Cicely Milsom by Cicely Milsom

Cicely Milsom

BA Creative Advertising

2013/14

How is New Media Changing the way that Advertising Agencies are Creatively Communicating with their Target Audiences?

9041 Words

Acknowledgements Most of all I’d like to thank my tutor, Janine Sykes for her ongoing support and invaluable input. Thanks are also due to the participants who made parts of this research possible. I would also like to thank my mum for her careful proofreading and endless enthusiasm.

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Illustrations

Figure One: Facebook ‘Take This Lollipop’

Jason Zada (2011) Take This Lollipop [Online] Available at: http://blog.websavvystudio.com/2011/take-this-lollipop-secure-facebook-account/ (Accessed: 11 January 2014) Figure Two: Old Spice ‘Smellcome to Manhood’

Wieden + Kennedy (2013) Smellcome To Manhood [Online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/OldSpice?fref=ts (Accessed: 11 January 2014) Figure Three: The Guardian ‘Three Little Pigs’

BBH (2012) Three Little Pigs [Online] Available at: http://wallblog.co.uk/2012/05/23/guardians-open-journalism-is-a-failed-businessmodel-says-brooke/threelittlepigs-2/ (Accessed: 11 January 2014) Figure Four: ASOS Brief, Own Work

15, 20, 23, 32 & 33

Cicely Milsom (2014) ASOS Campaign [Integrated Campaign]. Leeds Figure Five: Kaiser Chiefs: The Future is Medieval ‘Interactive Album’

Wieden + Kennedy (2011) KAISER CHIEFS: THE FUTURE IS MEDIEVAL [Online]. Available at: http://wklondon.com/work/view/the_future_is_medieval (Accessed: 11January 2014). Figure Six: Marks & Spencer ‘Christmas Advert’

RKCR/Y&R (2013) Marks & Spencer Christmas Advert [Online] Available at: http://www.listprive.com/marks-spencers-magical-christmas-campaign-starring-rosiehuntington-whiteley-and-david-gandy/ (Accessed: 11January 2014).

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Contents

Introduction:

Chapter 1: New Media

Chapter 2: Communication

Chapter 3: Research Project & Findings

Conclusion

Illustrations

Bibliography

Appendices: Appendix I: Questionnaire Results

Appendix II: Interview Questions

Appendix III: Email Interview -Barry

Appendix IV: Email Interview -Bell

Appendix V: ASOS Brief

Appendix VI: Growth of non-traditional media (Slide One)

Appendix VII: Growth of non-traditional media (Slide Two)

Appendix VIII: Ad spend forecasts December 2013

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54, 55 & 56

Introduction

New media is a term used to describe the development of new ways of using digital communication technologies to interact and involve an audience. It should not be mistaken for a term that also covers more traditional platforms such as television, unless it actually allows a level for digital interactivity. New media has provided a significant movement within communication theories, and as a result of this, advertising has had to keep up and change the way it approaches its audiences The most tremendous change being that they are no longer just talking to the audiences, they are talking with them. This study uses content analysis of contemporary adverts in an attempt to find out why certain new media campaigns have been successful. This research is done with the aim of finding out exactly why these new media campaigns have been so successful. Alongside this it takes into account different points of views about the effects that new media is having on communication from influential creatives such as Hegarty and Beattie, as well as examining points raised in relevant literature on new media and communication theories by the likes of Spurgeon (2008). Research undertaken directly informs the practical work done within the module showing an understanding of the research question: How is new media changing the way that advertising agencies are creatively communicating with their target audience? It also examines existing academia on new media and communication theories.

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This study starts by introducing new media, discussing the social and technological contexts that are impacting advertising today. It does this whilst examining trends in popular culture that might also be having an influence on the way that new media is changing the way agencies are communicating with their target audience. The following chapter then goes on to discuss communication theories within advertising, allowing an understanding of how they might have changed due to new media platforms. It does this by explaining the main aspects of communication models by influential theorists such as Gossage and Miles. It goes on to analyse campaigns that use these communication models within the adverts to help gain an understanding of the structure that might be used to create such work. It also explores journal publications about communication to help tie this chapter together, gaining a well-rounded conclusion from this section. Methods used to help conclude the findings of this study include both qualitative and quantitative research, which was carried out with the research question in mind. This is described in detail in the 4th Chapter of this study before it goes on to discuss the influence of these findings, to help conclude whether or not the process of creating digital advertising campaigns differs to the creation of traditional ones, and if so, how?

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Chapter 1

New Media

The rapid growth of new media is explored in this chapter in relationship to the research question: How is new media changing the way that advertising agencies are creatively communicating with their target audience? In order for this chapter to have explored if and how new media is impacting the way that advertising agencies can creatively communicate with their target audience, it first outlines research into the historical contexts which surround technology, and then continues to establish how the up-rise of new media might be changing the social and technological context of advertising today. The first steps towards the invention of the Internet were taken in the 1960s when computers were large, slow and expensive (Life Online, 2013). However development in the 1970s allowed computers to communicate across different networks, and it was in the 70s that the Internet was used socially for the very first time. In 1971 a computer programmer, Ray Tomlinson, was the very first person to send an email from one computer to another (Life Online, 2013). This became a new and very social aspect of the Internet and gave more and more people motivation to get online; it was then that the Internet really started to expand. Email groups were the beginning of the very first ‘internet communities’, and across the world online relationships were forming due to shared interests. When the interest started to climb, smaller, cheaper computers started to be produced, encouraging the creation of public

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networks and BBSs (Bulletin Billboard Systems). The first computerised BBSs were created in 1978. “I patterned the software after the ‘cork board and push pins’ type of bulletin board” (Ward Christensen, 1992, at Life Online, 2013). “These text-only notice boards were the original social networking sites and were managed by knowledgeable members of the public rather than governments or academic institutions. Their topics ranged from politics to pornography. By 1992 there were over 300,000 BBSs users in America alone.” (Life Online, National Media Museum 2013) By the late 19th Century, the vast majority of leading brands such as, Lucky Strike, Coca-Cola, and Sunlight Soap (Port Sunlight Museum), were primarily using print as a go-to advertising platform. The 20th century saw advertising embrace television as the new medium but campaigns continued to communicate to rather than with their target audience. However the last decade has shown a huge transformation in the way companies are reaching out to their target audiences. Even the most traditional companies such as Marks & Spencer 1 who have been running newspaper and magazine campaigns since the early 1950s, (Marks in Time, 2013) have recently engaged in social media campaigns in order for them to be able to generate the same amount of interest that print used to get them. In 1991 the ‘World Wide Web’ was launched, changing the technological aspects of everyday life forever. (Life Online, 2013) “It simplified how information was found, linked and displayed online. People began to wake up to the huge potential of the Internet and were motivated to get online. The web even enabled people to build their own websites. Scientists had long dreamed of a tool to aid human memory by making intuitive links between information. By releasing it free to the world he (Tim Berners-Lee) made the Internet a truly global information resource.” (Life Online, National Media Museum 2013) 1 Marks and Spencer is a major British retail company

