In the digital age, when everyone wants a free lunch it is inevitable that people are looking at advertising-supported business models to create revenue. In turn, it is common sense to assume that information we put out about ourselves online will result in more targetted advertising, and thus provide a better return on investment for the advertiser.
What is now hapenning is that the lines between advertising and content are increasingly becoming blurred.
Bacardi is in the process of signing up a number of artists to promote and market their music, but giving them full control over their recordings. Notable signings include Groove Armada and Beardyman. Read Cliff Jone's article about it in the Sunday Times here
In turn, Sir Martin Sorrell is pushing WPP to work more closely with television and movie production companies. click
In all likelihood all this is likely to cause outcry due to confusion over what is content and what is advertising. However, in a fast growing peer-production society this is one way for "professional" content producers to get one over on the "amateurs," and retain a competitive advantage.
The concept of "advertorial" isn't new at all. The term soap opera derived from an advertising campaign for washing powder presented in the form of a narrative. And this is what all advertisers aspire to do, to place their product in the context of their target audience's everyday life.
It's all about the narrative. If you want to win be a storyteller.
No comments:
Post a Comment