The advent of the innovative technologies and multimedia devices had a significant impact on all spheres of social life and the advertising industry was not an exception. The new media model of advertising opened up a lot of new opportunities for influencing the consumers’ preferences and positive branding of companies, ranging from utilizing the new channels of communication to making the ads more personalized.
Going with the times, the contemporary companies have to meet the requirements of the contemporary market and develop the new media advertising campaigns of their products for the purpose of establishing the contact with customers and creating a competitive edge. The research question is what strategies would allow maximizing the benefits from implementation the interactive advertising strategies and what measures need to be imposed for overcoming the limitations of the approach.
The development of new communication technologies predetermined both new opportunities and new challenges for the advertising industry. The research by Lombard and Snyder-Duch (2001) is valuable for defining the most effective new media advertising strategies. On the one hand, advertisers can take advantages of the new channels and forms of communication for delivering their messages to the potential consumers.
On the other hand, along with the changes in the advertising strategies, the consumers’ understanding of the advertising information became more sophisticated as well.
Peltier, Schibrowski, & Schultz (2003) noted that advertisers need to adapt to the changing consumers’ characteristics: “The unique characteristics of the new media require that a database-driven segmentation approach to communication strategy be employed” (p. 114). The segmentation strategy would allow not only delivering ads to the target audience but also making them more customized.
The shift to the personalized advertising strategies increases the effectiveness of ads texts, providing the consumers with a wide range of choices of the product information and the manners of its presentation. Yoo (2007) admitted that “Interactivity is the key characteristic of the new media, which is expected to transform not only the way advertising is designed and implemented but also the manner in which it affects consumers’ opinions and attitudes” (p. 8).
Developing the same idea, Lombard and Snyder-Duch (2001) pointed at the option of control of the advertising content as the main indicator of interactivity as the peculiar feature of new media advertising aimed at involving the consumers in the advertising process (Spurgeon, 2008, p. 2).
Lombard and Snyder-Duch (2001) noted that “Early research and theory regarding the concept of presence provide a valuable framework for developing effective advertising techniques and messages in this new media world” (p. 63). The option of controlling the content, producing the impression of physical presence and involvement in the process of advertising are important for enhancing the effectiveness of new media ads.
A mere implementation of the innovative strategies without adapting them to the peculiarities of the policies is insufficient for making the advertising campaign effective. The study by Liu and Shrum (2002) is valuable because along with the discussion of the advantages of the interactivity in contemporary new media advertising strategies, it points at the limitations of the approach.
Liu and Shrum (2002) noted that “The rush to implement interactivity features into a marketing situation must be tempered, or at least mediated, by consideration and understanding of precisely what interactivity is, what it can do well, and, just as important, what it cannot do” (p. 63).
The researchers consider the structural and experiential aspects of interactivity and point at impossibility of overall control of the consumers’ choices which are based on their personal experiences. Stafford and Faber (2005) advised to manipulate the consumers’ curiosity: “An Internet advertising campaign in which curiosity-generating ads precede product information ads will be significantly more effective than a campaign that uses only product information ads” (p. 176).
Hermeking (2005) emphasized the importance of the structural improvement of the web design: “Site quality which is also equated with usability, establishment of trust, and creation of positive affect during website use are quoted as the most essential website characteristics” (Culture and Internet consumption).
Still, even perfecting the flexibility of the web design, cancelling all the annoying pop-ups and maximizing the consumers’ opportunities for controlling the content of the ads, advertisers can hardly influence the consumers’ attitude towards communicating with the company as well as their unwillingness to control their personal information.
It is significant that the study by Liu and Shrum (2002) sheds light upon the limitations of interactivity and the main precautionary measures which need to be imposed for the purpose of minimizing the risks and maximizing the effectiveness of the advertising campaigns.
The implementation of the new media advertising strategies may become a real challenge for the companies. It is important not only to integrate the new model into the company’s philosophy for the purpose of going with the times but also to conduct a research of the target population and the segmentation of the consumers’ base for making the ads more personalized and enhancing their effectiveness.
The advertising specialists should bear in mind not only the advantages but also the limitations of the interactivity as the key aspect of contemporary new media advertising model.
Reference List
Hermeking, M. (2005). Culture and Internet consumption: Contributions from cross-cultural marketing and advertising research. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(1), article 10.
Liu, Y. & Shrum, L. (Winter 2002). What is interactivity and is it always such a good thing? Journal of Advertising, 31 (4): p. 53-65.
Lombard, M. & Snyder-Duch, J. (2010). Interactive advertising and presence: A framework. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 1 (2): p. 56-65.
Peltier, J., Schibrowski, J., Schultz, D. (2003). Interactive integrated marketing communication: Combining the power of IMC, the new media and database marketing. International Journal of Advertising, 22: p. 93 – 115.
Spurgeon, C. (2008). Advertising and new media. New York, NY: Routledge.
Stafford, M. & Faber, R. (eds.) (2005). Advertising, promotion and new media. New York, NY: American Academy of Advertising.
Yoo, C. (2007). Preattentive processing of web advertising. New York, NY: Cambria Press.