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The development of the Internet has created a new age of information sharing with online tools, search engines, online businesses, social networking and online communities (Life Online, 2013). “Since it began in the mid-1990s, internet advertising has principally risen at the expense of print. Between 2003 and 2013 the internet’s share of global advertising rose by 17 percentage points, while newspapers’ share fell 13 points and magazines’ share fell by 5 points.” (ZenithOptimedia, 2013- see appendix VII) Online trends and technologies are constantly being shared in this Internet culture and so it is more important than ever for brands and agencies to keep up with the newest and latest developments. Hegarty (2013) has observed that one problem in agencies today is their inability to keep up with the newest technological platforms that are arising. He suggests that agencies aren’t figuring out how to use these platforms creatively at a speed that can keep up with online social trends. “Les Paul invented the electric guitar, but he didn’t create Rock ‘n’ Roll. Our problem today is we haven’t yet worked out how to use all this new technology creatively. That will take time” (Hegarty, 2013)

Having established how the Internet has developed over the last few decades, this study now looks to establish how this up-rise of new media could be changing the way agencies need to communicate with their target audience. It does this by discussing, how, due to the rise of new media, the speed of brand and product awareness has risen dramatically. A point that is also considered is how online platforms such as social networking sites (e.g. Facebook and Twitter) have made it possible for these brands and/or products to go from being unknown to a global sensation in just 24 hours. The examples of successful, viral advertising campaigns that are discussed in this chapter strongly suggest that the creation of the ‘hyperlink’

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has enabled agencies to create high volumes of traffic from the consumers, going straight to the product or brand, they have the same triumphant effect as buttons featured on social networking sites such as ‘share’, ‘like’ and ‘re-tweet’ which have a huge role to play when it comes to viral sensations. Spurgeon (2008) supports this as she suggests how the development of social media platforms is making it easy for audiences to share content that they favour in just a matter of seconds, via the Internet. “YouTube, Current TV and numerous other video-sharing sites make it easy for viewer-generated recommendations to circulate in the social networks of the Internet. In addition to letting viewers rate content, these websites automatically generate codes, which visitors painlessly copy and paste into their own blogs, emails and websites, so that others may easily access the content.” (Spurgeon, 2008, p.3)

Many agencies have made extremely successful viral campaigns, designed to raise awareness of brands, companies and products, using social networks alone. One extremely successful example of this was the ‘Take This Lollipop’ campaign that went viral in October 2011 (see figure 1). The campaign used the ‘Facebook Connect’ application to actually communicate with their audience not just to them. It did this by bringing the viewer into the short horror film by retrieving and using their very own pictures and messages from their Facebook profiles. The short film acts to underscore the dangers of posting too much personal information online. The campaign depicts how new media is changing models of communication as agencies are now having to find ways to interact with their audience, apposed to merely communicating to them. “The internet stands apart from other media in enabling its “users” to interact. From this perspective, the internet will always be, at its core, a tool for interpersonal communication.” (Riegner, 2007, p.436)

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The Take This Lollipop Facebook sensation, written and directed by Jason Zada, generated 7 million hits in the first 5 days of going live. When Zada was interviewed about his creative techniques behind the idea for the viral he said “I don’t know if there is a magic formula, but don’t over think things, keep things simple, fast and easy.” (Zada, 2011) And when asked in hindsight why he thought Take This Lollipop had gone viral he stated “Well, you can't put your friends in it. You have to watch the piece yourself… I have seen teenagers posting videos of them selves watching their videos on YouTube, but you can't send your videos forward. The trap is around you but nothing bad actually happens," (Zada, 2011). The success of this campaign demonstrates the power of social media, without the need for traditional forms of advertising (such as print and television) to create the high volumes of traffic that it clearly captures by itself. To support this concept of the power that social media holds, an analysis of statistical data (see appendix VI) that illustrates the impact and size of new media versus traditional media is now drawn upon (ZenithOptimedia, 2013). According to ZenithOptimedia (2013) mobile advertising is still in its early phase of growth and will be seen to climb over the next few years (see appendix VII). “Advertising is set to see the strongest sustained period of growth in ten years, with global ad spend growth forecast to rise from 3.6% in 2013 to 5.3% in 2014. Growth is then set to increase to 5.8% in 2015 and 2016. The principle engine of this growth will be mobile technology, which is expanding the space for media consumption.” (ZenithOptimedia, 2013) (See appendix VIII) This data provides an insight into the future of digital media, and how these new media platforms may develop even further and over take other, more traditional media.

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To further support the notion of the unique power of social media campaigns, this study now discusses another example of an extremely powerful and successful campaign that launched on a new media platform. Old Spice 2 campaigns are renowned in the marketing industry for being the pioneers of social media advertising. Previous campaigns have proved to be hugely noteworthy and have rewarded the brand with an unmistakeable, unique personality, which has since made their campaigns instantly recognisable. It wasn’t till their second campaign that they managed to create a timeless social media character. In 2013 Wieden + Kennedy3 launched a new campaign for the brand: ‘Smellcome to Manhood’ (see figure 2). The weird and wonderful campaign represents conflicting emotions mothers feel when their sons start dating girls thanks to the seductive smells of Old Spice, illustrated in a series humorous musical videos. The campaign was complete with the end line “To the delight of young men and the dismay of their mothers, Old Spice Re-fresh Body Sprays are here. Spray goodbye to boyhood. Smellcome to Manhood.” It was a first for the company as they released the campaign on a social media site, Twitter, before leaking it on any other channels. However, Old Spice is no stranger to Twitter; in 2011 the brand produced one of the most cunning multi-media campaigns yet to be seen. The really clever part of the campaign came after the initial airing, following all of the online conversations about the campaign via social media websites. Old Spice started to produce personalised video responses to comments about their campaign, on sites such Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. In less than 24 hours Old Spice delivered more than 120, hilarious, video responses, featuring their unmistakeable, unique character. These genius, personalised, strategically social media orientated responses proved to be hugely 2

Old Spice is a prominent American brand of male grooming products.

Wieden + Kennedy are an independently owned, global, creatively led advertising agency.

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successful as they instantly generated millions of online conversations, globally, in a matter of days. This clever campaign also suggests just how strong a social media campaign can be by itself, but perhaps only when executed this perfectly. It’s important to mention that this advert also shows how important the content of social media campaigns need to be, especially when targeting a younger demographic. This is a subject that is more widely discussed in the following chapter of this dissertation.

