Dissertation
Posted by: lucie | From: July 1, 2007
After weeks of putting it off, I've finally drafted a rough summary of what I'll be researching for my dissertation. It was originally intended to be a rather practical guide for nonprofits and small companies on "web 2.0 marketing," but I guess that wasn't really academic enough for my adviser, so I went back to the scholarly marketing and advertising journals to find "an academic hook," as she put it. Basically prove a need for my particular piece of research... a piece of research which, I might add, now needs to be done in 6 weeks instead of 3 months because of my complete lack of motivation and forthcoming 2-week trip to Paris and Italy.
So anyway, here it is. The majority of what is outlined here is "literature review" - ie has already been covered in journals of marketing and advertising, and I'll just be recapping it to set myself up for my own piece of work. If anyone finds this at all interesting or wants to share any ideas or thoughts, please do bring 'em on!
For now, I am off on a little backpacks & hostels adventure around the continent. Au revoir, mes amis! Arrivaderci!
Background and literature review
1) General move toward social media and user generated content on the Internet. Blogs, Flickr, podcasts, Youtube, social networks. The Internet is evolving from a source of information to a source of entertainment.
2) YouTube has dramatically increased in popularity (and shareholder value, if its sale price to Google isn't completely insane). MySpace and other social networks have added video capabilities to user pages. Other video sharing sites such as Vimeo have cropped up, and players like Sony, AOL and Newscorp are investing heavily in online video, video-on-demand, etc. The number of online video spots being viewed by users is growing exponentially. (Supporting stats to be included.)
3) Advertisers agree they must find innovative ways of using emerging Internet platforms to reach consumers. Video is the big topic of the moment, with companies and agencies learning to create content for the web rather than simply using or editing existing TV spots. (Stats showing growth in online advertising trend, specifically video, to be included.)
The convergence of these trends has led to an increase in video campaigns and online video advertising with a participatory element. Marketers agree that they must learn how to get into this game, and find ways to engage with online video and video-sharing communities. The past few years have seen advertisements created by consumers (often in response to "create a commercial" contests), successful lo-fi video campaigns disguised as consumer-created content, genuine low-budget campaigns from small companies that garner significant audience participation, and some polished, high-budget successes.
There have also been many failed campaigns, and even passionate backlash against some companies entering online communities in ways perceived as unacceptable by community members. YouTube users, for example, clearly have very firm ideas about what is and is not acceptable use of their space. This was well evidenced by the vicious response to a Dove advertisement soliciting consumer-created commercials for one of its new products (although a Dove "Real Beauty" advertisement had been enthusiastically received mere months earlier). Similar backlashes occurred when marketers initially attempted to use blogs, making such faux pas as creating fictitious characters, pitching products overtly in blogs positioned as journals, and breaking other unwritten rules of the "blogosphere."
"YouTubers" and other video creators and social media users have their own unwritten code of conduct. They are not averse to advertising, but it is clear that they will not simply accept it on companies' own terms. There is general agreement in the literature that to be successful in online video advertising, companies will have to reach out to consumers and offer them compelling content.
Beyond the literature review
If this is the case, advertisers must learn to play by the rules of the online communities they wish to reach. The research will attempt to ascertain the "laws" companies must follow when approaching online video-sharing communities if they wish to have their brands and campaigns accepted. Why, for example, was the Dove "create a commercial" campaign derided while others, such as the "Tax Rap" campaign, have been enthusiastically embraced by the YouTube community? What makes BlendTec's "Will It Blend" campaign so much more popular than similar "shows" by Mountain Dew and other corporate brands? Possible key factors include user participation, size of the company advertising, style and budget of advertisement, and so forth.
The study will focus specifically on YouTube for two reasons: 1) YouTube is by far the most popular video-sharing site on the web, and has a dedicated and passionate core community of users, and 2) Staying within one video-sharing site will allow consistent comparison of user ratings (1 to 5 stars), video views and feedback (both in text comments and video replies).
Primary research will include evaluation and categorisation of videos, ratings, comments and responses, and may also include interviews with campaign creators and/or YouTube community members.
I think this sounds interesting.
When so much is invested in something that depends on fickle social norms, I wonder what the anthropologists have to say about this.
Posted by: PhilobizPDXNerd at July 5, 2007 10:01 PM