DCS- Seamless Branding

Seamless branding is all about enhancing the consumer experience, digital can be one way in which this is possible. There are many ways it can be done digitally, through social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter, through mobile phone apps or even microsites. These are all ways in which the consumer can actually interact with the brand. I for instance, “Like” the brand Cornetto UK on Facebook and this is now a way for me to interact with this brand. I can see information about its latest products and any updates appear on my homepage. 

Most brands now have a facebook page which they regularly update to inform consumers about their products or services. I think this is definitely a way forward, because of the high proportion of people using social media sites like Facebook, if they can access information about brands they like without having to go on to their websites they are more likely to take notice of the brands profile because they are not having to leave Facebook. An advantage is also that if , like me , people see they someone has “liked” a brands page on their homepage, they will think “Oh, I like that brand” and press like straight away without thinking twice about it and there we go, they now receive updates from that brands page constantly.

Another digital way of enhancing the consumer experience of your brand is through things such as mobile phone applications. A good example of this is the “Wetherspoons” app, in which if downloaded can direct you to the nearest “Wetherspoons” pub. This allows consumers to be able to access the brand very easily. They are being informed of how to get to the pub and whereabouts the nearest one to them is. Many companies now have “apps” which are available for their consumers to use, Tesco have the grocery scanning app, Aviva has an accident claiming app and even Topshop has an app which is updated 5 times a week and claims to have over 300 new styles added.

As someone who uses apps, I think that this is a good way to enhance consumer experiences. With an app like the “Wetherspoons” I would definitely use this and find it useful because I have been in the situation before, when your visiting a place you’ve never been before and looking for somewhere to eat and you don’t know where anything is and you think oh a spoons will do but you don’t have a clue where one is. An app which is going to take you directly to the desired brand will be a hit because people are lazy and don’t want to have to figure out things for themselves, or if there anything like me they don’t want to stop and ask someone directions!

I think that digital can be very effective in enhancing consumers’ experiences and it does relate to seamless branding, because it can easily give people information about a brand without directly advertising to them and a lot of the time people are choosing to interact with the brand and are actively searching for the information.

References:

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/topshop/id355683626?mt=8 

DCS- Mobile

It was only a year ago that I got my first smart phone yet I feel now as though I wouldn’t be able to cope without one.  My old Nokia phone was perfect all I needed it for was texting and making calls. Now, my Android smart phone allows me to take photos, video call, send texts and multimedia messages, keep up-to-date on Facebook and Twitter, play games, download numerous apps, listen to music and many other things.

Mobiles have been developing constantly since they arrived in the 1970’s. From the basic 1G , first generation of wireless technology mostly in the form of analogue to 4G which has higher speeds and a higher capacity at a lower cost which can lead to enhanced performance, it supports video streaming and has world wide access.

Denso Wave in 1994, created a two dimensional bar code which would allow its contents to be decoded at high speed, calling these bar codes “ Quick Response Codes” . They can be lcicked on and taken to a mobile site. QR codes can be relevant in the world of advertising and marketing because they can be highly useful in getting a brand or product noticed through the latest technology. However, not everybody with a smart phone is going to be interested in using QR codes. They can be placed in magazines, a newspaper, and posters or even embedded in a internet ad.

Stump et al (2008) said that “Mobile enables consumers to stay in constant contact with others; allows them to gather information, entertain themselves, and engage in transactions; and serves as an important element of identity construction and expression for many individuals.” For many people having a new or up-to-date mobile is very important, it is about social acceptance and being seen as “cool” especially in younger generations, people often talk about what applications they have on their phone and what they use them for, which could lead to the QR codes being used in response to advertising and word of mouth.  QR codes are the biggest driver of traffic to mobile internet.

Mcstay, (2010) claims that “mobile represents a range of opportunities for advertisers, sponsor and marketers” he said that one of the benefits of mobile advertising for businesses is the “ ability to target of-the-moment and close to real-time sales messages” This along with the benefit of mobile marketing being personal and trackable can be reasons why advertisers should start to use mobile marketing more.  Mobile advertising has been increasing quarter-on-quarter, and was worth £28.6m last year (Guardian, 2011)

This along with online advertising poses the question whether with all this increasing technology, will traditional advertising become less popular and relevant in years to come ?

Please feel free to comment if you have any opinions on mobile advertising.

DCS- Interactivity

Interactivity can be defined as “two way influence” and also can be described as “many-to-many” communication.  When talking about “two way influence” there are three areas to think about, Choice- there are 200 channels on the TV but although this is a lot to choose from it doesn’t mean it’s interactive. The second area is Involvement- books and films may “involve” us but we cannot influence them therefore it is not two way. The final area is Active Audience- the interaction between memory and the imagination means we are active when we consume media  but again we cannot influence it , so therefore it is not two way.

Two types of interactivity that are important are person-to-person interactivity and person-to-machine interactivity. Person-to-person interactivity allows communication between people, it may be described by the number of people it can reach, the speed of communication or the ease of use. Person-to-person interactivity dominates web and mobile phone communication and allows a much higher degree of person interactivity than traditional media.

Steuer, (1992) defines Person-to-machine interactivity as “the extent to which users can participate in modifying the form and content of a mediated environment in real time”, it may allow person interactivity and like Person-to-person interactivity the web has high potential for this form of interactivity.