So, taking into account the huge viral success of the mentioned campaigns, has social media become the only platform that an agency needs to cater for in order to successfully communicate with its target audience and create mass awareness of the brand, company or product? And is it affecting advertising agencies ability to be creative within their campaigns? According to Pfeiffer et al, in 2010 the Internet had overtaken television as the biggest advertising sector by market share, he suggests that online advertising budgets are expected to continue to experience major increases. The Journal of Advertising illustrates many studies that show the development of Internet advertising. “There is existing research on single medium effectiveness within online advertising and comparative studies of the effectiveness of online and traditional advertising (Manchanda, Dube, Goh, Chintagunta, 2006; Robinson, Wysocka, and Hand, 2007; Lin and Chen, 2009, Rosenkrans, 2009).” (Pfeiffer et al, 2010, p.42) ZenithOptimedia, who provided this dissertation with figures that help illustrate just how strong new media is becoming, supports Pfeiffer et al (2010). “Mobile is now the main driver of global ad spend growth. We forecast mobile to contribute 36% of all the extra ad spend between 2013 and 2016. Television is the second largest contributor (accounting for 34% of new ad expenditure),

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followed by desktop internet (25%) – the rise of mobile is not preventing the continued rapid expansion of desktop internet advertising.” (ZenithOptimedia, 2013- see appendix VI) Although these studies all suggest the effectiveness of the independent use of online advertising, there is a limited supply of studies to compare these results to; ones which observe the effectiveness of cross-media campaigns that use online as well as offline advertising to create mass product awareness. However, a more recent study indicates the potential advantages of cross-media advertising over the single-medium approach (Pfeiffer et al, 2010). This research suggests that although the role of new media is clearly powerful, it might not be the success it is without the addition of traditional media. A recent campaign for the Guardian’s Open Journalism (2012), ‘Three Little Pigs’ (see figure 3), illustrates how, even with social media thriving, the power of print journalism continues to flourish. “The original tagline in '86 was the same: the whole picture. We think it still explains our mission perfectly - it's just the way we deliver the whole picture that has changed over time: in the digital age it is still through ground breaking journalism, but coupled with an open philosophy.” (Sweney, 2012)

The advert conveys how the company might cover the (slightly embellished) story of the Three Little Pigs, in print and online. It rapidly takes you alongside the developing story from the paper’s front page headline, through social media discussion and finally to their unexpected conclusion. This breakthrough campaign developed by advertising agency, Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), perfectly represents how technology has changed the way that we are communicating with one another. The structured advert uses story telling techniques to illustrate the world as it is now, and how new media is re-inventing news platforms (Beattie 2013), the campaign

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depicts the speed at which stories can unravel over social media, whilst still highlighting the strength of traditional formats. A recent social media campaign (2014) done for the ASOS4 brief (set by D&AD New Blood Awards5) (see appendix V) supports the mentioned argument that even with new media platforms thriving, the use of a traditional medium is just as important. The creative work (see figure 4) shows this successfully as it is a new media orientated campaign, which aims to attract a target audience of 20-30-year-olds, who are considered one of the most digitally active generations (Gibson, 2013). However this campaign, like many others, continues to use traditional advertising as well as new media platforms. This is an integrated advertising campaign, working across several different media. At the hub of this campaign is an app designed to provide a platform for fashion-loving, 20-something-year-old women to share and create fashion inspiration. This mobile application allows user-generated content whilst the brand can give an immediate response digitally. To create awareness the campaign uses a combination of platforms: print, digital boards, social media, direct mail and flyers. All aspects of the campaign cleverly mirror the primary use of the app, which is to create fashion inspiration A recent survey (2013) asked 38 Creative Advertising students if they agreed with the statement ‘New media platforms are changing the way that advertising agencies are creatively communicating with their target audience’ (see appendix I). The study established that 34 participants did in fact agree with this statement, whilst a minority of 4 participants responded with explanations outlining why they were unsure. It is 4

ASOS.com is one of the UK’s largest online-only fashion and beauty stores. D&AD are a British educational charity that exists to promote excellence in design and advertising. The New Blood Awards aim to reward great ideas that are well executed and appropriate.

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interesting to see that although they do agree with this statement, they aren’t convinced it is a positive aspect to the technological context of today’s society. “Yes, they are using new platforms but they are not always effective e.g. mobile phone advertising is generally perceived as intrusive.” - Participant B (see appendix I) Another respondent, who agrees, supports this view by suggesting that sometimes the way that agencies are using social media is making the communication with target audiences far too invasive. “It is more personal but at the same time impersonal. Technology is closing the gap in a way but, physically speaking, distancing from their target audiences. Today they can come into our homes, it’s like the 'screen' is a doorway for the ad agencies to enter our (not so) private lives.“ -Participant D (see appendix I) This research suggests that although the students agree that the up-rise of new media has and is dramatically changing the way that agencies are communicating with their audience, they also agree that it isn’t preventing creativity in other media within their work. The discussion within this chapter raises insights gathered from existing literature, analysis of advertising campaigns as well as interviews with creatives, all of which consider how, as well as if, the development of new social media platforms is changing the way that advertising agencies are creatively communicating with their target audience. The discussion suggests strongly that the last decade has seen a triumphant development in technology, and this is certainly changing how agencies are now able to communicate with their target audience, however it may not be changing the way that they are creatively communicating with them. Having established this, this dissertation now goes on to discuss how the development of new media is changing traditional communication methods.

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Chapter 2

Communication

The role of communication, in relation to new media, can be seen to have changed the way that agencies are creatively communicating with their target audiences. This Chapter aimed to examine how it does this, firstly by outlining key aspects of highly influential communication theories and then by debating results from recent research conducted to explore theoretical approaches into communication as well as addressing publications such as ‘Advertising and New Media’ and ‘The Future Of Advertising’ by the likes of Spurgeon, (2008), Hegarty, (2010) and Harrison, (2012). Finally this dissertation then attempts to establish if, why, and how new media really is changing the way advertising agencies are communicating with their audience. The role of cybernetics has influenced advertising greatly over the last decade and is becoming far more complex; it has made it possible for the method of advertising to really involve the audience because the communication isn’t only coming from the advertiser, but also the consumer. Howard Luck Gossage was a copywriter during the 50s and 60s who introduced several cutting-edge techniques, which vastly influenced the future of advertising practice. The Cybernetic Model of Advertising Communication (Miles, 2007, p.307-334) illustrates the informative communication loop: it is all about feedback and improving the effectiveness of campaigns. In the 1960s Gossage took an earlier approach of cybernetics, which he learnt as a pilot in

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the Second World War, and applied it to his advertising. This Cybernetic Model (see diagram below) enables campaigns to engage with the audience, where as the previous ‘Transmission Model’ only aimed to inform the message to them. Source

Message

Receiver

Feedback The Transmission Model of Communication was an earlier attempt to develop a theory of communication in the 20th Century (Grossberg, 2006, p.18-19); this model had a far more basic understanding, that ‘communication was the process of moving messages from sender, through a medium, to a receiver’ (see diagram below). Source

Message

Receiver

“Gossage was certainly influenced by information loops and the whole theory that things went out and came back and went out and came back to you, and I think that’s what he tried to exploit. And in a way I think it was a way of overcoming loneliness of modern times…I think he wanted to overcome that. I think he wanted to use media to connect with people and hear what they had to say and to tell them things, and to have a conversation with them instead of just talk at them.” (Harrison, 2012, p.61)

