The Internet. Exactly how vulnerable to this medium are we? As many would like to suggest we could survive independently from the Internet’s resources, in reality, we are virtually addicted. The ease and availability of the Internet makes it possible to use it in nearly any situation. Although it does not encompass new media’s entirety, the Internet has generated about three dimensions of communication old media lacked. Specifically, new media has introduced us to the notions of instant knowledge, digitalization and interactivity. Although new media has impacted the resources for, and communication of advertising, the main goal for marketers has remained unchanged: attract your consumer and deliver value.
Although the area of advertising is becoming increasingly technology-driven, old ways of doing business will not die overnight. Many traditional ad agencies simply do not have the budget to allow for much digital experimentation, and yet others are merely reluctant to embrace the unknown. The radical new approaches to advertising culture have both demanded and inspired innovative techniques of attracting attention. “It has forced marketers to stay on their toes and think of thousands of small great ideas instead of one great big one,” (Clifford 1).
New media has affected advertising in various ways. The major lesson acquired, though, has been that change does not have to be a negative concept. Until the Internet, advertising required heavy research at the front and back ends; millions of dollars went into television and print ads, so advertisers had to ensure they had the right idea before they could produce anything. Additionally, determining the effectiveness of those ads was just as complex. Beginning an advertising campaign was an undeviating process that required commitment and patience, and above all, a little luck. TV commercials used to be booked months before a season premiered, and if was show flopped, there were no ways of aborting their plans.
Today, the daily newspaper is yesterday’s news and the brilliant 30-second commercial is skipped over in the blink of an eye. The advertising that will survive today will not only embrace new media, but it will take advantage of and conquer it. “The species that are superior at adapting to change, those are the ones that will carry on,” (Friedman and Friedman 8). No one has ever gotten ahead by being a step behind, it is as simple as that.
References
Clifford, Stephanie. “Put Ad on Web. Count Clicks. Revise.” The New York Times 31 May 2009. 5 June 2009
Friedman, Linda Weiser, and Hersey H. Friedman. “High Impact Areas of the New Media Technologies: A Review.” Management Online Review (July 2008): 1-8. 24 June 2009
