ARRGGHHHH

I am nowhere near creative enough to attempt to predict what the next"Big Idea" in advertising may be, but, with the help of the reading, I can tell you where I think the current trends will take us. First, I would like to say that advertising in the Internet age is defined and will continue to be defined by the Interactivity and non-linear nature of the Web. Julie Roehm of Chrysler describes Chrysler's new online push as an inevitability. She describes their objective as making the interactive nature of the web the center of their new marketing strategy. The idea is to catch people doing what they would do anyway, look for cars online, and then pull them in and keep them on the site with various interactive modules. According to the article, their approach seems to be working considering that a large percentage of the audience members looked participated in several of their modules once they were directed to the web site.

Greenberg in Madison Avenue's 30-Second Spot Remover from the New York Times agrees that advertising is no longer about linear communication. Greenberg demonstrates that traditional media need not be left in the dust of the Internet when it comes to Interactivity. In his Times Square shoe ads, people could send text messages that would change the design of the shoe in the ad. To a certain extent people have always been entertained by advertising. Now it seems that people are saying to big business "If you want our attention above all of the noise, then you need to make it fun and new." And right now that means Interactivity.

I certainly think that Social Networking Sites will continue to play a grand role in advertising in the future, mostly through word of mouth. However, I think endeavors like Nike and Google's Joga.com will not thrive. Joga, because it is soccer centric and is pulling from a massive fan base might be one of the only examples of this model working. What won't work is if every person who wants to sell a product decides to a create a social networking site around that product or activity. If you play close attention, you will notice that we are collecting more and more of these sites and going to them less and less. Figuring out a way to position yourself favorably on the already existing networking sites is the best bet. Using the resources and the networks that already exist to create a buzz about your product would be better than latching onto the idea of the social networking site as if it's the Holy Grail of Internet advertising.

From my perspective, the new advertising concept that I think has the potential of the most longevity over time, IF done correctly, is the ARG. If Interactivity and non-linear communication is key, then ARGs seem to provide an experience for consumers that is unparalled in traditional advertising. The article Secret Websites, Coded Messages," the author gives a wildly popular Nine-Inch-Nails ARG that really pulled fans into the game. Combining a sort of online treasure hunt with real world elements, the ARG merges the online world with the real world in a way that allows the consumer to enjoy the anticipation of a product almost more then the product itself. If the purpose of advertising is expansion of brand awareness then the ARG seems to supply that need for the advertiser while catering to what the online consumer wants from their products; interactivity.

A recent example of an effective ARG was the one for the movie Cloverfield. I was glad that this was included in this article because I believe that without the buzz and mystery created by the ARG the movie would not have been a success. My boyfriend followed the ARG almost obsessively and we did go see the movie on opening weekend. Although entertaining, Jeff agrees that the ARG was more fun then the movie.

Some of the main reasons that the ARG can be effective is that people really can find a lot of entertainment from these games, especially the ones that manage to merge reality and the Internet world, help people feel connected and a part of a larger community. Nothing could be cooler than finding that flash drive in the toilet and discovering that there is a previously unrecorded Nine-Inch-Nails song on it, making you the one who helps the rest of the people following the ARG get to the next level.

Another main reason is that most of the people developing these ARGs really understand the person they are catering to. Nine-Inch-Nails going so far as to embed clues in the album expecting to show up on torrent sites before the original release is an example. Actually wanting someone to steal your album seems counter to what most of the music industry has been ascribing to.

Of course there are many instances where ARGs have been a failure and if products continue to pail in comparison to the ARG leading up to them people may lose interest. However, if marketers and advertisers can continue listening to their consumers and giving them an experience that is part role-playing game, part treasure hunt, part on-line community the ARG can grow and expand and be used for many other industries.