Advertisers: Can We Undiscover This Frontier?

Okay, what's the next Big Thing for the Ad people? This is a tough question for me because in so many ways I think discussing the Internet in terms of ads is grossly American and grossly rhetorical. Now, one can be rhetorical without being grossly so; and rhetoric has merit, so I don't want to play Plato to the PR Sophists.



No, I want to talk about colonies. More so, I want to talk about the Internet as this new frontier loaded with colonies of the old world trying to make a fresh start or just keep themselves relevant.



'Stakeholder Strength' really ignited this idea within my head. Back in the 1500's Europe had traded away much of its gold and silver to the Mid East and Asia for goods, and the economy of the European nations verged on collapse. Then Spain manages to find the Americas and the gold/silver/land rush is on. Every European nation tried their hand at colonies to stay relevant. You don't have to struggle to see corporations and organizations reacting the same way to the Web. Everyone is trying to find a way to be relevant in the wake of the new frontier. We see numerous examples of this from Nike to Chick-fil-A to Brawny. Does a colony make sense for everyone? Probably not, but the status of a successful colony (website) means everything.



Of course, the Internet as frontier already has successful colonies asserting their own presence in a manner that took centuries for the Americas. Amazon, Google, E-Bay, and so forth have formed the first generation of native inhabitants. They should likely serve as lessons for future success, but it's hard to tell exactly how.



Unlike a normal, physical frontier, the Internet keeps changing under the feet of these colonies. Wu's study of interactivity shows how our concepts of media interaction have changed in only a few years and how nuanced our expectations have become. Ad agencies seem to view themselves as the old monarchs of Europe, capable of providing little freedoms to keep their ideas afloat. Pick-a-path car videos from VW or elegant Flash while you stop for a visit, but these colonies won't last without realizing the full interactivity required. Google's purchase of YouTube showed that interactivity is more than options in a pre-existing video -- it's the ability to create from scratch and comment freely. I don't think Manovich would champion any of these ad sites as superior to Final Cut Pro.



This is where things get dicey. The power relationships these articles suggest are non-congruent. Organizations must accept that the Web is an agora, an infinite physical place and frontier,not a billboard or TV. People may play with your sign, but its more important to build a shop/colony/landscape where they want to hangout and talk then anything. The next big thing builds community and culture unique to itself. Because of this it favors the artist who can tell a story, like Reznor, over the company looking for a gimmick.



Simple ideas, as referred to in the SXSW podcast are easy to sell to companies, but to have legs, you need a narrative. The more you allow an audience to participate in a well-realized narrative, the more successful you will become. However, narratives require skill and complexity. Whether PR companies can transform themselves into storytellers of a Reznor or JJ Abrams caliber remains to be seen. Whoever masters the ability to create the most appealing interactive place with an engaged sense of authentic community culture and group narrative will attract the largest audience and the most loyalty -- whether consumer, artistic, political, or interpersonal.



Someone just needs to create an agora different enough from the old world that we simply have to be there.