I want to start by saying…I was a volunteer at the rally and it was an amazing experience! I got to meet Obama and wow….I’m still excited!!!
Now to business…..
The Internet has opened new doors for advertisers and public relations specialists all over the world. It has taken the term interactivity to new levels and created a world of user generated content. The release of DVR and TiVo has presented new challenges to advertising executives. Users can now forward through ads and avoid them all together. I have noticed an increase in product placement over the years, a tactic that is still successful because it is advertising that cannot be avoided. Oser and Halliday discussed the ways that Chrysler was advertising to their audiences. According to the authors, Chrysler used the Internet to provide testimonials of real customers; this is a good tactic because people like to tell their story and giving them control over their story makes them want to get involved. According to Timothy O’Brien, “it’s not about linear communication, and the millennials understand that; it’s about symbols and icons and you click here and you click there and you control it”, this is a good point, and has been proven successful with several different companies like Chrysler and even Doritos.
In the future I think that commercials may scroll across the bottom of our favorite TV shows and there are even talks of the ability to purchase what we see on our television screens. I think that advertising will remain successful as long as it continues to have the interactive side where consumers feel like they have control. The Rose article also presented a really good advertising tactic. I think we are generally curious creatures and the idea of using ARGS like Nine Inch Nails did is a good idea. I know that if I have called numbers that I heard in a song just out of curiosity and more recently after I watched the movie Untraceable I had this urge to visit the website in the movie (terrible…I know).
I think that the Internet has been very beneficial to advertisers as well as public relations specialists. According to Marken, for PR, the Internet “provides a new and exciting opportunity to reach people directly-press, industry analysts, consumers, business partners and business associates”. Correspondence is much easier to send and is much more efficient. Marken also discusses the importance of writing skills for those in the PR profession. According to Marken, poorly written emails are “ a poor reflection on your organization and you”. Like advertising, I think that PR is going in the direction of becoming more interactive, for example the KFC commercial that had a hidden message, and if figured out you could get something free. Consumers like to be a part of the message; I think it offers more credibility to the product.