This establishes how there has been a reconstruction to the way that advertising campaigns are connecting with their audience. Gossage’s approach deviated from the conventional ways of putting together advertising campaigns at the time, which required the advertising to simply convey the products unique selling point and then repeat the advert until it had firmly registered in the audience’s consciousness. This method pushed the message onto the audience, it didn’t allow any room to consider how the reader actually thought or felt about the product or advertisement. It was just assumed that the audience would act on the messages that the adverts had

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communicated. However, Gossage began to invite his readers into the communication loop; when talking about his technique he said “it runs counter to the usual procedure of preparing a whole year’s campaign in advance which, of course, is a much more convenient way to do it, but commits you to more or less static advertising” (Gossage, in Harrison, 2012, p.62). Gossage understood the value of adverts having a call to action, he was one of the first to grasp the fact that advertising campaigns weren’t to be passively consumed by the audience but to be actually acted upon. Gossage implemented a new generation of advertising, according to Mander “Gossage had a term for it. He called it ‘interactive’” (Mander, in Harrison, 2012, :63). This development of interactive advertising proves that due to the increase of new platforms provided by social media sites and development in technology; campaigns have begun to truly involve the audiences more than ever before. Salman et al (2011) support this theory as they highlight how new media is blurring the lines of communication. “With the coming of the new media, people who have long been on the receiving end of one-way mass communication are now increasingly likely to become producers and transmitters… the distinction between information producers and consumers will become increasingly difficult to draw.” (Salman et al, 2011, :3) It’s interesting to note that they go on to discuss how, although it may appear that new media is crushing traditional platforms of advertising, making these levels of communication irrelevant in the 21st Century. It may be considered that they actually support one another, and that the high level of communication that new media offers might not be as strong as it proves to be today without the foundation of traditional media.

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“The fact that we are increasingly living in an era of media convergence, distinctions among traditional mainstream mass media and the new media such as the Internet are getting more and more blurred (Banerjee, 2008). Despite these distinctions, there are still complementarities between the new media and conventional media. They will continue to coexist and reinforce each other.” (Salman et al, 2011, :9) As discussed in the previous chapter, a recent social media campaign for ASOS (2014) conveys this theory well. The creative work (see figure 4) uses a digital phone application as the basis for the campaign and attempts to raise (global) awareness for the application through a combination of both tradition media such as print, as well as relying on social media. A fantastic example of an interactive advertising campaign was one done for the release of the Kaiser Chiefs’ new album (see Figure 5) ‘The Future is Medieval’ where the band worked with Wieden & Kennedy, B-Unique and Fiction Records. The interactive campaign allowed fans to create, and sell their own bespoke versions of the album. They could do this by picking 10 songs out of 20 and designing their own artwork before they downloaded their album from the website. The process also gave them their own web page, banner ads for their blog, posters and social media tools to advertise their album. For every album they sold, they would earn £1 in commission. Wieden & Kennedy beautifully executed this campaign; it compelled the audience to participate so that they could feel part of the buying experience, it successfully links the fans to the music as well as the band. The campaign truly engaged the fans, making them cross the line from just being a consumer to a being a producer. This demonstration of interactive advertising considers the importance of the communication loop (Gossage) in today’s society. New technology enables us to reach out to the target market, on a personal level, so easily, that it is more important than ever to see how they are responding to the campaigns.

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In addition to discussing the evolution of communication loops, the development of online word of mouth, or ‘WOM’ or ‘eWOM’ as the Journal Of Advertising Research calls it (Riegner et al, 2007), must be considered in this chapter as it plays an important role in the changes of communication throughout the last decade. Word of mouth is the oldest form of advertising around, coming into existence before traditional advertising mediums such as the printing press and radio, but it is only recently that it has been re-incarnated due to the increase of online activity and has become valued platform for advertising brands & products. “The emerging importance of WOM is because WOM can be both a measure of advertising’s impact as well as motivation to try a brand, or a highly credible source of information to try a brand. Consumers today are overwhelmed by so many brand choices, product offerings, reviews, recommendations, comparisons and evaluations. WOM, blogs and social networks help them to navigate through all these.” (Plummer, 2007, p.385) Marks & Spencer is an example of a hugely successful company who, for 125 years, heavily relied on the power of word of mouth to connect with their customers. Catalogues from the Marks & Spencer Archive (Marks In Time 2013) show obvious product advertising through their employee magazines. These monthly in store magazines such as ‘The Pantheon News’, feature in-store news such as new product lines that are hitting the shelves and how to wear them this season. However the uprise of social media has changed the way that this traditional brand is reaching out to its target market as recent years have shown Marks & Spencer to use social networking sites as a platform of communication for the very first time. We saw the company join Facebook in April 2009; a good 3 years after other leading brands jumped on the bandwagon. Over the past 4 years Marks & Spencer has posted the likes of food recipes, special offers, gift ideas onto its Facebook page as well as interacting with its audience by asking them questions such as “Look gorgeous in one

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of these vintage inspired summer dresses...which one's your favourite?” (M&S Facebook Page, 2009). Nonetheless, it has taken until this year to see the retailer support its television advert by releasing an online teaser clip of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley chasing her fluffy white dog and then falling down a rabbit hole on the company Facebook page— 48 hours ahead of the television advert launch. It is interesting to see the traditional brand step in the same direction as rival John Lewis, who, over the last few years, has trialled its Christmas advert on social media a day before the television advert launch. The advert (see figure 6) produced by RKCR/Y&R features the famous model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in a fantasy land; retelling the stories of Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. The advert successfully engages the viewer, taking them into a magical world. The director of marketing, Patrick Bousquet-Chevanne explained, “With this year’s ad we wanted to recapture the magical essence of Christmas that our customers tell us is synonymous with M&S” (Bousquet-Chevanne, 2013). Running along side the campaign, the retailing company has used social media to engage customers by generating a campaign that asks them to vote on whether the featured dog should be called Magic or Sparkle. This change of advertising technique shows how even the most traditional, 125-year-old, successful brand is having to roll with the times and mould its campaigns to suit fast moving technological and social contexts. Over the last 5 years, alongside the rise of mobiles, new technologies and social media platforms, the development of online word of mouth has also been thriving. However this is not the only thing: whilst 2013 has seen words such as ‘selfie’ appear in the dictionary it has also seen a rapidly growing market for user-generated content.

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User-generated content has developed from word of mouth advertising as brands are seeing peer recommendations to be hugely influencing the consumer’s behaviour. As Spurgeon (2008) suggests, social platforms such as YouTube and Facebook enabling their users ability to ‘share’ content, is depicting how successful a campaign is. “These channels are creating a sharing ecosystem that thrives on user-based input -- whether a photo, video, review, podcast, question-answer database, or blog post.” (Stokes, 2013) Hugely popular user-generated content mobile applications such as ‘Snapchat’ and ‘Instagram’ are allowing users to effortlessly share their own photos, experiences and opinions with the rest of the online world. The advances in user-generated technology, have enabled brands and agencies to use this popular culture of personal sharing to their advantage by orientating campaigns around this. Getting the consumers to fully absorb themselves with the brand and product, and then share it, is an amazing advance for communication within advertising as it is letting brands and agencies truly engage with their audience whilst simultaneously getting instant feedback.

