdeas spreading out naturally

Small start-up costsLowering costs of hardware and connectivitySmall entry and exit barriers

Tipping Points (Malcolm Gladwell)Point at which adoption gains its own momentumWhen we all want to be a part of that piece of actionMaybe this creates ‘first mover advantage?’

Multimedia sources

Click here to listen to how Hewlett-Packard sees the blurring of boundaries between home and workCisco believes that broadband access is revolutionising the creative process and putting the power into the hands of users: click here for their podcast on the subjectLaunching a new media product is often about reaching online opinion leaders. Here expert Idil Cakim talks about the process

Tools of new media – how is it done?

Enabling technologiesWeb 2.0 applications easy to use by complete novicesGiving scope to the imagination and creativity of usersEmphasis away from corporate web developers to users themselvesCompanies provide the platforms and the tools – users do the creative development

PragmatismProviders are watching, listening, learningReal-time researchFacilitating more of what is popular, dropping facilities that are not used

Understanding the space – what are people able to do with the platform and tools?the ecosystem – how everything relates to everything else

NM: before and after

OldThe InternetE-commerceSearchingInteractivityWeb authoringAudiencesEmailControl

NewWeb 2.0SocialisingSeeking outConnectivity (2-way)Citizens’ mediaReachRich contentPolicies, norms

Language of new media

DemocratisingExperiences, culture, creativityFinding (fragmented) communities of like-minded people

Open media landscapeNot dominated by companies, systems or technologiesNo boundaries, no barriers

Leaning back, leaning forwardInviting audiences to become participants

Wisdom of the crowdsCollective intelligence drives knowledgeTrusting friends and communities more than companies, brands, governmentsSharing good experiences, feeling better about negative ones through ranting

New media: Web 2.0

What is Web 2.0? Wide ranging article on new media here in GuardianClick here for video interviews with ‘web revolutionaries’, part of Guardian feature

New Media: enhanced search engines

Web 2.0 is freedom: what about censorship in searching? Articles from Guardian, click here and hereClick here for first of two BBC World Service radio programmes about GoogleClick here for second of two BBC World Service articles about GoogleExamples

google.co.uk

New Media: online classifieds and auctions

Click here to listen to Guardian interview with Craig Newmark, founder of CraigslistExamples

www.ebay.co.uk www.bid.tv good example of enhanced web presence working with interactive TVwww.craigslist.com

New Media: social networking sites

Click here to listen to Guardian interview with the founders of Bebo (before they sold to AOL)Examples

www.bebo.comwww.myspace.comwww.facebook.com

New media: tagging and streaming

Click here to listen to Guardian interview with Joshua Schachter of Del.icio.us on taggingWhat is an RSS feed? Do I need one? Guardian Interview here with Dick Costolo of Feed BurnerExamples

http://del.icio.us/http://www.feedburner.com/

New media: file sharing

Click here to listen to Guardian interview with Flickr founders, Caterina Fake and Stewart Butterfield.Flickr is now part of Yahoo (2005). It was originally designed as part of an online multi-user game. It hosts 4 billion user-generated pictures.Examples:

http://www.flickr.com/

New media: digital downloads

Click here for Guardian article on Last.fmExamples

http://www.napster.com/ now subscription, legal, downloadhttp://www.apple.com/itunes/http://www.last.fm/ an online ‘radio station’ which you customise to your own tasteshttp://music.yahoo.com/launchcast another online, customisable music channel

New media: blogs

Click here for Guardian article on Digg, sharing blogging experiencesClick here for Guardian interview with David L Sifry, founder of Technorati (blog search engine)Better ways of writing? Guardian interview with Sam Schillace here1999, the beginning of blogs: click here for interview with Evan Williams in GuardianBlogging and blocking splogs: interview with Matt Mullenweg here in GuardianMore about splogging in Guardian, click hereExamples:

http://www.technorati.com/ search the 55 million blogs worldwide

New media: collective intelligence

Click here to listen to Guardian interview with Tariq Krim, founder of NetvibesClick here to listen to Guardian interview with Wikipedia’s Jimmy WalesSpam problems make Wikipedia an internet black hole? Click here for Guardian articleExamples:

www.wikipedia.org (a non-profit organisation)

New media: Voip

Voice over the internet protocolExamples:

http://www.skype.com/

Conclusion: it’s all new…

TechnologiesAudiencesPlatformsCulturesLanguageWays of thinkingBusiness models