You often can’t tell the difference between person-to-person or person-to-machine interactivity, because sometime an interactive function uses both.  There are certain cases where each one is more relevant. In terms of social tasks person-to-person interactivity is most appropriate and person=to-machine interactivity favours things like the task of information searching.

Deighton and Kornfeld believe that where the consumer is concerned there are five paradigms in which relate to how consumers use media differently. These are:

1.       Thought tracing- people search the web for information or entertainment.  Businesses can infer states of mind from the content of the search and then serve the relevant advertising.

2.       Ubiquitous connectivity- people integrate always-on-computing into everyday life. Firms can exploit information on proximity and pertinence to intrude.

3.       Property exchanges- people participate in anonymous exchanges of goods and services.  Firms compete with these exchanges rather than participate with them.

4.       Social exchanges- people build identities within virtual communities; firms can sponsor or co-opt communities.

5.       Cultural exchanges- people observe and participate in cultural production and exchange. Businesses offer cultural products or sponsor their production.

They argue that the developments in” interactive technologies in the past decade lead to the conclusion that direct marketing is not appropriate for interactive marketing”. They felt that in terms of marketing, interactivity needs to be used to facilitate people’s identity projects.

To use interactivity effective, the needs of the consumer need to be fulfilled, through social exchanges or even through the search of information, for example on Google. Advertising on Google can be effective to businesses because it is not getting in the way of their information search, it is simply relating to their search and therefore will appeal to the consumer.  

“In the age of digital communication anyone who has the power to harness technology has the power to harness political and social power itself” ( Rheingold). This can easily be applied to the world of advertising and marketing communications.  If advertisers and marketers use technology to their advantage to reach consumers they can gain social power. The power of the crowd is an area in which could be seen as important to advertisers because of the use of User Generated Content, if they can use interactivity into these areas they could use this means of digital communications to successfully gain the needed social power for their brands.

References:
Deighton, J and Kornfeld, L., 2007 Digital Interactivity: Unanticipated Consequences for Markets, Marketing,and Consumers Available from: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5783.html [Accessed 13th feb 2011]

DCS- What did we do before we had the internet?

It’s hard to believe that digital communications haven’t always been around. The first email was sent in 1971 and if we think of how the digital world has developed today, it’s impossible to think of a time before the internet.

The internet has become such an integrated part of everyday life. It is used to keep into contact with people, to gain knowledge, to share opinions and is also now more frequently used by the advertising and marketing industry.

"The first digital advertisement in the form of a banner ad, was launched by AT&T in 1994 on Hotwired’s pages”(Doubleclick, 2005 cited in Mcstay, 2010) The digital world of advertising has since developed into many areas such as , virals, pay per click, social media and digital marketing. Mcstay, notes that it is a “maturing industry” meaning that it at this moment in time, it can keep being developed and be used as a tool in the marketing industry. Although initially there were some doubts about the use of digital advertising due to the early look of pages which consisted of solely text. Today it is “the fastest growing advertising medium, growing faster than any other advertising or marketing channel “( Mcstay, 2010)

Sherman 2008, claimed that traditional advertisers now see online advertising as “ a platform that encompasses all the media before it and stirs the pot to the boiling point with a large dose of interactivity”  ( cited in Mcsaty, 2010) A main reason why online campaigns seem to be successful is the added component that is interactivity. It makes the advertisement more interesting to the consumer and almost makes it seem as though it isn’t actually just an ad. An example of brand that is successful with online campaigns is Cadburys; last summer saw the “Spots vs Stripes” campaign hit our screens and our computers.  They had games included on their website and banner ads on Facebook, which allowed people to choose a side or play a game. This year Cadbury’s are launching a new online campaign for the Crème Egg season. According to Brand Republic 2010 Cadbury’s campaign continues the “goo on the loose” theme and will feature an online games which is called “ your country needs goo” , it will challenge players to find eggs hidden on various websites such as YouTube and Yahoo. There will also be an interactive quiz on it’s Facebook site.

Social media has proved popular with advertisers since its growth in the early 2000’s. One of the most popular forms of social media is Facebook. As a user of Facebook myself, I do have to think sometimes about what my life was actually like before Facebook. I am what some may call a Facebook addict I am on it at least once a day and also spend most of the day checking it on my Smart phone.  

Television took 13 years to reach 50 million viewers whereas, Facebook added 100 million users in just 9 months. The popularity of Facebook is unbelievable; this is why many advertisers have started to use It as a way of advertising their brand or product to their relevant target audiences. 

This clarifies that the audience is there for online advertising so why not use it. If it can allow you to effectively get your message across to your target audience then it should be a reliable media platform for your brand to use. 

Thanks for reading, feel free to comment if you have any opinions on digital advertising.

Refrences:
Mcstay, A.,2010 Digital Advertising Palgrave Macmillan:Hampshire
Brand Republic,2010 Cadbury unleashes online games return for Creme Egg season" Available from: http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletin/digitalpmbulletin/article/976423/Cadbury-unleashes-online-games-return-Creme-Egg-season/?DCMP=EMC-Media-PM-Bulletin [Accessed 6th February 2011]