“Mobile is the first new technology in twenty years – since the spread of the world wide web – to expand media consumption, not cannibalise it, by giving people convenient and portable access to the full range of rich content available on the modern internet.” (ZenithOptimedia, 2013 – see appendix VI) A recent social media campaign for ASOS (2014) uses this extremely personal level of communication with its campaign (see figure 4). It is seen to utilise user-generated content within the mobile application as well as in the campaign that runs alongside it. This is an extremely important aspect of popular culture, especially when targeting 20-somethings — it is clear that this generation enjoys being the heart and soul of digital media, and putting themselves into the content, after all it was that generation

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that got ‘selfie’ into the dictionary. The campaign is completely user orientated, providing a platform for them to share and create fashion inspiration, online. A number of authors and professional creatives have considered how new media is shaping the future of advertising. Spurgeon (2008) and Beattie (2013), and Hegarty (2010) have all commented upon the positive changes brought about by new social media platforms and the great opportunities that technology can bring. For instance Sir John Hegarty, in a talk he gave on ‘10 Reasons why this is the best time to be in Advertising’ (2010) acknowledged that technology is liberating what creatives can do. This is supported by Trevor Beattie (2013) as he declared the end of the ’30second’ TV advert, explaining that because of the creation of sites such as ‘Vine’, viewers have become incredibly quick to decide if they love or hate a video, and are able to consume the information at a much faster rate. He compared new digital platforms to ‘tapas’, suggesting that information has become ‘bite sized’, “People are absorbing the same amount of information, just without dragging their feet” (Beattie, 2013). Beattie describes how digital technology allows people to use dual screens: people are watching live television whilst simultaneously interacting with their friends and family about what they are watching via social networks. Christina Spurgeon further supports this in her book, ‘Advertising and New Media’ (2008), where she discusses how consumers are merging new media platforms and communication into their lives, and by doing so, are accessing new levels of control and influence over the media. “People are no longer as dependent on mass media for information and entertainment. As personal computers and fixed and mobile network connections multiply, the density of networked conversations increases. Convergent developments in consumer electronics and social software that support peer-to-peer interaction also cause the economic barriers to media

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production and distribution to plummet. A variety of new commercial media, which take advantage of the conversational productivity of consumers, now extend the range of media choices well beyond mass and niche media. Conversational media are both the consequences and drivers of the new economies of information and networks. They are being used to increase the variety of patterns of interaction and forms of social exchange, organisation and politics. Corresponding with the Internet’s rapid development as a platform for advertising and commerce, conversational views of interaction and participation have increasingly called into question the status of transmission as the natural systemic and social order of media.” (Spurgeon, 2008, 2) Beattie (2013) explored how the new technological context of today’s society is changing the target audience’s perception of advertising. He suggests that people have become de-sensitised because of the speed at which social networks work. Claiming that we have become extremely impatient when it comes to our digital viewing habits, living in an age where people want to open their presents two days before Christmas. When speaking about how the 30-second advert is over, Beattie argues that it can only take 5 seconds to communicate an idea, “It doesn’t take 30 seconds to absorb a print ad… agencies need to bring billboard mentality to moving pictures” (Beattie 2013). This point of view shows the speed at which the advertising industry is working and that campaigns can easily adapt to keep up with new communication trends. However, Hegarty also suggests that the development of new technologies arising at such a fast pace means that agencies cannot work out how to use them quickly enough creatively and because of this, creative advertising campaigns are suffering. Hegarty (2013) has said that in order to address the decline in quality and to reenergise advertising today, creatives should play a bigger role at agency level and they must rethink their approach to technology.

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Hegarty (2011) raised an interesting point in an interview with The Guardian, he discussed how new media may be changing the social contexts of today’s society, but for the better. He thinks this because social media is actually helping embellish traditional forms of advertising, and helps to keep them relevant in today’s social environments. “Social networking is fundamentally important but what are people going to social network around? You write a brilliant ad in a big way – like the Audi thing we're doing – then people tweet each other 'Have you seen that? That's absolutely fantastic'. The old medium is still brilliant but you've got to use it in a much more imaginative and daring way." (Hegarty, 2011)

Outlining key aspects of influential communication theories within this chapter shows how this personal level of advertising is working in today’s culture as well as enabling an understanding of how agencies and brands are now communicating with consumers. Looking at existing literature and analysing key talks by the likes of Spurgeon (2008), Hegarty (2011) and Beattie (2013) has provided the relevant support for the argument that new media is indeed constantly changing the way that advertising agencies are communicating with their target audience. In conclusion, the research examined within this chapter suggests that new media provides an immediate communication loop as social networks enable the audience to provide feedback to the agencies and brands whist simultaneously viewing and absorbing the advert. This evidence uncovers suggestions that communication theories are perhaps more important and relevant in todays society than ever before. It is important for agencies to keep advertising campaigns moving at a fast pace, as people are more impatient than ever and living at a much more rapid pace of life.

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Chapter 3

Research Project

This chapter explores the research methods chosen for this project. The aim of this dissertation was to carry out research into the effects that the development of technology over the last decade is having on the way that agencies are communicating with their target audience. Based on these aims, the following research questions were formulated: Firstly: Is new media changing the way agencies are creatively communicating with their target audience? And if so, secondly: How is new media changing the way that advertising agencies are creatively communicating with their target audience? For the initial research question, this dissertation carried out quantitative research (see appendix I) in the form of a short survey to formulate validation for this dissertation’s research question. Subsequent to this, qualitative research (see appendix II) was carried out in the form of interviews, conducted over email. These interviews were carried out with professional creatives from advertising agencies who were selected because of their relevant work with digital methods of advertising. This research was conducted with the aim of illustrating how new media is changing the techniques that advertising agencies are using to create innovative campaigns that communicate with their target audience not just to them. The findings from this quantitative and qualitative research is used to compare with existing literature discussed in Chapters 2 & 3 to help conclude this dissertation.

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Survey This branch of research (see appendix I) used quantitative analysis in the form of a single question survey with a multiple-choice answer. Since this initial research aimed to explore participants’ perception of the investigation, to find out if new media is changing the way agencies are creatively communicating with their target audience, conducting a survey was the obvious choice of research method (Olson 2012). Using a quantifiable approach enables the data to be analysed precisely. The participants’ answers are easily measurable because of the simple yes/no format of the survey. This form of research also allowed this dissertation to produce a larger quantity of reliable, precise information to help justify the initial research question. This section of research was carried out on 38 Undergraduate Creatives between the ages of 18 – 25. The participants were chosen because they represent Generation Y, they are a generation that are all fully aware of new media platforms (Gibson, 2013), and as young creatives, understood the basis of the question. Survey Question: “Do you agree that new media platforms are changing the way that Advertising Agencies are creatively communicating with their target audience?”

The Survey (see appendix I) was sent out as a link for the participants to complete online, in their own time to ensure minimal stress or effort for the quick, multiplechoice survey. The more at ease the participant feels, the more likely they are to answer truthfully which, in turn, makes the results more reliable (Olson 2012).

