Draft Dissertation Proposal Advertising and Consumerism in a Digital Age
MA Digital Culture and Technology
Contents 1 Introduction 2 Topics for Research 3 Investigation Methodologies 4 Selected Bibliography
Introduction
With huge advances in mass communications technology over the past 50 years, and in particular the advent of digital forms of broadcast media, viewers wield much greater control than ever before over what they watch, when they watch it and how. These changes ostensibly bring a number of benefits to both broadcasters and viewers - increased choice for viewers, and a greater number of viewers for the broadcasters themselves, for example. But amidst the clamour to switch to digital forms of broadcast media, one very important player has to be taken into account – the advertiser. This essay will seek to examine these fundamental questions: whether advertising, as we know it, has a future in the digital revolution, if so in what capacity? More broadly, what impact will this have on consumer culture? (Note: In this essay, the terms “ v iewer ” and “ consumer ” are used interchangeably and are intended to mean the same thing – i.e. those to whom advertisements are directed.) With a full switchover from analogue to digital TV scheduled to go ahead across the UK in 2008, users will have more control than ever before over the media content that is transmitted to their homes; and, crucially, from advertisers point of view, be able to control output almost as effectively as the TV broadcasters themselves by being able to skip or omit traditional advertisement breaks as they formulate their own, tailored, viewing. This increased choice is not just limited to digital broadcast media, but also the newest mass communication medium, the Internet. This has potentially massive ramifications for both broadcasters and advertisers. Privately owned mass media corporations are reliant on revenues from advertisers to fund their ability to reach larger audiences, attract the very best people in terms of staff and presenters, carry out research etc. This is of course a symbiotic relationship; advertisers in turn have the opportunity to reach, through the medium of television, unprecedented numbers of people; especially during broadcasts which attract tens of millions of viewers – important sporting events, news coverage of major world events, widely anticipated drama/entertainment etc. These numbers can only increase with the dawn of digital television – a result of increased ownership and coverage, and lower prices that make this technology more affordable. Advertising is the most visible manifestation of the consumer “ industry ” and the first point of contact between consumers and those wishing to promote their products; it therefore plays a vital role in capitalist economies, and in turn the make up of media output. A great portion of the money spent on advertising is in fact used in subsidising various forms of mass media; a
number of which, as explained above, are reliant upon this revenue stream. Consolidation amongst media firms also means that the major media corporations, who control a large portion of the world media output, have controlling interests not just in broadcast television, but radio, newspapers and the new media including Internet and wireless technologies. Advertising in these media would also be taken into account. One can assume that with technologies themselves become increasingly personalised (PDA’s, MP3 players etc.), so indeed will advertising. The beginnings of this are already visible, albeit in rudimentary fashion, for example through Google Mail; which searches key words in email correspondence and displays appropriate adverts in the side banner accordingly. I intend to investigate how advertisers see this personalised future and the methods they will employ to realise their marketing goals. This of course raises questions of privacy, the boundaries between public/private life and other social issues. I intend to examine these in detail once answers are obtained from various sources. Though consumers are generally wary of advertising and will (it is assumed) try to avoid it when possible so that their entertainment viewing is uninterrupted, we should also take into adverts themselves. People appreciate a good, well constructed or funny advert, and automatically therefore feel an affinity of sort with a brand. Will adverts become more like TV programmes, or vice versa – will people forget that they are essentially having a product sold to them, and not a story? Will the nature of television itself change? Will advertisers work in tandem with broadcasters to change the broadcast output such that it will consist of a great deal more advertising - will TV programmes themselves, for example, feature greater product placement? Will programmes become more like adverts, and vice versa?
