As consumer habits shift, the way in which companies
advertise and promote their brand must adapt accordingly. More and more often
in this digitalised world, advertising tactics must branch into the online
sphere through different avenues to facilitate an appeal to the mass market. A
key concept for examining the phenomenon of digital media convergence in
regards to advertising is the way in which companies integrate owned, paid and
earned media into their campaigns whereas prior to this new media age, organisations
may have relied on one or the blend of two aspects in promotion. Through systematic
exploration of this convergence model of new digital media advertising as
outlined in Sheehan (2009), Spurgeon (2008), Campbell (2011), Owyang (2012) and
examination of the ways in which AAMI’s new media blended ad campaign ‘Rhonda
Driver Rewards’ employs all facets of the convergence model to sustain its
market interest, the ever-evolving relationship digital media and advertising
in which convergence is essential, will be illuminated.
Through the foundation of the Internet, social media
pathways, multi-platform devices and the ever-evolving morale of convenience in
media, consumers have adopted a new way of digesting their media intake and
have new standards to which advertising must meet in order to be effective (Owyang 2012). Effective advertisements now rely on its audience
to raise their market profile. No longer can organisations depend solely on
their paid billboards and endorsements to attract potential consumers, with a
world entwined with consumer interaction media must grab the attention of the
public in a way in which they involve themselves rather than simply maintain a
spectator to. Consumers previously were the passive recipients of messages,
reacting by either becoming attentive, by being converted, or by being able to
recall them (Campbell 2011). A key way in which digital media convergence is conveyed is the
way in which old and new media merges through the revolution of Web 2.0. Web
2.0 assists organisations bridge that uncertain gap between the dependence on
old media advertising and the new ‘increasingly distracted, distrustful and
disinterested’ nature of customers in a tech-savvy and dynamic environment
(Spurgeon 2008).
Australia’s AAMI insurance company is a foregrounding
example of the digital media convergence of paid, owned and earned advertising
through its Rhonda Safe Driver Rewards marketing campaign, which involves many
facets of Web 2.0. AAMI utilises
old media in the form of their television commercials, bus billboards and radio
advertisements to promote their product. Campbell (2011) discusses how although
the digital media boom and the new technologies that have emerged have
adversely shifted the way advertising is constructed, that the concepts of old
media never die. The appeal of old media will always remain and in AAMI’s case,
the popularity of the way in which they illuminated an everyday woman to the
spotlight resonated with their target audience. Previous to new medias and
technologies, organisations relied on this old media to wholly impact their
audience but with consumers carrying devices that now enable them to be
constantly online and distracted (Spurgeon 2008) companies such as AAMI branch
out to Web media models in order to maintain contact with potential consumers.
First, the revolution of Youtube in the way of an AAMI insurance channel was
created and an AAMI Facebook Fan Page utilised, displaying forms of owned media
to communicate with potential customers. As of 31st August 2012,
AAMI’s most successful branch of Safe Driver Rewards ‘Rhonda goes to Bali’ has been watched by over 80 000 users (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmiB1t7KD48)
and their Facebook fan page, over 46 000 ‘likes’ (http://www.facebook.com/aami). The
owned media AAMI employs such as their website, youtube channel and Facebook
are all interactive with consumers, forwarding the advertising technique of
earned media and facets of Web 2.0 within the campaign.
These new Internet technologies facilitate the power for
online users to both create content and rate already established content
(Sheehan 2009). AAMI employs these new technologies to involve consumers and
merge the lines between paid, owned and earned media in order to reach their
market in the most effective way. Competitions run by AAMI Insurance such as the
chance to appear in a commercial with their icon “Rhonda” by simply clicking a
button on their screens to ‘like’ their facebook page is a way in which they
can earn this promotion and directly allows consumers to control their content
and digestion of the advertisement. The shift to online content in advertising
is one well-documented by scholars such a Sheehan (2009) who states “as
consumers spend more time online, they spend less time using traditional
media,” also inferring that because of new technologies such as TIVO and
web-based programs allow consumers to avoid traditional forms of commercials
all together. Companies are now utilising advertising budgets to promote
themselves online simply to be able to reach an audience (Spurgeon 2008).
This convergence culture in which participants are able to
be ever-present within online worlds through the technologies they utilise and
the media outlets they contribute to, traditional media roles are challenged
and must adapt to continue to be effective. Alternative sources of digital media are established, as
with consumer productivity as shown through AAMI’s insurance ads. Through the
interactive marketing strategies companies
such as AAMI employ and the access to information unforeseen previously,
consumers are elevated to media dictators and digital convergence within
advertising and new media is proved to be essential as cultures adapt. Through
sharing and rating traditional media forms through new media forms, consumers
are gaining authority and influence within this convergence culture and are the
conclusive ends to whether campaigns flourish or crash.
The junction of this old, paid media with owned media such
as the company website, the Facebook fan-page, sponsored Youtube clips and the
earned media of consumer interaction highlights how important this digital
media convergence is to advertising, as exemplified by AAMI. Through thorough
exploration of the concepts outlined by Sheehan (2009), Spurgeon (2008),
Campbell (2011), Owyang (2012) and the ways in which modern ad campaigns such
as AAMI’s safe driver rewards employs these values illuminates the changing
roles of media in advertising, shifting old media to consumer prerogatives and
the convergence of technologies within campaigns.
Bibliography
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