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The results from this survey (see appendix I) offered conclusive results, with 34 out of 38 (89.47%) respondents confirming that they agreed that new media is changing the way agencies are creatively communicating with their target audience. Interesting answers also arose from 4 participants who selected the ‘other’ option box.

“I believe that it’s the clients that are changing the way the agency communicates with it’s audiences, because the clients want a massive social media buzz. They believed it worked but I think now clients think having x amount of Facebook likes for example, doesn’t mean anything, It doesn’t mean you’ve reached your audience, it just means they’d pushed a button.” -Participant A (see appendix I)

“Yes, they are using new platforms but they are not always effective e.g. mobile phone advertising is generally perceived as intrusive.” - Participant B (see appendix I) “In some aspects of the above statement I would agree, I feel that the changing platforms with which the consumer can interact and digest media content is concurrently having an effect on the way advertisements will attempt to communicate with their audience, sighting the modern prevalence of free-to-view media content providers who in turn solely make their income from advertising. On the other hand I feel that, although the platform of communication has changed, are modern advertising techniques all that different from those used in the 50s? The same essential aspirational tools are used, as well as multiple misogynistic messages conveyed in only a slightly modernized background way than they were in the post war world.” -Participant C (see appendix I) “It is more personal but at the same time impersonal. Technology is closing the gap in a way but, physically speaking, distancing from their target audiences. Today they can come into our homes, it’s like the 'screen' is a doorway for the ad agencies to enter our (not so) private lives.“ -Participant D (see appendix I)

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Email Interviews Prior to the initial research in the form of a survey (see appendix I), a second investigation was structured with the aim to consider how new media is changing the way that advertising agencies are creatively communicating with their target audience. With this aim in mind it seemed apparent that the analysis should be in the form of qualitative data. A structured three-question interview was composed (see appendix II), with openended queries in the hope of the participants providing longer, more interesting answers (Olson 2012). The questions were written based on research gathered from the previous survey (see appendix I). The participants approached are professional creatives who work at various agencies, and work on digital platforms for the majority of their advertising. The results varied, and provided this study with further views to support existing literature that has already been analysed throughout this dissertation. Interview Questions: 1.) Clearly new media is changing the way agencies are communicating with their target audience, however in your view – what is the most significant change? 2.) Could you explain how the role of new media has changed your creative strategies in the way that you work to create campaigns? 3.) Can you give an example of a campaign where you have used these strategies?

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Findings of Research Project This section aims to examine the findings from the research that has been carried out, with the intention of helping to provide a more in-depth analysis of how agencies are creatively communicating with the target audience via new media platforms. It discusses this by firstly comparing the findings to existing literature, which was considered in chapters two and three. It then goes on to outline the most significant findings and consider how these conclusions might inform creative practice within forms of new media advertising. Many points discussed by creatives in the interviews support the views of leading creatives such as Hegarty and Beattie. One online interview with Jeff Barry, a copywriter based in California, (see appendix III) suggested that although he wasn’t convinced that new platforms are necessarily changing creative strategies, he did state that the most important thing when developing ideas to suit a brief is being in the know, keeping up with everything and knowing exactly what is in trend within your target audience. “I don't know that new media has changed creative strategy, but I do think agencies and creatives have to be ultra-aware of what's out there. It all boils down to keeping in mind who and what your brand is. As a creative, you should NEVER force a medium that isn't a good fit.” (Barry, 2013) Hegarty (2013) supports this as he suggested that the only problem with the rapid growth in new technology lies with the agencies not being able to keep up and know how to use it. “Les Paul invented the electric guitar, but he didn’t create Rock ‘n’ Roll. Our problem today is we haven’t yet worked out how to use all this new technology creatively. That will take time” (Hegarty, 2013)

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These findings should inform creative practice when using new media to reach the target audience: clearly, thorough research into the target audience is a key part of the creative process. Knowing everything that the target consumers are talking about online about has become essential. “The rate that technology is evolving makes it extremely difficult to keep up if you're not on top of reading blogs and articles almost daily.” (Barry, 2013 see appendix III) Research

discussed

from

analysing

recent

social

media

campaigns

and

communication theories suggest how important online word of mouth has become to aid the success of these campaigns. It does this by providing agencies with instant feedback from social networks, this is a point that should influence the creative practice as it is important to consider how enabling the campaign to collect immediate feedback can make the whole advert last longer and go further. A recent campaign for ASOS (see figure 4) has considered this as it provides a mobile application where the user creates the first move and then allows the brand to make the second and so on. Another online interview with Bell, 2014 (see appendix IV) supports this as he suggests the positive impacts of two-way conversations that social media has provided. “With social media bringing two way conversations into advertising and sales, a film brings the brand ethos to life in a more human and engaging way.” (Bell, 2014, see appendix IV) There has, however, been some dispute about whether or not new media changes the creative techniques that are being used to create campaigns. Barry (2013) denied that there has been a change in creative strategies, “I don't know that new media has changed creative strategy, but I do think agencies and creatives have to be ultra-aware of what's out there.” However he continues to say that researching the social contexts

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of the brand & the target audience is fundamental when creating a new media campaign. “For example, why make a mobile app that nobody is going to use? I've seen too many agencies and clients jump on the bandwagon for whatever the next big social media platform is and it blows up in their faces because it's not a genuine match. It doesn't speak to who they are and it becomes completely transparent that they were just trying to be cool. Personally, I believe the only difference in the creative process of today vs. back in the 60's is feeling the need to research anything and everything on the Internet. It's important to know what's been done, but with the amount of access we as people have to new technology and information, we are now held to a higher standard in the work we produce.” (Barry, 2013, see appendix III) Another key finding is one that suggests that although in many respects new media campaigns are thriving, they might not be doing so well without the foundations that traditional media platforms offer, and vice-versa. The analysis of the Old Spice campaign in chapter two illustrates this well: this is another aspect that was carefully considered in the production of the ASOS campaign (see figure 4) as it uses a variety of new and old media. Hegarty (2011) supports this, stating that social media is actually helping embellish traditional forms of advertising, and helps to keep them relevant in today’s social environments. The aspects discussed provide interesting views into the thought processes behind the making of media orientated campaigns. The most beneficial aspect of using new media within a campaign is the immediate consumer feedback that it provides for brands. However its considered that you can’t just jump on the bandwagon and expect it to work, the target audience must be considered majorly, only using it when it is a 100% good fit.