Topics for Research
With the increased power of the consumer in the digital world, what other means would advertisers use to get their messages across to us? Much of the material already written on this topic is already out of date given the advances in digital broadcasting. An example of a recent major development is Sky Plus – a feature that allows users to record programmes on to a hard disk for later viewing. This feature also lets viewers pause, rewind, skip forward etc. Television is increasingly becoming a bespoke medium, with technologically empowered users selecting exactly the programmes or features they wish to watch, and ignoring those that they don’t – one can safely assume without having to refer to academic studies that advertising does not feature highly on this viewer “ w ish list ” . After a full day spent working, most would not wish to spend what leisure time is available to them watching advertisements. How will advertisers adapt in order to meet the challenge – of both new technology and increasingly technologically savvy consumers who believe themselves to be better aware of advertising influence? Key topics for research will be: 1) How advertisers have prepared for the digital revolution. 2) What methods they are currently using and researching in order to reach customers who have benefited from rapid advances in digital technology and are, we can assume therefore, not exposed to as much conventional TV advertising as before. 3) What potential ramifications can this hold: for mass media, for advertisers, for those that produce adverts and finally, consumer culture as a wider concept. 4) Television output: will this be shaped solely by economic/marketing considerations in the future? One has to also take into account increased consumer awareness/scepticism of advertising, alongside these advances in technology. This is due, in no small part, to the plethora of counter mainstream opinion readily available. Such opinions are not only to be found in obscure Internet blogs, but also in mainstream media itself – whether it be comment sections of newspapers voicing concern over major corporations, investigative journalism highlighting alleged unethical working practises, documentaries released on cinema highlighting perceived political corruption and links with companies etc. The reputation of advertising has taken a number of blows as people have enjoyed greater access to information
through the Internet and other means; the question must also be asked whether advertisers and those whom they benefit are, to a large extent, reliant on consumer apathy to allow their businesses to continue to grow? Though technology has brought a number of opportunities for both advertisers and consumers, it has also created a number of challenges – especially for those who wish to convey their messages to consumers whilst retaining an upstanding image. The newest of the mass communication media is the Internet itself. Many mainstream websites display advertising banners either across the top, on the sides of the webpage etc. The question must be asked, however, whether this is fundamentally an infringement of individual “ privacy ” in cyberspace. The idea that the Internet is a truly democratic, utopian public sphere is surely undermined when advertisers (and the demands that come with their advertising and monetary contributions) are introduced. This is another concern that could be examined, briefly, in the dissertation, time (and word limit) providing.
Investigation Methodology
This will be a combination of active research of existing materials, as well as discussions with industry personnel to try and gauge some idea of what the future may hold. My first point for research will be a thorough overview of the current writings on advertising, digital media and consumerism; which I will examine through academic journals, books and relevant trade magazines (example of these are listed in the bibliography below.) I am also keen to consult both advertising and TV executives to gauge their opinions of where the future of their mutual relationship lies. My intention behind this would be to try and evaluate: a) How are advertisers coming to terms with the digital reality as a factor in the future of their industry/relationship with television and the new media: specifically the Internet and personal handheld devices. b) What preparations have they made or are they making; in terms of their fundamental relationship with both broadcasters and their clientele for whom they produce advertisements. c) The TV perspective: how important do advertisers remain to the television channels, and how do they see advertisers adapting to the challenges of the digital age? d) How both of these parties view the consumer – someone to be entertained, informed, flattered, or just sold to? Which is most important, and therefore the biggest factor in TV output? e) Will the mainstream TV industry be forever modified by advertising, as brands begin to feature more prominently in programming to counter the expected shortfall in advertisement viewing as a result of the viewer ability to omit these adverts for programming? I would aim to arrange interviews with two senior persons from each field (TV and advertising agencies) to put the above questions to them. Combining these two elements together (giving a theoretical perspective as well as one grounded in the current media reality) I would hope to be able to answer, or to speculate on answers, to my own research questions.
Selected Bibliography
Boddy, William. New Media and Popular Imagination . (Oxford University Press, 2004) Herman, Edward S. and Chomsky, Noam. Manufacturing Consent. (Pantheon Books, 1988) Packard, Vance. The Hidden Persuaders . (Pelican Books, 1964) Day, George S. and Aaker, David A. “ A Guide to Consumerism ” . (July 1970). Journal of Marketing, Vol. 34, No. 3 The Faculty, Department of Advertising, College of Communication, The University of Texas at Austin. “ T houghts about the Future of Advertising ” .
http://www.ciadvertising.org/studies/reports/future/white pap.html Obermiller, Carl and Spangenberg Eric R.
“ Development of a Scale to Measure Consumer Skepticism toward Advertising ” . Journal of Consumer Psychology, Vol. 7,
No. 2 (1998) Dyer, Gillian. Advertising as Communication. (Methuen & Co., 1982) Vestergaard, Torben and Schroder, Kim. The Language of Advertising ” . (Basil Blackwell Inc., 1985) Myers, Greg. “ Ad Worlds: Brands, Media, Audiences ” . (Arnold Publishers, 1999) Hackley, Chris.
“Advertising and Promotion: Communicating Brands ” . (Sage Publications, 2005)
