Merging Media and the Market

“Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance”
Will Durant

I’ve come to the realization this week that new media is just as effective as traditional media.  I’ll be the first to admit that I had a predisposition towards traditional media.  I was of the mind set that new media was a cheaper alternative to traditional media placements but could never serve as the principal in company’s media buy.  Never being a creature of change, I’ve been reluctant to learn about the attributes that new media brings to the world of marketing.   Ignorance is bliss…right?  Well in all actuality, ignorance is just ignorance.  Drawing conclusions about new media without knowing anything about it was simply juvenile of my part. 

Blogs, in-game advertising, and Web site are all considered to be new media.  You may be wondering how new media could possibly entail Web sites, since they have become almost a necessity for any business.  I had trouble wrapping my head around the concept of new media, especially in regards to Web sites.  So keep in mind throughout this and future discussions that the term new media is simply used to define and medium that is both digital and interactive: hence, the inclusion of Web sites. 

In fact Web sites are one of the new mediums I’d like to further discuss as a result of a rude awakening I’ve had this week.  In terms of new media and the market I’m definitely behind the curve.  While I heavily rely on the Web sites of businesses to carry out my professional and personal tasks; I assumed that businesses targeting elderly markets need not worry so much their online presence.  But as it turns out, Web sites are effective at reaching the elderly market.  Internet users over the age of 60 heavily log onto Web sites to get information about health, travel, and to e-mail.  While older users are definitely more cautious about their online activities they still rely on Web sites to get information that is important to them.

As such, the effectiveness of new media can be seen when considering the markets that are being targeted with individual placements.  Keep in mind that there is no medium that can effectively reach everyone.  But marketers are not trying to reach everyone; they’re trying to reach their customers.  For example, I doubted the effectiveness of in-game advertising.  In-game advertising seemed like it would be more annoying than effective.  However, gamers like the in-game advertising saying it makes games more realistic and influences their purchasing decisions.  This example shows that there is a tendency to doubt the effectiveness of media when we do not use the media ourselves.  So keep in mind throughout our exploration that, like traditional media, the effectiveness of new media is heavily correlated to the target market. 

Until next time,

Arin