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Conclusion

Understanding how new media is changing the way that advertising agencies are creatively communicating with their target audiences is the objective of this dissertation. Aiming to draw conclusions from a variety of sources, such as journals, literature, questionnaires, exhibitions and interviews with the research question in mind. Chapter 1 outlines and discusses the effects of technological advances in new media, in relation to advertising. Research taken from Life Online (2013) illustrates the way that technology has changed over the years. Whilst Hegarty (2013) advises that agencies cannot keep up with these latest technological platforms, Spurgeon (2008) suggests that these new platforms are a positive attribute to todays advertising because they allow the audience to share content with ease and so make it easier for a campaign to go viral. The debates that this chapter draws upon concluded that although new media is evidently changing the way that agencies are communicating with their audience, it also became clear that these new media advances are in no way preventing agencies from producing the same levels of outstanding creative work, in fact they are providing them with greater opportunities. Chapter 2 primarily evaluates communication models and discusses how they are adapting to keep up with todays popular culture. It was in this chapter that the fundamental point of this dissertation became clear— that the development of new media has provided an immediate communication loop for the agencies, allowing them to gain insightful and invaluable feedback from the consumers. This was

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established after taking into account the views of Harrison (2012), Miles (2007) and Gossage (2012) who together support the notion that there has been a reconstruction to the way that advertising campaigns are communicating with the audience. Harrison (2012) explains that campaigns have enabled the audience to fully absorb themselves with the brands. Alongside this the speed at which the target audience comprehend adverts and deciding whether or not they love or hate something (Beattie, 2013), is also considered in this chapter. Using this conclusion alongside the analysis of online word of mouth (Riegner et al 2008) suggests the speed at which agencies and brands are receiving feedback. Chapter 3 drew results from the research carried out through questionnaires and interviews. This chapter proves to be most influential to the creative practice as it provided rich insights into the creative processes that are essential for a successful digital campaign. As evaluated in the Findings Of The Research Project section of Chapter 3, the key conclusions of this study should be considered intrinsic to the creative practice when strategising a new media orientated campaign: •

It is vital to take technological advances into consideration when planning a strategy.

•

It is essential to absorb yourself in the target audience’s online conversations about their interests. Researching the social contexts of your target audience is still fundamental when creating a new media campaign.

•

The communication loop and the feedback this generates provides important insights— consider how providing an immediate feedback loop could be beneficial to the campaign.

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•

Traditional media is still very much relevant in the creating of a new media hit.

•

Keep on top new media technology. It is important when developing ideas to suit a brief to be in the know.

•

Don’t ignore the power of user-generated content to create viral awareness of the campaign.

•

Don’t assume the use of new media platforms is a safe bet; it is vital to gain a full understanding of the brand’s personality before narrowing your options.

•

Your creative strategy may change— be aware that the use of new media in advertising should not be at the expense of the quality of a traditional campaign.

Taking into account the views of Beattie and Hegarty that have been discussed thorough out this study, and comparing these insights to the ones gathered from the interviews conducted for this research project, it is fair to say that they support the argument that new media is indeed changing the way agencies are creatively communicating with their target audience, but for the better.

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Figure 1

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Figure 2

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Figure 3

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Figure 4

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Figure 5

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Figure 6

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Bibliography Articles/ Websites Armstrong. (2011). John Hegarty: Why television is the place advertisers want to be again. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/jun/13/interview-johnhegarty-bbh. Last accessed 19th November 2013. Life Online (2013). Available: http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/. Last accessed October 2013. Gibson, R. (2013). Generation Y & Social Media. Available: http://www.generationy.com/generation-y-social-media/. Last accessed 3rd January 2014. Marks & Spencer. (2009) Marks & Spencer (Facebook Page).Available: https://www.facebook.com/MarksandSpencer?fref=ts. Last accessed November 2013. Sweney (2012) ‘Guardian TV ad kicks off 'open journalism' campaign’ Available: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/feb/29/guardian-tv-ad-openjournalism. Last accessed November 2013 Stampler. (2013). How Dove's 'Real Beauty Sketches' Became The Most Viral Video Ad Of All Time. Available: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-doves-real-beautysketches-became-the-most-viral-ad-video-of-all-time-2013-5. Last accessed 9th November 2013. Stokes, K. (2013). The 5 greatest user-generated content campaigns. Available:http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/34992.asp#singleview. Last accessed January 2014. Unknown Author (2011). Kaiser Chiefs The Future Is Medival. Available: http://kaiserchiefs.specialmoves.com/. Last accessed November 2013. Unkown Author (2011). A totally bespoke record deal. Available: http://creativityonline.com/news/kaiser-chiefs-create-your-own-album--best-of-2011-ix-4/231803. Last accessed November 2013. Unkown Author (2013). M&S Christmas Ad 2013. Available: http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2013/november/ms-christmas-ad-2013. Last accessed 20th November 2013.

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Williams, E. (2011). Create your own Kaiser Chiefs album. Available: http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2011/june/kaiser-chiefs-wieden-kennedylondon. Last accessed November 2013.

Books Cappo (2013) The Future Of Advertising. United States: Crain Communications, Inc Harrison (2012). Changing the World is the Only Fit Work for a Grown Man: An Eyewitness Account of the Life and Times of Howard Luck Gossage. : Unknown Publisher. p61-75 Gossage, in Harrison (2012). Changing the World is the Only Fit Work for a Grown Man: An Eyewitness Account of the Life and Times of Howard Luck Gossage. : Unknown Publisher. p62 Grossberg (2006). Media Making. SAGE Publications, Inc. p18-20. Keen (2012). Digital Vertigo. London: Constable & Robinson Ltd. Manda, in Harrison (2012). Changing the World is the Only Fit Work for a Grown Man: An Eyewitness Account of the Life and Times of Howard Luck Gossage. : Unknown Publisher. :63 Nenna (2012). Creative 4cast. London: LID Publishing Ltd. Olson (2012) Data Collection: Key Debates and Methods in Social Research SAGE Publications Ltd Spurgeon (2008). Advertising and New Media. Oxon: Routledge. p1-114.

Exhibitions Life Online (2013) Display Board at National Media Museum, Bradford, October 2013 Marks In Time, Catalogue at Marks & Spencer Company Archive, Leeds, November 2013 Indifferent Matter, Leaflet at Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, October 2013 Port Sunlight Museum, Display Board at Port Sunlight Village Museum, Liverpool, 2012

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Interviews Primary Bell, D. (2014) ‘New Media Vs. Creativity’. Interview with David Bell. Interviewed by Cicely Milsom, 2 January. Barry, J. (2013) ‘New Media Vs. Creativity’. Interview with Jeff Barry. Interviewed by Cicely Milsom, 19 November. Secondary Beattie (2013) ‘I’ve decided to embrace impatience’ Interviewed by John Plunkett for The Guardian, 19 March [Online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/media/video/2013/mar/19/trevor-beattie-advertisingweek-europe. Last accessed 19th November 2013. Hegarty (2011) ‘Why television is the place advertisers want to be again’ Interviewed by Stephen Armstrong for The Guardian, 13 June [Online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/jun/13/interview-john-hegarty-bbh. Last accessed 19th November 2013. Hegarty (2013) ‘Our Audience Thinks the Quality of Advertising is Getting Worse. What are we going to do about it?” Live Discussion with the Media Network, 11 April [Online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/medianetwork-blog/2013/apr/11/john-hegarty-quality-creative-advertising. Last accessed 3rd December 2013. Zada (2011) ‘How Jason Zada Created Facebook's Scariest Viral Sensation: TakeThisLollipop.com’ Interviewed by Porter Gale for AdAge, [Online] Available at: http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/jason-zada-created-facebook-s-scariest-viralsensation/230609/. Last accessed November 2013.

