Hello. My name is Hachi and I recently earned my badge as mayor of PetSmart in the Lakeport Commons. My master is working on a final project for IMC 619, so he’s letting me write this post about a super-cool development in emerging media. It involves a dog food company and Foursquare. Social media is fun. Why aren’t more companies using cyber-tactics, like the recent outdoor campaign launched by Granata Pet brand dog food, to get the attention of my fellow canines? For years marketers have tried reaching us via mass media—humorous TV spots with dogs sliding on waxed floors…
Category: Emerging Media
Emerging Media (or New Media) is the communication of a targeted message via digital technology. Though not always “new” media, this definition is used for the sake of conversation among marketers and the general public.
Telling Your Story: Part 2 Building A Charismatic Brand
Marty Neumeier, Director of Transformation at Liquid Agency, has contributed one of the most significant pieces of literature for aspiring marketers and advertisers in the past decade. The Brand Gap successfully communicates the essence of brands and the implications of branding for marketers, designers, and advertisers in an easy-to-read whiteboard overview, only 147 pages long (plus extras). Neumeier’s first discipline in bridging the gap between business strategy and design is ‘Differentiate’. He gives us three simple questions: 1) Who are you? 2) What do you do? 3) Why does it matter? The first two questions are much easier to answer…
Telling Your Story – Part 1: Does Your Audience Trust You?
Some bloggers spend a lot of time on tactics that drive traffic to their site, but it won’t guarantee visitors will return. Once traffic arrives, the difference between one-time visits and a long-time followers may be how well the author tells their story. Blogs have become a viable tool for individuals and companies to build positive brand equity through the development of online relationships. When authors tell compelling, transparent stories and allow visitors to comment, the blog becomes an intimate environment for brand experiences. My personal blogging experience is limited, so I often look to the wisdom of experienced marketers…
When Life Gives You Lemons Make Short Films
‘Lemon Drop’ is a ten minute short film that offers lots of entertainment and very little advertising. The piece was created by TBWA/Chiat/Day New York, but it resembles the stylings of popular Quentin Tarantino films (e.g. – ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘Kill Bill’) because of it’s retro styling and 70s hallmarks—a sexy heroine, sleazy villain, and unique camera angles. The production quality is amazing. It has what it takes to capture the attention of a wide ranging adult audience thanks in part to high-profile actors, Ali Larter (‘Final Destination’ and ‘Legally Blond’) and Martin Kove (‘Rambo’ and ‘Karate Kid’). The full-length…
Should Brands Be On Twitter?
There are those who welcome brands to the Twitterverse and those who wish they were banned forever. The reality is brands are part of Twitter conversations and will most likely be part of its long-term success as a social media platform. The argument against brand accounts on Twitter is that social media space should not be a place for marketers to bombard users with selling stories. Comments range from “this is where I go to get away from advertising” to “I want to talk to a person, not a product.” Find an article that talks about this subject and you’re…
Website Aesthetics: Turning Traffic Into Fans
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of articles online discussing aspects of effective websites for online marketing. Many of them address the issue of driving traffic through organic SEO and pay-per-click strategies. Not to take anything away from these important elements, I would like to touch on the importance of building personality through aesthetics. Aesthetics will influence your visitors’ perceptions and responses within seconds of reaching a landing page. First impressions are critical in gaining attention and keeping visitors on the site. A poor impression risks losing them indefinitely. Stephen Anderson’s article, ‘In Defense of Eye Candy,’ makes a compelling…
Reaching Children Online? Don’t Forget the Parents.
Marketing to children is a growing part of emerging media strategies. Young children—once an illusive audience for marketers—are becoming regular targets through online games and entertainment. Gone are the days when brands could only reach young children through cereal boxes and Saturday morning commercials. Now they lead them to websites to watch videos and play games with all kinds of brand impressions. The rapid rate of children’s marketing warrants a look at the ethical components of these tactics. Online games, no matter how ethical the content, may contribute to sedentary behavior amongst a growing population of obese children. Some marketers…
Emerging Media Levels The Playing Field
Emerging media is changing the way brands interact with consumers and leveling the playing field for all participants in online marketing. The consumer’s voice, once limited to purchase decisions and word-of-mouth, has the potential to affect perceptions of a wide audience on the Internet. The implications range from meeting the social needs of individuals to opening doors for small players in the marketplace to making large brands more accountable to the public. By the turn of the century it was apparent the Internet was changing the way brands communicate, but who could have known how it would play out in…
Hello world!
This is the start of BRANDTALK, a blog about the role of emerging media and its impact on integrated marketing communications (IMC) and our world. It is an opportunity to get my feet wet as a blogger and share my perspective on the digital landscape and new, interactive media. I hope my posts will be interesting and relevant to marketers and creatives as well as anyone interested in new media and channels of communication. Thank you for visiting, please come back often.
BRANDTALK 