Journals Miles (2007) ‘A cybernetic Communication Model For Advertising’ Journal of Marketing Theory.7 (4), p307-334 Pfeiffer et al (2010) ‘Can Old Media Enhance New Media?’ Journal Of Advertising Research. 50 (1), p42 Plummer (2007) ‘Word Of Mouth- A New Advertising Discipline’ Journal Of Advertising Research. 47 (4), p385 Precourt (2007) ‘The Power of Television in a Digital Age’ Journal Of Advertising Research. 50 (2), p109-110

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Reigner (2007) ‘Word Of Mouth- A New Advertising Discipline.’ Journal Of Advertising Research. 47 (4), p436 Salman et al (2011) ‘The Impact of New Media on Traditional Mainstream Mass Media.’ The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 16 (3), article 7 p2-9

Talks Hegarty (2010) in Sykes (2010) 10 Reasons Why This is The Best Time to be in Advertising (Talk Notes) (Private Talk, March 2010)

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Appendices Appendix I

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Appendix II

Dear — I am currently writing my dissertation on how new media is changing the way that agencies are creatively communicating with their target audience and so I am trying to gather some qualitative research from professional creatives for my work and was hoping that you could answer a few questions for me? 1.) Clearly new media is changing the way agencies are communicating with their target audience, however in your view – what is the most significant change? 2.) Could you explain how the role of new media has changed your creative strategies in the way that you work to create campaigns? 3.) Can you give an example of a campaign where you have used these strategies? Many Thanks, Cicely Milsom

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Appendix III

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Appendix IV

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Appendix V

D&AD NEW BLOOD AWARDS 2014

BACKGROUND ASOS’ ambition is to become the number one online fashion destination for 20somethings worldwide. By developing the brand’s proposition beyond pure e-tail into rich digital experiences, ASOS aims to inspire and engage with its audience on a daily basis in a way that feels credible, authentic and cool.

Brief set by: ASOS In collaboration with: JO JACKSON, PROTEIN

The rise of the fashion blog and street style photography has changed the way we are influenced by fashion. Today’s 20something consumers are more inspired by the clothes they see on the street, celebrities and their peers than they are by catwalk trends. However, street style, one of the biggest fashion trends of recent years, is already becoming rapidly overused. CREATIVE CHALLENGE ASOS want you to imagine what’s next after street style – how can they present and share fashion inspiration in an entirely new way? Your idea will need to engage with a future generation of global 20somethings who are permanently connected and live on their digital devices.

THE NEW FASHION INSPIRATION: BEYOND STREET STYLE

BRANDED CONTENT / DIGITAL DESIGN / MOBILE MARKETING / TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

@DandADNewBlood #NewBloodAwards Deadline: 19 MARCH 2014

CONSIDERATIONS t ASOS is a leader of trends – not a follower. Its digital platform needs to mirror this. t The ASOS ethos is to find, nurture and support the new, and impart this back to their audience in a way that feels relevant, authentic and cool. t Consider including the ASOS audience in an integral way into your concept. t ASOS is a unisex brand so your solution should meet the needs of either a unisex or a female only audience. Please justify your choice. t ASOS never dictates to its audience. Your solution should not only enhance the user’s life, but also allow them to personalise the content to fit in with their own desires and lifestyle. t ASOS is a global brand, meeting the wants and needs of 20somethings worldwide. How can they create a global platform whilst still providing custom content to suit a local audience? t A 20something community lives and thrives online. To evolve and succeed, content must be shareable across all relevant social media channels.

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t Consider the advantages of a new form of inspiration that will evolve with time and technology, rather than simply create a splash and disappear. t Brands like Olapic are challenging the way we use UGC (User Generated Content) to inspire peers and support ecommerce. This is the latest way to impart fashion inspiration now, but what’s next? The brand image can’t be jeopardised at any point so how can ASOS use UGC and remain genuine, whilst maintaining the quality of the content created by its users? TARGET AUDIENCE Fashion-loving 20somethings who are price savvy, social and addicted to newness. They love style and to look and feel great, but they believe there is more to life than fashion. MANDATORIES t Design and bring to life a concept in line with the ASOS brand and aesthetic. t It must be viewable on a smartphone. You don’t have to actually create an app or site, but must clearly show how it would work, look and feel. t Produce a clear summary of your response to the brief with reasoning behind your decision-making and outcome. t Submit research references and/or mood-boards. t Present a clear understanding of the proposed user experience. DELIVERABLES You must read ‘Preparing Your Entries’ included in your brief pack for full format specs and submission guidance. Main deliverables (mandatory) Present your solution using either a video (MPEG or MOV, max. 2 mins) or up to eight images (JPEG only). Supporting material (optional) You may also submit: Interactive work (websites, apps, HTML, etc.); additional text (PDF, max. 1 A4 page). If your main deliverable is video, you can also submit up to four images (JPEG only). If your main deliverable is images, you can also submit video (MPEG or MOV, max. 1 min).

Appendix VI

•

Mobile is now the main driver of global adspend growth. We forecast mobile to contribute 36% of all the extra adspend between 2013 and 2016. Television is the second largest contributor (accounting for 34% of new ad expenditure), followed by desktop internet (25%) – the rise of mobile is not preventing the continued rapid expansion of desktop internet advertising. Mobile is the first new technology in twenty years – since the spread of the world wide web – to expand media consumption, not cannibalise it, by giving people convenient and portable access to the full range of rich content available on the modern internet.

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Appendix VII

•

Mobile advertising is still in its early phase of growth, accounting for just 2.7% of global ad spend in 2013. By 2016, however, we expect it to account for 7.7% of ad spend, leapfrogging radio, magazines and outdoor to become the world’s fourth-largest medium. We count as mobile all internet ads delivered to smartphones and tablets, whatever their format.

•

Since it began in the mid-1990s, internet advertising has principally risen at the expense of print. Between 2003 and 2013 the internet’s share of global advertising rose by 17 percentage points, while newspapers’ share fell 13 points and magazines’ share fell by 5 points. We predict internet advertising will increase its share of the ad market from 20.6% in 2012 to 26.6% in 2016, while newspapers and magazines will continue to shrink at an average of 1%2% a year. Note that these figures include only advertising in printed editions of these publications, not on their websites, or in tablet editions or mobile apps, all of which are picked up in our internet category. Internet advertising has overtaken newspaper advertising for the first time in 2013, and we forecast it to exceed the combined total of newspaper and magazine advertising in 2015.

•

Television’s share of global adspend has stabilised, after growing slowly but surely for most of the last three decades. Television accounted for 31% of spend in 1980, 32% in 1990, 36% in 2000 and 39% in 2010. We now expect television’s market share to peak in 2013 at 40.2%, before falling back marginally to 39.3% in 2016.

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Appendix VIII

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Appendix VIII

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Appendix VIII

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